Podcasts by The Indicator from Planet Money
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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Are the products in your shopping cart real? from 2023-12-12T23:17:21
How often are you shopping online and think to yourself, is that shirt/dress/jeans in my shopping cart ... even real? That is a question some shoppers are asking themselves as AI-generated...
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A countdown to climate action from 2023-12-12T01:21:59
Since the end of November, diplomats, scientists, activists and lobbyists from nearly every country on Earth have come together for COP 28, the United Nations climate negotiating talks. One of the ...
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AI creates, transforms and destroys... jobs from 2023-12-08T23:24:27
We often talk about the jobs lost due to artificial intelligence. But what about the ones created or even transformed? From the gig work of training AI on good and bad answers through to designing ...
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The wheel's many reinventions from 2023-12-07T21:53:03
"Don't reinvent the wheel" is a common phrase, but structural engineer Roma Agrawal doesn't buy it.
Roma has a new book out, Nuts and...
What can we learn from the year's most popular econ terms? from 2023-12-07T00:13:59
In 2021, the most popular term on Investopedia was "capital gains tax." In 2022, it was "poison pill." These top terms help capture the economic zeitgeist of their year. So... what was it in 2023? ...
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Americans don't like higher prices but they LOVE buying new things from 2023-12-05T22:42:08
Eight times a year, regional Federal Reserve Banks release a collection of anecdotes that reveal stories about the economy. These stories come together in what's known as the "Beige Book," and we a...
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Who can and cannot get weight-loss drugs from 2023-12-04T23:27:42
Drugs used for weight loss like Wegovy, Ozempic and Mounjaro are nearly everywhere in popular culture, but many patients struggling with obesity are still finding them hard to get. On today's show,...
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Endless shrimp and other indicators from 2023-12-01T23:31:44
On the latest edition of Indicators of the week, inflation in the U.S. and Europe is slowing down. Plus, a new report from the Listen
Could SCOTUS outlaw wealth taxes? from 2023-12-01T01:23:57
The Supreme Court is set to hear arguments next week on whether the federal government can tax some "unrealized" gains. That's when an asset you hold, rather than sell, gains value. Tax experts say...
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Putting the 80/20 rule to the test from 2023-11-29T23:25:28
A favorite of productivity hackers, the Pareto Principle, aka the 80/20 rule, has taken on a life of its own since it was first observed by an Italian economist over a century ago. The concept stat...
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Oil prices and the Israel-Hamas war from 2023-11-28T22:52:56
The Middle East is synonymous with oil production. And historically, oil prices usually surge when there's a conflict there.
But right now, despite the Israel-Hamas war, we're seeing the o...
Texas' new power grid problem from 2023-11-27T22:11:23
In 2021, a huge winter storm hit Texas. It caused a days-long blackout that resulted in hundreds of deaths. The Texas grid operator adopted a new policy to guard against another blackout: it would ...
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A salary to be grateful for, and other Thanksgiving indicators from 2023-11-22T21:15:08
It's an Indicator Friendsgiving! You're not alone in feeling the news has been awfully grim this year. So we're taking a collective breath and sitting down at the table to find some economic indica...
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How "dark defaults" could cost you from 2023-11-22T01:14:45
A lot of people have experienced some version of this: You sign up for the free one-week trial of some subscription service, only later to be surprised when you get a bill for the deluxe, forever p...
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The messy human drama behind OpenAI from 2023-11-21T00:10:48
The company behind ChatGPT pushed out its CEO Sam Altman on Friday. OpenAI's board gave the public little insight into its controversial decision. On Sunday, Microsoft announced it was hiring Sam A...
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Prices fall, unemployment rises and Boomers have all the houses from 2023-11-17T22:09:25
We've been on a wild economic ride lately so let's find the key trends to make sense of where the economy's headed. On this edition of Indicators of the Week, the numbers you need to know about fal...
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How do cheap cell phone plans make money? And other questions from 2023-11-17T00:43:43
You ask, we answer! Today we answer listener questions on whether certain jobs are becoming "feminized" since COVID started and how that affects what these jobs pay. We also examine labor unions' e...
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The evidence on school vouchers that'll please nobody from 2023-11-16T01:54:43
School vouchers, or school choice as it's known among advocates, is public funding for children to attend private schools. It's a controversial policy — some say it undermines the public school sys...
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Xi and him from 2023-11-15T00:48:58
President Joe Biden and China's President Xi Jinping have not sat down for a face-to-face discussion in a year. In that time, Chinese-American relations have become even more tense with the spy bal...
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When a staple becomes a luxury from 2023-11-14T00:10:40
Fish and chips have long been a staple cheap comfort food for millions of people in the U.K. However, economic headwinds are putting the squeeze on owners of fish and chip shops. Today, we explore ...
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Actors back. Pandas gone. WeBankrupt. from 2023-11-11T00:06:58
This time on Indicators of the Week: actors reached a deal with Hollywood studios after their months-long strike.
The once-popular co-working company WeWork has filed for bankruptcy.
A radical plan to fix Argentina's inflation from 2023-11-09T23:31:37
In a little over a week, Argentines will head to the polls to pick a new president. Polls show a tightening race between right-wing populist Javier Milei and centrist challenger Sergio Massa. Both ...
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Bond. World's oldest living bond. from 2023-11-08T23:45:09
Hidden deep in an archive in New Jersey is the world's oldest living bond. Originally issued to fund a dike in the Netherlands after a big flood, these days, it's gearing up for its 400th birthday ...
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A bad economy can be good for your health from 2023-11-07T20:08:23
When economist Chris Ruhm first got the results from his study on the possible connection between recession and health, he thought he had made a mistake. But time and time again, he got the same re...
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The spectacle of Sam Bankman-Fried's trial from 2023-11-07T00:31:39
Last week, the former crypto wunderkind Sam Bankman-Fried was found guilty for his role in the collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX. The 31-year-old former billionaire fashioned himself as s...
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Why everyone in the labor market is being picky from 2023-11-03T21:05:04
The American economy is still running hot and the labor market is showing astounding resilience despite elevated interest rates. Things are so good that there's some pickiness being displayed by bo...
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How the South is trying to win the EV race from 2023-11-02T21:46:44
A new Hyundai plant in Georgia. A Ford mega campus in Tennessee. The Southeast is quickly becoming a hub for electric vehicles and the manufacturing of its components. Today on the show, we explore...
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Trying to solve the mystery of big bond yields from 2023-11-01T23:12:11
If you're wincing at high interest rates on a potential loan right now, it's not just you. And the Federal Reserve's rate hikes actually isn't (entirely) to blame either. There's another culprit: t...
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Are real estate agent fees a racket? from 2023-11-01T00:17:11
In the typical home sale, the home seller pays a commission, not just to their agent, but also to the buyer's agent. This fee-sharing arrangement is part of a decades-old practice...
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A finance fright fest from 2023-10-30T22:44:19
Halloween is just around the corner and our hosts are scrambling to find the perfect costume. Today on the show, we scare up fresh costume ideas based on Wall Street's scariest financial jargon. If...
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Europe vs. US economies... and a dime heist from 2023-10-27T19:24:03
This time on Indicators of the Week: the U.S. is seeing massive economic growth, but there are a couple of asterisks.
The European Central Bank is holding off on additional rate hikes, citi...
What happened to the internet without net neutrality? from 2023-10-26T21:03:18
The fiery debate over how the government should regulate the internet came to a head in 2017. That's when the Trump-led Federal Communications Commission repealed so-called net neutrality rules put...
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The Beigie Awards: Why banks are going on a "loan diet" from 2023-10-25T20:21:43
Every time a new Beige Book report rolls around, we honor the regional Federal Reserve bank with the best anecdote with our prestigious Beigie Award. The winner of the October 2023 Beigie highlight...
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Why offshore wind is facing headwinds from 2023-10-24T23:22:09
The Gulf of Mexico saw its first-ever auction of leases for offshore wind this summer. It was another sign of the Biden administration's desire to get more renewable energy online as fast as possib...
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How IBM's gamble ushered in the computer age from 2023-10-23T23:55:04
In the book of corporate folklore, former IBM CEO Thomas Watson Jr. deserves a special spot. Specifically, the massive gamble he took in 1964 to introduce the System/360, which had the potential t...
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More fraud, higher bond yields, and faster airline boarding from 2023-10-20T22:34:31
On this edition of Indicators of the Week: older Americans recorded higher losses to certain scams, the yield on the 10-year Treasury bond is up to the highest it's been in more than a decade and U...
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What could convince Egypt to take in Gaza's refugees? from 2023-10-19T21:21:22
One of the most crucial players in the war unfolding in the Middle East is Egypt, which neighbors Gaza and is facing pressure from the United States and its allies to open up its borders to refugee...
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There's one business like show business from 2023-10-19T00:08:23
There's no business like show business. Or is there? It turns out the business of producing a Broadway hit shares a few things in common with the business of investing in tech start-ups. Today on t...
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How a consumer watchdog's power became a liability from 2023-10-17T22:14:17
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau was created in 2010 as the legislative response to the Great Recession. It's an aggressive regulator that challenges financial institutions on behalf of con...
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The Indicator Quiz: Climate Edition from 2023-10-16T23:05:02
What's spicier than a pumpkin spice latte in the fall? The Indicator Quiz! The show where we bring a lucky listener on to test their econ knowledge. Today's quiz focuses on questions related to cl...
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Junk fees, unfilled jobs, jackpot from 2023-10-13T22:43:11
On this edition of Indicators of the Week: the FTC wants to ban hidden fees on what feels like every transaction. Down with junk fees! Germany has a possible fix for its struggling economy and unfi...
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Taking the temperature of the US consumer from 2023-10-12T23:10:35
Economic indicators like the Consumer Price Index can tell us a lot about the past, but what about the future? For close to 80 years, policymakers have relied on the Listen
A treacherous descent? What will the Fed do next? from 2023-10-11T19:56:36
In the world of summiting mountains, more accidents happen on the way down than on the climb up. Today on the show, why that could be a bad omen for interest rates.
For sponsor-free episodes...
A conversation with Nobel laureate Claudia Goldin (Update) from 2023-10-10T20:23:57
This episode was originally published on November 30, 2021
Earlier this wee...
Wanted: Social workers from 2023-10-06T23:15:51
U.S. job growth just surged way past expectations. But one area of employment continues to need more hands on deck: social workers. The evolving occupation is getting new attention from schools all...
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Body Electric: What digital jobs are doing to our bodies from 2023-10-05T21:16:39
TED Radio Hour's Manoush Zamorodi joins us today to talk about her new series Body Electric. It's looking at how the information age is affecting our bodies in negative ways.
Manoush spoke...
You tell us how to fix mortgages, and more from 2023-10-04T22:30:14
We love getting listener mail! Especially when it makes us think about a topic differently. Today on the show, we hear from listeners about host-free Airbnbs, a Danish solution to mortgage lock-in ...
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EVs killed the AM radio star from 2023-10-03T22:15:36
When some automakers confirmed this year that they were phasing out AM radio in their electric vehicles, the political backlash was immediate and remarkably bipartisan. Today on the show, what's al...
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When Uncle Sam stops paying the childcare bill from 2023-10-02T21:30:37
During the Covid-19 pandemic, the United States took dramatic action to invest in child care. Now in 2023, the majority of those investments are coming to an end. Today, we talk to childcare provid...
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Twerking, tote bags, and the top of the charts from 2023-09-29T22:38:04
On this musical edition of Indicators of the Week: Live Nation stops taking a cut of small artists' merchandise sales. Meanwhile, some fans are using the Billboard charts formula to boost their fav...
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The walking dead NFTs from 2023-09-28T21:27:10
The NFT mania may have finally run its course. Not too long ago, these pieces of digital art exploded in value with the help of celebrities like Justin Bieber and Paris Hilton. But even the most su...
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How EV batteries tore apart Michigan (Update) from 2023-09-27T21:46:36
This episode was originally published on November 14, 2022
This week, Ford announced it was paus...
Chasing the American Dream at Outback Steakhouse from 2023-09-27T00:17:58
How often do you hang out with people in a different socioeconomic bracket than you? And where do you meet and congregate? Economist Maxim Massenkoff, and his co-author Nathan Wilmers, looked at ce...
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Is the Canada, Meta news standoff coming to the US? from 2023-09-25T21:39:25
Canadians are in a bit of a pickle when it comes to getting timely news updates through Facebook. The Canadian government passed a law requiring Meta and Google pay media outlets when news content ...
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A million-dollar fossil, and other indicators from 2023-09-22T23:13:39
Today on the show, we cover this week's top indicators in new work permits for Venezuelan migrants, behind-the-scenes climate meetings and a million-dollar dinosaur skeleton sale.
For s...
Selling safety in the fight against wildfires from 2023-09-21T21:43:33
Wildfires are becoming more frequent and serious due to human-caused climate change. This is prompting a new industry focused on residential wildfire preparedness. Today, we consider the new techno...
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The rat under the Fed's hat from 2023-09-20T21:17:12
The Federal Reserve said today it wasn't raising interest rates, but left the door open to keep hiking later. But there's more to this decision than meets the eye. Today on the show, we use Disney'...
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The Beigie Awards: Manufacturing takes center stage from 2023-09-19T21:43:39
The Beigies roll around once again to recognize the regional Federal Reserve Bank with the best Beige Book entry. This edition's winner put a spotlight on a company increasing their efforts to recr...
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Coca Cola v. Coca Pola from 2023-09-18T22:06:17
The coca leaf has been an important part of Andean culture for thousands of years. But when one indigenous woman decided to use the plant in a drink she calls Coca Pola, she awoke a sleeping giant....
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Economics, boosternomics and Swiftnomics from 2023-09-15T22:53:36
For this week's Indicators of the Week, Darian is joined by NPR colleagues Jeff Guo and Sydney Lupkin. We get into the l...
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Wait — did we really need to raise rates? from 2023-09-15T00:49:52
Inflation remains stubbornly high as the Federal Open Markets Committee weighs whether they will raise interest rates again. However, new research suggests that elevated interest rates weren't the ...
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Giant vacuums and other government climate bets from 2023-09-14T00:35:31
Yesterday we brought you a debate over whether the government should subsidize industries in the name of economic growth and societal benefits. Today on the show, we zero in on the climate industri...
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Industrial policy, the debate! from 2023-09-12T22:19:14
There is a lot of taxpayer money going into propping up industry in the U.S. From semiconductor chip fabrication in Arizona to green hydrogen plants in California. Is this smart policy? Today on th...
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Is retail theft getting worse? from 2023-09-11T21:59:04
Lately, retailers have been complaining to their investors about thieves coming to their stores and stealing stuff and blaming them for falling profits. It's the biggest part of a well-known indust...
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Apple, drugs, Grindr from 2023-09-08T21:53:57
Today on Indicators of the Week: government iPhone restrictions in China that walloped Apple's market value. Plus plans emerge over how the US government plans to negotiate drug prices. Also, a mas...
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'Welcome to the USA! Now get to work.' from 2023-09-07T22:50:22
When refugees arrive in the U.S. the clock starts ticking. They usually have up to 90 days to get a job and become 'self-sufficient'.
Researcher Blair Sackett says that that's simply not eno...
The dementia tax from 2023-09-06T23:33:01
More than 7 million Americans are living with dementia. To take care of this population, family members must often make the difficult choice of giving up work or paying for a costly facility. Today...
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The Beigie Awards: China Edition from 2023-09-05T21:07:22
The Beigies are back, with a twist!
In China, data on the economy is sometimes difficult to come by, so we thought we'd take a leaf out of the US Federal Reserve's Beige Book instead. Tod...
Jobs Friday: More jobs and more unemployment from 2023-09-01T23:47:57
The jobs report is in! And both the rate of employment AND unemployment went up in August. How does that happen? Plus, how disabled people are doing in the labor market.
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A drought, a jam, a canal — Panama! from 2023-08-31T23:00:41
The Panama Canal links the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. It sees hundreds of billions worth of stuff pass through it every year. But a historic drought is making it a little harder for big cargo shi...
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Young, "spoiled and miserable" in China from 2023-08-30T22:03:45
Every day, A Ze, a young woman in Beijing, would wake up early, do her makeup, and walk to her old work bus stop... and keep going. She'd left her job but couldn't let her parents know.
Chi...
The problems with the US's farm worker program from 2023-08-29T23:59:43
Over the years, U.S. agriculture has grown increasingly dependent on the H-2A Guest Worker program to bring in foreign workers to harvest crops. H2A is a vestige of a U.S. and Mexican policy called...
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The Indicator Quiz: The Internet from 2023-08-28T22:33:22
What's hotter than a leather car seat in the late summer? The Indicator Quiz! We bring a listener onto the show and test their econ knowledge. Today's quiz is all about the Internet and artificial ...
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AI chips, shared trips, and a shorter work week from 2023-08-25T23:17:25
It's Indicators of the Week, our weekly news roundup. Today, AI doesn't want to invest in AI, a county in Washington state implements a 4-day work week, and NYC says bye bye to Airbnb, sorta.
Why a weak ruble is good for Russia's budget but not Putin's image from 2023-08-24T23:06:22
Russia's Ruble is hovering around its lowest value against the dollar since June 2022. A weak currency is already a big deal for ordinary people affected by inflation, but in Russia, the concern is...
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How fed up farmers started the only government-run bank in the US from 2023-08-23T21:50:06
The idea of a state-run bank in the United States feels like a foreign concept. While public banks are fixtures of the financial system in countries like Canada and Chile, only one state in the U.S...
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Why pizza costs more in Iceland and other listener questions from 2023-08-22T22:43:23
You ask, we answer! We help a parent explain exchange rates to their kid, a high school teacher explain bond prices to his students, and we follow up on what happened to the diversity of the studen...
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The echo of the bison from 2023-08-21T22:37:13
For over 10,000 years, many peoples in what's now known as North America relied on bison. Thirty million of these creatures stretched from modern Canada all the way down to Mexico.
But in t...
Metals, government debt, and a climate lawsuit from 2023-08-18T20:38:12
Last year, the Inflation Reduction Act was signed into law as the Biden Administration's signature attempt to combat climate change. Today, we present three climate-related indicators with guest Na...
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When mortgage rates are too low to give up from 2023-08-17T21:40:50
The average mortgage rate in the U.S. just hit 7.09%—its highest level in more than two decades. And that's having ripple effects in the wider economy. Some homeowners feel locked in, tethered to t...
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How Yellow wound up in the red from 2023-08-16T22:13:36
Yellow stunned the trucking industry when it filed for bankruptcy this month. The nearly hundred-year old company said it will lay off 30,000 employees and liquidate all of its assets. On today's s...
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Is math real? And other existential questions from 2023-08-15T23:26
We are often taught to think of math as a rigid set of rules, never to be questioned. But that is exactly the wrong way to think about it, according to one mathematician. Today on the show, we talk...
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Breaking up big business is hard to do from 2023-08-14T23:39:16
The Federal Trade Commission is the sheriff for big businesses. One of its main functions is to stop companies from buying up other companies in a way that hurts competition. Those investigations h...
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Tale as old as time: Indicators of the Week from 2023-08-11T23:08:48
In a week jam-packed with major economic news, we've selected a few of our favorite stories for Indicators of the Week. Today we cover an Italian bank story, the drop in Chinese imports and the $1....
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Is this a bank? from 2023-08-10T22:25:56
You've heard of The Price Is Right, but what about Is This A Bank? It's a game show where contestants puzzle over some obvious and not-so-obvious places where people store their money. This podcast...
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A night at the museum of the economy from 2023-08-09T22:42:43
Dinosaur museums have dinosaurs. Space museums have spacecraft. But what would a dedicated museum of the economy have in it? That was a question author and friend of the show Tim Harford recently p...
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Return of the crab twins from 2023-08-08T21:00:36
RaeShawn and LaShone Middleton are twin sisters and business owners based in Columbia, Maryland. We last talked to them in the midst of the pandemic when they were just getting started with their s...
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What could break next? from 2023-08-07T21:07:34
Even if there isn't a recession right now, there are still vulnerable spots in the economy that could cause economic pain. Today on the show, we explore why some are concerned about the markets for...
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Farm Jobs Friday from 2023-08-04T22:14:16
Farm employment numbers are historically very hard to track. Partly because they fluctuate a lot from season to season, partly because a large portion of farm workers are undocumented. They're also...
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The life and death spirals of social networks from 2023-08-03T22:38:04
Meta's new social media platform, Threads, had a rocket-like start when it launched a month ago as a challenger to X (formerly known as Twitter). But it's far from clear which platform will prove d...
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Fitch, please! Why Fitch lowered the US credit rating from 2023-08-02T22:33:08
The credit rating agency, Fitch, caused a stir yesterday when it downgraded the United States' credit rating from AAA to AA plus. This came less than a week since Federal Reserve staff stopped fore...
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When remote work works and when it doesn't from 2023-08-01T20:41:43
Do office workers get as much done working from home as they do in person? We've been debating this question for years.
At the beginning of the pandemic, many economists thought yes, people...
An economic argument for heat safety regulation (Encore) from 2023-07-31T22:54:10
It's been a summer of record breaking heat. And for both outdoor and indoor workers, that heat poses a growing health risk. Around the country, worker advocates and industry groups are in an ongoin...
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IRS, Ivies and GDP from 2023-07-28T22:43:39
In this edition of Indicators of the Week, we talk about the end of surprise IRS visits, new research on elite college admissions, and why a soft landing is in sight.
For sponsor-free e...
Why residuals are taking center stage in actors' strike from 2023-07-27T23:45:46
Hollywood has been on strike for weeks with writers and actors hitting picket lines from California to New York. The unions for both groups, the Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA, say a major ...
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Hiking the last mile on inflation from 2023-07-26T23:57:31
The Federal Reserve finds itself in a tricky spot with inflation just a notch above its target of 2%. This poses a challenge for the central bank as they enter what's known as the "last mile" of mo...
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Women's labor comeback from 2023-07-25T20:54:15
Lots of women left the workforce early in the pandemic. At the time, there were fears these women would stay out of the workforce for years, if they returned at all. But women's participation in th...
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A lesson in Barbie labor economics from 2023-07-24T23:18:06
After a stunning box office opening of more than $300 million worldwide for the new Greta Gerwig film, the Barbieverse is having its moment. So what better time to examine what Barbie's 200-plus ca...
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Trucks, transfers and trolls from 2023-07-22T00:54:22
Tired of waiting days for your money to transfer in the bank? So is the Fed. It's just launched a new instant payment system that could mean no more waiting for your paycheck to come through.
A first-class postal economics primer from 2023-07-21T00:52:31
The price of mailing a first-class letter in the U.S. went up to .66 this month, part of a series of price hikes that the postal service hopes will put it on a pathway to profitability. But from it...
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A former teen idol takes on crypto from 2023-07-19T23:36:59
Cryptocurrency's rise attracted the endorsements of several high-profile celebrities during the pandemic. Actor Ben McKenzie, however, wasn't really convinced by the promise of crypto and has emerg...
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Boats, bikes and the Beigies from 2023-07-18T23:32:25
The Beigies are back and headed down south! From boats and bikes to pigs and cows, you could call this one a wild ride.
Eight times a year, the 12 regional Federal Reserve banks come togeth...
How Asimov's 'Foundation' has inspired economists from 2023-07-17T22:49:36
When we talk about classic economic texts, you might think of something like Adam Smith's "The Wealth of Nations." But how about the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov? One of the big ideas...
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@Threads, @Nasdaq, @Bank of America from 2023-07-14T22:13:01
It's time again for our Indicators of the Week! Today on the show, we've got a new social network, a new lineup for an old stock index and some new fines for old grievances. Listen to the numbers t...
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Time to make banks more stressed? from 2023-07-14T00:56:05
Stress tests are one of the many tools the Federal Reserve has to regulate the financial system. So why didn't stress tests help prevent the bank failures of Silicon Valley, Signature and First Rep...
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What's behind the China deflation scare from 2023-07-12T21:50:16
Earlier this week, China reported a headline CPI of zero. Observers are concerned about the potential for a deflationary environment in China that could have ripple effects for the rest of the worl...
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The Indicator Quiz: Jobs and Employment from 2023-07-11T22:51:26
It's another Indicator Quiz episode! We bring a listener onto the show and test their econ knowledge. Today's quiz is all about jobs and employment. Play along with us and see how you do!
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Why government websites and online services are so bad from 2023-07-10T22:42:23
Government websites and online services leave a lot to be desired. Today we look at California's unemployment insurance fiasco as a test case for how government can do digital services better.
<...
Good jobs Friday from 2023-07-07T22:21:40
The US economy added more than 200,000 jobs in June. But are these good jobs? Today, we look at some ways to answer this question, and what it takes to transform a job from bad to good.
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How Shein became a fast-fashion behemoth from 2023-07-07T01:26:36
In the past few years, Shein has grown into the world's largest online-only fashion retailer. And in the process, it has also drawn criticism, a cultural backlash, and the ire of U.S. lawmakers. To...
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The rise of American natural gas from 2023-07-05T22:51:48
In early 2016 the U.S. barely exported any liquified natural gas at all. Now it's the leading exporter of the fossil fuel — on track to way surpass Qatar and Australia. How did that happen? Today o...
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Our fireworks show from 2023-07-03T21:35:09
We have a few fascinating fireworks facts for your Fourth of July picnics! Over the last few decades, states and counties across the U.S. have liberalized fireworks laws. It's just one reason why s...
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Legacy admissions, the Russian Ruble and Final Fantasy XVI from 2023-06-30T22:18:56
On today's edition of Indicators of the Week, we cover the numbers behind stories relating to the Supreme Court's decision on affirmative action, the Wagner rebellion's effect on the Russian curren...
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From no bank to neobank from 2023-06-29T22:40:34
Online banking has become so common that some banks don't have any physical locations at all. Today we track the transition to online banking in Mexico, where startups are eager to win over new cus...
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Not your typical army: how the Wagner Group operates from 2023-06-28T23:04:19
The recent mutiny in Russia has put a spotlight on the quasi-military organization responsible: the Wagner Group. Today, we talk to an expert on the Wagner Group to get a sense of how it operates a...
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Gambling, literally, on climate change from 2023-06-27T23:32:53
Despite overwhelming scientific evidence that climate change is affecting our planet, a lot of people out there are still not convinced it's a problem. Today on the show, a tool that might actually...
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Why building public transit in the US costs so much from 2023-06-26T23:13:54
American public transit is notoriously expensive to build compared to countries in Europe and Asia. Today, we visit a $837 million subway station in New York to Listen
Home prices dip, Turkey's interest rate climbs, Amazon gets sued from 2023-06-23T23:29:19
Housing prices are easing! Good news for homebuyers, not great news for Adrian. Turkey's new central bank governor raises its interest rates. And is the FTC's Lina Khan riding into Amazon in a troj...
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When insurers can't get insurance from 2023-06-22T21:37:48
Climate change is changing the property insurance market. California is one state where major insurers have opted out of writing new property insurance policies. So how does that affect the people ...
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A watershed moment in the west? from 2023-06-21T23:15:52
Arizona officials announced this month that all the groundwater in the Phoenix metro area is spoken for, potentially affecting its fast-growing suburbs. Despite the initial shock, the news hasn't e...
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The migrant match game from 2023-06-20T23:33:54
About 2 percent of the global population lives in countries where they're not citizens, and many of these migrants are seeking economic opportunities. This flow of people can benefit countries with...
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r/boxes, r/Reddit, r/AIregs from 2023-06-16T22:53:32
How boxes contain all of our consumer goods, hopes and dreams. Why communities on Reddit went dark this week. And the European Union's plan to regulate AI. It's Indicators of the Week!
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How saving water costs utilities from 2023-06-15T23:47:20
Across the U.S. each month, utilities send meter readers out to record how much water their customers are using. Smart readers can do this virtually, and detect leaks, but many utilities have been ...
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The Fed decides to wait and see from 2023-06-15T00:22:46
The Fed just announced a pause on interest rate hikes for the first time in over a year. With inflation still double the Fed's 2% target, what's the plan here? Today on the show, how a shower helps...
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Is greedflation really the villain? from 2023-06-13T23:55:19
Who's to blame for current inflation? It's one of the spiciest debates these days, with many fingers pointed at one villain: corporations. Today on the show, an economist who looked for evidence on...
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Listener Questions: the 30-year fixed mortgage, upgrade auctions, PCE inflation from 2023-06-12T23:30:27
It's another listener questions episode where we take on what you want to know! On today's show... The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage. It's a cornerstone of the U.S. housing market, but not so much in...
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Text scams, crypto crackdown, and an economist to remember from 2023-06-09T22:37:28
Too many texts? Some of them could be scams! Plus the SEC is trying to play sheriff in the wild west that is crypto. And we remember the late economist William Spriggs who died this week, and read ...
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How ending affirmative action changed California from 2023-06-08T23:41:25
California's 25-year-old ban on affirmative action at public universities offers clues into how a Supreme Court ban on the policy would affect students and schools nationwide.
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Erdoganomics from 2023-06-07T22:41
Turkey's strong-arm President Erdogan is at war with interest rates, which he's called the mother and father of all evil. But inflation is out of control and the Turkish lira keeps losing value. Ho...
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Freight drivers feel the flip-flop from 2023-06-06T22:37:34
Today, we power up our CB radios to find out what's roiling the transportation services sector, and talk to a trucking company operator who's feeling what one regional bank called a freight recession.
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A cashless cautionary tale from 2023-06-05T22:04:57
India's recent announcement that it'll get rid of its highest denomination bill brings back memories of a disastrous experiment to invalidate most of its currency in 2016. Today, a critical look at...
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A troubling cold spot in the hot jobs report from 2023-06-02T22:53:05
The job market continues to surge despite fears of an economic slowdown. In recent months, Black Americans benefited from strong labor market conditions. But May's unemployment numbers hint that co...
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The OG of ESGs from 2023-06-01T21:52:38
Decades before the current debate about ESG and "woke capitalism," there was a guy on Wall Street investing money on behalf of nuns and labor unions. He's known today as one of the pioneers of soci...
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The inventor's dilemma from 2023-05-31T22:28:15
New economic research suggests that large companies can hold back inventors, and the overall economy. Today we talk to an inventor who left a big pharmaceutical company to start afresh, leading to ...
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Elon's giant rocket from 2023-05-30T22:44:12
Is this Mars thing really happening? SpaceX did its first test launch of Starship this spring, the rocket that it's developing to send to Mars. But getting to Mars is still a long way off. So does ...
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Receding rivers, party poopers, and debt ceiling watchers from 2023-05-26T22:54:33
Indicators all about kicking the can down the road but never far enough. A deal on water in the west, the US's tippy top credit rating gets put on notice, and tech companies want us to have less fu...
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The dangers of money market funds from 2023-05-25T23:21:05
Money market funds are a key aspect of the financial system and hold about $5.75 trillion of assets. Today, we explain what makes up a money market fund, why they've been looking shaky lately, and ...
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Bots, bootleggers and Baptists from 2023-05-24T22:52:08
A corporate titan and a cautious professor face off before Congress and ... agree with each other? From the ivory tower to inside the boardroom, the pressure campaign to regulate AI.
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Is AI a job-killer or an up-skiller? from 2023-05-23T21:50:09
For all the talk about AI, one of the burning questions is how the technology will affect the workforce. Today, we talk to the authors of one of the first empirical studies that looks at AI in the ...
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The Indicator Quiz: Banking Troubles from 2023-05-22T22:31:48
It's another Indicator Quiz episode! We bring a listener onto the show and test their econ knowledge. This time around, the quiz is all about the banking system and its recent troubles.
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Household debt, Home Depot sales and Montana's TikTok ban from 2023-05-19T23:13:59
It's Indicators of the Week! We round up the economic indicators that caught our attention. On today's episode, we look at growing U.S. household debt, the shrinking sales of Home Depot and Montana...
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Can YOU solve the debt crisis? from 2023-05-18T22:44:39
In the background of the debt ceiling fight between Congress and the Biden administration, we peek inside a little-known program created for citizens who want to help pay off the national debt. Thi...
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The man who busted the inflation-employment myth from 2023-05-18T00:22:37
Nobel-winning economist Robert Lucas Jr. died on Monday. His revolutionary theories transformed the field of macroeconomics. His influential "Lucas critique" argued economic policy must take into a...
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Does the U.S. have too many banks? from 2023-05-16T21:26:33
The United States is unusual in that it has thousands of relatively small and specialized banks. Even after adjusting for population size, countries like Canada, the U.K., India and Brazil have far...
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Do dollar store bans work? from 2023-05-15T23:01:14
In recent years, we've seen dozens of cities ban new dollar stores from opening up. The thinking goes, by keeping dollar stores out, it'll be easier to get much-needed grocery stores to come in. On...
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The debt ceiling deadline, German economy, and happy workers from 2023-05-12T22:10:01
It's Indicators of the Week! We round up the economic indicators that caught our attention ... Germany's economic resilience comes in the form of a heat pump. As debt-ceiling negotiations continue,...
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Twitter's concerning surge from 2023-05-11T22:31:18
Twitter's false labeling of the NPR Twitter account as "state-affiliated" put a spotlight on the website's handling of government-controlled accounts. Today, we talk to NPR tech reporter, Dara Kerr...
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Congress could do more to fight inflation from 2023-05-10T22:15:28
The rate of inflation is slowing, but still uncomfortably high, according to today's consumer price index report. The Federal Reserve has been front and center in fighting inflation, cranking up in...
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Housing dilemma in resort towns from 2023-05-09T20:15:01
Hot, fresh and kinda salty, the Beige Book is back! This time we're headed to the beach as businesses get ready for summer.
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What's the Commonwealth good for? from 2023-05-08T22:50:29
The coronation of King Charles III is putting the United Kingdom and its relationship with Commonwealth countries back in the spotlight. Today, we explore the economic links between the UK and Cari...
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Who's the boss in today's labor market? from 2023-05-05T22:06:40
It's one thing to quit your job and a completely other thing to get laid off or fired. A new indicator compares quits with firings and layoffs to measure who has more power in today's labor market,...
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President Biden: Climate champion or fossil fuel friend? from 2023-05-04T21:06:43
As a presidential candidate, Joe Biden promised to make climate change a major priority, But since taking office, President Joe Biden seems pretty friendly to the fossil fuel industry. What gives?<...
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How the Fed got so powerful from 2023-05-03T23:02:04
How much power does the Fed have? According to Fed Chair Jerome Powell, the limit basically does not exist! New York Times reporter Jeanna Smialek joins the show to talk about her new book...
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The banking system that loaned billions to SVB and First Republic from 2023-05-02T22:19:55
Unsung hero of the financial system or enabler of failing banks? Today on the show, how the Federal Home Loan Bank system, originally designed to support homeownership and affordable housing, ended...
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SVB, now First Republic: How it all started from 2023-05-02T00:56:01
The turmoil in the banking industry isn't over yet. Today, First Republic Bank was seized, following the failures of Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Bank back in March. How did we get here? And h...
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Our final thoughts on the influencer industry from 2023-04-28T21:05:47
As we wrap our series exploring the influencer marketing industry, we go to the cutting room floor for some extra insight into topics that we didn't have time for.
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The dark side of the influencer industry from 2023-04-27T20:17:25
When your lifestyle is your brand, the line between work and life can start to get blurred. From hate comments and sneaky contracts to prejudice and discrimination, it's not all sunshine and brand ...
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Gen Z's dream job in the influencer industry from 2023-04-26T21:01:50
'Do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life,' they said. How Gen Z is trying to do just that through ~influencing~
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The economics of the influencer industry from 2023-04-25T21:00:17
We wanted to know how many influencers are making a living from their content creation. Turns out, not many are. On today's episode of our series on the influencer industry, we meet a fashion influ...
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The origins of the influencer industry from 2023-04-24T21:43:10
This week, we're going deep into the multi-billion dollar influencer industry. Today, a researcher and two generations of influencers take us through the industry's history, from its origins in the...
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Dollar v. world / Taylor Swift v. FTX / Fox v. Dominion from 2023-04-21T23:49:21
Why does Brazil's President Lula go to bed every night thinking about the US dollar? Did Taylor Swift know crypto exchange FTX was trouble? That and more on this week's financial news roundup.
<...
'Let's Get It On' ... in court from 2023-04-20T23:52:07
Did Ed Sheeran steal from Marvin Gaye's "Let's Get It On" in his hit single "Thinking Out Loud"? That case heads to trial next week, and our guest says the outcome should matter to music-lovers eve...
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A tech billionaire goes missing in China from 2023-04-19T22:42:07
Earlier this year, Bao Fan, a prominent Chinese banker and tech billionaire, went missing in China. According to a statement from his company, he's "cooperating in an investigation being carried ou...
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The dating game that does your taxes from 2023-04-19T00:05:24
A video game where you go on dates and also prepare your federal tax return? We obviously had to play. Plus the IRS's 20 year journey to make tax prep free.
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Can forcing people to save cool inflation? from 2023-04-17T22:03:35
"Forced savings, you cowards!" Those aren't his exact words, but in 1940, macroeconomist John Maynard Keynes advocated for compulsory savings to help tame inflation during World War II. Could that ...
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Gloomy global growth, Tupperware troubles, RIP HBO Max from 2023-04-14T21:23:33
In this edition of Indicators of the Week, our hosts cover the latest news from the International Monetary Fund, Tupperware and the media conglomerate behind HBO Max — or is it just Max now?
When AI works in HR from 2023-04-13T22:13:49
Artificial intelligence has been portrayed as a solution to human bias. But, when it comes to finding top job talent, AI can get it just as wrong. So how can that be fixed?
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Prices: What goes up, doesn't always come down from 2023-04-12T23:31:31
Earlier in the pandemic, we saw many businesses raise their prices because of the higher costs they faced. So we wondered, now that some of those costs are coming down, will companies also pass alo...
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How one small change in Japan could sway U.S. markets from 2023-04-11T23:30:19
You've heard of the butterfly effect, right? A seemingly small action causes ripples in unexpected ways elsewhere. So, what would it mean if Japan's central bank raised interest rates on its 10-yea...
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The Fed's radical new bank band-aid from 2023-04-10T21:51:09
Recent bank failures are putting a spotlight on risky behaviors in the financial sector. The Federal Reserve is introducing a new way for banks to borrow money that's better for banks, but exposes ...
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How much is your reputation worth? from 2023-04-06T23:52:25
Dominion Voting Systems is seeking $1.6 billion in damages from Fox News, which if it wins, would be the biggest defamation verdict in U.S. history. So we wondered, how do you price a reputation?
Inside the underwater cables powering the economy from 2023-04-05T23:40:13
On the Internet, everything feels instantaneous. But how exactly did that data get to you? We'll take you on a virtual tour of the 19th-century technology that runs the modern world.
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The inverted yield curve is screaming RECESSION from 2023-04-04T22:20:35
There is one indicator that has predicted every recession since 1969, and that indicator is flashing red right now. It's the yield curve. But Mr. Yield Curve himself, Campbell Harvey, explains why ...
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What the "bonkers" bond market means for you from 2023-04-03T22:05:41
U.S. government bonds have long been seen as a steady, reliable place for investors. So why has this safe 'merry-go-round' option turned into a rickety roller coaster ride? We step into the financi...
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Binance lawsuit, bank failures and oil drilling from 2023-03-31T22:53:40
We cover some of this week's top economic stories: Cryptocurrency company Binance's legal issues, patching a hole in the banking system's rainy day fund, and newly approved waters for oil and gas d...
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The cost of a dollar in Ukraine from 2023-03-30T22:12:31
How one Ukrainian is circumventing the government exchange rate to turn U.S. dollars into medicine for Ukrainians near the front lines.
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What's the cure for America's doctor shortage? from 2023-03-30T01:35:20
The doctor shortage is a growing problem across the U.S. But there was a time when the government, researchers, and medical professionals worried about a doctor surplus.
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Batteries are catching fire at sea from 2023-03-28T23:05:40
Lithium-ion batteries—used in everything from smart phones and laptops to electric scooters and cars—are catching fire on land and at sea. A former cargo ship captain walks us through why these fir...
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Why tech bros are trying to give away all their money (kind of) from 2023-03-27T23:36:59
How do you do the most good in the world? Money and data! That's according to this new wave of philanthropy known as effective altruism, heralded by the likes of Sam Bankman-Fried. Today on the sho...
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Too many subscriptions, not enough organs from 2023-03-24T22:59:53
Our indicators of the week: how a federal agency is trying to make it easier for you to cancel your subscriptions. And what's being done to address the 100,000-plus person backlog for organ transpl...
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The wide open possibility of the high seas from 2023-03-23T20:44:39
The high seas — water 200 nautical miles from shore — are an ocean of possibility for industries looking to cash in. But without proper oversight, the problems could be as deep as the ocean itself....
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We grade Fed Chair Jerome Powell from 2023-03-23T00:31:52
We're putting Fed Chair Jerome Powell in the hot seat. Without fear and without favor, our guests look at Powell's record on jobs, inflation and financial stability.
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What banks do when no one's watching from 2023-03-21T23:08:35
Recent banking turmoil is shining a spotlight on the people whose job it is to monitor banks themselves. Today, we examine the bank examiners and learn why their job is so important for the banking...
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The demise of Credit Suisse from 2023-03-21T10:03:37
Credit Suisse was a 167-year-old financial giant. A favored place for the world's super-rich to stash their cash. So why did it collapse?
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Banks gone wild: SVB, Signature and moral hazard from 2023-03-17T23:18:41
The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank continues to ripple across banking and tech. Today, three indicators on the fallout, including what's next for some startup CEOs and why you might be hearing the...
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Need workers? Why not charter a private jet? from 2023-03-16T21:11:06
It's time for another edition of the Beigie Awards! Today, our winner comes through with one of the best anecdotes in Beigie history with a story about a Montana construction company that flew in w...
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New drugs. Cheaper drugs. Why not both? from 2023-03-15T22:15:04
Why are American consumers paying out the wazoo for drugs? Drug companies say it's because they need that money to fund the research and development that goes into making new life-saving drugs. Tod...
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The Fed's new dilemma: Protect banks or fight inflation? from 2023-03-14T23:17:31
Prices are rising. A major bank has collapsed. And the Fed is left holding the hose trying to put out these fires. The question of whether to raise interest rates or not just got even more challeng...
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Silicon Valley Bank's three fatal flaws from 2023-03-14T01:03:04
For decades, Silicon Valley Bank was the bank for thousands of startups and tech companies in the Bay Area. No longer. SVB's sudden failure last week has roiled the tech world. And it forced regula...
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We found the 'missing workers' from 2023-03-10T23:47:57
Millions of people opted out of the labor force during the pandemic, and the Federal Reserve's most recent update on the economy explains why. Today, we hear from people who made that decision to l...
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How three letters reinvented the railroad business from 2023-03-10T01:06:12
After a series of train derailments, the railroad industry is under scrutiny from politicians, the public and rail workers themselves. Many workers blame a relatively new management philosophy cal...
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Why some Indonesians worry about a $20 billion climate deal to get off coal from 2023-03-09T01:07:24
The U.S. is helping broker a $20 billion deal to transition Indonesia off coal. The hope is this climate financing plan could be a model to move other developing counties away from coal-fired elect...
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Listener Questions: baby booms, sewing patterns and rural inflation from 2023-03-07T23:15:01
It's another listener questions episode where we take on what you want to know! On today's show... We look at the U.S. birth rate. Are we booming or busting? Does the Consumer Price Index capture w...
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A trip to the Northern Ireland trade border from 2023-03-07T00:09:56
The UK's withdrawal from the European Union in 2020 came with plenty of challenges. And now one of its biggest — how to deal with Northern Ireland — may finally be resolved. On today's episode, we ...
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Is the government choosing winners and losers? from 2023-03-04T00:20:42
Washington is doubling down on the industries it wants to see grow. From semiconductor chips to lithium-ion batteries, we trace where the money is going and why. And which part's got the European U...
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Can India become the next high-tech hub? from 2023-03-03T00:25:16
For more than a decade, China has been a leader in global manufacturing, producing everything from trinkets and toys to advanced electronics. But there's another country looking to challenge China ...
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How venture capital built Silicon Valley from 2023-03-02T00:07:28
In 1957, a group of scientists fed up with their boss set the modern venture capital model in motion. Today, the story of the unconventional investment idea behind Silicon Valley startup culture an...
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Is price gouging a problem? from 2023-03-01T00:14:46
Consumers and politicians around the country are making a lot of noise about price gouging. But when do prices cross the line from simply high to something more painful? We talk to an economist to ...
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Know your economeme from 2023-02-27T23:03:12
From the depths of econ twitter straight to your podcast feed – this is economemes. Our guests bring us their favorite economic memes and explain what they mean. Can econ be funny? Only yo...
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The economic war against Russia, a year later from 2023-02-24T22:56:16
On this day one year ago, Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Today, we cover three indicators about the war's economic impact.
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Do work requirements help SNAP people out of government aid? from 2023-02-24T00:13:14
Do work requirements actually work? The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, will soon require some benefit recipients to work in order to receive government aid. New economic resear...
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Is Project Texas enough to save TikTok? from 2023-02-23T00:30:06
Americans love TikTok – 100 million of them and counting. So why are politicians at the federal, state and local levels on both sides of the aisle calling for the China-owned social media app to be...
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The 26 Words That Made The Internet What It Is (Encore) from 2023-02-22T01:22:26
How one man's legal fight turned 26 ambiguous words from a 1996 law into the shield big tech companies use today. This key part of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act is at the heart of t...
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Recession, retail, retaliation from 2023-02-18T00:15:28
Economic news of the week – from the government's new projections on unemployment and inflation to the latest retail spending numbers. Plus, what's the deal with companies retaliating against union...
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The social cost of carbon: a powerful tool and ethics nightmare from 2023-02-17T00:34:09
One of the most important tools the federal government has for cracking down on greenhouse gas emissions is a single number: the social cost of carbon. It represents all the damage from carbon emis...
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Microsoft vs. Google: Whose AI is better? from 2023-02-16T00:08:59
The quest for dominance in artificial intelligence is taking shape in the tech world with some familiar players. Both Google and Microsoft are spending billions to come out on top of the chatbot ar...
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Unwinding the wage-price spiral from 2023-02-15T00:43:57
The latest inflation numbers are out, and prices are up 6.4% from a year ago. This, coupled with an increase in wages compared to last year, may have some economists concerned about a possible wage...
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A deal's a deal...unless it's a 'yo-yo' car sale from 2023-02-13T23:56
Apparently the no-take-backs rule doesn't always apply when it comes to buying a car. Today on the show, how and why some dealerships can take back your car even after you've driven off the lot.
Super Bowl betting, snacks and corporate buybacks from 2023-02-11T00:12:15
It's indicators of the week, when we break down our favorite economic headlines! This one's for all the flavor dust lovers out there.
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What does the Adani Group's crash mean for India's economy? from 2023-02-10T00:13:28
Gautam Adani is no longer Asia's richest man. Since American firm Hindenburg Research released a scathing report last month alleging widespread fraud, market manipulation and corruption, the head o...
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Why a debt tsunami is coming for the global economy from 2023-02-08T23:41
Low-income countries are falling behind on their debt payments. Countries like Zambia, Chad and Sri Lanka have already defaulted, and others could be on the brink. Today, we examine the escalating ...
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Salvaging democratic capitalism, with Martin Wolf from 2023-02-08T00:44:42
Open markets together with free and fair elections have long been the American ideal. But, in his new book, Financial Times chief economics commentator Martin Wolf argues this is a fragile marriage...
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The Indicator Quiz: Inflation from 2023-02-06T21:56:09
It's another Indicator Quiz episode! We bring a listener onto the show and test their knowledge on inflation.
Are you interested in being a contestant on our next Indicator Quiz? Just em...
Is it hot in here, or is it just the new jobs numbers? from 2023-02-03T23:51:02
The U.S. economy is red hot, adding 517,000 jobs in January. Unemployment is at its lowest rate in more than 50 years. So why are there so many jobs when there's talk about a possible recession?
Arthur Burns: shorthand for Fed failure? from 2023-02-02T23:36:04
History remembers Arthur Burns as the Fed chair who let inflation run rampant. That's precisely the outcome that current Fed chair Jerome Powell wants to avoid. Today, we look back at the '70s to f...
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The Beigie Awards: All about inventory from 2023-02-01T22:40:42
A Fed vice president gets a new pair of shoes. Does that mean supply chains are fixed?
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The return of Chinese tourism? from 2023-02-01T00:16:03
Chinese citizens are once again allowed to travel internationally and the global tourism industry is ready to welcome them with open arms. Why? Chinese tourism has meant big money in the past. In 2...
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Artists vs. AI from 2023-01-30T23:32:27
Advancements in artificial intelligence are making replicating the work of artists much easier. Some artists are arguing that AI art generators have been breaking the law to do this. Today, we talk...
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Indicators of the Week: tips, eggs and whisky from 2023-01-28T01:14:25
Tips, eggs and whisky...it's a food edition of Indicators of the Week! We talk egg-spensive food costs and why at least one whisky drinker is upset with the maker of Fireball.
For more ...
What's the deal with the platinum coin? from 2023-01-26T23:08:48
Forget extraordinary measures. Today we're going full extra extraordinary. How a trillion-dollar platinum coin could get the country around the debt ceiling limit.
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Want a balanced federal budget? It'll cost you. from 2023-01-26T00:50:48
The U.S. reached its debt ceiling last week, and some lawmakers say they won't raise it unless there are also cuts to balance the budget. The problem? That would mean 25% reductions everywhere.
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A big bank's big mistake, explained from 2023-01-25T00:17:52
One of the world's biggest banks acquires a promising tech company, and things go very, very wrong. It's a flashy tech startup story with some surprisingly low-tech twists and a web of alleged lie...
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The great turnaround in shipping from 2023-01-23T22:21:27
Prices for shipping carriers have gone back down to 2019 price levels after record highs during the pandemic. So what does this mean for consumers and businesses who rely on international trade?
Can China save its economy - and ours? from 2023-01-21T00:45:26
What's up with China's GDP, what's down with China's population numbers, and what Marvel's return tells us. Indicators from China to bring in the Lunar New Year.
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Simon says we're stuck with the debt ceiling (Encore) from 2023-01-19T23:24:27
The debt ceiling approaches. A congressional standoff ensues. It wasn't always this way. So where did the debt ceiling come from? And how do other countries control their debt?
This epis...
Did AI write this headline? from 2023-01-18T23:29:10
A chatbot that can do your homework for you? Sounds like every student's dream. But one college senior is building an app to call out the fakes.
For more HUMAN WRITTEN content like this...
A chat with the president of the San Francisco Fed from 2023-01-18T00:50:28
Today, a conversation with Mary Daly, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. Her family faced the pain of high prices and a turbulent economy decades ago, so she dropped out of hig...
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CEO predictions, rural voters on the economy and IRS audits from 2023-01-14T00:13
We comb through the surveys, polls, and reports so you don't have to! Three caught our attention for Indicators of the Week: one asking CEOs on whether we're headed for a recession, another on the ...
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Jobs vs prices: the Fed's dueling mandates from 2023-01-13T00:32:04
The Federal Reserve has a dual mandate: keeping prices stable (and inflation low) and promoting "maximum employment." But sometimes, as the Fed attacks one goal, it can potentially hurt the other. ...
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The pregnant workers fairness act, explained from 2023-01-11T23:40:27
What happens if someone can't perform their job in the same way because of pregnancy? Until now, they could be sent home without pay – essentially lose their job. But a new law aims to change that,...
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From Brexit to Regrexit from 2023-01-11T00:33:29
In 2016, the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union. More than 6 years later, a majority of voters are feeling some buyer's remorse. Today, we cover what's changed since Brexit. For s...
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The precarity of the H-1B work visa from 2023-01-10T01:34:43
Many sectors of the American economy depend on foreign nationals holding H-1B work visas for valuable skilled labor. But if a H-1B visa holder gets laid off, they're on their own.
For sp...
Jobs Friday: Why apprenticeships could make a comeback from 2023-01-07T00:03:42
Apprenticeships: not just for medieval guilds, but also useful in today's tight labor market! More employers in fields such as healthcare are turning to apprenticeship programs to train new hires f...
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The never-ending strike from 2023-01-05T22:04:40
The average labor strike lasts just over 40 days, but a union of coal miners in Alabama has been on strike for over a year and a half. Protesting for that long requires help, both from the communit...
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Listener Questions: Airline tickets, grocery pricing and the Fed from 2023-01-04T22:38:15
Dear listeners: You had questions, and we have answers! Today, we're digging into airline fares, buying in bulk at the supermarket and the Fed's wacky (?) district boundaries. It's a listener quest...
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How to keep your New Year's resolutions (Encore) from 2023-01-03T22:19:47
This episode originally came out in January 2022. We're back with a new episode tomorrow!
It's a new year, and many people are excited for their fresh starts. But, it's no secret th...
The secret to upward mobility: Friends (Indicator favorite) from 2022-12-30T23:57:57
This week, we're sharing some of our favorite Indicator episodes from 2022! Today, we hear one of our most downloaded from the year. This episode originally came out in August.
Who ...
AP Macro gets a makeover (Indicator favorite) from 2022-12-29T22:38:35
This week, we're sharing some of our favorite Indicator episodes from 2022! Today, we hear one of Darian's favorite episodes. It originally came out in August.
Today on the show, wh...
Are you being tricked into working harder? (Indicator favorite) from 2022-12-28T22:17:18
This week, we're sharing some of our favorite Indicator episodes from 2022! Today, we hear one of Adrian's favorite episodes. It originally came out in September.
"Gamification" as ...
How new words get minted (Indicator favorite) from 2022-12-27T22:03:25
This week, we're sharing some of our favorite Indicator episodes from 2022! Today, we hear one of Wailin's favorite episodes. It originally came out in September.
Shrinkflation, yee...
We battle Planet Money for indicator of the year from 2022-12-23T21:32:27
We love a good competition, so we brought on two Planet Money hosts for a special edition of indicators of the year. Who will take home the title of the indicator that's defined this year? You deci...
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How 2% became the target for inflation from 2022-12-23T00:01:50
Most people assume that when the Fed says a two percent inflation target is best for the economy, they're correct. But that number is more arbitrary than it seems, and some economists are pushing b...
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Interest rates up, but not on your savings account from 2022-12-21T23:09:35
When the Fed hikes interest rates, the interest rate on your savings account usually follows in step. But recently, that logic hasn't held up. We ask an economist and a community banker why.
The overlooked power of Latino consumers from 2022-12-21T01:19:32
The U.S. economy does a bad job of serving the Latino population. Today, we hear from a researcher about why changing that is a win-win, and from one entrepreneur who took matters into her own hand...
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A solution to the housing shortage? from 2022-12-19T23:45:04
Residential construction is one of the few industries that's gotten less productive over time. Modular housing, or building homes in factories to be assembled onsite, offers a solution.
...
Big entertainment bets: World Cup&Avatar from 2022-12-16T23:55:05
The sequel to Avatar has been hyped up for over a decade, but Covid outbreaks in China threaten its box office success. And the World Cup champion will have more than glory to celebrate — its GDP s...
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When startups become workhorses, not unicorns from 2022-12-16T03:38:55
Venture capital investors pour money into startups in hopes of landing a unicorn—a $1 billion company. But what happens to the companies that don't reach that status?
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Real estate, real wages, real supply chain madness from 2022-12-14T23:51:36
Way back in January, when the economy was in a very different place, we picked three indicators to watch. Almost 12 months later, we're seeing how they fared.
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How inflation expectations affect the economy from 2022-12-14T02:28:11
Consumers' and businesses' inflation expectations usually stay safely anchored at the Fed's two percent target. But recently, that anchor has been slipping. It's one of the reasons inflation has ri...
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Revitalizing American innovation from 2022-12-12T23:48:21
Since World War II, the United States has prided itself on being a global leader in technological innovation. But shepherding those innovations from the lab to the masses has proven to be a stickin...
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The state of the American consumer from 2022-12-10T01:52:38
Should we be worried about a recession? New polling shows that auto dealers certainly are. But leftover pandemic stimulus money is one of the biggest buffers holding one off.
2022 is alm...
Where inflation hits hardest from 2022-12-08T23:35:22
The most recent Beige Book featured a little of everything — economic anecdotes from around the country, some positive, some not so good. But one Fed branch's contribution stood about above the res...
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Impact investing, part 2: Can money meet morals? from 2022-12-08T00:24:14
In part two of our ESG series, we speak with two insiders who have been involved with ESG since before it was cool. To them, it's come a long way — and is now mainstream enough to have a real impac...
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Impact investing, part 1: Money, meet morals from 2022-12-07T00:11:31
ESG investing claims to pursue both profits and morals at once. But is it really the future of finance, or just a PR sham? In part one of our series on the topic, a former ESG guy argues the latter...
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Reading the stock market tea leaves from 2022-12-06T01:45:05
Technical analysis, or finding patterns in stock charts to predict future price movements, is like cloud watching: You can see pretty much anything if you squint hard enough. Even a vomiting camel....
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Should we worry about another dot-com bust? from 2022-12-03T00:45:14
This jobs Friday, we look to the tech sector, where companies are laying off thousands of workers in a rapid reversal of their pandemic-era hiring boom. What effects could tech layoffs have on the ...
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Water works (except when it doesn't) from 2022-12-02T14:22:03
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 complica...
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How Elon bought Twitter with other people's money from 2022-12-01T00:10:11
Elon Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion, but almost a third of it was in loans—and Twitter's on the hook to pay them back. This strategy, popular in the '80s, is called a leveraged buyout.
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The American Dream adrift from 2022-11-30T00:03:16
NYU professor Scott Galloway thinks America is drifting — away from investing in a strong middle class, and away from prosperity for all. Today on the show, he brings us the indicators that explain...
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The Indicator Quiz: Crypto and GDP from 2022-11-28T23:40:29
Indicator fans and trivia fanatics, this one's for you. In our first ever Indicator Quiz episode, we invite a listener onto the show and test their knowledge on crypto and GDP.
Are you i...
Inflation hits the Thanksgiving dinner table from 2022-11-24T02:12:12
Thanksgiving isn't immune from inflation — an annual survey recently found that a holiday meal for four is 20 percent more expensive than it was last year. We bring the Indicator team around the di...
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Test driving a four-day work week from 2022-11-23T00:03:52
Doing more by working less sounds like an oxymoron, but a slew of recent studies show that switching to a four-day workweek is linked with greater health, happiness and productivity for workers.
Ticket scalpers and the Taylor Swift fiasco (Encore) from 2022-11-21T23:18:32
For most people, buying scalped tickets may be the only way to see Taylor Swift's Eras tour. Thanks, Ticketmaster. But economically speaking, the resale market is more complicated than it seems.
More money, more carbon? from 2022-11-18T23:09:57
For this week's series finale, we explain Indonesia's climate deal, why nobody came #1 in the CCPI's climate rankings and whether it's possible to grow an economy without increasing carbon emission...
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The carbon coin: A novel idea from 2022-11-17T22:36:57
What if we could engineer a path towards solving the climate crisis...with monetary policy? Kim Stanley Robinson's novel The Ministry for the Future considers this question, and the idea i...
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An economic argument for heat safety regulation from 2022-11-16T22:24
Extreme heat takes a toll on workers. From heatstroke to an increased likelihood of workplace accidents, protecting employees from heat illness is a growing priority for state legislatures. We talk...
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Blue bonds: A market solution to the climate crisis? from 2022-11-15T22:19:02
Low- and middle-income countries are facing the worst consequences of the climate crisis, and rising global interest rates are making it harder to repay their debts. What if there was a way to solv...
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How electric vehicles got their juice from 2022-11-14T22:51:40
CATL is a hugely important company that a lot of people probably haven't heard of. It's grown from nothing to become the world's largest EV battery supplier — with some strong help from the Chinese...
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The midterm effect, and a crypto collapse from 2022-11-12T02:29:23
Crypto? Not doing well right now. But stocks? With elections soon to be behind us, history says they should be on the rise. This week's indicators explain the story behind FTX's bankruptcy and why ...
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Hedonic adjustment: how to measure pleasure from 2022-11-11T00:04:35
We all need a little hedonism in our lives sometimes. A spa day, a good meal ... and modeling to account for quality change? Today, how economists model pleasure – and what it means for inflation d...
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Economists hate car dealerships too from 2022-11-09T23:29:11
Let's face it: buying a new car sucks. From the hidden dealership fees to the reams of paperwork, it just seems harder than it should be. Well, economically speaking, it is – and today, we explain ...
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COP-out: who's liable for climate change destruction? from 2022-11-08T23:34:36
As the COP27 climate conference begins, a tricky economic question is on the table: should wealthy nations compensate their lower-income neighbors who suffer most from the climate crisis? And how?<...
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Unions but make them grunge from 2022-11-07T22:56:31
The labor union playbook just doesn't work like it used to. While unions enjoy the spotlight right now, they've faced years of declines. So advocates are deploying what one might call a grungier ta...
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Could foreign workers unlock America's tight labor market? from 2022-11-04T23:36:19
The U.S. economy added 261,000 jobs in October, meaning there are still about two jobs available for each unemployed person. Could expanding the H2-B visa program for temporary foreign workers help...
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An end to China's rare earth monopoly? from 2022-11-03T23:05:37
Rare earth metals are everywhere – in cars, drones, the device you're listening on right now — and China has the market cornered. But a new laboratory breakthrough could level the playing field.
John Taylor's formula for the Fed from 2022-11-03T00:54:44
Today the Fed raised interest rates to just under 4%. The Taylor Rule says this should have happened a year ago. We talk to John Taylor about letting a formula do the work instead.
For s...
The hidden market for your location data from 2022-11-01T22:56:33
Your smartphone is pretty bad at keeping secrets – if it keeps track of your location, someone (or some app) almost definitely knows where you are. Today, the murky market for personal location dat...
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The Grim Reaper of retail: Spirit Halloween from 2022-10-31T23:12:53
Spirit Halloween is known for its unique business model. On Halloween, we bring you an episode of It's...
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GDP, LNG and Meta's Q3 from 2022-10-29T01:06:20
How did energy-starved Europe end up with too much natural gas? New GDP numbers look strong, but how is the economy really doing? And is Meta betting too big on the metaverse? This week's ...
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What's in a name? Maybe a job from 2022-10-27T21:43:26
What's in a name? New research shows that for some people, employment prospects could be on the line. We hear from two economists who looked at hundreds of econ Ph.D. students to find out if the on...
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The Beigie Awards: Inflation, refrigeration and apple cultivation from 2022-10-27T00:08:35
An apple a day keeps the doctor away, but it's keeping the Fed up at night. For this month's Beigie Awards, we look at how high energy prices and a strong dollar are disrupting the global apple mar...
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Productivity and workforce whiplash from 2022-10-25T22:26:58
Labor productivity, historically the engine of American economic supremacy, is faltering. And even in a tight labor market, some workers are feeling less valued by their employers than ever before....
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The mess at the heart of China's economy from 2022-10-24T23:30:31
Xi Jinping was reappointed as China's leader over the weekend. He faces a housing market crisis that could put China's overall economy at risk.
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Three international indicators from 2022-10-22T00:23:19
Turkish interest rates, U.K. bond yields, Chinese GDP data (or lack thereof?) ... Our indicators this week bring us around the globe in just 10 minutes. Strap on those seatbelts!
For spo...
The UK's productivity problem from 2022-10-21T01:31:30
The Liz Truss era is over. Headlines blame her budget fiasco, but we talk through the deeper story: slowing economic productivity in the UK.
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Why the US cut China off from advanced chips from 2022-10-19T23:05:36
A week before the Communist Party of China's 20th congress kicked off, the US government announced comprehensive new rules blocking China's access to advanced semiconductor chips. It's a sign the B...
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Why you can't find a vet from 2022-10-18T22:38:09
Juneau, Alaska doesn't have enough veterinarians. Nate Hegyi, host of the podcast Outside/In from member station NHPR, brings us there to show how the pandem...
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Can credit card codes help address gun violence? from 2022-10-17T20:59:58
Every time you swipe a credit card, you produce data—and now, a new tool could make it easier for the financial industry to identify suspicious gun purchases. But will companies want to use it?
...
Rents, retirees and rail strikes from 2022-10-15T00:52:26
It's been a busy week for the economy: our key indicators cover key topics related to social security increases, rent and its relationship with recent CPI data, and a looming rail strike. All aboar...
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Why oil shocks are getting less shocking from 2022-10-13T22:12:28
Gas prices have been dropping, but production cuts from OPEC+ and new inflation data bring back memories of oil shocks of the 1970s. However, the U.S. economy is better prepared now than it was then.
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The IMF, explained from 2022-10-13T00:18:47
The IMF has been in the news for its criticism of the UK government's recent budget. But what exactly is the organization, and how does it fulfill its mission to achieve global economic prosperity?
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Bernanke, bank bailouts and the economics Nobel from 2022-10-12T03:29:27
Former Fed chair Ben Bernanke and two colleagues were awarded an economics Nobel for research on the role banks play in financial crises — research that's shaped the global financial system.
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Jobs Friday: The problem with disability support from 2022-10-07T23:10:15
Social Security Disability Insurance helps support millions of Americans, but it's a slow-moving program that rejects most people who apply.
This Jobs Friday: The 10 million working-age peo...
Why are stocks and bonds both falling? from 2022-10-07T01:27:17
Ever had a pet turtle? Try a pet bond! They're a reliable addition to your 401k that can be valuable even when stocks are down. We discuss why bonds belong in your terrarium (or retirement plan).
The economics behind sorority rush from 2022-10-05T21:47:42
How does sorority rush relate to organ donations, doctors, and New York high schools? Put on your best pearls because we're market matching with a Nobel Prize economist today.
For spons...
A Marshall Plan for Ukraine from 2022-10-04T23:43:31
What will rebuilding Ukraine look like after the war with Russia ends? No one knows, but some are taking a page out of the history textbook for inspiration. Perhaps, a Marshall Plan 2.0 for Ukraine...
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AAPI and the problems of categorizing race from 2022-10-04T00:29:28
When confronted with racial categories, which box do you tick? For Asian Americans, the grouping called AAPI – that's Asian American and Pacific Islander – is a strangely broad and ambiguous catego...
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Indicators of the Week: Markets Edition from 2022-09-30T22:40:37
Sound the alarms because Britain's financial markets are in turmoil. That, plus the upticking 'fear gauge,' and Porsche's vrooming public debut on indicators of the week. Markets edition.
<...
The financial web connecting Afghanistan, the US, and Switzerland from 2022-09-30T00:47:40
What happens when a country's foreign reserves are stored in another country, and then part of that is run by a third? No, it's not the start of a bad joke. It's the story of Afghanistan, the U.S.,...
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The mighty US dollar (Encore) from 2022-09-28T23:05:35
According to the U.S Dollar Index, the U.S Dollar reached a twenty year peak. Today, we're revisiting a classic episode to ask: What exactly are the pros and cons to U.S dollar dominance?
<...
Is your new CEO a liability? from 2022-09-27T22:45:03
What's cooking in the executive suite? Today, delve deep into the world of corporate investigations. Learn how checking the facts can avoid some seriously salacious scandals.
For sponso...
How new words get minted from 2022-09-26T21:01:42
Shrinkflation, yeet, supply chain, unbanked. What do these terms have in common? They're some of Merriam-Webster's newest dictionary entries!
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Housing, yen, supply chains vs. the Fed from 2022-09-23T22:52:03
When interest rates are on the up and up, the housing market tends to slide down and down. That, plus the declining value of the Japanese yen, and updates about the global supply chain on indicator...
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Are you being tricked into working harder? from 2022-09-23T00:33:19
"Gamification" as we know it has become increasingly common since the late 2000s. And proponents say adding game-like features to non-game activities — especially boring ones — can make us healthie...
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Killing the economic polar bear from 2022-09-21T23:16:34
When Knut the polar bear was rejected by his mother at the Berlin Zoo, a debate caught fire over whether it was more humane to keep him alive or euthanize him. Today, as the Fed raises interest rat...
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Patagonia's tax break, explained from 2022-09-21T01:40:40
Surf's up with the IRS! Patagonia's founder Yvon Chouinard recently gave his company and billionaire status away. But how he did so entails a complex tale of trusts, exemptions and a whole lot of t...
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The fake market in crypto from 2022-09-19T23:10:13
According to a Forbes report, half of all Bitcoin trades are fake. Today, we unveil crypto's cryptic facade by diving deep into a classic concept: Wash trading.
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Poverty, heists, .eth: Coulda been worse from 2022-09-17T00:35:18
Hands up! A bank heist with a toy gun exposes the chaos in Lebanon's financial system. That, plus declining child poverty rates, and Ethereum's "Merge" on indicators of the week.
For sp...
The Beigie Awards: Tough choices for ranchers from 2022-09-15T23:05:30
The September Beige Book is an emotional roller coaster. We crown the Federal Reserve bank who gave us the funniest and most poignant anecdotes about the economy.
For sponsor-free episo...
A super-sized labor experiment from 2022-09-14T23:14:56
How would you like your burger? With a side of higher wages? Today on the menu, California's FAST Recovery Act is rethinking labor relations for the fast food industry.
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Russia tips into default...or does it? from 2022-04-20T17:56:28
Russia is on the verge of doing something it hasn't done since 1918: default on its foreign debt. Today, we explore what's happening and why Russia and its creditors may be headed for a long, messy...
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Cracking the code on cyber insurance from 2022-04-19T19:16:14
In the wake of the war in Ukraine, American companies are preparing themselves for potential Russian cyber attacks. Many of them will need to rely on an insurance system that has historically looke...
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Land of opportunity (zones) from 2022-04-18T18:22:25
A policy designed to draw investment to economically distressed communities has clearly benefited wealthy investors in the form of tax breaks. But the benefit to the communities is less clear.
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Replacing the cult of the entrepreneur from 2022-04-14T18:09:29
The development of the Moderna vaccine was the culmination of decades of scientific research. This research was able to flourish thanks in large part to Flagship Pioneering and its founder, Noubar ...
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Yield curve jitters from 2022-04-13T18:14:20
Part of the yield curve has been inverting. This caused panic because the yield curve has a stunning track record at predicting recessions. But wait! A familiar friend helped us calm down.
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Who eats the cost of higher food prices? from 2022-04-12T19:37:24
Low-income households spend a disproportionate amount of their income on food and as inflation continues to spike, especially when it comes to food prices, these families are particularly vulnerabl...
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Elon Musk and the fear of the activist investor from 2022-04-11T18:54:20
Elon Musk is not shy about the changes he'd like to see with Twitter. So now that he is the largest shareholder in the social media giant, some fear he could become an activist investor.
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Inflation indicators: Fed chatter, global inflation and used cars from 2022-04-08T17:24:30
Inflation is one of the hottest topics in economics. So naturally, it's all we wanted to talk about in this edition of Indicators of the Week!
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Insuring music venues during a pandemic from 2022-04-07T18:45:23
The pandemic forced the closure of music venues around the country. Owners of many of these businesses believed their existing insurance policies would help them weather the storm. But, as it turns...
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How green laws stop green projects from 2022-04-06T18:10:10
America has a goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. Without serious changes to lifestyles, that means dramatic investments in green energy. But environmental laws are getting in the way.
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How Ukraine kept banks afloat and money flowing from 2022-04-05T19:36:53
The Russian invasion meant Ukraine's central bank had to work to avoid financial collapse. We hear from an economist and a Ukrainian bank CEO about how they're keeping money moving.
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Rationing: How it works and why it doesn't from 2022-04-04T18:49:45
Russia's invasion of Ukraine is forcing Germany to rethink its reliance on Russian energy, particularly natural gas. And as it looks for solutions, the nation is talking about something economists ...
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Smells like teen jobs numbers from 2022-04-01T20:24:06
The economic recovery is still hot with a streak of strong jobs reports over the last couple of months. One of the groups benefiting from this strong labor market are teenagers.
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The weapons supply chain from 2022-03-31T19:03:45
Ukraine has been receiving a steady stream of weapons from the United States and NATO for the past several weeks. Like the goods that come to your door, these weapons have to go through a supply ch...
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War: The cost to Russia from 2022-03-30T19:14:38
In the past, war can sometimes boost parts of the economy. After World War 2, the United States emerged as an economic superpower. The same, however, is highly unlikely for Russia in its current wa...
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Whistleblower protection program from 2022-03-29T18:40:37
Whistleblowers are essential tools for agencies like the SEC in their efforts to root out corporate malfeasance. Jordan Thomas knows this better than anyone, as he helped create the government agen...
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The economic impacts of a census miscount from 2022-03-28T19:39:29
The census is an important tool for determining where federal funding is most needed. So what happens when those communities most in need are undercounted? Today, we cover the local economics of th...
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Russian stocks and sanctioned gold from 2022-03-25T19:02:18
The economic pressure on Russia continues to build a month after its Ukraine invasion. How Russia is handling its stock market reopening and how the United States plans to close more sanction looph...
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Destroying personal digital data from 2022-03-24T19:03:55
The Federal Trade Commission's hammer hit a weight loss app geared towards children earlier this month. What this decision means for businesses, consumers and online privacy.
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How an empty office becomes a home from 2022-03-23T18:42
One of the consequences of stronger remote work culture is the abandonment of office space. These empty buildings have created opportunities for real estate developers to create housing in American...
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Forging new links in a supply chain from 2022-03-22T18:46:40
The COVID-19 pandemic exposed the vulnerabilities in the global supply chain, including here in the United States. But when outsourcing failed, one textile manufacturer in Massachusetts came up wit...
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Race, racism, and tax law from 2022-03-21T17:50:57
Although there is no mention of race in the U.S. tax code, tax law professor Dorothy Brown believes race and taxes are closely intertwined.
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Three indicators from the $1.5 trillion omnibus bill from 2022-03-18T18:40:06
President Biden quietly signed a $1.5 trillion omnibus spending bill this week. It funds a lot of different programs, but what three are our indicators of the week?
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Ukraine's warzone economy from 2022-03-17T19:23:50
Russia's invasion has forced Ukrainian businesses to mobilize for the broader war effort. How are the people on the ground adjusting and what are they doing to support themselves?
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How mortgage rates get made from 2022-03-16T19:19:27
All eyes were on the Federal Reserve today as it hiked interest rates. What does the 0.25% increase mean for people borrowing money? And how exactly does the Federal Reserve raise interest rates?
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Of oligarchs and silovarchs from 2022-03-15T18:21:04
Governments in the United States, Europe, the United Kingdom and other countries have placed harsh sanctions on Russian oligarchs. But they may have missed the most influential people in Putin's in...
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Conflict and high food prices (Update) from 2022-03-14T18:09:54
Climate change, farmworker shortages and increasing transportation costs were already driving global food prices higher and higher. What happens when you add war to the mix?
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What do McDonald's stores, oil, and nickel have in common? from 2022-03-11T18:35:29
It's another edition of indicators of the week! Today, we take a look at the wide-ranging effects Russia's invasion is having on corporations and commodities.
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Corporate greed or just pandemic pricing? from 2022-03-10T17:22:49
Some House Democrats continued to blame high inflation on greedy corporations this week. Today, we'll fact-check that claim.
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The blunt weapons of Russia's central bank from 2022-03-09T17:53:36
Heavy sanctions on Russia have forced Central Bank of Russia Governor, Elvira Nabiullina, to get creative. What steps is she taking to keep Russia's economy afloat?
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The curious case of odious debt from 2022-03-08T19:04:07
A dispute going back to 2013 involving Russia and Ukraine and $3 billion in bonds has revived a discussion about a legal concept called odious debt. What is it and how does the current conflict c...
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Cryptocurrency, a safe haven? from 2022-03-07T19:03:15
Safe-haven assets like U.S. government bonds and gold are seeing heightened interest from investors due to the uncertainty caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. So why are volatile cryptocurre...
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Adding American Indians and Alaska Natives to Jobs Friday from 2022-03-04T19:12
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has finally added American Indian and Alaska Native labor data to its monthly jobs numbers. Why it's important and how the Minneapolis Fed proved it was possible.
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All eyes on OPEC from 2022-03-03T18:51:46
OPEC produces over half of the world's internationally traded crude oil. How did this organization come about and what does it have to do with the war in Ukraine?
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Will China come to Russia's rescue? from 2022-03-02T18:50:55
Despite ups and downs, China has become Russia's most important trading partner. And some suspect China may support Russia as it deals with the economic fallout from sanctions imposed due to its in...
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Economic warfare vs. Fortress Russia from 2022-03-01T19:15:40
President Vladimir Putin spent years trying to sanction-proof Russia's economy. With recent sanctions from the West, his Fortress Russia idea is now being put to the test.
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Who's gonna take care of grandma? from 2022-02-28T18:13:37
Eldercare has been hit extremely hard since the pandemic began. A severe nursing shortage is lowering the availability and quality of care for seniors. What can be done to reverse course?
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How the Ukraine crisis could affect your pocketbook from 2022-02-25T18:40:17
Russia's invasion of Ukraine has sent markets all over the world into a frenzy. Just how widespread could the economic fallout be?
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Three Russia economic indicators from 2022-02-24T20:28:24
With Russia's invasion of Ukraine, we break down three economic takeaways from the invasion – the impact on oil prices, the global supply chain, and the strength of the Russian economy.
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2021 was the year of the cyber heist from 2022-02-23T18:47:38
A New York couple was recently arrested for laundering billions of dollars worth of stolen cryptocurrency assets. If the blockchain is so secure, how were federal officials able to catch them?
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How to understand a trillion from 2022-02-22T19:26:02
Indicators are all around us — but do we really understand these numbers' size and what they mean? Today, a data teacher gives us some tips on how to put these figures into perspective.
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Indicators of the week: "Clean" hydrogen, criminal records, coffee from 2022-02-18T18:47:19
The price of coffee beans is surging, the Biden administration wants to reduce the price of hydrogen and the surprising number of unemployed young men with a criminal record.
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Backwardation in the oil market from 2022-02-17T18:29:11
Oil prices are on the rise, but futures markets see them lower than where they are now. This is known as backwardation. Today, we learn what's behind this phenomenon.
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How Hollywood changed the US wine industry from 2022-02-16T19:51:49
The Academy Award-winning film, Sideways, is often credited with decimating sales for merlot and elevating taste for pinot noir. Some economists tried to prove it.
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Where are all the COVID-19 bankruptcies? from 2022-02-15T19:25:56
For much of the pandemic, government aid helped lower the number of personal bankruptcies dramatically. With those measures ending, close observers say a sharp increase is likely.
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The Indicator's bet on the Super Bowl from 2022-02-14T19:47:12
If sports bettors in the U.S. have a sacred holiday, it might be the Super Bowl.
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Indicators of the week: International trade edition from 2022-02-11T19:00:12
Our indicators of the week have to do with trade. On one hand, protests against covid restrictions on the Canadian border are blocking trade with America's biggest trading partner. On the other, a ...
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How to bring down inflation from 2022-02-10T18:14:08
Today, inflation hit a 40-year high of 7.5%. The Federal Reserve is expected to start raising interest rates next month, but how exactly does that affect inflation?
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Nightmare on wall street? from 2022-02-09T19:23:32
January was a rocky month for many tech companies as earnings reports came in. Paddy Hirsch joins the show to share what's scaring many investors in this correction market.
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Doing business quietly in Beijing from 2022-02-08T18:05:46
The 2022 Beijing Olympics are in full swing. But do many of the official sponsors seem a little quiet?
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Five vital signs for scaling your big idea from 2022-02-07T18:09:53
The Mcdonald's Arch Deluxe is one of the most infamous product failures in history. Economist John List helps us understand what happened and how it could've been averted.
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Jobs Friday: Return of the airhorn? from 2022-02-04T19:23:49
The January jobs report exceeded the expectations of many. Will the better-than-expected numbers merit the return of our old friend the airhorn?
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Black Agenda: A conversation with Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman from 2022-02-03T19:32:33
Anna Gifty Opoku-Agyeman is a rising star in the world of economics. Today, she joins us to talk about the collection of essays she edited, Black Agenda: Bold Solutions for a Broken System.
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The Beigie Awards: Begging for bus drivers from 2022-02-02T18:45:44
Trouble attracting employees has some companies offering free pet care and "No-meeting Wednesdays." One CEO was "liberally begging" for workers.
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Multimillion dollar music catalogs from 2022-02-01T18:03:54
An increasing number of major musicians are selling their songwriting catalogs for tens – and even hundreds – of millions of dollars. What's going on?
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Is it time to control rent? from 2022-01-31T18:00:12
Rent control is one of the most unpopular policies among economists and policy reporters. But current housing shortages have one long-time critic rethinking her position.
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Revisiting Indicators: Bitcoin, masks, GDP from 2022-01-28T19:39:57
The team comes together to showcase what's happened since we last checked on some previous headline-grabbing indicators.
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Revenge of the venture capitalists from 2022-01-27T17:53:41
Uber's CEO Travis Kalanick grew the company fast, but oversaw scandal after scandal. One venture capitalist wanted Travis out. Today: The epic tug-of-war between venture capital and founders in tech.
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Cheese wars from 2022-01-26T18:52
A US District Court just ruled Gruyere cheese can be made outside of the Swiss French border region – including here in the US. Today, what this court battle over a cheese has to do with global trade.
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The opioid business plan from 2022-01-25T18:57:35
Insys Therapeutics was an opioid startup that made lots of money for its addictive nasal spray. Today, we hear from Evan Hughes, author of the book Hard Sell: Crime and Punishment at an Opioid ...
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Overdraft fees: From perk to penalty from 2022-01-24T17:59
Banks make billions on overdraft fees every year. So why are some of them walking away now?
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Indicators to watch in 2022 from 2022-01-21T16:59:16
It's a new year so that means it's time to choose our indicators to watch! Listen to find out what we will be tracking in the economy for 2022.
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How a bank messaging system could decimate Russia from 2022-01-20T18:29:43
Russia has the United States and its allies worried about a potential invasion of Ukraine. One of the most painful sanctions NATO could impose would cut Russia's economy from the world.
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Even you can buy a house with cash from 2022-01-19T18:45:21
In this frenzied housing market, offering cash gives you a huge advantage. It used to be only wealthy people and investors could do it. But now some lenders will let everyday homebuyers put in a ca...
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Metabucks: Microsoft offers $69 billion to buy Activision Blizzard from 2022-01-18T20:00
Microsoft just announced its intention to buy video game developer, Activision Blizzard, for almost $70 billion. This has some people speculating about Microsoft's future metaverse aspirations.
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TikTok made me buy it from 2022-01-14T18:22:45
TikTok has become one of the most popular social media platforms in the world, and increasingly, a powerful tool for marketing. Today, we learn why TikTok makes us buy.
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What nails can tell us about the economy from 2022-01-13T18:07:38
Despite being fairly simple items, nails can actually reveal a lot about the greater economy. Today, we talk to economist Dan Sichel Listen
The beef over price controls from 2022-01-12T18:42:01
Inflation reached a 40-year high today of 7%! There's been a storm of debate about an old anti-inflation policy: Price controls. So we dust off the history books and see what happened in World War II.
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Why are McDonald's ice cream machines always broken? from 2022-01-11T19:00:51
McDonald's is notorious for frequent malfunctions of its ice cream machine. What's behind those malfunctions and why is the government getting involved?
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Inland port priority from 2022-01-10T18:47
Disruptive backlogs at west coast ports in the U.S. have caused some shippers to get creative with their routes. Today, we tell you why one vessel took the long route from Shanghai to Cleveland, Ohio.
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Why full employment doesn't mean everyone has a job from 2022-01-07T18:02:09
Unemployment is at 3.9%. Is this full employment? Some Americans aren't so sure. We look at this complex situation through the eyes of someone who has been job hunting for a long time.
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Nurses and the never ending shifts from 2022-01-06T18:52
In hospitals, it's standard for nurses to work a 12-hour shift. But research shows that may not be such a good idea for patients — or nurses.
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J&J tries the 'Texas Two-Step' from 2022-01-05T18:24:31
For years, Johnson & Johnson has been entangled in lawsuits regarding its talcum based products being linked to causing ovarian cancer. And to save itself from future lawsuits, the company is betti...
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Full (ware)house from 2022-01-04T17:01:29
Although there are more warehouses in the U.S. than ever before, these warehouses are running out of space. Today on the show, we go behind the scenes into the warehousing world to understand why w...
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How to keep your New Year's resolutions from 2022-01-03T17:00:19
2022 is finally here, and many people are excited for their fresh starts. But, it's no secret that following through with New Year's resolutions can be challenging. Today on the show, behavioral ec...
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How do you measure inflation? (Indicator favorite) from 2021-12-30T17:11:40
It's Encore Week at The Indicator! We're sharing some of our favorite episodes of 2021.
Today, we hear one of Stacey's
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The COVID small business boom (Indicator favorite) from 2021-12-29T17:08
It's Encore Week at The Indicator! We're sharing some of our favorite episodes of 2021.
Today, we hear about people who became small business owners after losing their jobs due to the pand...
Saving birds with economics (Indicator favorite) from 2021-12-28T17:07:12
It's Encore Week at The Indicator! We're sharing some of our favorite episodes from 2021.
Today, we hear Darian's favorite ...
The time the US paid off all its debt (Indicator favorite) from 2021-12-27T17:04:40
Hey Indigators! It's Encore Week at The Indicator. We're sharing some of our favorite episodes of the year.
Today, we're kicking things off with a listener favorite about the time Presiden...
One indicator to rule them all from 2021-12-23T15:50
Indicator family feud is back, and the stakes are higher than ever! Stacey is joined by our friends from Planet Money as everyone makes their case for the indicator of the year. Who will win?
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The Beigie Awards: Great (inflation) expectations from 2021-12-22T18:49:55
It's time to award our last Beigie of the year! And we find out that reading the Beige Book from back to front makes all the difference in the world.
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The semiconductor founding father from 2021-12-21T19:00
One Taiwanese company, TSMC, makes 90% of the most advanced semiconductors — the chips for your phone or car. From Hong Kong to Boston to Texas to Taipei: This is TSMC founder Morris Chang's story.
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Cells for sale from 2021-12-20T18:09:36
You can buy almost anything online, including ... human cells. Culturing and selling cells is a multibillion dollar global industry that supports all sorts of scientific research. But where do thos...
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Powell pivots, COVID spikes from 2021-12-17T19:34
Concern about inflation has the Federal Reserve pivoting from its earlier plans. Meanwhile, a spike in COVID cases disrupts Broadway, ball games, and businesses.
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Why economists hate gifts (Encore) from 2021-12-16T17:20:11
When economists see holiday gifts, they see waste: sweaters that never get worn; books that never get read. Many recommend cash or no gift at all. Economist Tim Harford proposes a different solutio...
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The growing discontent within the National Guard from 2021-12-15T19:15:50
The recruiting message for the National Guard, "one weekend a month, two weeks a year," is well known. But the job has changed. Today on the show, we discuss the growing discontent among Guard memb...
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How much did fried chicken cost in 1915? from 2021-12-14T19:06
With inflation on the rise, some of our favorite menu items have gotten a little more expensive. So we wanted to know if eating out is now cheaper or more expensive than in the past, adjusted for i...
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The toymakers' (supply chain) nightmare before Christmas... from 2021-12-13T18:33
Supply chain delays are always challenging. But during the holidays, slow shipping can make or break a company's bottom line. Today on the show, a toy company that makes Tonka trucks musters a ship...
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Inflation indicators: The dollar store, the dollar slice and SPAM from 2021-12-10T18:57:09
Inflation has officially reached a nearly 40-year high and some businesses have been forced to raise their prices. But it becomes a bit of a dilemma when being 'cheap' is your brand. Today on the s...
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Baseball's major league monopolies from 2021-12-09T18:52:26
Since last week, the MLB has been in a lockout due to ongoing labor negotiations between players and owners. Today on the show, how a 100-year-old court case gave the MLB an 'antitrust exemption' a...
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Becky the junk bond: Where is she now? from 2021-12-08T18:52:12
In 2019, we bought a junk bond and named her Becky. Two years later, Becky has been on a journey that's included Chapter 11 bankruptcy and reorganization. On today's show, Becky's journey finally c...
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The U.K.'s most famous family firm in crisis from 2021-12-07T18:29:17
The last couple of years have been rough for most of us, the British royal family included. Due to a pair of scandals and Queen Elizabeth's recent poor health, the future of the royal family feels ...
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The conglomerate paradox from 2021-12-06T17:24
General Electric and Johnson & Johnson are the most recent conglomerates to have a messy breakup. However, Techglomerates like Amazon and Facebook are doing just fine. Today on the show, will today...
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Jobs Friday: The case for better wages from 2021-12-03T18:31:32
Today's jobs report found that workers received a small raise last month. And, yes, higher pay is great for attracting workers and boosting morale, but sometimes it can even pay for itself.
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2021: A year in indicators from 2021-12-02T18:42
After a tumultuous 2020, we welcomed the new year by picking three indicators to watch for economic recovery. As 2021 wraps up, we revisit those indicators to see how they've fared. Our old friend ...
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Falling down the "junk insurance" rabbit hole from 2021-12-01T18:32:29
If you Google "Obamacare signup," good luck finding healthcare.gov. It'll be buried under several ads trying to lure you to something less healthy. Today's show looks at a classic bait and switch.
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Women, career and family: A conversation with Claudia Goldin from 2021-11-30T17:50
Caregiving responsibilities for women have drastically increased since the start of the pandemic. And with new demands at home and at work, many women have struggled to find a balance between work ...
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The rise and fall (and rise?) of organized labor from 2021-11-29T17:59:29
In the wake of the "great resignation", organized labor may be having a moment in the U.S. Tens of thousands of workers have protested working conditions at companies like John Deere and Kellogg's ...
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Indicators-giving! How much does Thanksgiving cost this year? from 2021-11-24T18:20:47
How much will Thanksgiving dinner cost compared to last year? Today on the show, the Indicator team gathers around the virtual Thanksgiving table to let you know how much prices have changed for ea...
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Ticket scalpers: The real ticket masters from 2021-11-23T18:29:36
Ticket scalpers. They're the bane of every fan's existence because they manage to snag concert tickets before fans can even get their webpages to load. An economist would tell you the story is more...
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Jeromonomics 2.0 from 2021-11-22T18:33:12
Today President Biden reappointed Jerome Powell as chair of the Federal Reserve. So we revisit a recent episode about Jay Powell's first term and his approach to steering the economy — Jeromonomics.
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BONUS: Wisdom From The Top from 2021-11-21T08:00:16
This episode is from our friends at the podcast Wisdom From The Top, featuring our very own Stacey Vanek ...
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An exuberant bid for the Constitution from 2021-11-19T18:54
It's that time again! A crypto group fails to buy an original copy of the U.S. Constitution, Crypto.com succeeds in renaming LA's Staples Center, and warnings the economy might be too exuberant.
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Rumor has it Adele broke the vinyl supply chain from 2021-11-18T18:34:01
We're in the midst of a vinyl boom and chains like Walmart have been cashing in. But so have stars like Adele, who reportedly pressed over 500,000 records for her new album, "30." Today on the show...
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Should Americans buy less stuff? from 2021-11-17T19:12
Americans love to shop, and consumer spending has only increased since the start of the pandemic. Even the supply chains are tired. That's why one Bloomberg columnist believes it's time for an inte...
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Toyota Camry, supply-chain hero from 2021-11-16T18:18
Toyota pioneered just-in-time production. But this lean method is dangerous when car parts are in short supply, like in a pandemic. Today: How Toyota invented and reformed just-in-time production.
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'The China Shock' and the downsides of globalization from 2021-11-15T18:49:47
Trade with China made American goods cheaper and lifted millions of Chinese people out of poverty. At the same time, it devastated communities across America's heartland. What have we learned from ...
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Why quitting got so cool from 2021-11-12T17:41
This episode is all about quitters! Over 4 million people quit their jobs in September. That's a record high following another record quits rate in August. What does this trend say about America's ...
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Indicators of the Week: Broadband, bonds, and break-ups from 2021-11-11T18:43
It's Indicators of the Week! General Electric splits into three separate companies, the $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill promises faster internet speeds, and interest rates for government debt inc...
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The Money Illusion: Have Americans really gotten a raise? from 2021-11-10T19:00:24
Although workers across the country have seen an increase in wages, the cost of things like gas and food have also been increasing. This leaves workers wondering whether these raises are real or ju...
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Global food, local sauces from 2021-11-09T18:58:57
Adnan Durrani loved sourcing ingredients from all over the world for his food company Saffron Road. Then the pandemic hit. Now Adnan is totally reconsidering the benefits of globalization.
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iBuyers, Zillow, and 'the lemons problem' from 2021-11-08T18:31:05
With troves of data at their disposal, iBuyers like Opendoor, Redfin and Zillow have been trying to make money buying homes online and selling them — quickly. Armed with high-tech algorithms, what ...
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The Great Hesitation: a Jobs Friday rom-com from 2021-11-05T19:01:50
It's Jobs Friday, and we blow our first air horn in months! Albeit, a slightly muted one. Last month, the economy added more jobs than expected. But there are still millions of people staying out o...
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Landlords need help too from 2021-11-04T18:11:20
For renters to receive emergency rental assistance, they usually need cooperation from their landlords. This is also true vice versa. On today's show, we hear about the struggles of two mom-and-pop...
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Could Elon Musk really solve world hunger? from 2021-11-03T19:39
Just 2% of Elon Musk's wealth could supposedly help solve world hunger. But how was this estimate calculated, and is solving this issue as simple as a billionaire writing a check?
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Tangled up and beige: The Beigies are back! from 2021-11-02T18:12:42
The Beigies are here again! October's Beige Book entries captured the seismic shift in the way we live during the pandemic, and things got a little emotional.
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Rage against the customer service worker from 2021-11-01T18:26
As if they don't have enough to worry about, restaurant, retail, and airline employees are still facing customer meltdowns over COVID-19 precautions. We ask a 'customer whisperer' if these explosiv...
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Are you afraid of inflation? from 2021-10-29T17:15:41
Boo! The Indicator team invites you to listen to a spooky episode about an invisible monster that has given our economy a fright. Listen at your own risk...
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Is the economy going stag(flation)? from 2021-10-28T18:09:44
GDP numbers for the third quarter just dropped and they are... not awesome. With the economy experiencing slower than expected growth and rising prices, are we entering into a period of stagflation?
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Can the Fed help solve climate change? from 2021-10-27T18:45
From buying green bonds to monitoring bank lending, some central banks have already created policies to help fight climate change risk. Should the Fed be next?
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Revisiting the ABLE Act from 2021-10-26T19:21:09
When Chip Gerhardt's daughter Anne ran into some issues with Social Security disability benefits, his job as a lobbyist became very personal.
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Squid Game: Debt, decisions, and the paradox of thrift from 2021-10-25T18:46:29
In the Netflix show Squid Game, 456 desperate players compete to the death in a series of children's games for millions of dollars. How did their debt impact their decision making?
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Indicators of the Week: IPOs, ETFs, GHGs from 2021-10-22T17:51:54
It's Indicators of the Week! The U.S. is using a lot more coal for electricity, the first Bitcoin ETF is finally here, and WeWork officially debuted on the New York Stock Exchange.
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Say my name from 2021-10-21T18:30
Repeating a customer's name is a classic sales technique used by telemarketers to car salesmen. But can a salesperson use a customer's name too much?
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Keep calm, it's just the bullwhip effect from 2021-10-20T19:46:49
The Indicator team plays a beer game to understand how the bullwhip effect tangles supply chains. And no, it's not beer pong.
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Labor market trick or treat from 2021-10-19T19:19:23
Trick or treat! As we all know, some indicators are sweet, but others are scary. Luckily, one economist is here to help us separate the tricks from the treats in our labor market.
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BRAND new friends from 2021-10-18T18:26
In advertising, there's always been an unspoken rule — never praise your competition. But one marketing professor's research shows that approach can actually be good for businesses and their brand.
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Indicators of the Week: strikes, prices, Black Friday deals from 2021-10-15T18:29:44
Indicators of the Week! Prices are up again, but is it fair to call this 'transitory' inflation? Black Friday deals are early at stores anticipating supply-chain shortages. And America is on strike.
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Congressional game theory from 2021-10-14T18:25
For months, lawmakers have been negotiating two big spending bills with no end in sight. Game theory could explain the hidden strategies behind the congressional chaos.
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Simon says we're stuck with the debt ceiling from 2021-10-13T18:08:14
The debt ceiling approaches. A congressional standoff ensues. It wasn't always this way. So why did the debt ceiling get built? And how do other countries control their debt?
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A Nobel prize for an economics revolution from 2021-10-12T19:00:55
Joshua Angrist, Guido Imbens and David Card won the economics Nobel on Monday. On today's show, we talk to the Princeton professor who mentored two of the winners.
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Jobs Friday: Where are all the older workers? from 2021-10-08T19:04:51
Sure, some seniors took the pandemic as an opportunity to ride an RV into the sunset, but there's a darker story unfolding in today's jobs report. Today's show looks at the challenges many older wo...
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A new decade for Bond from 2021-10-07T18:58:27
Daniel Craig's tenure as James Bond is coming to an end with the release of No Time To Die. With Amazon acquiring MGM, where does the 007 franchise go from here?
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Technology brought to you by the s-curve from 2021-10-06T18:27:46
A lot of things grow slowly, then fast, then slow again. From the growth in smartphone users to the rise of vaccinations, the s-curve explains a huge part of technological, scientific and economic ...
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Facebook tries to save face from 2021-10-05T21:14:47
Facebook's status hasn't been so hot of late. From internal documents leaked by a whistleblower to outages of hours. How does a company with millions of dissatisfied customers turn its image around?
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Revenge of the math club from 2021-10-04T17:17
In the high school lunchroom version of business school, finance majors were the popular jocks and logistics majors were... the math club. But nowadays, they're sitting at the cool kids' table.
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No Dental, No Power, No Agents: Indicators Of The Week from 2021-10-01T18:16:44
Indicators of the Week! Dentists resist the Biden administration's spending plan. China is rationing electricity. And Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson negotiates his own contract, agent-f...
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Japanese Anime, Made In China from 2021-09-30T17:54:07
Anime is a twenty-billion-dollar industry and it is growing fast. But traditionally, anime is produced in Japan. What happens when other countries try producing Japanese-style animation?
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Rebuilding Paradise from 2021-09-29T18:00:04
The 2018 Camp Fire burned down much of the town of Paradise, Calif. Over the years, wildfires in the West have become more frequent and intense. But Paradise is rebuilding for a more resilient future.
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How WhatsApp Broke Lebanon from 2021-09-28T19:23
Lebanon's economy is in freefall. The World Bank calls it one of the worst financial crises in a century. We look back at Lebanon's optimistic years, zooming in on the one key decision that started...
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The College Admissions 'Melt' Down from 2021-09-27T17:57:14
What is "melt" and why are college admissions departments sweating over it this year?
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Indicators Of The Week: Evergrande, Stuck Ships, Town Managers from 2021-09-24T16:26:15
From ghost apartments empty in China, to a backlog of ships in Los Angeles, to towns struggling to find city managers... yes, it's time for Indicators of the Week!
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Why An Aging China Matters from 2021-09-23T15:47:36
For decades China exported better and cheaper stuff. But now China's experiencing a factory worker crunch. It's been a long time coming.
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The Unicorn Next Door from 2021-09-22T14:25:21
A real estate startup says it's the fastest company in American history to achieve a billion-dollar valuation, but the neighbors aren't buying what they're selling: fractional home ownership.
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Trust Us, 2020 Brought Us Together from 2021-09-21T14:57:45
Political upheaval! Conspiracy theories! Global spread of disease! Sounds like a recipe for... trust? Today on the show, how 2020 increased trust, and how that trust underpins so much of our economy.
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All In On Malls from 2021-09-20T15:03
With the pandemic shutting down in-person life, thousands of retail stores closed up shop. But, some retailers see an opportunity for growth by moving into American malls. Let's go to the mall.
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Indicators Of The Week: Colleges, Poverty, Airlines from 2021-09-17T17:50:43
It's that time of the week again! On today's show, we bring the indicators on airline vaccine mandates, U.S. poverty after all that pandemic aid and a surprising shakeup in college rankings.
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Gas Power To Electric Power To... Foot Power? from 2021-09-16T17:01:38
Auto companies needing to lower emissions while facing car bans in some cities, are turning their focus toward a familiar, two-wheeled competitor. Today on the show, the rise of the e-bike.
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Child Care Conundrum from 2021-09-15T14:31:55
Millions of mothers left work during the pandemic. Decades of progress seemed lost. Is it time to reconsider how our economy handles child care and the workplace?
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Do High Food Prices Mean Unrest? from 2021-09-14T15:41
Climate change, farmworker shortages and increasing transportation costs are driving global food prices higher and higher. What happens when food costs too much?
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The Beigie Awards: From Coasting To Ghosting from 2021-09-13T14:50:15
Restaurant owners washing their own dishes? Shipping containers changing all prices mid-delivery? The rise of the spooky, surf-happy employee? It's the Beigie Awards!
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Indicators Of The Week: From Bitcoin To Solar To Feelings from 2021-09-10T18:32:55
It's time for Indicators Of The Week! This week: The confidence of consumers takes a hit, El Salvador makes it official with Bitcoin, and our future's so bright, we might just need those shades.
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Do You Want To Live In A Bounty Economy? from 2021-09-09T16:49
The Texas abortion law includes an unusual provision: a financial incentive to report others. On today's show, we look into another time in U.S. history where the government tried bounties.
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A Quest To Support Women-Led Businesses from 2021-09-08T19:38:31
A reporter frustrated by the gender and race gap in company CEOs sets out to buy products only from companies led or owned by women. Today on the show, what it takes to advance women in business.
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Did Ending Pandemic UI Benefits Push Americans Back To Work? from 2021-09-07T18:29
Early this summer, the U.S. inadvertently launched one of the largest unemployment experiments in history to see if unemployment benefits impact worker shortages. Today on the show, we find the ans...
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When A Drought Boils Over from 2021-09-03T17:23:28
As our week on water ends, we go to the heart of the conflict. On today's show, the ranchers on the frontlines of the Western drought are caught between a political battle and the climate crisis.
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Should The Lawns In Vegas, Stay In Vegas? from 2021-09-02T17:25:17
An epic drought and population explosion is draining Lake Mead and the Colorado River, which millions rely on. And then there's the lawns. Today on the show, what happens if the water runs dry?
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Water's Cheap... Should It Be? from 2021-09-01T17:26
As we grapple with the climate crisis, there's less and less water to go around. But in the U.S. water is cheaper than dirt. Today on the show, the reason we're willing to flush something so valuab...
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Liquid Markets from 2021-08-31T17:01
Economists often say we should put prices on scarce resources. So that's what Australia did with water. On today's show, how that turned out.
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Water In The West: Bankrupt? from 2021-08-30T18:39:50
Water is one of the West's most precious resources, but it's drying up. We begin a week of the economics of water. Today: Who has the rights? When there isn't enough, could the answer be bankruptcy?
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Jeromonomics: Indicator Of The Week from 2021-08-27T15:58:10
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell has radically changed the Fed's approach to supporting the economy. Today for our Indicator Of The Week we explain "Jeromonomics".
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The Taliban Controls The Afghan Economy. Now What? from 2021-08-26T15:08:55
As the Taliban assumes control of Afghanistan, uncertainty looms over an already-fragile financial system. Today on the show, we look into Afghani currency and the Afghan central bank, how it worke...
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China's Big Tech Crackdown from 2021-08-25T14:57:30
When a Chinese tech CEO shared a poem over a thousand years old, his company's stock plummeted. Investors are on a knife's edge as the Chinese government cracks down on big tech.
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Enough With Bachelor's Degrees from 2021-08-24T17:45
There are millions of job openings, but there are also many jobs that shut out qualified candidates simply because they don't have a bachelor's degree. Today on the show, we explore this phenomenon.
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How To Trade-up From A Bobby Pin To A House from 2021-08-23T14:33:25
TikTok deal-maker Demi Skipper is on a quest to get a house one trade at a time. Starting with just a bobby pin, Demi gives us a crash course on the economics of bartering.
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Jabs And Retail: Indicators Of The Week from 2021-08-20T14:37:02
It's that time of the week again! Today on the show, our Indicators of The Week about the insufficient number of global vaccinations and a dip in retail spending.
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The Electric Grid-Lock from 2021-08-19T16:36:04
So many players in the U.S. electrical game, but maybe less is more? A look into energy grids, how monopolies could topple, blackouts stop, and the climate impact of it all. On today's show, who co...
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Who Owns The Moon? from 2021-08-18T15:11
Location, location, location! As private companies race to control space travel, a conversation around spatial real estate gets reignited. Today on the show, can you buy the moon? If so, how much?
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The Spit Queen, The Economist And The NBA from 2021-08-17T18:00:03
Yale's Anne Wyllie pioneered saliva coronavirus testing, but wasted a lot of precious time worrying about funding. Until she met her fairy godmother, an economist funding covid-fighting ideas fast.
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Holy Cow, It's Fake Meat! from 2021-08-16T14:39:45
In recent years, meat alternatives have grown in popularity. But they remain more expensive than the real thing. Why?
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Indicator Of The Week: 4.5 Trillion from 2021-08-13T15:18:29
The recent updates on the Biden Administration's infrastructure bills raise a serious question: what counts as infrastructure? Today on the show, we speak with two economists on the topic.
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R.I.P. Office from 2021-08-12T17:48:24
Not every job can be done remotely, but will those that can stay remote? Today on the show, we discuss the current trends in remote work with an economist.
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Long Live The Office from 2021-08-11T14:04:08
The rise of remote work and telecommuting during the pandemic raises questions about the future of the office. Today the argument for why offices are here to stay.
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Too Much Import, Too Little Export from 2021-08-10T15:41:10
The transportation industry has a bottleneck right now, not only with imports, but also exports. Still many container ships are leaving American shores empty. Why is that?
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An Economist's Advice On Digital Dependency from 2021-08-09T15:05
American adults on average spent more than four hours on their phones in 2020. Can we reduce our phone usage if we want to? Some recent research says yes.
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Return Of The Air Horn? Jobs Friday July Edition from 2021-08-06T18:03:18
The Bureau of Labor Statistics recently released the jobs report for July. The economy added nearly one million jobs. An economist helps us analyze these numbers.
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Why Host The Olympics? from 2021-08-05T16:02:06
The Tokyo Olympics will cost tens of billions of dollars, making it one of the most expensive Olympic games in history. So why do cities want to host the Olympics?
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The Origin of Value: The Greater Fools Theory from 2021-08-04T15:16:04
History is full of financial bubbles. People speculate on real estate, stocks, coins, even flowers. Why do bubbles happen? The answer may lie in a concept known as the greater fools theory.
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The Time the US Paid Off All Its Debt from 2021-08-03T14:19
President Andrew Jackson was ruthless in reducing federal debt. The administration paid off all interest-bearing debt in 1835, but the results were not as rosy as people expected.
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The Rise And Fall Of WeWork from 2021-08-02T14:56:28
WeWork was one of the most valuable startups in the world, until it wasn't. Today we speak with journalist Maureen Farrell, who covered WeWork extensively and recently wrote a book on its history.
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Indicators of the Week: Family Feud Edition from 2021-07-30T14:23:46
There are so many indicators this week, so we invited our friends from Planet Money to compete for the best Indicator of The Week.
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Marriage Boom: Sin City Edition from 2021-07-29T17:33:37
The wedding industry lost tens of billions of dollars in 2020. Now the numbers are roaring back, especially in Las Vegas. Today on the show, we explore the marriage boom in Las Vegas and elsewhere.
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BTS: The Band That Moves The Economy from 2021-07-28T16:14:13
Korean boy band BTS is a global music phenomenon. The group has millions of fans called A.R.M.Y., who happily support the group with their wallets. Today on the show, we dive deep into the economic...
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Nudge Vs Shove: A Conversation With Richard Thaler from 2021-07-27T14:51:50
Nobel Prize laureate Richard Thaler is a rockstar in the world of economics. His book Nudge introduced many of us to the field of behavioral economics and how it could be used in public policy. Tod...
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Relax, Millennials! You're Doing Great. from 2021-07-26T16:32
According to new data from the Federal Reserve millennials are struggling. A closer examination of economic data, however, paints a different picture.
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Mailbag: Children Edition from 2021-07-23T14:13:04
On today's show, kids ask everything you were too afraid to admit you didn't know about money — what is it, where did it come from, what happens if a government goes bananas printing it.
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Saving Birds With Economics from 2021-07-22T15:50
The Pacific Flyway, one of the major bird migration routes in North America, has lost over 90% of its original wetland habitat in California. Purchasing and restoring these lands would cost a lot o...
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The Tequila Boom And Agave Bust from 2021-07-21T20:02
The demand for tequila is booming, but it wasn't always the case. We speak with a fifth generation tequila distiller and a tequila scholar on the history of tequila and what will happen with this ...
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Burnout, Poaching And Robots Taking Our Jobs: The Beigie Awards! from 2021-07-20T14:44
The Beigie Award is out for July! This time our winner talks about employee burnout, increased talent poaching, and a special cameo from someone we all know and love.
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Should Business Mandate Covid Vaccines For Employees? from 2021-07-19T15:42:14
Only 3 to 4 percent of small businesses in many states require workers to show proof of vaccination but in Puerto Rico, the number is 20 percent. Why? We speak with an economist and two business ow...
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In Tech We Antitrust: Indicators of The Week from 2021-07-16T16:49:25
President Biden signed an executive order promoting competition and large technology firms came under fire. We speak with economists Luigi Zingales and Carl Shapiro on the history and implications ...
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The COVID Small Business Boom from 2021-07-15T16:23:12
After millions of people lost their jobs during the pandemic, many of them started their own businesses. In June people started over 440,000 new businesses. We speak with a hot dog stand owner abou...
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Australian Wine: Political Football from 2021-07-14T15:02:24
Australian wine exports to China have gone from about $1 billion a year to nearly nothing overnight. Australia blames geopolitics, saying the Chinese government wants to send a message to the world.
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How Do You Measure Inflation? from 2021-07-13T16:59
The Consumer Price Index helps to understand prices and inflation, but where do the numbers come from in the first place? We tagged along with an economist to find out the prices of socks, butter, ...
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Keeping Up With The Kandasamys from 2021-07-12T17:32
Streaming services have changed how people consume films and TV shows, but they've also changed what viewers are able to consume. For example, a rom-com about two Indian families who live next to e...
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Used Car Silver Lining: Indicators Of The Week from 2021-07-09T16:31:07
Used cars are expensive right now. Bloomberg writer Conor Sen thinks it might be a reason behind recent inflation. We explore how used cars got so expensive and used cars' relationship with the CPI.
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Shrinkflation: Inflation's Sneaky Cousin from 2021-07-08T16:35
Inflation is the talk of the town recently, but some companies are shrinking the size of their products and charging the same price, aka "shrinkflation". Today we explore the booming market of infl...
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How Do You Reduce Child Poverty? from 2021-07-07T16:52
The Biden Administration and Congress have introduced expanded child tax credits for families in 2021. Senator Michael Bennet, the author of the original plan, hopes to make the bill permanent. We ...
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Beach Reads For Econ Nerds from 2021-07-06T15:53
It's summer, which means time to read at the beach. We asked professor Tyler Cowen for his picks. His three books cover scientific progress, the rocket business, and how to cope with doomsday.
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Are We Looking At The Wrong Jobs Numbers? from 2021-07-02T17:08:38
The world of unemployment rates can get confusing. We are here to help. What is U-3 and what is U-6? Of course, U-2 is here as well. And now, the Indicator presents... the U-Blend!
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Desperately Seeking Construction Workers from 2021-07-01T20:02:10
Demand for homes has increased dramatically this year and supply can't keep up. One of the biggest issues is a labor shortage in the construction industry. So employers are increasing wages and get...
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That Time America Paid For Universal Day Care from 2021-06-30T16:22:20
When millions of women entered the workforce during World War II, what happened to the children? The government stepped in and created the first federal child care program. What happened to it?
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Can TikTok Cancel Your Hospital Bills? from 2021-06-29T16:37:20
TikTok videos are entertaining and sometimes... life-saving. Earlier this year, a video on hospital bill cancellation went viral. We speak with the creator to find out how he got into charity care.
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The Jobless Benefits Experiment from 2021-06-28T19:28
In a few weeks, more than half of the fifty states will terminate the pandemic assistance unemployment benefits. What does this reveal about the current state of the economy?
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Crypto Crash, Labor Shortage and Leggings vs. NFTs: Indicators Of The Week from 2021-06-25T16:28:55
There are big changes in the crypto and the retail world. Bitcoin's price declined from recent highs, as mining activities stopped in China. Meanwhile, the retail sector cannot keep up with booming...
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The Line Americans And Canadians Can't Cross from 2021-06-24T15:31:41
Sixteen months have passed since the closure of the US-Canada border. What are the economic impacts on border towns, local residents, businesses and cross border tourism?
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Traffic Jam: Cargo Style from 2021-06-23T17:41:03
Residents of a small town in Washington state are troubled by something big... container ships. Why are they there? What does this say about the state of the global shipping industry?
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The Vet Clinic Chow Down from 2021-06-22T16:12
We love our pets, but do you know what Corporate America loves even more? Veterinary clinics. Today on the show, we explore the explosion of corporate investment in the vet clinic world.
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Kit Kat, Puppies, And Masks: Anthro-Vision from 2021-06-21T14:19:54
What do Kit Kat, dog food, and mask wearing have in common? You'll find the answer in the new book Anthro-Vision. We speak with its author, journalist and anthropologist, Gillian Tett.
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Bluer Skies Ahead from 2021-06-17T15:15:39
Covid-19 has brought so much loss and hardship, but there was at least one pleasant surprise for Beijing - less hazy skies and air pollution. Today on The Indicator, the concept of experience goods...
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Millennial Myth-Busters: Housing Edition from 2021-06-16T14:51
It's time to bust some myths about millennials... real estate edition! Millennials are a big part of the real estate boom this year. How did that happen? We speak to an industry insider and an econ...
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Why Is The Fed So Boring? from 2021-06-15T16:26:18
Fed Chair Jerome Powell will speak tomorrow. His words will likely be boring, but the financial markets are watching carefully. Such words seem to have serious implications. Why is that?
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Is Movie Night Back? from 2021-06-14T16:31:51
Many people will watch movies on a big screen this summer, but the pandemic fundamentally changed the industry. How can movie theaters survive and possibly thrive post-pandemic?
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Taxes, Oil Prices And Why We're All Quitting Our Jobs: Indicators Of The Week from 2021-06-11T17:40
It's time for the Indicators Of The Week! Our three indicators are: tax, oil, and jobs. We will cover their importance and how they are relevant to Bono, the Ford F-150, and Kim Kardashian.
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The Case For Inflation from 2021-06-10T15:06:11
The latest Consumer Price Index reveals 5% inflation over the last year. Should we be worried? Treasury Secretary Yellen says no. Two economists argue yes. The Indicator presents... the inflation h...
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Women, Work And The Pandemic from 2021-06-09T15:01
Millions of women left the workforce during the pandemic. Today, a story about a mother's tough decision to leave work and an economist's view on the labor market for women during the pandemic.
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Wagyu Steaks And Worker Shortages: The Beigie Awards from 2021-06-08T16:22:53
The Indicator gives out the special Beigie Award eight times each year, and it's that time today! We are honoring the Federal Reserve branch that told the story of beef. Yes, premium cuts!
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A Technology Tale: David Beats Goliath from 2021-06-07T15:10:47
Zoom is the most popular video conferencing software and many people's communications lifeline during COVID. How did the tiny company beat tech giants like Google, Microsoft, and Cisco?
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Jobs Friday: Rise Of The Self Employed from 2021-06-04T20:33:26
It's Jobs Friday! It's not exactly the jobs report we wanted, but there were some bright spots. On the Indicator, we discuss the rise in self employment.
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Have A Missing Matisse? Call The Art Detective from 2021-06-03T19:23
Art crime is a big business, and it requires special skills to investigate. Enter Christopher Marinello, one of the world's foremost experts in art recovery.
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Dear Class Of 2021... from 2021-06-02T20:22
Dear graduating college classes of 2021: Congratulations! On The Indicator, Stacey and Cardiff present an economic guide to the future that awaits you.
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Leveling The Playing Field from 2021-06-01T14:24:46
Several schools have cut women's sports teams during the pandemic, and some of the teams have lawyered up in response. Ultimately, these lawsuits ask the question: how do we measure equality?
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Unpacking President Biden's Big Budget from 2021-05-28T18:23:12
President Biden unveiled a massive budget proposal on Friday. We discuss the hefty price tag and ask two economists to weigh in on his plan.
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Fighting A Racist 184-Year-Old Law from 2021-05-27T15:12:02
The Chehalis Tribe had a plan to create jobs and revenue. The only problem? A racist law from 1834.
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What Does It Take To Get Us To Try Something New? from 2021-05-26T14:27
You may have the best product in the world, but that doesn't mean people will try it. What does it take to get consumers to try something new?
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Who Let The Dogs Out? from 2021-05-25T17:03:28
When people were stuck at home during Covid lockdowns, the pet sitting business slowed to a trickle. But recently traveling has picked up and now pet sitters can barely keep up with demand.
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The Growing Racial Divide In Millennial Wealth from 2021-05-24T17:01:10
Many white millennials have made amazing progress in building wealth in recent years. Meanwhile, Black millennials keep falling further and further behind.
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Dogecoin, Retail And The Cafe Table Indicator from 2021-05-21T14:17:27
For this edition of Indicators of the Week, we hear from economists Kate Waldock and Ben Ho about what they're looking at to signal the health of the economy: the strength of retail and Dogecoin.
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America's Best-Selling Truck Goes Electric from 2021-05-20T16:30:51
The Ford Lightning is the first electric F-150 pickup truck, and it could be a historical tipping point for the US auto industry. The only problem? Selling it to old-school drivers.
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We're Bad At Calculating Risk from 2021-05-19T15:54:32
Life constantly requires us to calculate risk, and we're just not very good at it.
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Blood And Treasure from 2021-05-18T15:15
Obsessing over hidden treasure isn't just for pirates and conquistadors. In 2010, an eccentric art dealer launched a modern day treasure hunt that lasted ten long years.
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The Great Vaccine Patent-Off from 2021-05-17T14:11
The US just backed calls by South Africa and India to waive intellectual property protection for COVID-19 vaccines, but that may not be enough to ramp up vaccine production.
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Brood X Economy: Indicators Of The Week from 2021-05-14T15:51:13
The Brood X cicadas are finally back this summer, but what was life like 17 years ago when they first went underground?
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How Do You Get People To Get A Vaccine? from 2021-05-13T15:47:26
What's the best way to persuade people to get a vaccine? A new study from the University of Pennsylvania may have the answer.
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The Rise And Fall Of The Skinny Jean from 2021-05-12T15:31:30
Skinny jeans have reigned supreme for two decades, but now their rule seems to be ending.
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Pay Taxes Less Frequently? We're Interested... from 2021-05-11T14:22
Taxes can be a nightmare for taxpayers and also for the under-resourced IRS. But there's an idea that could make taxes easier for everybody: only pay taxes once every two years.
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The Hacking Business from 2021-05-10T16:47:27
A cyberattack forced the shutdown of a major U.S. fuel pipeline, and the hackers wrote ... a press release? We discuss the business of hacking, and why hackers would give a press statement.
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Jobs Friday And The Labor Market Mystery from 2021-05-07T15:17:59
Unemployment is still above 6%, but companies across the US are saying they can't find people to fill their jobs. What's going on?
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Pepsi's Number Fever from 2021-05-06T14:47
Sometimes companies offer sales promotions that are TOO good, ending in livid customers and a disaster for the company.
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The VITA(L) Role Of Free Tax Prep from 2021-05-05T19:19:56
The IRS helps millions of people do their taxes FOR FREE every year. But, as with many things in the past year, covid has made this a little more complicated.
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Confusion In The Health Insurance Marketplace from 2021-05-04T14:27:31
Millions of Americans are eligible for huge savings on health insurance due to Biden's stimulus plan, but many haven't taken up the offer. Why is it so hard to give people a break on health insurance?
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A 21st Century Union from 2021-05-03T15:27:34
A new union was formed earlier this year. Why has it caught our attention? Some of its members make more than $300,000 a year, and they all work at Alphabet, Google's parent company.
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Shortages: Inflation In Disguise? from 2021-04-30T14:30:52
The pandemic spurred a year full of shortages, so why haven't producers responded by raising prices in most cases?
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Inflation, Unemployment And The Phillips Curve from 2021-04-29T14:14:14
For decades, policymakers chose to put millions of people into either a frying pan (inflation) or a fire (unemployment). An idea called the Phillips Curve was influential. But is it still?
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Confused When Online Shopping? It Might Be A Dark Pattern from 2021-04-28T17:03:56
Dark patterns are online tricks used by retailers and marketers that cause you to do things that you didn't mean to do. And they're becoming more and more common.
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Back to Business? from 2021-04-27T17:02:27
We join Stacey for her first haircut of the year, and discuss the future of the service economy as the end of the Covid-19 pandemic (hopefully!) nears.
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Barbie's Big Makeover from 2021-04-26T21:27
There's been a Barbie boom recently, and it's due in part to new collections of products featuring diverse skin tones and body types, as well as an accompanying PR makeover.
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The Origin Of The Oscars from 2021-04-23T20:53:23
It's almost time for The Oscars! We look back at the founding of The Oscars, and how it propelled the American movie industry to the prominence it holds today.
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The 26 Words That Made The Internet What It Is from 2021-04-22T14:52:14
How one man's legal fight turned 26 ambiguous words from a 1996 law into the shield big tech companies hide behind to this day.
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Too Many Real Estate Agents from 2021-04-21T14:11
There are now more realtors than homes for sale, and this is not just concerning for real estate agents facing extra competition. New research suggests too many real estate agents can make downturn...
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Plastic Is The New Toilet Paper For Scientists from 2021-04-20T14:21:02
A lot of pandemic-related supply chain snafus have been corrected, but scientists are still struggling to get some of their most basic supplies. What's going on?
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It's Time To Fly from 2021-04-19T14:36:27
People are flying again. But so many airplanes are still parked in storage. Getting them in the air again isn't always so simple.
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A Beige Revolution - Shaking up the Beige Book from 2021-04-16T16:37:16
It's Beigies season! We honor the Federal Reserve Bank that added two new sections to their Beige Book entry: Worker experience and Minority- and Women- owned Business Enterprises.
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After The Banks Leave from 2021-04-15T17:02:58
The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the decline of in-person banking. But after a bank branch finally closes down, what happens to the community left behind?
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What McDonald's Tells Us About The Minimum Wage from 2021-04-14T17:05:51
When the minimum wage goes up, where does the extra pay for workers come from? Princeton economist Orley Ashenfelter turned to McDonald's to look for some answers.
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How Burlington Powered Through 2020 Without A Website from 2021-04-13T17:02
Burlington shut down its online store right as the pandemic started, but it still weathered 2020 well. In fact, its stock prices just hit an all time high! What's Burlington's secret to success?
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How Amazon Defeated The Union from 2021-04-12T16:48:40
The results are in: Amazon workers in Bessemer, Alabama will not unionize, for now. We discuss the tactics companies use to keep organized labor at bay.
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Indicator Favs: How An Econ Experiment Changed Lives from 2021-04-09T17:01:45
Cardiff picked our final installment of favorites week. We learn about an experiment that led to more low-income students attending an elite college. Sometimes all it takes is the right nudge.
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Indicator Favs: The Case Of The Pricey Fritos from 2021-04-08T17:01:30
This favorite episode comes in the form of a mystery. Corn prices were falling, but the price of Fritos in the White House press corps break room went up by 20%. The Indicator was on the case.
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Indicator Favs: The Rise Of The Machines from 2021-04-07T17:04
In today's classic, the robots take over the show from Cardiff and Stacey as we continue our week of favorite episodes.
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Indicator Favs: The Recession Predictor from 2021-04-06T17:00:14
It wouldn't be favorites week at The Indicator without the yield curve. Meet it again for the first time in this classic from the first time Cardiff brought it to the show.
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Indicator Favs: Let's Get Ready To Retail from 2021-04-05T14:51:49
This week we're picking our favorite Indicators and adding a little behind the scenes peek. Today, the first time Stacey and Cardiff realized they share a taste for the bizarre in podcasting.
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Peak Gasoline And Cardiff Fare Thee Well from 2021-04-01T17:13:24
On this very special episode of Indicators of the Week, we talk about the decline of demand for gasoline and reflect on the past three years of the show with Cardiff.
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The Virtual Office from 2021-03-31T18:44:37
The Indicator team has been working remotely for about a year now. While remote work has its perks, sometimes we miss sharing an office space. Can virtual reality help bridge the gap?
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15 Million N95s Without A Buyer from 2021-03-30T18:20
The start of the COVID-19 pandemic led to an N95 mask shortage. Now there's still a shortage, but many American mask manufacturers can't sell their masks. We break down the reasons why.
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Schmoozing And The Gender Gap from 2021-03-29T18:46:18
Women now make up nearly half of entry level work workers, but there's still a gap higher up on the corporate ladder. One possibility for why this is happening? Schmoozing.
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Boats And Bull Markets: Indicators Of The Week from 2021-03-26T17:30:16
On Indicators of the week, we discuss the Suez Canal blockage hindering global trade and the stock market recovery since last year's low point. Plus, listeners chime in with their indicators!
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Stimulus And The Shopper from 2021-03-25T19:11:29
Stimulus checks have started to hit many Americans' bank accounts. Will this give an extra boost, or maybe even a lifeline, to retailers?
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Facebook And The News: It's Complicated from 2021-03-24T18:23:18
Many media outlets think they need to be on Facebook to reach people. So why did New Zealand's biggest news publisher decide to go it alone?
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Rise of the Robocall from 2021-03-23T18:12
Americans get billions of robocalls every month. They are almost universally despised, so how have they managed to stick around? The answer lies in the economics, of course.
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Myths And Realities Of America's Rural Economy from 2021-03-22T17:01:29
Rural communities are sometimes perceived as farmland with a homogenous population, but economist Gbenga Ajilore helps us explain the demographic and economic diversity within Rural America.
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Indicators of the Week! Interest Rates and Global Poverty from 2021-03-19T17:50:48
On the show, we look back at the number of people globally who fell into poverty last year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and look forward to where U.S. interest rates are projected to stay until 2023.
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The Giant Pool Of Unmatched Music Royalties from 2021-03-18T19:42:53
The music industry has boomed thanks to streaming, but with thousands of new songs being added to platforms everyday, sometimes royalties slip through the cracks unpaid. $424 million worth of royal...
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A Culinary Tour Of Brexit from 2021-03-17T18:18:09
What has trade with the EU been like for Britons post-Brexit? We answer that question by looking at some of the tastiest indicators around.
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The Covid Reset: A Chat With Constance Hunter from 2021-03-16T18:31
Is an economic reset on the way? Economist Constance Hunter explains how technology and businesses have changed during Covid, and how these trends offer some hope for long-term recovery.
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PLEASE sell me a home! from 2021-03-15T17:54
The median price of a single family home in Bozeman, Mont., is now over half a million dollars — nearly a 20% increase from last year. Why has the housing market gotten so hot so fast?
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Chips, Cars and the Baby Bust from 2021-03-12T17:03:26
The Covid-19 pandemic has caused demand shifts and supply chain snafus that have led to many shortages. For Indicators of the Week, we'll be looking at two more: cars and ... babies?
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One Year Later: Indicators On The Pandemic Economy from 2021-03-11T19:07:18
What's happened since the Covid-19 pandemic was declared a year ago? On the show, we discuss the differing effects on workers across the economy and the government's larger role in recession recovery.
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Market Power To The Beeple from 2021-03-10T20:14:18
Digital art has been largely neglected by the traditional art market, but one artist has made millions selling his work as non-fungible tokens (NFTs). And his work is now being auctioned at Christi...
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The $200k NBA NFT from 2021-03-09T19:55:03
A non-fungible token (NFT) for a LeBron James dunk recently sold for over $200,000 on NBA Top Shot. Anyone can watch the clip online, so why is the NFT worth so much money?
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Grateful For Taxes from 2021-03-08T17:01
In the modern U.S. people may avoid or begrudgingly pay taxes. But in ancient Athens, wealthy people considered it an honor.
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Jobs Friday: Better! Still Not Good Tho from 2021-03-05T19:30:59
It's Jobs Friday! The February jobs report shows signs of recovery, but there's still a long way to go. We talk to three experts about their indicators on how things will change and when.
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Of Puppies and Profits: The Beigie Awards from 2021-03-04T20:15
The Covid-19 pandemic has been a tough time for everyone, so many people have turned to a familiar source of comfort: pets!
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The Biden Relief Bill: Who Gets What from 2021-03-03T19:35:38
President Biden's Covid relief plan calls for about $1.9 trillion in government spending. Where is all that money going? We discuss a few of the biggest items in the bill.
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Are The Simpsons Still Middle Class? from 2021-03-02T18:40
The Simpsons were the quintessential American family when the show first aired back in 1989. But while the Simpsons have stayed largely the same, American middle class life has changed a lot.
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Empty Houses, Reclaimed from 2021-03-01T17:02
Homes owned by California's department of transportation lay vacant. So people reclaimed them.
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Unemployment Insurance And Vaccines: Who's Left Behind? from 2021-02-26T17:43:13
Two of the most important ways the government is supporting Americans right now is through distributing vaccines and providing unemployment insurance. But are there cracks in the system?
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2021: The Year Of The Recovery? from 2021-02-25T17:16:29
2020 was a horrific year for the economy. We're hoping 2021 will be better, but will it? We discuss 3 indicators that suggest this year is shaping up to be better than last year.
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The $1,000 Power Bill from 2021-02-24T14:23
The recent winter storm caused thousands of Texans to see their power bill climb to hundreds, even thousands of dollars. Can economics explain what happened?
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Seeking Refuge On The Open Road from 2021-02-23T18:16
Living on the open road is more than just an Instagram photo opportunity; for many it's both an economic necessity and a countercultural movement. Just ask Bob Wells, the evangelist of nomad life.
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Alabama: The Newest Union Battleground from 2021-02-22T17:01:24
Amazon workers in Alabama are voting on whether to form the company's FIRST U.S. union. We explain how the union has succeeded in getting this far, and the potential ramifications of the vote.
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Cold Fronts, Propane And New Jobs - Indicators Of The Week from 2021-02-19T17:48:07
For our indicators of the week, we're talking about shortages of heating sources during the recent cold snap and trends amongst unemployed Americans.
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Bitcoin - The Religion from 2021-02-18T18:32:59
As the value of a bitcoin recently passed $50,000, market watchers struggled to explain how a virtual currency could reach such dizzy heights. One possible answer? It's kind of like a religion.
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Inside A Restaurant's Final Days from 2021-02-17T17:14
We've heard about how hard it's been for restaurants to stay open during this pandemic. But what we often don't hear is that closing can be just as tough.
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Unsung Economists: Arthur Lewis from 2021-02-16T17:54:58
Arthur Lewis changed our understanding of how poor countries can improve their economies — and became the first Black economist to win the Economics Nobel
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Days Of COVID And Roses from 2021-02-12T20:11:10
The Covid-19 lockdown sent the flower market into free fall, but recently, flower prices have been picking up again. Who are the culprits behind this? Our old friends supply and demand, of course!
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The Pen Is Mightier Than The Suit from 2021-02-11T17:48
The Hollywood Writers Guild just declared victory in their fight with talent agencies. Who do they have to thank for their historic win? Among other factors, possibly ... the pandemic?
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China-U.S. Trade Agreement Fail from 2021-02-10T18:50:50
Last year, China pledged to vastly increase its U.S. imports during 2020 and 2021. We ask economist Chad Bown if actual spending has been keeping pace with what was promised.
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Who Let The Doge(coin) Out? from 2021-02-09T19:45:26
Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency created in 2013 as a joke, recently broke a $10 billion market cap. The coin's creator tells us how the joke became real and if he has regrets.
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The Power of Humor from 2021-02-08T17:54:18
Everyone enjoys a good laugh, but could humor be the secret to success in the workplace?
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Jobs Friday: Extremely Not Good from 2021-02-05T19:51:24
The US economy created 49,000 jobs last month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That's a lot less that people had hoped and shows that the recovery has slowed.
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Diamond Hands To The Moon! Reddit's Market Movers from 2021-02-04T19:22:18
Over the past couple of weeks, the WallStreetBets Subreddit were responsible for the surge in GameStop stock, among others. Who are these people? And what do they want?
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Hi Lo Silver from 2021-02-03T18:40:09
The price of silver shot up this week. Theories abound about what drove the trading.
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Emojiconomics from 2021-02-02T18:36:21
What secretive forces were behind getting the pickup truck emoji onto phones and laptops around the world? And how much did it cost?
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Fisher Vs. Keynes: Investing Tragedy And Triumph from 2021-02-01T18:13
Irving Fisher and John Maynard Keynes suffered terrible losses in the Great Wall Street Crash of 1929. But they responded in different ways, leading to tragedy for Fisher and triumph for Keynes.
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Overrated Or Underrated: The Nobel Edition from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Nobel economics prize winners Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee on whether foreign aid, french bread and dating an economist are overrated or underrated.
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The Inclusion Payoff from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Women and non-white men are gaining ground when it comes to science and engineering degrees, but not when it comes to patents.
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Egg Prices: States Cry Foul from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The price of eggs skyrocketed at the start of the pandemic. That has some people crying foul ... and filing suit.
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An Immigration Backfire? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Limiting high-skilled immigration to the U.S. may not save jobs for Americans; it might even cost jobs.
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Jobs, Labor And The 1936 GM Strike from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The brutal unemployment situation in the US today is making a lot of people think again about labor unions. Which had their first major victory after a 1936 strike.
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The Coronavirus Housing Boom from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Most of the U.S. economy is in crisis: Unemployment and bankruptcies are skyrocketing, and millions aren't paying rent. But home sales are skyrocketing, too. In fact, they're rising at a record pace.
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A Tale Of Two Camdens from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The city of Camden, New Jersey is cited as an example of how cities can change their approach to policing. But the story of Camden and its cops isn't a simple one.
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A Race Reckoning In Economics from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The economics profession has a serious inclusion problem, and that matters for how all of us understand the economy.
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When SNAP Gets Squeezed from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
One in five American households doesn't have enough food to eat. And the program that's supposed to help is about to shrink.
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Oil Storage Wars from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Because of the global economic slowdown, there's a glut of oil on the market right now. And companies are coming up with creative ways to store it.
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Texas Hospitals Battle COVID-19 from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Rural hospitals in Texas are scrambling for equipment and staff to combat the surge in coronavirus cases.
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Why We Need Black-Owned Banks from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Black-owned financial institutions are a shrinking part of the U.S. financial system. We look at what that means for America's entrenched racial disparities.
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Jobs In June from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The BLS jobs report for June was better than expected, but showed the U.S. economy is still suffering badly from coronavirus.
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The Uncounted Workforce from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Incarcerated Americans make goods for American companies, and get paid next to nothing for their labor.
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Sadie Alexander, America's First Black Economist from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Sadie Alexander was the first African-American to earn a PhD in economics. We think her contributions deserve another look.
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Liar Loans from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Many businesses have been negatively affected by the pandemic. But some companies that have borrowed a lot of money are manipulating their numbers, to avoid breaking their debt agreements.
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Black Workers And The Fed from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
How the Federal Reserve manages the economy can have an outsize effect on Black workers. Here's how to make sure it doesn't leave them behind again.
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The Economics Of Vaccine Pricing from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Governments and drug companies agree: We need to develop a vaccine for COVID-19. But their motives for developing a vaccine are different. And that will have a big effect on the vaccine's price.
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Poker, Markets And Life from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
How a psychologist who learned how to play high stakes poker as a way to study human behavior learned a lot about risk management, mendacity and the markets.
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When A Boomtown Goes Bust from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Williston, North Dakota doubled in size during the shale oil boom a decade ago. Now oil prices have fallen and the town's facing hard times.
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How Other Countries Handled Their Jobs Crises from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Not all countries approached the COVID-19 economic crisis the way the U.S. did. How different strategies on unemployment had radically different outcomes.
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Who Pays For The Police? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Police fines and fees have helped to fill city coffers, but they've done serious damage to community relations.
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Story Of A Paper from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Why a groundbreaking paper by Lisa Cook on the effects of racist violence took ten years to get published.
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The Post Pandemic City from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Big American cities might never look the same again, post coronavirus. And that could be the making of them.
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Police Unions And Civilian Deaths from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
There appears to be a relationship between police unionization and the number of people killed by officers.
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Racism And Economics from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The coronavirus pandemic has been called "the great equalizer." But in fact, COVID-19 has disproportionately affected African Americans in all kinds of ways.
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The Beige Book And The Pig Farmer from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The Federal Reserve's Beige Book provides anecdotes from various parts of the economy. This month's edition illustrates the pain being suffered by pig farmers.
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Melissa Dell On Security And Prosperity from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Mellisa Dell, this year's John Bates Clark Medal winner, explains the relationship between security, prosperity and the rule of law.
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Waiting For A Surge from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Hospitals lost millions of dollars preparing for a surge of COVID-19 patients. Some were swamped, but others only saw a handful of coronavirus cases. Now many are struggling to survive.
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The Public Transit Problem from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Public transit systems are vital to cities. Many have been shut down or slowed during the pandemic. Now city administrators have to figure out how to reopen them.
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Waiting For A Check from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
State unemployment offices have been slammed, as 36 million Americans have lost their jobs. And now individuals and the U.S. economy are depending on these often underfunded operations to step up.
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Coronavirus, Farmworkers And America's Food Supply from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The working conditions on many farms mean that agricultural laborers are at high risk of getting COVID-19. That poses a real threat to those workers and to the country's food supply.
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A Brutal Jobs Report from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The jobs report for this month was nightmarish. But as bad as it was, it hid some even worse news about the employment situation.
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Essential Workers from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Essential workers put themselves at risk of infection every day to keep the economy running. But many aren't well protected or compensated for the dangerous work they do.
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Disease In A Globalized World from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Globalization and urbanization historically have made the global economy more productive and efficient — and also more vulnerable to pandemics. But now they can be forces for good in the fight agai...
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Coronavirus And The Digital Divide from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
We're spending more time at home, and more time with technology — highlighting a deep digital divide in the United States and introducing thorny ethical dilemmas.
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Why Hospitals Are Laying People Off from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Hospitals are ramping up and gathering supplies to deal with a deluge of coronavirus patients. At the same time, revenues are down. All of this means hospitals across the U.S. are laying off workers.
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Pandemic-onomics: Lessons From The Spanish Flu from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Different cities responded in different ways to the Spanish Flu outbreak of 1918. And their economies fared differently as a result.
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The Coronavirus Pivot from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Faced with the prospect of shutting up shop because of coronavirus, some companies are retooling and pivoting to keep their doors open and their workers employed.
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The Most Vulnerable Workers from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Because of social distancing, the U.S. restaurant industry has entirely disintegrated with unimaginable speed, leaving its workers to face an uncertain future.
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The Sudden Stop from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
As social distancing kicks in and cities begin moving aggressively to contain the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the U.S. economy is hitting the brakes. Hard.
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Economic Fear Factor from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The global economy is being hammered this week - markets have tanked, businesses are closing down. The spreading virus is part of it, but most of the effect is coming from fear.
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Health Policy Is Economic Policy from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
U.S. policymakers are taking steps to limit the spread and impact of coronavirus. But they're not helped by American health policy, which could use an overhaul if it's to limit the spread of viral ...
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Coronavirus: Update From Italy from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The coronavirus continues to roil global markets and economies - including here at home, where the markets took yet another dive. Today, we look at an epicenter of the virus outbreak: northern Italy.
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The Economic Lessons Of A Free Solo Climb from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In 2017, rock climber Alex Honnold ascended Yosemite's rock formation El Capitan free solo, meaning without ropes or equipment. On today's show, we look at the economic lessons revealed by Honnold'...
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For Richer Or... Richer from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The effects of assortative mating, or, what happens when people increasingly marry only other people with similar incomes and education.
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Timecard Capitalists from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
People who make the highest salaries are increasingly the same people who draw the highest incomes from their capital.
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The First Milestone In The History of Economics from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The first milestone in the history of economics was an 8th century B.C. poem — a lecture by an ancient Greek poet to his deadbeat brother.
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Why Cheap Solar Could Save the World from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In the last fifteen years, the cost of solar energy has declined so sharply that it has recently become the cheapest form of energy in the world. Now, major companies are jumping in to invest, but ...
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Jobs Friday: The Racial Unemployment Gap from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The unemployment rate for black workers is roughly twice that of white workers - and has been for half a century. Today we discuss the reasons for the gap, and how to shrink it.
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Betting On The Oscars from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Betting on the Oscars is now legal in New Jersey and Indiana, so we went down to Atlantic City to place a bet on Best Picture. And we spoke to a few experts beforehand to understand how to make a b...
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The Economic Impact Of An Infectious Disease from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
As the coronavirus spreads internationally, we wanted to know what it looks like when an infectious disease shuts down one of the world's largest economies. We speak with NPR Beijing correspondent,...
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The Indicator Plays 'Ms. Monopoly' from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Monopoly recently rolled out a version of its classic board game, meant to highlight female contributions to the economy as well as women's economic issues. Today on the show, we play Ms. Monopoly.
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Fun Fact Friday: Aggressively Passive Edition from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Cardiff is back to present three economic facts for Stacey to deem fun, not fun, or just plain fascinating.
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Buddhists, Sociopaths And The Art Of Investing from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
There's been a lot of troubling economic and political news over the last few years. In spite of that, the stock market has just kept on climbing.
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How The FCC Is Trying To Take On Robocalls from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In October 2019, Americans received a record number of robocalls: 5.7 billion. We talked to Los Angeles Times columnist David Lazarus about these pesky calls and how we can avoid them.
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Episode 500! And Jobs Friday from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Two reasons to blow the airhorn today: it's Jobs Friday, and The Indicator's 500th episode!
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What To Watch In 2020 from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Predictions can be a fool's errand. Instead, we take a look at economic trends that we're planning to keep an eye on this year.
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All The Single Ladies...Are Losing In The Housing Market from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A home is the largest purchase most Americans will ever make. Why single women are losing out in both buying and selling compared to their male counterparts.
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The Skyrocketing Cost Of Air Ambulances from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
After a catastrophic accident, you may be rushed to the hospital in an air ambulance. It could save your life, but there's no way to predict how much it will cost.
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The Roman Financial Crisis Of A.D. 33 from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
What lessons should we learn from one of the earliest documented financial crises in history?
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The Work Week, Episode 4: Is The Unemployment Rate Broken? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Economist Jared Bernstein thinks it's about time we admit that the unemployment rate is not as useful as it used to be. He offers three alternative indicators.
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The Work Week, Episode 3: Gender Segregation In The Workplace from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The most common jobs for men and the most common jobs for women tend to be different — and this separation has big effects for everyone.
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The Work Week, Episode 2: What Happened To U.S. Workers? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The share of people aged 25 to 54 in the labor force has fallen in the past couple of decades. What happened?
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The Work Week, Episode 1: The Strike That Changed U.S. Labor from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The 1937 union agreement between General Motors and the United Auto Workers union ushered in a period of tremendous worker prosperity and union strength. But today, labor is nowhere near a powerful...
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Fun Fact Friday! from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Stacey busts out the funometer and casts judgment on Cardiff's facts.
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We Buy A Junk Bond! from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Cardiff said the best gift he could imagine getting was a junk bond... so we thought, "Can we actually buy one of those? Also, what exactly is a junk bond?"
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How Economics Excludes Black Women from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Economics is an academic field notorious for its lack of diversity. This is especially true for black female economists. Why are they being left out?
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A Guide To Holiday Scams from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
"It's the most wonderful time of the year. But for consumers, it's also the most dangerous." David Lazarus of the Los Angeles Times discusses some of the major scams that arise during the...
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The Efficient Christmas: Why Economists Hate Gifts from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
When economists see holiday gifts, they see waste: sweaters that never get worn; books that never get read. Many recommend cash or no gift at all. Economist Tim Harford may have a compromise.
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A Trade War Truce? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The Trump administration announced it would hit the brakes on a new set of tariffs that were set to go into effect on Dec. 15. Could it be the start of a détente in the ongoing trade war?
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Underrated Trends Of The 2010s from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The 2010s have been a rich decade for economic megatrends. But some trends haven't gotten the attention they deserve.
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Debt And The Dairy Farmer from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Mary Rieckmann and her husband run a small dairy in rural Wisconsin. But a perfect storm of factors has plunged farmers like her into crippling debt.
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The Disappearing Small Farmer from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
It's been a tough year for small farmers hit by trade wars and extreme weather. And as Time's Alana Semuels reports, this latest trouble is just part of a decades-long decline in small-scale farming.
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New York City's Luxury Condo Hangover from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
When the rich stop buying luxury condos, sale prices drop for everyone. But rents are a different story.
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Job(-switch) Friday! from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
It's time for our favorite Friday of every month: Jobs Friday! This week, we look at job switching and what it reflects about the tightening labor market.
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Nike Swooshes Out Of Amazon from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Nike, the country's largest sporting brand, is pulling its products off of Amazon. What spurred this decision, and will other companies follow suit?
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The Case For Hope In 2020 from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Today, the show takes a distinctly positive stance in making the case for being optimistic about the economy in 2020. Five reasons why you should, plus kittens and rainbows.
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The Map That Made Manhattan from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Manhattan is known for being a grid. But 200 years ago, it was a hilly, bucolic wilderness. The transformation all started with a secret map. And the reason was all about economics.
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Hudson's Kill from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Back in the early 1800s, Manhattan was a wild, sparsely populated place, but it was just about to be developed big-time. There was a lot of money to be made knowing what would go where.
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The Sahm Rule With The Eponymous Economist from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Economist Claudia Sahm explains the eponymous Sahm Rule, and how changes in the unemployment rate point to whether or not we are in a recession.
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Niche Products In Our Grocery Stores from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Niche food products at grocery stores have been getting more and more popular. But, what took so long?
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The $100 Million Apple from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Next week, a new product will hit store shelves. It's been in development for 20 years and cost millions of dollars to bring to market. It's a new kind of apple. And the stakes are high.
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Saudi Arabia's IPO Fail? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
After years of teasing, deliberating and negotiating, oil behemoth Saudi Aramco finally looks poised to go public. But the IPO is shaping up to be a lot more modest than the original plan.
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Ready Your Wallet For Thanksgiving Dinner from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
What will Thanksgiving dinner cost you this year? Also, Cardiff brings back the debate on which is better, pumpkin or pecan pie.
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Lancaster Spotlight, Part 2: A Refugee's Tale from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In our second spotlight episode on Lancaster County, we look into what Lancaster's success can tell us about the relationship between refugees and the local economy.
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Grocery Store Wars from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The profit margin for groceries is razor thin. To stay competitive against increasingly large competitors like Amazon Prime, retailers are turning to a new service: curbside pickup.
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How Does The Economy Influence Voters? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The economy is one of the most important factors in how people vote. But its influence has been changing and it has everything to do with politics.
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Fun Facts Fridays from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Cardiff surprises Stacey with three feel-good facts about the economy, and she decides whether or not those facts are awesome.
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Winning The Nobel from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee talk about their work and what happens when you win a Nobel Prize.
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Politics And The Trade War from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Did President Trump's trade policies cost Republican votes last year? We talk to economist Chad Bown to find out.
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Evaluating the Washington Consensus from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In 1985, then Treasury Secretary James Baker gave a speech in South Korea laying out a series of economic proposals that would transform economics around the world.
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The Great Cranberry Scare Of 1959 from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Sixty years ago, a food scare nearly crushed the cranberry business. Cranberries have bounced back since then, but the industry is facing new threats.
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Why Sam Sanders Is Binging 'Friends' from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Netflix, HBO, Amazon, Hulu, Disney, NBC, they're all at war for your eyeballs. Today on the show, the streaming wars. Who the major players are, what's at stake and what it will mean for you.
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The Lancaster, Pa., Puzzle from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A heavily rural county with a big manufacturing base and a low share of college graduates has found a way to thrive.
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Your Secret Score from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
It's no secret that every online platform you use is keeping track of your information. But what if this data is being used to give you a 'score' as a customer?
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What's The Beef? The Declining American Leather Industry from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The leather manufacturing industry was once a backbone of the American economy. Now the industry is in decline, and the trade war isn't helping.
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Openness Versus National Security: A Dilemma For U.S. Schools from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Last year, the Education Department reported that U.S. universities received over $1.3 billion dollars in the form of gifts and contracts. Most of this money came from China.
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The American Dream And The Children Of Immigrants from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A new working paper suggests that children of poor immigrants have higher rates of upward economic mobility than children of poor US-born parents. What factors are at play?
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Jobs Friday: Not Bad, Not Not Bad from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The US economy added more than 600,000 jobs in October. Team Indicator assembles the Jobs Friday Ninja squad to get their take.
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Jobs Friday: The Broken Unemployment Insurance System from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In this week's edition of jobs friday, we look into why 72% of unemployed people do not have unemployment insurance.
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Scary Stories From The Eek-conomy: Part II from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In our second episode on scary stories on the economy we ask Tim Harford and Jared Bernstein what keeps them up at night. Also, has anxiety about the economy spooked off the Halloween spirit?
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Lights Out For California from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
PG&E announced it was shutting off power to thousands of Californians to lessen the risk of wildfire. This is costing residents and businesses dearly and PG&E says it will likely be the new normal.
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How Biden And Trump Plan To Reshore Jobs from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Author and economics commentator Matt Klein joins the show to discuss the ways each presidential candidate plans to bring manufacturing jobs to the United States.
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Are The Humanities Underrated? (And Other Questions) from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
We invite Tyler Cowen once again to play another round of overrated/underrated.
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Can Global Shipping Go Zero Carbon? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A lot of the stuff we buy comes via ship, using a particularly dirty kind of fuel. Now the shipping industry wants to change.
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WeWork And The Future Of Co-Working from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
WeWork has had a rough few weeks — its CEO was fired, it's lost billions of dollars and it's laying off thousands of workers. What happened? And what does that mean for the business of co-working?
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Is The Unemployment Rate Broken? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Economist Jared Bernstein thinks it's about time we admit that the unemployment rate is not as useful as it used to be. He offers three alternative indicators.
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The 99% Invisible City With Roman Mars from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Podcast host and co-author of The 99% Invisible City Roman Mars joins the show to talk about his new book, the ways people shape their cities, and how to combine beauty & function in design.
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Scary Stories From The Eek-conomy from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
We ask economists what scares them about the US economy right now.
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Housing: It's About More Than Money from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Our housing options matter not just for how much money we spend, but also in other ways that have a lasting impact on our quality of life.
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Brexit: It's Complicated from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Tomorrow the UK Parliament will vote on Brexit... again. Today, we take a look at what's happening, why Brexit is taking so long and what's at stake.
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The 2019 IPO Awards! from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
2019 has been a very dramatic year for the IPO market. From Uber to Pinterest to WeWork--the headlines just kept coming. We celebrate it all with the first Annual IPO Awards!
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The Jekyll And Hyde Economy from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
There are so many conflicting indicators about the economy's health, it's difficult to know where we're headed. We present the Jekyll and Hyde economy.
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How Stories Shape The Economy from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Nobel Laureate Robert Shiller talks about his new book, which looks at how narratives drive economic change and may help economists more accurately forecast recessions.
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Why Women Are Leaving The Workforce from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Of the 1.1 million people who left the job market in September, over 860,000 were women. Today we look at why women are dropping out of the workforce and what it will mean for the economy.
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Of Diet Coke And Nobel Prizes from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
We talk to newly-minted Nobel Prize winner Michael Kremer about using economics to solve real-world problems and what it's like to receive his field's highest honor.
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What The %!&$# Is The Repo Market? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Lots of people have been freaking out over the repo market... but what IS the repo market?
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The U.S. And Global Economy: A New Relationship from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The global economy used to have a simple rule: the US leads, everybody else follows. Things have changed.
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The Cost Of Climate Change from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Climate activists have long used political and social pressures to decrease the use of fossil fuels and preserve forests... but now many are following the money to try and affect change.
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Five Economic Firsts from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
We're seeing a lot of firsts in this economy. Some good, some not so good, some surprising.
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Forever 21's Fast Fashion Fail from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Forever 21's bankruptcy filing highlights the flaws in fast fashion.
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Jobs Friday: Crunching The Numbers from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
On the first Friday of every month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases a jobs report which includes the number of new jobs added to the U.S. economy. But how is that number calculated?
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How Iceland's Tourism Bubble Deflated from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The tourism explosion in Iceland helped the tiny island recover from the 2008 financial crisis, but did the tourism industry grow too big, too fast?
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The Rise And Fall Of Iceland's WOW Air from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A budget airline, WOW Air, helped fly the tiny island nation of Iceland out of a financial crisis — but then it all came crashing down.
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Is Cash Overrated? And Other Questions from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
We play Overrated, Underrated with Jill Schlesinger, CBS business analyst and author of The Dumb Things Smart People Do With Their Money.
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What's Gonna Trip Us Up In Q4? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Another quarter ends today, but the news is nuts right now, so we take a step back and guide you through the big themes we'll be looking at in the fourth quarter of the year.
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Finance Fridays With Mary, Volume 6: Nuns & Guns from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
In an attempt to stem the tide of gun violence, a group of religious organizations turned to an unlikely place: the markets.
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Jobs Friday: The Worker Shortage Mystery from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The U.S. is experiencing the worst unemployment crisis since the Great Depression. Meanwhile, some employers claim that they can't find the workers they need. What's going on?
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The Probiotics Heist from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Probiotics are increasingly popular — flying off of the shelves, even being stolen from pharmacies. But the jury's still out on their safety and efficacy. So, how did they get on store shelves?
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Millennial Mythbusting from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Data shows that many of the popular assumptions about millennials are dead wrong.
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How Much Are Thoughts And Prayers Worth? from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
A gesture which is given out freely to victims of big, catastrophic events are thoughts and prayers. But what if you could assign a monetary value to this gesture?
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Our Five Favorite Fun Facts & Figures from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
We stumble on interesting nuggets of economic information all the time. Here are some of our recent favorites.
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Behind The Art Of The Deal from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Stacey talks to Tony Schwartz, co-author of Trump: The Art Of The Deal, about the book and the recent New York Times report exploring President Trump's tax records.
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Finance Fridays With Mary, Volume 5: Why Fees Matter from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Do hedge funds and private equity firms charge too much money to their investors — including, potentially, your pension fund?
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Unsung Economists: Edith Penrose from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Edith Penrose transformed our understanding of how businesses grow, and also lived a remarkable life full of adventure, intrigue, and tragedy.
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What Separates Urgent Care And The ER? Your Bill. from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Urgent care centers look a lot like emergency rooms. But they're a lot cheaper, both for patients and operators.
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The Invention Of Paper Money from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Paper currency has become standard around the world, but that wasn't always the case. Planet Money host Jacob Goldstein tells the story of how paper money came to be — and why it temporarily went a...
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Physical Stores Are Back, Again from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Brands are struggling to strike a balance between the real and digital worlds.
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An Attack On Saudi Arabia's Oil from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
What the attacks on Saudi Arabia's oil production facilities could mean for the global oil industry.
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Jamaican Monetary Policy: Behind The Music from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Jamaica's Central Bank has a unique way of explaining its policies: Reggae music videos. The Indicator talks with the Central Bank about why they've taken this unique approach.
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How China Transformed The Luxury Goods Market from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Chinese consumers not only account for a growing share of high-end luxury goods purchases; they're transforming the way the market works.
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The White Claw Tax Law Flaw from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
White Claw could be the hottest alcoholic beverage of the summer of 2019. You can thank tax policy for (some of) that.
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Parenting In The Time of Corona from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
COVID, lockdowns and working from home made life complicated for parents. Trying to educate kids from home has made things even tougher, so tough many women are dropping out of the workforce.
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The Great Lego Scam from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
Counterfeit Lego kits, made illegally in China, are giving collectors a headache.
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More Job Growth, But Slower from 2021-01-31T22:10:42.023393
The August unemployment numbers were better than expected. But doesn't mean the labor market is the picture of health.
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Should We Raise The Minimum Wage? from 2021-01-29T18:46:34
Biden is calling for a $15 federal minimum wage. Is that a good idea for workers and small businesses? Stacey and Cardiff duke it out.
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Why Consumer Confidence Is So High from 2021-01-28T17:37:30
The nation is reeling from the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. Lockdowns and layoffs have devastated the economy. But consumer confidence is higher than expected.
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GameStop And The Short Squeeze from 2021-01-27T18:20:49
The price of GameStop shares have surged this week, in part because of something called a short squeeze.
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The Hispanic Economic Outlook from 2021-01-26T18:20:27
Hispanics in the US have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19, in terms of job losses, household income and schooling. Their road to recovery could be long and hard as a result.
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The College Buyout Boom from 2021-01-25T18:33
Small liberal arts colleges across the US have been struggling for years. COVID has made things worse. Now many are facing the prospect of closing down. Or being gobbled up in a merger.
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The Straw That Broke The Bucatini Supply Chain from 2021-01-22T18:08
Bucatini is a specialty pasta that looks a lot like spaghetti with a hole in it. For pasta lovers, it's a fan-favorite...but it has mysteriously gone missing from grocery stores across the U.S.
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Economics In Space from 2021-01-21T17:31:05
Economics is the earthiest of the social sciences. But its principles apply equally in space. The difference is how certain goods, services and even experiences gain currency in zero gravity.
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Biden's Econ Plan: 3 Indicators To Watch from 2021-01-20T17:40
President Biden recently announced his $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, targeting pandemic relief and economic recovery. We discuss 3 indicators to watch to measure the Biden economic agenda's s...
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The Social Media Crisis from 2021-01-19T18:11:25
Social media played a big part in the demonstration and riot at the U.S. Capitol last week. For many it was a surprise, but to social media watchers, it was simply the culmination of 10 years of in...
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The Beigies: Traffic Jam At The Ports from 2021-01-15T17:53
The economy might be down, but Americans are buying a lot of stuff right now. Today on the show, we break it down and pick our favorite economic story from the Beige Book.
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Making Sense Of Pandemic Stats from 2021-01-14T17:01
Statistics and the information we get from them have a massive influence on our worldviews and the decisions we make, but how can we ensure we're interpreting them properly? Today, we find out.
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Companies Get Political from 2021-01-13T15:04:12
Politics used to be off limits for most American companies — at least publicly. Most would usually take a neutral position when a big political story hit the news. But that has changed.
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The SPAC Is Back! from 2021-01-12T14:38:35
Last year, more than half the firms that went public were special purpose acquisition companies, also known as SPACs. We explain what that means and how it impacts the world of finance.
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Entrepreneurship On The Rise from 2021-01-11T18:07:37
The coronavirus has been responsible for massive business closures...but at the same time, Americans are starting businesses at the fastest rate in more than a decade.
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Jobs Friday: Reversal In The Recovery from 2021-01-08T14:17:54
For the first time since April, the American economy lost jobs. Today, we break down the December jobs report and the slowing economic recovery.
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How Political Instability Affects The Economy from 2021-01-07T15:31:49
We're only seven days into the new year and we're off to a bumpy start. But as chaos rages through the capitol, the stock market and other signs of economic growth continue.
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Fear And Loaning from 2021-01-06T17:01:26
There's a fear radiating out from the commercial real estate market — a fear that some economists say could become a drag on any economic recovery. In fact, there's evidence it already has.
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New Year, New Indicators from 2021-01-05T15:28:57
2020 was a tough year for the economy. How different will 2021 be? Today on the show, we take a look at three of our favorite indicators for the new year.
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The Economy In 2030 from 2021-01-04T19:19
What will the global economy look like in a decade? Mauro Guillen joins the show to talk about 2030, his new book where he analyzes the economic trends of the future.
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How To Use Globalization To Fight Disease from 2020-12-31T17:01:39
Globalization and urbanization historically have made the global economy more productive and efficient — and also more vulnerable to pandemics. But now they can be forces for good in the fight agai...
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Why The Housing Market Is Booming In A Bad Economy from 2020-12-30T17:01
The coronavirus pandemic has brought with it a massive economic downturn. Another thing it's brought: A booming housing market. We explain why. | Support The Indicator Listen
Why We Weren't Prepared For A Pandemic from 2020-12-29T17:01
We've had plenty of warnings over the years that we weren't ready for a pandemic. Today on the show: the psychology and economics of why.
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The Strategic Value Of Rare Earths from 2020-12-28T17:01:25
Rare earths are essential to a wide variety of strategically important components, but the vast majority of rare earths are produced by mines in China. That's something that the U.S. is working to ...
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Healthcare: The Pandemic's Financial Fallout from 2020-12-24T17:01:47
The coronavirus has strained healthcare systems — and not just in their ability to deal with surges. We talk to one hospital administrator about the financial strain of COVID-19. | Donate to your m...
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Coming Back From Covid from 2020-12-23T17:01:41
Chris Montana is a Minneapolis distillery owner whose business was destroyed in rioting early this year. Since then, he's committed himself to supporting local businesses and raised more than $770,...
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The State Of The Arts from 2020-12-22T17:01:07
Morgan Gould is a playwright who talked with us in April about the cancellation of her play. She describes what life has been like for people who work in the arts during the pandemic. | Support The...
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The View From Beijing from 2020-12-21T17:28
China effectively stopped the spread of the virus early in the global pandemic. Life there has subsequently been quite different this year. | Support public radio Listen
The Road To Bankruptcy from 2020-12-18T17:01:27
When the pandemic hit, the government pumped large amounts of money into the economy. The support kept many families afloat, but for many small businesses, it wasn't enough. | Donate to your NPR me...
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The Underground Market For Vaccines from 2020-12-17T17:47:59
We venture into the dark web and take a look at the world of black market vaccine sales. | Support The Indicator here.
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Overrated/Underrated After The Great Stagnation from 2020-12-16T17:06:39
There's no denying that 2020 has been a rough year, but economist Tyler Cowen brings the show a source of hope: the possible return of productivity growth. And he plays overrated/underrated! | Supp...
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Who Gets A Vaccine? A Conversation With Alvin Roth from 2020-12-15T17:25:26
Right now, demand for a coronavirus vaccine far outweighs supply. Leaders are trying to figure out who should get the vaccine first. Dr. Alvin Roth, a Nobel Prize winning economist who specializes ...
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Pandemic Adaptation: Bookstore Edition from 2020-12-14T19:40:18
Early in the pandemic, things looked bleak for Source Booksellers, a bookstore in Detroit. But they survived. The secret? Adaptation and loyal customers. | Support public radio Listen
Our Friends Give Us Hope from 2020-12-11T17:32:32
Some friends of The Indicator join the show and share some economic indicators that give them hope for the future. | Donate to your NPR member station Listen
The Long, Slow Recovery from 2020-12-10T18:47
Team Indicator follows up with ice cream shop owner Molly Moon to look at the road to recovery for small businesses. | Show your love for The Indicator Listen
Shipping Delays: Why Your Packages Are Taking Forever from 2020-12-09T17:40:24
As the holiday season approaches, people are beginning to notice an online shopping trend: shipping delays. Today, we explain why packages are taking longer to ship than usual this year. | Donate t...
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The Strangest Indicator Of 2020 from 2020-12-08T18:28
Average real disposable income this year is on pace to rise at the fastest rate in more than 35 years. How could that be? We break down the strangest economic indicator of 2020. | Support public ra...
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The Marriage Business from 2020-12-07T17:12
Like all industries that revolve around large gatherings, weddings have been hit hard...but some wedding planners have found a way to adapt. Hint: It involves eloping. | Support The Indicator Listen
Jobs Friday: The Four Labor Markets from 2020-12-04T17:50:30
For the final jobs report of the year, we break down how different sectors of the economy have handled the pandemic. | Support your NPR member station Listen
The Beigies: Some Economic Bright Spots from 2020-12-03T18:50:22
The Federal Reserve's Beige Book focuses on stories from the economy. The latest edition shows some hopeful points of light in an otherwise gloomy economic landscape. | Support The Indicator Listen
The Economics of America's Nurse Shortage from 2020-12-02T18:00:42
Early in the pandemic, there were national shortages of protective equipment and hospital supplies. Now, there's a shortage of nurses.
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What Biden Could Do On Immigration from 2020-12-01T17:15:49
As President-elect Biden prepares to take office, there's a lot of speculation about how his administration might change the federal approach to immigration.
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Electric Car Chargers: When Supply Drives Demand from 2020-11-30T17:01
People are hesitant to buy electric cars because fast chargers still aren't widely available. The irony? Most people charge at home, not with fast chargers. NPR's Camila Domonoske explains.
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What's The Story? Narratives And The Economy from 2020-11-27T17:01
The great toilet paper shortage of 2020 wasn't caused by the virus or by a disruption to manufacturing. It was caused by a story: one that we told ourselves. On the Indicator: how stories can affec...
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Thanksgiving Dinner Is The Cheapest In 35 Years from 2020-11-25T17:15:12
Each year, the American Farm Bureau estimates the cost of Thanksgiving dinner. The main finding this year? Thanksgiving dinner is the cheapest it's been since the survey started 35 years ago.
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Should I Travel For Thanksgiving This Year? from 2020-11-24T17:01:31
The CDC recommends we all stay home for Thanksgiving to minimize the risk of spreading COVID-19. But tens of millions of Americans are expected to travel anyway. If you're one of them, here's how y...
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Opening A Hotel During A Pandemic from 2020-11-23T17:01
The U.S. is down around 3.5 million hospitality jobs since the pandemic took hold. But in spite of setbacks, hotels continue to open.
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A Face-Punching Legal Battle from 2020-11-20T17:05:11
Over the past few decades, the UFC has become the biggest name in mixed martial arts. But a lawsuit argues it has held down fighter wages by restricting competition.
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Make Trade Stale Again from 2020-11-19T17:00
President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration will have massive implications for trade policy. Soumaya Keynes explains how Biden's approach to trade might differ from Trump's.
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Winter Is Coming For The Restaurant Industry from 2020-11-18T17:00
Idaho is the leading nation in restaurant revenue growth. But that doesn't mean its restaurants are having an easy time. There are mask mandates and robust restrictions on gathering in many cities ...
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How Investment Advisors Invest Their Money from 2020-11-16T19:14:51
Financial advisors counsel people on what stocks and bonds and other investments to buy, and how to balance portfolios. But where do they put their own money?
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Turkey Business from 2020-11-13T17:18:02
COVID-19-related travel and get-together restrictions are impacting small businesses across the U.S. this holiday season. The Indicator talks to a turkey farmer about how the pandemic has affected ...
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Ant's IPO Woes from 2020-11-12T17:28
Ant Group is a fintech firm that was set to launch with the world's largest ever IPO. But just before its shares started trading, Chinese regulators pulled the plug. NPR's Emily Feng explains why.
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The Lessons Of Pets.com from 2020-11-11T17:01:13
The tech bubble of the 90s was a time when companies with weak business models and flashy advertising secured massive investments. This is the story of perhaps the most infamous case study: Pets.com.
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The Case Of The Soaring Car Prices from 2020-11-10T17:01:52
Since April, the price of used cars has surged. Some cars have even gained in value, which is highly unusual for an asset that usually depreciates. Turns out the usual suspects are behind this myst...
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The Other Climate Crisis from 2020-11-09T17:19:10
In the 1980s, a massive hole was discovered in the ozone layer. Since then, economic incentives, innovation, and a historic United Nations conference in Montreal set it on a path to close completely.
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When Life Gives You Lemons...Start The Mafia? from 2020-11-05T17:01:52
The essential ingredient in the birth of the mafia as we know it wasn't the threats or the murders or the other stuff that's great for Hollywood. It was...lemons.
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What Elvis Can Teach Us About Vaccine Marketing from 2020-11-04T17:01
Development of a coronavirus continues apace. But as many as two-thirds of Americans say they likely won't take it. Which means a successful vaccine will need an effective marketing campaign.
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Probability, Gambling, And Death from 2020-11-02T17:01:42
The concept of probability may feel intuitive today, but for much of human history, that wasn't the case. Jacob Goldstein tells the origin story of probability.
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What Is Trumponomics? from 2020-10-30T17:00:34
Danielle Kurtzleben from NPR's Washington Desk breaks down Donald Trump's economic policies and plans for a second term.
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What Is Bidenomics? from 2020-10-29T17:04:03
Danielle Kurtzleben from NPR's Washington Desk breaks down Joe Biden's economic policies.
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Questions From Kids from 2020-10-27T17:26
Stacey and Cardiff answer questions from kids...also, a few animal facts.
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A New DAWN On Broadway from 2020-10-26T18:08:53
As arts workers continue to struggle, they're trying their hand at something new. Not a new performance or show, but a piece of legislation which would keep their industry alive through the pandemic.
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The Great Remittance Mystery from 2020-10-23T17:00
In 2019, migrants sent a record $500 billion back to their countries of origin. Then COVID hit, and the World Bank predicted a 20 percent drop in that flow of cash. But now the data is in, and it t...
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The Case Against Google from 2020-10-22T18:42:11
A few days ago, The Department of Justice filed a massive antitrust lawsuit against Google. The case focuses on the company's dominance in search, but what about the rest of Google's empire?
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Hope Vs. Despair from 2020-10-21T17:00:58
Should we feel hope or despair about the future of the American economy? Cardiff and Stacey debate.
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Economic Consequences Of The Census from 2020-10-19T18:58
The coronavirus pandemic, distrust of the government, and a surprising political battle have the 2020 Census count.
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The Lehman Trilogy from 2020-10-16T18:33:26
Just before Broadway shut down, team Indicator saw The Lehman Trilogy, about the origin of Lehman Brothers. We talk with playwright Ben Power about the firm, the family and the consolation of history.
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Inequities Of The Pandemic from 2020-10-15T19:07:41
The coronavirus has devastated the U.S. economy, but it hasn't affected everyone equally. Today on the show, four ways the pandemic has deepened inequality.
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Daymond John Plays Overrated Or Underrated from 2020-10-14T17:01:52
Daymond John and what he thinks is overrated and what's underrated
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How Vikings Launched Globalization 1.0 from 2020-10-13T17:50
How the Vikings trading with a North American Indigenous group shortly after the year 1000 connected global trading networks and kicked off the first version of globalization.
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An Economist Walks Into A Bar from 2020-10-12T20:56:07
There's a long history of bars playing a vital role in innovation and economic growth. What happens when they all close down?
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WFH From Barbados from 2020-10-09T19:21:55
The Barbados economy depends on tourism, so travel restrictions have been devastating. But the island nation has come up with an innovative stopgap: A visa that lets visitors work remotely from Bar...
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Where's Everyone Moving To? from 2020-10-08T18:48:34
Remember all the predictions about the pandemic pushing people to quit big, expensive cities? Six months in, the data is providing some clues about which cities Americans are leaving, and where the...
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The Great Fridge Freeze-Out from 2020-10-07T17:46:27
For months now, there's been a shortage of refrigerators and freezers across the U.S. Shoppers can't find appliances to buy and stores can't find enough appliances to sell. Alina Selyukh joins The ...
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The Semiconductor Standoff from 2020-10-06T17:01:50
As the trade war continues, China hasn't purchased nearly as many exports from the United States as it previously agreed to. There was one bright spot though: semiconductors — but that may soon cha...
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Commercial Real Estate's Great Reckoning from 2020-10-05T19:01
The coronavirus has caused a massive downturn in commercial real estate. As the pandemic continues and companies back out of leases, the future of commercial real estate is brought into question.
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The Economic Legacy Of Shinzo Abe from 2020-10-01T19:31:24
Shinzo Abe served as Japan's Prime Minister for nearly eight years before suddenly announcing his retirement in August. Today on the show, the lessons of Abenomics for the US and other countries.
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Big Donors & Pay-To-Play Politics from 2020-09-30T19:16:40
The Center for Public Integrity joins The Indicator with an excerpt from The Heist, a new podcast exploring money and politics in the Trump Administration.
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The Indicator World Tour from 2020-09-29T19:13:10
The Indicator brings listeners economic indicators from the other six continents.
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Some Listener Questions! from 2020-09-25T19:02:04
Cardiff and Stacey answer some listener questions about the rebounding demand for gas, the rise of contactless payments, and how wages have changed for low-income workers over the past few years.
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RIP Business Suit? from 2020-09-24T19:19:44
For 400 years, the business suit has been a staple in men's fashion...then the pandemic struck. Today on the show, the end of the business suit?
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A Few Freaky Facts from 2020-09-22T18:35
Stacey and Cardiff discuss some of the non-obvious ways the coronavirus pandemic — and the policy response to it — has reshaped the U.S. economy.
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Downturn Start-Ups: A Conversation With Guy Raz from 2020-09-18T17:10:51
Since the pandemic started, nearly 100,000 businesses have closed permanently. Opening a business now might seem crazy. But downturn start-ups have some advantages.
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DIY Firefighting from 2020-09-17T17:01:37
Emergency services are spread so thin in the West that some property owners are taking a D-I-Y approach to firefighting.
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How Immigration Is Changing The U.S. Economy from 2020-09-16T17:01:06
Nearly 17 percent of the U.S. labor force is made up of immigrants. That's up from 12.4 percent in 2000, and 6.7 percent in 1980. What that means for the economy.
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A Smarter Approach To Lockdowns from 2020-09-15T17:19
The coronavirus has put millions of people out of work. Greg Ip talks about his recent article in the Wall Street Journal and argues that lockdowns are "an overly blunt and economically costly tool."
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The Birth Of The Greenback from 2020-09-14T17:41:55
In the mid-1800s, the US had 8,370 kinds of money. How that happened, and what it meant for the US economy.
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The Science of Hoops from 2020-09-11T17:01:12
The three-point shot has revolutionized basketball, but its unintended consequences could mean trouble for the sport's future.
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Making The Most Of Scarce Space from 2020-09-10T17:11
Lockdowns, working from home, and remote learning have all made personal domestic space more scarce. Emily Anthes has some solutions.
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Opening Schools: Mission Impossible from 2020-09-02T18:37
The question of whether to reopen schools or educate children at home is medically sensitive, logistically complicated and politically fraught. How one superintendent is handling it.
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Your Brain On Retail Trading from 2020-09-01T22:50
Stock-picking retail traders have been jumping into the market this year. They may not understand the risks.
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An Ode To Taxes from 2020-08-28T17:06:17
Taxes get a bad reputation, but they were central to the formation of representative government and even the written word.
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What A Piece Of Work Is The Post Office from 2020-08-27T18:15:53
The rather Shakespearean situation of the U.S. Postal Service
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5 (More) Ways Life Has Changed from 2020-08-26T17:35
From smoking more cigarettes to stocking up on meatless meats, the pandemic has changed consumer behavior in some unexpected ways.
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A Conversation With Janet Yellen from 2020-08-25T17:15:45
Former Fed Chair Janet Yellen talks about her New York Times op-ed with Jared Bernstein, proposing a two-punch solution for boosting the economy.
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Why Do Diamonds Cost More Than Water? from 2020-08-21T17:01:53
The Diamond-Water Paradox: If we need water to survive and we don't need diamonds, why are diamonds expensive and water cheap?
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The Looming Eviction Crisis from 2020-08-20T15:48
Millions of renters in the US are facing the prospect of eviction from their homes.
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Becky, We Hardly Knew Ye from 2020-08-19T17:10:45
We bought a junk bond back in December. Then COVID-19 sent the economy into a tailspin, and the company that issued the junk bond declared bankruptcy. But that wasn't the end of the story.
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Making the Middle Class Great Again from 2020-08-18T15:28
The argument that the key factor that boosted the middle class post WW2 — and could help the middle class again — is access.
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Science, Economics And Vaccines from 2020-08-17T17:01
Everyone wants to develop a coronavirus vaccine. But vaccine development usually takes years. The White House is betting money can speed things up.
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The Economics of Gods and Mortals from 2020-08-14T14:07:37
The first milestone in the history of economics was an 8th century B.C. poem — a lecture by an ancient Greek poet to his deadbeat brother.
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When $600 Goes Away from 2020-08-13T18:41:43
Millions of jobless Americans are desperate to know whether their unemployment benefits will be extended, and by how much. But Congress just went on vacation.
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Coronavirus Comes To Venezuela from 2020-08-11T18:56
Venezuela's economy was already struggling, for a variety of reasons. The coronavirus pandemic couldn't have struck at a worse time. Now the country's economy is on life support.
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Roller Coaster Economy (Scream Inside Only) from 2020-08-10T19:08:09
As Democrats, Republicans and the President fight about how much support to give laid-off workers during the pandemic, we take the temperature of this up-and-down economy.
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One Drug, Two Prices from 2020-08-06T17:09:31
Faced with the prospect of paying for an expensive drug to treat his daughter, this dad found a nearly identical product for thousands of dollars less. But the insurance company wouldn't let him.
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Why Your Internet Sucks from 2020-08-05T17:29:43
We answer two questions today: Why is American internet so bad? And why was the unemployment benefit extension set at $600?
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An Artful Pivot from 2020-08-04T18:09:43
How a theater company in Philadelphia is reacting to the existential threat posed by the coronavirus.
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Protest And A Black-Owned Business from 2020-08-03T17:53
The Black Lives Matter demonstrations brought people together to protest injustice. But alongside the protests came riots, at a great cost to some Black-owned businesses.
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Sharing The Vaccine from 2020-07-31T17:00:26
The biggest, wealthiest nations in the world are in a race to produce a coronavirus vaccine. It's obviously in a country's interest to win that race and protect its citizens. It's also in its inter...
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GDP -32.9%???!!! from 2020-07-30T19:31:35
This quarter's Gross Domestic Product numbers could be the worst on record. But what do they mean, exactly?
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Work After COVID from 2020-07-28T18:32
The use of technologies that help office workers do their work remotely could have unanticipated, long-lasting effects for low-skilled workers too.
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The Extra $600 from 2020-07-27T17:29:48
Nearly one in five U.S. workers is on unemployment benefits. And most of them are about to see their checks cut in half, as Congress' expanded benefits expire this month.
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The Power Of Workers from 2020-07-24T18:17:24
The three main drivers behind the decline in worker power.
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Can Restaurants Reopen? from 2020-07-23T17:00
Restaurants are going out of business in droves. But some are battling hard to keep their doors open.
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Question Time! from 2020-07-22T18:03:22
What's the garbage situation? How can we invest in Black-owned businesses? And what's the state of the gig economy? Your questions, answered.
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This Weekend's (Fiscal) Cliffhanger from 2020-07-20T18:39:42
Unless Congress acts, unemployment benefit enhancements will expire. And that could have big effects on the economy.
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A Conversation With Gary Cohn from 2020-07-17T17:30:33
Gary Cohn was President Trump's economic advisor, and a prime mover behind the $2 trillion tax cut of 2017. We talk to him about the state of the economy.
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Leaving Prison In The COVID-19 Economy from 2020-07-13T17:20:57
Reentering the world and the workforce after you've been in prison is hard enough at the best of times. The coronavirus pandemic has made it a whole lot harder.
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The Small Business Roller Coaster from 2020-07-10T18:48:38
Molly Moon's Homemade Ice Cream in Seattle has been on the same economic and political roller coaster ride many small businesses have. Now they're trying to open back up, survive and grow.
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Live Music Industry Blues from 2020-07-07T17:00:31
Live music events are like micro-economies that support hundreds of small businesses. Coronavirus is hammering them.
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Unintended Consequences, Hidden Deaths from 2020-07-06T16:24
The way organizations and governments respond to disasters often have hidden consequences; sometimes those consequences can be fatal.
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The Market For Student Loans from 2020-07-01T16:58
Americans owe about $1.5 trillion in student debt. But who actually owns those loans? One borrower goes looking for an answer—and uncovers a multi-billion dollar shadow market.
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Listener Questions: Past Pandemics And Property Prices from 2020-06-30T17:18:32
On the Spanish Flu, housing prices, and the resilience of Australia's economy. Indicator listener questions, answered.
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Daymond John: Swimming With Sharks from 2020-06-19T10:30:10
Daymond John, founder of the iconic brand FUBU and investor on the reality show Shark Tank, talked to us about how he got his start and maintained his lead in the cutthroat world of fashio...
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High-Frequency Indicators from 2020-06-15T17:29:33
Five "high-frequency" indicators help us track the health of the U.S. economy
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The Business Of Police Surveillance from 2020-06-12T17:49:13
The companies that lead the field in surveillance technology are turning against it.
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The Cost Of Contact Tracing from 2020-06-10T12:22
Contact tracing is one of the most effective ways to contain a pandemic and dates back to the 1300s. But the modern versions are coming at a real cost.
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The Minnesota Paradox from 2020-06-08T19:44:47
Minnesota is often touted as one of the best places to live in the U.S. — it has the numbers to prove it. And yet, the state has some of the worst racial disparities of any state in the country.
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Unemployment And The Racial Divide from 2020-06-05T14:39:55
How well a family can endure a spell of unemployment depends on how much of a buffer it has to fall back on. And there are big racial and ethnic disparities in how big those buffers are.
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The Business Of Antibody Tests from 2020-06-04T17:56:43
Companies all over the world are jockeying for position in the lucrative COVID-19 antibody testing market, but are quality standards getting lost in the shuffle?
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Where Are The Business Bankruptcies? from 2020-06-02T13:01
When the coronavirus hit, economists predicted a tsunami of bankruptcies. But that hasn't happened.
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#WFH Forever? from 2020-05-27T18:39
Many of us are working from home for now. Some could be destined to do it forever.
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Rent In The Time Of Coronavirus from 2020-05-26T14:29
The landlord-tenant relationship is often a tense one and it's becoming a national problem.
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Stocks Are Up But The Economy's Down from 2020-05-22T14:23:18
The stock market has recovered more than half the ground lost when it crashed nearly 34 percent starting in late February. But the economy hasn't recovered. Why is there such a stark disconnect?
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The Persistence Of Poverty from 2020-05-20T16:40:57
Melissa Dell, winner of the John Bates Clark Medal for economics, on why poverty and insecurity are so persistent in certain parts of the world.
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Small Banks' Corona Crunch from 2020-05-18T16:54:35
Many banks have changed the way they work, as they hurry to get billions in CARES Act cash to small businesses.
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Reopening Sports: Does MMA Point The Way? from 2020-05-14T16:57:16
Mixed martial arts is the first major spectator sport in the U.S. to host live events since the coronavirus lockdown. Other sports are watching to see whether MMA could point the way.
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Pay Cuts Vs. Layoffs from 2020-05-12T12:48
Companies hammered by the economic collapse due to the coronavirus pandemic are being forced to make a hard choice: lay staff off or cut their pay.
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Gov. Newsom On Reopening California from 2020-05-07T15:32:07
California Governor Gavin Newsom talks with Stacey Vanek Smith about his plans to reopen the fifth largest economy in the world.
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Masks En Vogue from 2020-05-06T21:02
If the pandemic goes on much longer, or its aftereffects linger, face masks will inevitably become a fashion accessory.
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Italy Reopens: A Tale of Two Bookstores from 2020-05-05T16:22:23
Italy was one of the countries hardest hit by coronavirus, and was one of the first to shut down its economy. Now it's reopening. But not everyone's happy about it.
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The Workplace In The COVID-19 Era from 2020-05-04T17:11:08
As businesses make plans to reopen their workplaces, we're probably going to find that these spaces will look very different than before.
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Creating A Post Pandemic World from 2020-05-01T16:31:39
We're all thinking about what the world might look like after this pandemic. Several years ago, Justin Marks had a vision of how things might be, in his TV show, Counterpart.
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Getting Back To Business from 2020-04-29T18:04:08
Small and medium size enterprises tend not to have much of a cash cushion, so most are desperate to get back to work. But many are finding that reopening after a pandemic is a messy business.
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The Bankruptcy Question from 2020-04-27T15:23:40
The COVID-19 pandemic is driving thousands of people and businesses into bankruptcy.
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How The Fed Fights Coronavirus from 2020-04-24T16:42
Much has been made of the unprecedented legislation passed by Congress in its attempt to curtail the economic damage of COVID-19. But what about the Federal Reserve?
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The Great Potato Giveaway from 2020-04-23T20:26:39
Supermarket shelves are empty, and food banks around the country are besieged. So why are farmers dumping, destroying and giving away food?
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Why We Didn't Prepare For The Pandemic from 2020-04-22T13:39:35
We've had plenty of warnings over the years that we weren't ready for a pandemic. Today on the show: the psychology and economics of why.
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Oil: Less Than Zero from 2020-04-21T17:01:49
The price of a barrel of West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell below zero. In other words, suppliers were paying people to take it off their hands. How did that happen? And what does it mean?
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Where's My Stimulus Check? from 2020-04-17T17:03:34
Sending $1,200 checks to millions of Americans was a big part of the aid bill Congress passed last month. Around 80 million Americans got that money this week. But 60 million are still waiting.
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Small Businesses On Their Own from 2020-04-16T20:06
Congress' recent aid package directed $370 billion to help small businesses. The fund is out of money, and it seems very few who applied got help.
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Performing After A Pandemic from 2020-04-15T14:49:10
Live performance has always been a risky business, run on thin margins. The COVID-19 pandemic has ratcheted up that risk and sharpened those margins to a razor's edge.
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Rural Hospitals: The Waiting Game from 2020-04-14T20:05:07
Rural hospitals already walk a scalpel's edge between solvency and collapse. Coronavirus threatens to push many of them over the brink.
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The Story So Far from 2020-04-13T16:24
Five indicators provide a gauge of how daily economic life in America has changed.
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Why Sweden Isn't Locking Down from 2020-04-09T19:01
Most of the world's developed economies have gone on total economic lockdown to combat coronavirus. Sweden has kept its economy open. Sweden says this is better for the economy and for public health.
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Coronavirus and Trade from 2020-04-08T18:47:12
The coronavirus pandemic may have pushed trade wars off the front page, but such wars are still with us — and they're complicating the world's ability to fight the virus.
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Coronavirus And The Gig Economy from 2020-04-07T19:18:58
Many gig workers have suddenly found themselves providing essential services during the COVID-19 pandemic. But many also feel like they have to work in an unsafe situation.
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The Jobs Crisis from 2020-04-03T16:04:34
We had almost a decade of growth in the jobs market. But in the last two weeks, nearly 10 million people lost their jobs. Today, we look at the labor market — what's happening and where it's headed.
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Three Ideas To Fight The Recession from 2020-04-01T18:45:40
Policymakers can still do more to fight the coronavirus recession. Here are three ideas that we haven't yet tried.
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Scarcity In The Emergency Room from 2020-03-31T19:01
Emergency rooms all over the country are struggling with limited resources: masks, ventilators, hospital beds, doctors. We talk to one ER doctor in New York about how she is managing those resource...
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Listeners Ask, We Answer from 2020-03-30T18:13:42
Coronavirus questions on the yield curve and refinancing. And some of the ways individuals can help.
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When Should We Restart the Economy? from 2020-03-27T18:40
President Trump got major backlash this week when he suggested businesses should reopen by Easter. Critics said that was way too early. How do we know when it's safe for businesses to reopen?
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The Labor Market Catastrophe from 2020-03-26T17:33:11
Layoffs and furloughs due to the coronavirus clampdown have pushed 3.3 million Americans to apply for unemployment benefits, the largest weekly increase in U.S. history.
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Stimulus Rex from 2020-03-25T19:23:57
The Senate has managed to negotiate a $2 trillion relief package to help keep the U.S. economy afloat as we deal with the coronavirus pandemic. What's in it and will it be enough?
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Pandemic Bonds from 2020-03-24T17:18:55
A few years ago, the World Bank issued bonds designed to get cash to needy countries in the event of a pandemic. Sounds like a great idea! But the bonds haven't paid out yet and they may never.
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Our COVID-19 Indicators Of The Week from 2020-03-20T18:00:38
Zero and 27 are our indicators of the week. Zero (or nearly zero) is the Fed's new benchmark interest rate. 27 is the number of days that around half of small businesses in the U.S. can go without ...
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The Test Shortage from 2020-03-19T18:56:24
A short supply of test kits, staff and equipment have put the U.S. behind in terms of coronavirus testing. We talk to one healthcare worker about what's been limiting their coronavirus testing abil...
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China's New Normal from 2020-03-18T18:16:34
China appears to have stopped the spread of coronavirus within its borders. People there are now beginning to adjust to a new normal.
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Working From Home from 2020-03-17T18:53
Millions of people all across the world are now having to work from home. Including team Indicator. Today, a look at how this might change the way we work... and what it's like to skip the office.
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Healthcare And Economic Despair from 2020-03-12T16:58:27
The U.S. spends more on healthcare as a share of its economy than any other wealthy country. In addition to making care less affordable, that also causes indirect damage to the rest of the economy.
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Disease Detectives from 2020-03-11T18:19:48
As the outbreak of COVID-19 becomes officially classified as a pandemic by the World Health Organization, we look at the role of the Epidemic Intelligence Service the CDCs "disease detectives".
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Tracking The Impact Of Coronavirus In Real Time from 2020-03-10T17:58:37
The economic effects of the coronavirus outbreak will take some time to show up in the most important economic indicators. We offer three high-frequency indicators to track its effects in real time.
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Coronavirus And The Labor Market from 2020-03-06T17:54:26
Today's healthy jobs report was uncontaminated by the coronavirus outbreak, but some parts of the labor market may be especially vulnerable in the months ahead.
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The Corona Bump from 2020-03-04T19:36
As coronavirus wreaks havoc on the global economy, some businesses are actually experiencing a boom in demand. Today on the show, what happens when everyone suddenly wants to panic-buy your product.
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Coronavirus: A View From Hong Kong from 2020-02-28T18:38:38
As coronavirus fears roiled markets this week, we hear from Bloomberg's Tracy Alloway, who's based in Hong Kong, about what it's like to live in a city in the throes of an outbreak
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How Wealth Has Changed from 2020-02-27T14:38:20
The world has changed, and nearly two thirds of global wealth is human capital. Policymakers and politicians may not understand just what that means for global politics.
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The Rise And Fall (And Rise?) Of NASCAR from 2020-02-26T18:49:38
Last week's Daytona 500 came at a precarious time for NASCAR. Once a behemoth in the world of professional sports, the company is now trying to entice a new generation of race fans.
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Why Netflix Turned To Junk from 2020-02-25T17:51
Netflix had to become a content producer to compete with other streaming services. To raise the money to pay for all that content, the company turned to junk bonds.
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The Indicator The Candidates Should Be Talking About from 2020-02-21T17:41:07
Political Economist Jared Bernstein watched this week's Democratic debate. Many economic issues came up, but he thinks the candidates need to start talking about how much U.S. households are saving.
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Meet Our Junk Bond! from 2020-02-19T19:54:21
Last year, Team Indicator bought a junk bond! The bond was from a company called Hornbeck Offshore Services. On today's show, we learn more about the company and we check in on our investment.
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Listener Questions: Minimum Wage & Gender-Fluid Tadpoles from 2020-02-18T18:31:10
Cardiff takes on the national debt, minimum wage, and gender-fluid tadpoles to get answers to your burning questions.
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How Economists Do Valentines from 2020-02-14T17:30:13
It's an Economic Valentine! Economics isn't known as a language of love. But economists Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers say it's central to their relationship and to their decisions as a couple.
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For Rent: Fast Fashion from 2020-02-13T19:18:57
Buy or rent? That's becoming a question for manufacturers of more and more types of products. Now fast fashion brands are trying to get in on the movement, too.
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Coronavirus And The Global Economy from 2020-02-10T18:23:39
The coronavirus has sickened more than 40,000 people and killed more than 900. In addition to that devastating human toll, the outbreak is likely to have economically destructive effects as well.
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Triple-A Ratings Are So Yesterday from 2020-02-05T19:21
It used to be that companies strove for the best credit rating possible. Today, however, almost everyone's happy to slide by with a barely passing grade.
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Peak Misery And The Happiness Curve from 2020-02-04T19:15:04
How do you measure happiness? Economist David Blanchflower says age has a lot to do with it.
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Even The Facts Are Polarized from 2020-02-03T18:32:23
As Iowans prepare to make their selection for the Democratic presidential nominee, a new study sheds light on just how polarized Americans are, even when it comes to reality itself.
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A Business Owner's View On Brexit from 2020-01-31T18:16:03
Today is Brexit Day. As of 11:00pm tonight (GMT), the UK will no longer be part of the European Union. We spoke to a small business owner about what that might mean.
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American Dynamism In Decline from 2020-01-30T17:20
America has a hard-earned reputation for being the most dynamic economy on the globe. But that dynamism could be waning.
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Weird (Amazon) Flex, But Okay from 2020-01-28T19:00
Nearly half of Amazon's packages are delivered not by UPS or USPS, but by the company itself. Amazon employs thousands of gig workers to make its deliveries, administering them through an app calle...
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Dueling Indicators: Stock Market Edition from 2020-01-22T19:27:06
Stacey and Cardiff face off on the question of whether the stock market is overvalued or undervalued.
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Can You Name Five Fine Artists That Are Women? from 2020-01-21T18:09
On average, work by women artists sells for 40% less than work by male artists. Their work also represents just a small sliver of what's displayed in museums. So, how did women get shut out of the ...
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A Bag of Bolívares: And Other Indicators From Venezuela from 2020-01-17T18:37:15
Venezuela started 2019 with rolling blackouts, hyperinflation, and crippling food shortages. Things have actually gotten a little better, mostly thanks to the economic innovations of everyday peopl...
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China Trade Deal: A Truce Awakens? from 2020-01-16T17:27:08
The U.S. and China signed a trade deal yesterday - one where China has pledged to buy $200 billion worth of U.S. goods over the next two years. Seems like a big win for the U.S., but is it?
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How Amazon's Counterfeit Products Threaten Safety from 2020-01-14T15:50
Over half of sales on Amazon are from third-party sellers, some of whom are selling counterfeit goods. Faulty car seats are threatening children's safety, but is Amazon being held liable?
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How Trade Wars Fill The Swamp from 2020-01-13T17:45:41
How lobbyists' campaigns for exclusions to the trade war have skewed incentives and disadvantaged small businesses.
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The Popularity Of (And Problem With) Municipal Bonds from 2020-01-08T15:56:47
Thirsty for yield, and eager for tax breaks, investors are falling over themselves to buy municipal bonds. That could be a problem if the economy turns sour.
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The Business Behind The Color Of The Year from 2020-01-06T17:40
Since 2000, the Pantone Color Institute has announced a "color of the year." This year's color: Classic Blue.
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The Bubble That Broke Kuwait from 2020-01-02T16:54:03
How a simple financial innovation turned a parking garage in Kuwait into one of the most important markets in the world... and how it all came crashing down.
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The Great British Bicycle Bubble from 2019-12-31T15:13
We continue our series on financial bubbles with the British bicycle mania of the 1890s and the trail of bankrupt companies it left behind.
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