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

December 31, 2025 10 mins
Americans are moving at record lows for work. What’s driving people to, well, not drive cross-country for jobs? On today’s episode, we explore the rising homebody economy. 

This episode originally aired Oct. 3, 2025. 

Related episodes: 
Why moms are leaving their paid jobs 
How the end of Roe is reshaping the medical workforce 

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To hear President Trump tell it, the late 1800s, i.e. the Gilded Age, were a period of unparalleled wealth and prosperity in the U.S. But this era was also marked by corruption and wealth inequality. Sound familiar? On today's show, is history repeating itself?

This episode originally aired June 5, 2025. 

Related:
Trump's tariff role mo...

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Seasons greetings from the The Indicator! On today's show, the story of a man who started buying and selling stocks as a hobby — and got seriously addicted. We also speak with a neuroeconomist about the human brain on day trading. 

This piece originally aired Jan. 25, 2025. 

Related episodes: 
The young trolls of Wall Street are growing up 
Invest like a Congress member 

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Many men in the U.S. feel like they're not doing as well as their fathers. But what does the data say? This episode, we're sharing an extended conversation between Darian Woods and Richard Reeves, the president of the American Institute for Boys and Men. They discuss what's really going on with men's wages. Richard also argues economic and cultural changes are needed to address the struggles unique to working-cl...

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December 26, 2025 10 mins

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 company in Japan became a gaming juggernaut. 

This piece originally aired June 16, 2025.

Related episodes:  
Inside video game economics  
Forever games: the economics of the live service model 
The boom and bust of esports 

Read more

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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 increasingly investing in their own brands.

This piece originally aired August 14, 2025.Related episodes:
The celebrity crypto nexus
The Olympian to influencer pipeline (Apple / Spotify)

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money...

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December 23, 2025 10 mins
As Warren Buffett aged, he became a different sort of figure. He transformed from short-term investor into long-term builder. He used Berkshire Hathaway to start buying companies and build an empire. Today on the show, how did Buffett’s fame become an investment tool and how did he handle the biggest crisis of his career? 

Related episodes: 
Planet Money Summer School 2: Index Funds & The Bet
Brilliant vs. Boring 
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With an unprecedented decades-long run of success, Warren Buffett is retiring on December 31, 2025. Buffett’s turning point began with the acquisition of a failing textile mill called Berkshire Hathaway. What began as a “terrible mistake” became the foundation for his empire. Today on the show, how did Buffett become this legendary figure? 

Related episodes: 
Planet Money Summer School 2: Index Funds & T...

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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 scary, spooky, blood-curdling new heights! So … which of these economic stories defined the year? 

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...
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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.

Related episodes: 
Why do shrimpers like tariffs? 
What’s the long-term cost of federal layoffs? 
A big ...

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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 of health insurance for many who rely on the marketplace for their coverage. Today on the show, we are visited by the ghosts of Obamacare past, present and future to learn what’s next for this landmark healthcare legislation.

Related episodes: 
Is Obamacare doomed without...
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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 students in graduate school can take on. Today on the show, we explain the theory behind this change and how it could impact the broader labor market going forward.

Related episodes: 
The Market For Student Loans
Here's why Black students are defaulting
Student loans ar...
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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 weren’t that affordable. On today’s show, how a low cost of living is threatened by growth, and how one sunbelt city in Alabama is planning ahead. 

Related episodes: 
Why Americans don’t want to move for jobs anymore 
How to build abundantly 
How big is the US housing sh...
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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: 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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December 11, 2025 10 mins
You may be familiar with the AI-fueled stock market boom. Well, former International Monetary Fund Chief Economist Gita Gopinath warns it could mirror the dot-com boom of the late 1990s. But worse. She calculates a similar crash could erase $35 trillion in global wealth. Today on the show, what would that mean for the US and global economies? 

Related episodes: 
This indicator hasn’t flashed this red since the dot-com b...
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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. 

Related episodes: 
Whose financing Meta’s massive AI Data Center?
This indicator hasn’t flashed t...

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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 the former Vice Chair of the Fed, Lael Brainard, about what she would do with interest rates in this critical yet foggy economic moment.

Related episodes: 
A little doomsday feeling is weighing on the economy
Can ... we still trust the monthly jobs report?

For s...
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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 fiscal math that doomed the penny, and an artist pay tribute to this American icon. 

View more of Robert Wechsler’s artwork here.

Related episodes: 
What’s the deal with the platinum coin?  

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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: A big goshDRAM memory problem, a holiday spending mystery, and apartment rental prices … decline?! 

Related episodes: 
The highs and lows of US rents 
Taking the temperature of the US consumer 
We Buy A Lot Of Christmas Trees

For sponsor-free ep...

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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.

Related episodes: 
What keeps a Fed president up at night
Using anecdotes to predict recessions

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