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

Babies v climate change; AI v IP; bonds v world

June 27, 2025 • 9 mins
It's ... Indicators of the Week! Our weekly look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news.

On today's episode: Could more babies change the climate in a big way? Why did a U.S. judge side with AI company Anthropic? And why is the bond market so chill these days?

Related episodes:
Artists vs. AI
You told us how tariffs are affecting you (Apple/Spotify)

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We're gonna need a bigger boat-building industry

June 26, 2025 • 8 mins
During World War II, the U.S. shipbuilding industry flourished. Now, it's nearly non-existent. China is the dominant shipbuilder in the world economy. On today's show, we look at what happened to American shipbuilding and the protectionist impulses that could stifle a revival.

Related episodes:
Will Iran block the Strait of Hormuz?
The great turnaround in shipping
The wide open possibility of the high seas
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One of the cheapest ways to save a life is going away

June 25, 2025 • 9 mins
What's the price to save a human life? We examine the monumental legacy of the U.S. President's Emergency Plan For AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) with journalist Jon Cohen, who traveled to Eswatini and Lesotho to learn how cuts under the Trump Administration are hitting people at the clinic door.

Related episodes:
The gutting of USAID
How USAID cuts hurts farmers

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Will Iran block the Strait of Hormuz?

June 24, 2025 • 9 mins
The world has held a close eye on the Strait of Hormuz lately with Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran. Nearly a quarter of the world's seaborne oil passes through the narrow waterway, and many are worried Iran could shut the strait down. Today on the show, we explore what it would mean for Iran to close off the strait, and what insurance could tell us about tensions in the Middle East.

Related episodes:
Oil prices and the...
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You told us how tariffs are affecting you

June 23, 2025 • 9 mins
Americans like to spend money. In fact, we spend more per person than almost any other country in the world. So, we wanted to know how an uncertain economy is affecting that. Today on the show, we hear from consumers directly on how their spending habits have changed the past few months.

Related episodes:
How's ... everybody doing? (Apple / Spotify)
Three ways consumers are feeling the pinch (Apple / Spotify)
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SALT-n-pessimism

June 20, 2025 • 8 mins
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 Senate passes the GENIUS Act, the SALT cap might be DOA in the OBBB, and a gender split on the state of the economy.

Related episodes:
How stable is Stablecoin? (Apple / Spotify)
Feeling inflation in the grocery store

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Why the 30-year bond matters

June 18, 2025 • 9 mins
Last week, the U.S. Treasury held an auction for 30-year bonds. Some were worried no one would show up to buy these things! That didn't happen, but the 'long bond' isn't exactly thriving at the moment. Today on the show, we look back at why we have such a long maturity bond and why it might be a good idea to start paying attention to it going forward.

Related episodes:
Bond market nightmares (Apple / Spotify)
Bond vi...
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Mixing family business with US trade policy in Vietnam

June 17, 2025 • 8 mins
Last month, Eric Trump, executive vice president at The Trump Organization, attended a ceremony in Vietnam to break ground on a $1.5 billion residential development and golf course. This comes as Vietnam's government is in trade talks with the administration of Eric's father, President Donald Trump.

Today on the show, we look at how the Trump family's business projects in Vietnam are raising red flags when it comes to gov...
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The secret to Nintendo's success

June 16, 2025 • 9 mins
Nintendo has been a titan in the video game industry for decades, but that wasn't always the case. At its very core, Nintendo sees itself as a toy company which is evident in its products from the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) to the Nintendo Switch 2.

Today on the show, we explore Nintendo's history and examine how a small playing card company in Japan became a multimedia giant.

Related episodes:
Foreve...
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Trump's parade, FEMA phase out, and Warner Bros. Discovery divorces ... itself?

June 13, 2025 • 8 mins
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 monetary cost of Trump's military parade, looks like FEMA could be phased out, and another change to Warner Bros. Discovery.

Related episodes:
Coyote vs. Warner Bros. Discovery (Apple / Spotify)
Gilded Age 2.0? (Apple / Spotify)

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The hidden costs of healthcare churn

June 12, 2025 • 8 mins
Healthcare churn—when people switch insurance plans—is particularly bad in the US.

In today's episode, why Americans switch healthcare plans so much, and how that can cost a lot in money ... and in health.

Related episode:
How doctors helped tank universal health care (Apple / Spotify)
Healthcare And Economic Despair

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The secret tariff-free zone

June 11, 2025 • 9 mins
There's something interesting happening at the Port of Baltimore. On today's show, we explore the hidden world of bonded warehouses, where you can stash your imported Latvian vodka or Dutch beer tariff free (for a while).

Related episodes:
Tariffied! We check in on businesses (Apple / Spotify)

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What's a revenge tax?

June 10, 2025 • 9 mins
For four decades, the US has maintained a consistent policy position: money should be fairly free to come and go in and out of the country. That's changing.

Two sections in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act would add friction. First is a 3.5% tax on immigrants sending money home, commonly known as remittances. Second is what's known as Section 899 or, colloquially, the 'revenge tax'. This one is making Wall Street wary. It w...
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How doctors helped tank universal health care

June 9, 2025 • 9 mins
A debate has been raging over universal health care in the U.S. since the 1940s. Back then, a formidable opponent emerged to dump a lot of money into ensuring it wouldn't happen. That opponent was doctors. Today on the show, Sally Helm, a Planet Money reporter, comes to us in her capacity as the host of HISTORY This Week to detail how doctors helped tank single pay healthcare back then and the role communism played in the fight.
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Why U.S. workers keep getting more productive

June 6, 2025 • 9 mins
For the last couple of years, U.S. labor productivity has been on the rise. And economists don't know exactly why. So today on the show, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago plays economic detective and helps us investigate some different theories about why U.S. workers seem to be more productive than in prior decades.

Related episodes:
What keeps a Fed president up at night (Apple / Spotify)
Product...
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Gilded Age 2.0?

June 5, 2025 • 9 mins
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?

Related episodes:
Trump's tariff role model (Apple / Spotify)
Worst. Tariffs. Ever. (Apple / Spotify)

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An indicator lost: big disaster costs

June 4, 2025 • 9 mins
The U.S. government has tallied the economic impact of major natural disasters going back to 1980. State and local governments used this data for budgeting and planning. But last month, the administration retired its Billion-Dollar Weather and Climate Disasters disaster database. Today on the show, we speak to Adam Smith, the architect of the program, on the work he did and what might be next.

Related episodes:
How mu...
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Who should get mom's ring?

June 3, 2025 • 9 mins
By 2048, more than $100 trillion is expected to be inherited, or passed down from one family member to another. But a lot of the time, the money doesn't end up where it's intended. On today's show, we navigate the thornier questions in estate planning.

Related episodes:
What women want (to invest in)

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Why Gen Z is feeling 'money dysmorphia'

June 2, 2025 • 9 mins
A significant portion of young people feel like they aren't on solid financial footing. And yet, the numbers show Gen Z adults on average actually earn more and have more wealth than previous generations did at their age.

This phenomenon has been dubbed (by the internet) as 'money dysmorphia'. Today on the show, we chat with a neuroscientist who co-wrote a book, Look Again, that helps explain this phenomenon.

Re...
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Let's 'TACO' 'bout General Motors gassing up V-8s and golden shares

May 30, 2025 • 9 mins
It's ... Indicators of the Week! Our weekly look at some of the most fascinating numbers from the news.

On today's episode, we examine: General Motors invests big in V-8s; U.S. Steel and Nippon Steel flirt with the Golden Share; Trump's tariffs just got more unpredictable.

Related episodes:
Dealmaker Don v. Tariff Man Trump (Apple / Spotify)
The tensions behind the sale of U.S. Steel (Apple / Spotify)
...
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