The Indicator from Planet Money

Many small businesses are online now, but so are cyber criminals trying to take advantage. On today's show, how one bar owner fell victim to a Facebook scam and if big tech could do more to protect small business owners from increasing cyber attacks. Read Stephan's original piece.

Related:
The secret world of those scammy text messages
After being scammed, one woman tries to get her money back

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Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

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We are just at the start of hurricane season, and we're already seeing the danger and tragedy brought on by storms. There's another cost that gets much less attention, but it's a gamble everyone in the path of a storm has to make.

Today on the show, we examine the decision on whether or not to evacuate from an oncoming disaster.

Based on the digital story: 1 reason people don't evacuate for hurricanes? Rising costs, and they're getting pricier

Related episodes:
Hazard maps: The curse of knowledge
Unintended Consequences, Hidden Deaths
The brewing recovery in Western North Carolina

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The One Big Beautiful Bill Act is now law. It's expected to cost the government a pretty penny. The Congressional Budget Office predicts a $3.4 trillion increase in the deficit over ten years. This is driven by significant tax cuts, including extensions of those made in 2017.

Trump's advisors argue the tax cuts will pay for themselves. Today on the show, we speak with the guru on that school of thought, Arthur Laffer, and dig into some of those claims with a tax economist.

Related episodes:
The simple math of the big bill (Apple / Spotify)
What's going to happen to the Trump tax cuts? (Apple / Spotify)
So, how's this No Tax On Tips thing gonna go? (Apple / Spotify)

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Fact-checking by Corey Bridges. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

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In the U.S., we insure most everything we sell. So why not trees? Today on the show why trees aren't insured like other crops, and what it would take to get that insurance with extreme weather events on the rise.

Related episodes:
When insurers can't get insurance (Apple / Spotify)

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Fact-checking by Tyler Jones. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

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This episode was first published as a bonus episode for our Planet Money+ listeners. Today, we're making it available for everyone!

U.S. aid helped Eswatini and Lesotho, two small countries in southern Africa, in their efforts to treat and curb the spread of HIV. Will President Trump's "America First" foreign policy threaten years of progress there against the virus?

In this bonus episode, we're featuring an extended conversation between Darian Woods and Jon Cohen, senior correspondent with Science magazine. They talk about Jon's reporting trip to Eswatini and Lesotho in May and the early impacts he saw of the Trump administration's foreign aid cuts. We also hear about the critical role of PEPFAR (the U.S. President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief) in the global response to HIV/AIDS and some other things we couldn't fit into the original episode.

You can read Jon's recent article in Science magazine here.

To hear more bonus episodes like this, and get Planet Money and The Indicator without sponsor messages, support the show by signing up for Planet Money+.

This summer, we're also giving Planet Money+ supporters early access to new episodes. Another reason to join! Sign up via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

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The Trump administration's crackdown on immigrants might be the most profound change in the American labor market right now. Industries that rely on immigrant labor are especially vulnerable, as ICE continues to raid businesses believed to have unauthorized workers.

Today on the show, we talk to representatives from the agriculture, construction and long-term care industries to ask: Are people still showing up to work?

Related episodes:
What's missing in the immigration debate
Is the 'border crisis' actually a 'labor market crisis?'

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Translation help by Ella Feldman. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

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We are back with another edition of listener questions! In this round, we tackle recession pop, why the job market feels so crummy for IT grads, and whether President Trump saying that Walmart "eat the tariffs" is a form of price control.

Related episodes:
Hits of the Dips: Songs of recessions past (Apple / Spotify)
The beef over price controls
Price Controls, Black Markets, and Skimpflation: The WWII Battle Against Inflation

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

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Over the past century, the world's human population has exploded from around 2 billion to 8 billion. Meanwhile, the average fertility rate has gradually declined. And if that trend continues as it has, we may soon see a crash in the population rate, which some argue could have disastrous effects.

Today on the show, we talk to co-authors Michael Geruso and Dean Spears about their forthcoming book After the Spike: Population, Progress, and the Case for People. Together, they explain why you should care about declining fertility rates.

Related episodes:
Babies v climate change; AI v IP; bonds v world

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

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Whether you're watching Love Island in an RV or streaming a playlist in a remote California campground, if you're using satellite internet, odds are you're using Elon Musk's Starlink.

Today on the show, we learn how Starlink got such a big lead in the satellite market and if it can stay ahead of the European Union, China, and, of course, Jeff Bezos.

Related episodes:
Elon's giant rocket
Why I joined DOGE (Apple/Spotify)

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It's ... Indicators of the Week! Our weekly look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news.

On today's episode: Could more babies change the climate in a big way? Why did a U.S. judge side with AI company Anthropic? And why is the bond market so chill these days?

Related episodes:
Artists vs. AI
You told us how tariffs are affecting you (Apple/Spotify)

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

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