The Indicator from Planet Money

The Indicator from Planet Money

A bite-sized show about big ideas. From the people who make Planet Money, The Indicator helps you make sense of what's happening in today's economy. It's a quick hit of insight into money, work, and business. Monday through Friday, in 10 minutes or less.

Episodes

March 6, 2026 9 mins
The night shift isn’t for everyone, but it often means a boost in pay and a foot in the door. Yet a smaller share of Americans are working the graveyard shift than in decades past. Today on the show, where did all the third shift workers go? 

Come see Planet Money live on stage in April! 12 cities. Details and tix here:
https://tix.to/pm-book-tour

Related episodes: 
Why Americans don’t want to move for jobs any...
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Remember those juicy mortgage rates from back in 2021? You don’t actually need a time machine to get one today. You just need to find someone willing to sell their house AND their mortgage to you. Called ‘assumable mortgages,’ they take a long time to get,, and you’ll probably need a fat wad of cash.

On today’s show, how to buy your way into a cheap mortgage rate.

Related episodes: 
How mortgage rates get made<...
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March 4, 2026 9 mins

China will soon unveil its economic blueprint for the next five years, including a target for economic growth. This comes as consumption is down, wages aren’t rising, and property prices continue to drop. So what’s the plan? Today, we hear from NPR’s China correspondent Jennifer Pak about the challenges facing China’s economic policymakers.

FYI, we are going on a book tour! Planet Money’s first ever book co...

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Paramount Skydance is making a $110 billion play for Warner Bros. Discovery, and with it intellectual property like Harry Potter, Batman, and subsidiaries HBO and CNN. On today’s show, who is the man behind the deal? Does he really want to make movies? Will any regulators try to stop it? 

FYI, we are going on a book tour! Planet Money’s first ever book comes out in April. We’ll be celebrating in about a doz...

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Two economists get into the business—and stakes—of organ donation, and they argue why the government should financially compensate their families.

FYI, we are going on a book tour! Planet Money’s first ever book comes out in April. We’ll be celebrating in about a dozen cities. There’s a limited edition tote bag included with your ticket, while supplies last. Details, dates and how to get your ticket at plan...

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It’s … Indicators of the Week (now on YouTube!), our weekly look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news. 

On today’s episode: How Minnesota workers were affected by Operation Metro Surge, why coffee’s getting more expensive, and what happens when a sci-fi AI scenario meets the stock market

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How ICE crackdowns are affecting the workforce

Why this rural to...
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Russia exports billions of dollars worth of fish a year across the world. But after the invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. banned imports of Russian fish. It turns out those bans are only so effective. Today on the show, how Russia has dodged import bans to keep selling billions of dollars worth of seafood every year, and how the U.S. has struggled to stop it.  

FYI, we are going on a book tour! Planet Money’s f...

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What do the latest batch of documents tell us about convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and elite networking? Quite a bit. Today on the show, we analyze one exchange between Epstein and a former world leader to find out how the revolving door works for the rich and powerful.

FYI, we are going on a book tour! Planet Money’s first ever book comes out in April. We’ll be celebrating in about a dozen cities. Th...

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We’re going whale watching today. No, not orcas or great blues, but financial traders that place big bets on something called options. On today’s show, who are these option whales and do their bets always pay off? 

FYI, we are going on a book tour! Planet Money’s first ever book comes out in April. We’ll be celebrating in about a dozen cities. There’s a limited edition tote bag included with your ticket, while supplies las...
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You asked, we answered. 

On today’s show, we tackle questions from our dear listeners on whether AI interviewers are biased, what the heck M2 money supply is, and what’s up with the frenzied mobs fighting for rotisserie chickens at the grocery store. 

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When AI is your job interviewer
How beef climbed to the top of the food pyramid
Retirement luck, Hassett hassles the Fed, and boneless ch...
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February 21, 2026 8 mins
The Supreme Court struck down a bunch of President Trump’s tariffs yesterday. The Trump administration originally used an emergency economic powers law to justify the tariffs. And the court said: No! You can’t do that! Bad Trump, bad! This is despite the U.S. having raked in over a hundred billion dollars in import taxes already.

On today’s show, unpacking the Supreme Court’s blockbuster tariffs decision. What’s next for t...
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It’s … Indicators of the Week! Our weekly look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news. 

On today’s episode: Why you better hope you retire at juuuust the right time, why the researchers at the Federal Reserve are being scolded by a White House economic advisor, and taking boneless chicken to court. 

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Chicken meat, Gulf of Mexico lawsuit and Social Security bey...
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February 19, 2026 9 mins
The Trump administration is planning to pour more than $38 billion into warehouses for mass immigrant detention. While some communities are starting to push back, one rural town has agreed to expand its detention facility. On today’s show, we visit a small town in Georgia to learn about the trade-offs of becoming a detention town. 

Related episodes: 
How well are ICE’s 12,000 new officers being trained?
How ICE crac...
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The Department of Homeland Security says it has more than doubled the workforce of Immigration and Customs Enforcement under President Trump. Yet videos of immigration officers killing two U.S. citizens and using aggressive arrest tactics have left some politicians and community leaders rethinking the agency’s approach. On today’s show, law enforcement experts assess the training and culture at DHS.  

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Editor's note: The United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran early Saturday, Feb. 28. For current coverage click here. For background context, the story below was published on Feb. 17, 2026.

According to activists, Iran has killed over 7,000 people as part of a crackdown on protesters. Why did protests engulf Iran in the first place? A big contributor: Its flagging economy, which has been in a tailspin for years. I...
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It’s time for … Indicators of the Week! Our weekly look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news. 

On today’s episode: Analyzing the new jobs numbers, how letting in more immigrants could reduce elder mortality, and betting on the return of … Jesus Christ. 

Related episodes: 

Just how bad are these job numbers? 

A market to bet on the future 

Who's gonna take care o...
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Behind every Ilia Malinin or Alysa Liu, there is an army of elite figure skating coaches and choreographers who have been with them from the beginning. On today’s show, how much does it cost to achieve Olympic glory and why is it so expensive? 

Related episodes: 
How college sports juiced Olympic development 
Why the Olympics cost so much 

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Pl...

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February 11, 2026 8 mins
The prices of gold and silver are on rollercoaster rides; Gold has been rising over the last few years, silver shot up like a skyrocket in January … but then both plunged in price and sputtered around the end of the month. 

It raises the question: What is going on? 

Today on the show, we talk with some traders about what this volatility of gold and silver is saying about the state of the world. 

Related e...
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Food keeps getting more expensive, so how do shoppers respond? They change what they buy, right? It’s not just that cheaper foods get more popular. Shoppers are more nuanced than that. So, today on the show, we choose one classic meal that is tailor-made for this anxious economic moment. Why Hamburger Helper is poised to win 2026.

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How niche brands got into your local supermarket
Can you trust you'r...
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February 9, 2026 9 mins
Trade wars. Financial panics. Inflation. How come it feels like it’s all bad news in the global economy these days? Economist Eswar Prasad’s answer: something he calls the ‘doom loop.’ That’s where massive geopolitical and economic forces feed off each other and send us careening into disorder. Sounds dire. But it’s not hopeless.

On today’s show, are we in a doom loop? And if we are … how do we get out of one?

Esw...
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