Water utilities in the United States could gain from economies of scale: localized infrastructure can be inefficient and lead to outages in places like Jackson, Miss. But in practice, it's complicated.

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Water works (except when it doesn't)

A little show about big ideas. From the people who make Planet Money, The Indicator helps you make sense of what's happening today. It's a quick hit of insight into work, business, the economy, and everything else. Listen weekday afternoons.

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Gaming provides entertainment and community for billions of people worldwide. However, video games haven't always been accessible to those with disabilities. But this is changing.

Today, in the next installment of our series on the business of video games, we explain how accessibility has become an increasingly important priority for game developers and how advocates pushed them to this point.

Related episodes:
Forever games: the economics of the live service model (Apple / Spotify)

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

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Designing for disability: how video games become more accessible

People used to pay one standard price for their favorite games in a one-off transaction. But now, many game companies are offering their games for free, supported by in-game purchases. This is called the live service model.   

Today, the first episode of a week-long series about the video game industry. We investigate the promise and pains of the live service model and explain how it turned the industry upside down. 

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

Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

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Forever games: the economics of the live service model

It's highs and lows in this edition of Indicators of the Week! The surprisingly high amount of electricity needed for artificial intelligence, basketball star Caitlin Clark's surprisingly low base salary, plus a potential crackdown on the ticketing company everyone loves to hate (possibly because of those high fees).

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Ticketmaster's dominance, Caitlin Clark's paycheck, and other indicators

After the financial crisis of 2008, regulators around the world agreed banks should have more of a cushion to weather hard times. Now, U.S. regulators are once again looking to update minimum capital requirements through a set of proposals called Basel III Endgame. Today, on the show, a blow-by-blow account of this battle between bankers and regulators. 

Related episodes: 
Time to make banks more stressed? (Apple / Spotify) 
SVB, now First Republic: How it all started (Apple / Spotify) 

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

Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter. 

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Inside the epic fight over new banking regulations

When an insurance company can't cover all of its claims, it actually has its own insurance. This is called "reinsurance." How does that work and why do reinsurers look at their risk pool differently than say home or auto insurers? 

Related episodes: 
Why is insurance so expensive right now? And more listener questions (Apple / Spotify) 
When insurers can't get insurance (Apple / Spotify)

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

Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter. 

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Water works (except when it doesn't)

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