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
Our hosts from Planet Money and The Indicator duke it out during our annual … Family Feud!
Tell us who you think has THE indicator of the year by emailing us at indica...
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 former federal employee caught in the Trump administration's wood chipper, a Louisiana shrimper on Trump’s tariffs and an update on a financial aid scam.
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Why do shrimpers like tariffs?
What’s the long-term cost of federal layoffs?
A big ...
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Is Obamacare doomed without...
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The Market For Student Loans
Here's why Black students are defaulting
Student loans ar...
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Why Americans don’t want to move for jobs anymore
How to build abundantly
How big is the US housing sh...
On today’s episode: Nvidia chips OK’d for China, a sticky frozen Russian asset situation, and a lot of you seem to be stealing from self-checkout.
Related episodes: The tower of NVIDIA How to get Russia to pay Ukraine Why the U.S. cut China off from advanced chips
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This indicator hasn’t flashed this red since the dot-com b...
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 pretty valuable in the era of AI. Today on the show, why some miners are starting to throw in the towel on crypto in favor of supporting AI infrastructure.
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Whose financing Meta’s massive AI Data Center?
This indicator hasn’t flashed t...
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A little doomsday feeling is weighing on the economy
Can ... we still trust the monthly jobs report?
For s...
View more of Robert Wechsler’s artwork here.
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What’s the deal with the platinum coin?
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, su...
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 goshDRAM memory problem, a holiday spending mystery, and apartment rental prices … decline?!
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The highs and lows of US rents
Taking the temperature of the US consumer
We Buy A Lot Of Christmas Trees
It is a special edition of the Beigies Awards where one regional Federal Reserve Bank will receive lifetime achievement recognition. Today on the show, we speak to its President about the value of economic anecdotes.
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What keeps a Fed president up at night
Using anecdotes to predict recessions
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Plan...
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How Japan is trying to solve the problem of shrinking v...
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 front of the Supreme Court could declare several of Trump’s tariffs illegal, which would prompt a return of billions of dollars. Today on the show, we look at how that would work and why the process will likely not be easy.
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Three ways compa...
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. We learn why, despite this, US railroads could still be worth bragging about.
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What happens when railroads get hitched
How three letters reinvented the railroad business
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 a game we’re calling Indicator Quizbowl. Today on the show, Wailin and Darian go head to head to see who the bigger public policy nerd is.
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Could cash payments ease recessions?
A trap-loving DJ takes on economics
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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 Meta’s own money. Today on the show, the opaque system of AI data center financing and why it’s fueling fears of a bubble.
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OpenAI’s de...
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 of these trade deals — big numbers but vague details. When China says it’ll buy more soybeans, is it the government or companies that does the buying? When South Korea promises to invest in American shipyards, who’s actually doing that? Today on the show, we dig into two que...
On today’s episode: the effects of pay transparency, Meta’s big win, and freaky flies and beef.
Related episodes:
Are we entering a new dawn for antitrust enforcement?
Why beef prices are so high
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to...
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’s show, the lucrative business of contractor fraud and advice on how to avoid them.
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An indicator lost: Big disaster costs
When insurers can’t get insurance
Selling safety in the fight against wildfires
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