The Indicator from Planet Money

The secret to Nintendo's success (Encore)

26 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For the next week, we're running some of our favorite shows from this year. On today's show, a brief history of Nintendo and how a small playing card ...

Why every A-lister also has a side hustle (Encore)

24 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Happy Holidays from The Indicator! For the next week, we're running some of our favorite shows from this year. On today's show, why celebrities are i...

The worst year of Warren Buffett’s career

23 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As Warren Buffett aged, he became a different sort of figure. He transformed from short-term investor into long-term builder. He used Berkshire Hathaw...

The spite acquisition that launched Warren Buffett

22 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

With an unprecedented decades-long run of success, Warren Buffett is retiring on December 31, 2025. Buffett’s turning point began with the acquisiti...

Tariffs. Consumer sentiment. Cape Ratio. Pick The Indicator of The Year!

19 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

2025 was a wild year for the U.S. economy. Tariffs transformed the global economy, consumer sentiment hit near-historic lows, and the stock market hit...

Catching up with a fired federal worker, a shrimper and a fraudster

18 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After a firehose of economic news in 2025, we wanted to check back on some of the people we’ve heard from on our show. Today, we check in with a for...

The ghosts of Obamacare past, present and future

17 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Absent a holiday miracle, premium subsidies for the Affordable Care Act are set to expire at the end of this year. This will greatly increase the cost...

Will new loan limits lower the cost of grad school?

16 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act made a lot of changes to the federal student loan system. One of those changes put a new cap on the amount of loans stu...

Can American cities grow AND stay affordable?

15 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Cities like Austin and Atlanta used to top lists of places people moved to looking for relatively affordable places to live. Until, one day, they were...

Nvidia chips for China, frozen Russian funds, and a lot of self-checkout stealing

12 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s … Indicators of the Week! Our weekly look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news. On today’s episode: Nvidia chips...

How to make $35 trillion ... disappear

11 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

You may be familiar with the AI-fueled stock market boom. Well, former International Monetary Fund Chief Economist Gita Gopinath warns it could mirror...

Bitcoin miners are betting on AI over crypto

10 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

If you want to make Bitcoin, you need powerful computers and a lot of energy. Well, it turns out the same infrastructure needed for Bitcoin mining is ...

How a former Fed vice chair would approach rate cuts

09 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Federal Reserve is meeting to make its interest rate decision after the government shutdown delayed key economic data. Today on the show, we talk to t...

Take a penny, leave a penny, get rid of the penny

08 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In November, the U.S. stopped production of the humble penny after 232 years in circulation. On today’s show, a former U.S. Mint director shares the...

Chips up, rent down, and are people really skimping on holiday gifts?

05 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s … Indicators of the Week! Our weekly look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news. On today’s episode: A big goshDR...

A little doomsday feeling is weighing on the economy

04 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It is a special edition of the Beigies Awards where one regional Federal Reserve Bank will receive lifetime achievement recognition. Today on the show...

How Japan’s new prime minister is jolting markets

03 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Sanae Takaichi was sworn in as Japan’s first female prime minister a little over a month ago, and she’s already making waves in the East and West....

What would it mean to actually refund the tariffs?

02 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tariffs are bringing in some serious cash into the US Treasury’s pocket. The problem with that money is that it may need to be refunded. A case in f...

Why the US chose not to have a passenger train system like Europe

01 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Why can't the US be like Europe, Japan or India—countries that all have extensive passenger train systems? On today's show, why the US chose not to....

Moochers, monopolists and market-based poverty help

26 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Public sector economics is a fundamental piece of the discipline. So we wanted to give our hosts an opportunity to put their knowledge to the test in ...

Who's financing Meta's massive AI data center?

25 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In a rural pocket of northeastern Louisiana, Meta is building a $30 billion data center called Hyperion. But it’s not being completely financed with...

Who’s buying all the beef?

24 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

President Trump has said he’d try to get more Argentine beef into the U.S. So who would actually do the buying? That’s a general theme with a lot ...

Pay transparency. The WhatsApp and Instagram decision. Our beef with screwworms.

21 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s … Indicators of the Week! Our weekly look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news. On today’s episode: the effects ...

How to avoid scammers after a natural disaster

19 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When people lose their homes to wildfire, hurricanes or flooding, they're eager to rebuild. But scammers are also ready to take advantage. On today’...

Looking for love in the auto supply chain

19 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Foreign automakers already have huge assembly plants in the U.S., but lots of parts and materials come from overseas. To avoid costly tariffs, they g...

How to make switching jobs not terrifying

18 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The U.S. labor market is stagnant right now, with little hiring and lots of people holding onto their jobs for dear life. In Denmark, there’s a diff...

Why you overpaid at that online auction

17 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ever put in the winning bid for something on an auction site only to realize you significantly overpaid? Yeah, there’s a phrase for that. On today’...

50-year mortgages, falling real wages, and doing your rideshare due diligence

14 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s … Indicators of the Week! We look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news and bring them to you.On today’s episode: ...

Where the US got $20B to bail out Argentina

13 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The U.S. is committed to bailing out Argentina to the tune of $20 billion using a little known mechanism called the Exchange Stabilization Fund. On to...

Trump's backup options for tariffs

12 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The U.S. Supreme Court may soon rule on President Trump’s favorite tariff law.  It could render them moot, but that doesn’t mean the end of tarif...

Who is the World Cup for anymore?

11 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The World Cup is coming up, and it’s going to cost a pretty penny if you are hoping to attend. Today on the show, we talk to NPR Senior Business edi...

How the French pensions débâcle is a warning to us all

10 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

France has one of the most generous pension systems in the world. But several governments there have collapsed over questions about how the government...

Can air traffic controllers keep calm and carry on — without pay?

07 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

There’s one job that gets all the attention during a government shutdown: air traffic controllers. Today on the show, we spotlight why this job has ...

This indicator hasn’t flashed this red since the dot-com bubble

06 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The “Shiller PE Ratio” is at its highest level since November of 1999. That was at the peak of the online gold rush right before the dot com bubbl...

Who's propping up Russian oil?

05 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Russia’s been subject to more than 5,000 sanctions since its invasion of Ukraine. Yet many purported allies of Ukraine are still getting Russian oil...

How Apple's market power blocked ICEBlock

04 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Last month, the Trump administration asked Apple to remove an app from its App Store that crowdsourced sightings of Immigration and Customs Enforcemen...

When AI is your job interviewer

03 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Companies are starting to use AI to interview potential employees. Sound creepy? Well, a new study suggests it might not be all bad.. Today on the sho...

A school cellphone ban study, white collar jobs wither, and spooky candy prices

31 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s … Indicators of the…Eek! (Indicators of the Week.) Our regular look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news. On tod...

Are China and India BFFs now?

30 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

China and India have a long, complicated history. Just a few years ago, there was a spate of armed skirmishes between the two nations. And yet, there ...

Is Obamacare doomed without extended subsidies?

29 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Health insurance subsidies are at the center of the current government shutdown. Democrats want to extend some expiring Affordable Care Act/Obamacare ...

How Marxism went from philosophy to cudgel

28 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Republican politicians like to use the term ‘Marxist’ to criticize Democrats. Lately, they’ve dubbed New York City mayoral candidate a ‘Marxis...

The new language of AI tech workers

27 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s hard for young tech workers to find a job, even with the AI buildout bonanza. This has spawned a curious worldview that fears AI is coming for ...

Amazon's outage, anxious retirees, and LA brings the Heat, too

24 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s … Indicators of the Week! Our weekly look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news. On today’s episode: the Amazon g...

Are concert tickets UNDER priced?

23 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ticketmaster's CEO says that concert tickets are underpriced. But from inflation to bots to unscrupulous resellers, the market for tickets feels out o...

No AI data centers in my backyard!

22 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In the rush to power AI, data centers are popping up in small communities across the U.S. But a growing backlash against this build-out is pitting com...

Should we ditch quarterly earnings reports?

21 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Quarterly earnings reports are a long-standing requirement for public companies in the U.S. But the Trump administration wants to axe quarterly releas...

Why are veterinarian bills getting so ruff on the wallet?

20 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Since 2020, the cost of veterinary care has increased about 40%—almost twice the rate of inflation. As a result, many pet owners say they've skippe...

Government shutdown fallout, price floors, and AI slop against the machine

17 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s … Indicators of the Week! Our weekly look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news. On today’s episode: Frozen and c...

OpenAI's deals are looking a little frothy

16 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

There have been many headline-grabbing AI deals recently: Nvidia investing up to $100 billion in OpenAI. OpenAI promising to buy $300 billion worth of...

Inside the growing industry to defend schools from mass shootings

15 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

From drones to body armor to bulletproof whiteboards, companies are offering schools a multitude of products to try to deter or protect against the ne...

Why do we live in unusually innovative times?

14 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For most of human history, economic growth was, well, pretty bleak. But around the Enlightenment, things started clicking. This year's Nobel Memorial ...

Scam compounds, sewing patterns and stolen dimes

10 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As Vice Week wraps up here at The Indicator, we wanted to take a slightly different perspective on the evolving business of crime and take a look at T...

How AI might mess with financial markets

09 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Market manipulation is an age-old issue. People trying to make money off unsuspecting investors by artificially influencing the price of a stock, say....

When cartels start to diversify

08 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Sinaloa Cartel made the bulk of its money on cocaine. But cartels are diversifying into new operations including things like wildlife trafficking....

What’s supercharging data breaches?

07 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It may seem like data breaches have gotten a heck of a lot more common. Well, there’s something to that. The bad guys are getting badder faster than...

Fighting AI with AI

06 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

With only several seconds of audio, someone can clone a victim’s voice, call their bank, and potentially get access to … everything. Vocal deepfak...

Vice Series: The evolving business of crime

05 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Crime doesn’t resemble the old days. A deepfake of your voice can be used to convince a relative you need money. AI bots are capable of colluding in...

Why Americans don't want to move for jobs anymore

03 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Americans are moving at record lows for work. What’s driving people to, well, not drive cross-country for jobs? On today’s Jobs Friday, we explore...

How close is the US to crony capitalism?

02 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We have seen a blurring of boundaries between government and business under President Trump. It has some political commentators ringing the alarm bell...

Why is everyone buying gold?

01 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Gold is on fire right now with some gold ETFs outperforming the major stock indexes over the past 12 months. Gold is supposed to be boring, an inflati...

We're about to lose a lot of foreign STEM workers

30 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump announced a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa petitioners. Today on the show, we talk to an economist about how...

What media consolidation means for free speech

29 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Jimmy Kimmel’s brief departure from the airwaves triggered a wave of debate over free speech.  Partly triggering his suspension was the government ...

Argentina's bailout, a new way to cool data centers, and a cold holiday hiring season

26 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s Indicators of the Week! It is that show where we parse the most fascinating financial numbers in the news and bring them to you. On today's sh...

No, your doctor isn't getting rich off of vaccines

25 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Junior says doctors are pushing vaccines onto their patients in order to make profits. Healt...

Why are so many public schools closing?

24 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Faced with declining enrollment, public school districts across the country are rethinking how many schools they can run. Fewer students often means l...

Should 'surveillance pricing' be banned?

23 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

When you walk into a store, you're probably used to seeing price tags on things, saying what they cost. But when you shop online, there is no price t...

Can LA host a 'car-free' Olympics?

22 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Los Angeles is synonymous with car culture. But now that it's hosting the 2028 Olympics, could that be changing? On today's show, LA's public transit ...

The Fed cuts rates, America's FICO dips, and forever ends for sweepstakes winners

19 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s … Indicators of the Week! Our weekly look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news. On today’s show: A rate cut and ...

Why "free" public education doesn't always include school supplies

18 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Back-to-school supplies are getting more expensive … so why are parents and teachers at public schools expected to foot the bill? Today on the show:...

The crypto market is hot. But is it an illusion?

17 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

There has been an inordinate amount of trading activity recently in the crypto markets. But what if much of that activity was an illusion? A smokescre...

Why an aggressive rate cut could backfire on Trump

16 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Federal Reserve is expected to make a modest cut to interest rates this week of about a quarter or half a percentage point. President Trump, howev...

Why beef prices are so high

15 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Beef is getting more expensive, and it doesn’t look as though that’s going to change any time soon. That’s the view of the Federal Reserve Bank ...

ICE raids, cooling on capitalism, and a Murdoch settlement

12 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s … Indicators of the Week! Our weekly look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news. On today’s episode: the concept ...

We read your mail on AI-proof jobs and how to fix crime labs

11 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We’ll never leave your messages unread. On today’s show, we open the inbox to hear from Indicator listeners about why seasoned software developers...

Can shareholders influence Elon Musk's trillion dollar pay package?

10 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tesla’s board of directors recently proposed  a pay package for CEO Elon Musk that could pay him about a trillion dollars if he meets certain goals...

The cost of saving a species

09 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Animals are going extinct at an alarmingly fast rate, largely due to human activity. Same for plants. This is bad for all kinds of reasons, not least ...

Teamwork actually does make the dream work

08 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Behavioral scientist Jon Levy’s new book — Team Intelligence: How Brilliant Leaders Unlock Collective Genius — argues that, in the workplace, le...

Why moms are leaving their paid jobs

05 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Moms are quitting — or getting pushed out. Workforce participation for mothers in the U.S. has been dropping for most of this year, and the reasons ...

How much is AI actually affecting the workforce?

04 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

There’s been a lot of big talk about how artificial intelligence is going to replace white collar workers. But what data do we actually have around ...

So long, farewell, super cheap tariff-free shopping

03 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In late July, President Trump signed an executive order to get rid of de minimis, a kind of a loophole where packages valued less than $800 could come...

Inside the illegal vape boom

02 Sep 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A booming underground vape market is thriving. It’s unapproved, unregulated, and risky. Today on the show, we hear from The Atlantic’s Nick Florko...

AI creeps in, KATSEYE milkshakes, and China says “Zaijian!” to US soybeans

29 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s … Indicators of the Week! Our weekly look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news. On today’s episode: AI shuts out...

What olive oil tells us about Trump's tariffs

28 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Trump's tariffs are making business harder for international olive oil producers and it turns out those tariffs are even complicating other parts of t...

Trump's unprecedented attack on the Fed

27 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Last night, President Donald Trump posted a letter firing Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook. The reason? She was accused of listing two propert...

Three ways companies are getting around tariffs

26 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Businesses are scrambling for ways to minimize the impact of the Trump administration’s global tariff policy. Today on the show, we go over some of ...

Can you copyright artwork made using AI?

25 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Copyright is the legal system used to reward and protect creations made by humans. But with growing adoption of artificial intelligence, does copyrigh...

Job retraining and the brain, DC dining, and Robinhood's sports bet

22 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s … Indicators of the Week! Our weekly look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news. On today’s episode: Job retraini...

What happens when railroads get hitched

21 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Two freight-rail giants could make history if their $85 billion merger gets approved. Union Pacific’s proposed marriage with Norfolk Southern would ...

Cobalt-free batteries reign in Chinese EVs. Why not the US?

20 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

There’s been an era-defining race underway between two types of batteries used in electric vehicles: lithium batteries that use cobalt, and ones tha...

How algorithms are changing the way we speak

19 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Social media has birthed an entire lexicon replicated by millions online — even if these words don’t actually mean skibidi. On today’s show, we ...

Three innovations pushing the medical field forward

18 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Innovation is crucial for long-term economic prosperity. One area where that’s happening aplenty: medical technology. From a cancer vaccine to an Al...

The nepo baby premium, frothing markets, and Apple vs. Apples

15 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It’s … Indicators of the Week! Our rapid run through the numbers you need to know.  On today’s episode: John Legend croons; CPI inflation soot...

Why every A-lister also has a side hustle

14 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Seemingly every celebrity has their own brand these days, whether it’s booze (Cameron Diaz, Matthew McConaughey) or cosmetics (Selena Gomez, Lady Ga...

Why Trump's spending bill could close your grocery store

13 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Trump’s tax and spending law makes the largest cut in history to one of the nation’s biggest safety net programs. Today on the show, we explore ho...

The arduous system for getting aid into Gaza

12 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Insulin needles. Sleeping bags. Nutella. These are items Arwa Damon’s charity — International Network for Aid, Relief and Assistance — has tr...

What we're reading on the beach this summer

11 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It's time for our annual beach reading recs. Today we bring you three books, with a little economic learning to boot. Our recs: Who is Government? The...

More for Palantir, less for mRNA, and a disaster database redemption arc

08 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It's ... Indicators of the Week! Our weekly look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news. On today's episode: Palantir crosses ...

The legal case for — and against — Trump's tariffs

07 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

President Trump's new round of tariffs took effect today. It will bring in billions of dollars to the government, in part paid for by U.S. importers w...

What you need to know about the jobs report revisions

06 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Why do revisions to the jobs report happen? Today on the show, we speak with a former Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics about why revisio...

Can we still trust the monthly jobs report? (Update)

05 Aug 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Since his return to office, President Trump has waged something of a pressure campaign on economic data and the people in charge of delivering it. His...