Episodes

  • Mail bag! Grad jobs, simplified branding and central bank independence

    Mail bag! Grad jobs, simplified branding and central bank independence
    Sep 30 2024
    Penny for your thoughts? Today we open our mail bag to hear from Indicator listeners. A college graduate tells us about their job search, a researcher discusses why products advertised as 'simple' may not be so straightforward, and another listener thinks the debate over Fed independence is a little more nuanced than we let on.

    Heard something on the show you liked (or didn't)? Have an insight to share about the economy? Send us an email: indicator@npr.org!

    Related episodes:
    Should presidents have more say in interest rates? (Apple / Spotify)
    We grade Fed Chair Jerome Powell (Apple / Spotify)
    Trade wars and talent shortages (Apple / Spotify)
    If the world had no accountants (Apple / Spotify)
    The case for inflation

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    9 mins
  • America's small GDP bump, China's big stimulus dispersal, and a Monkey King

    America's small GDP bump, China's big stimulus dispersal, and a Monkey King
    Sep 27 2024
    It's time for ... Indicators of the Week! It is our show where we talk about fascinating numbers from the news. On today's episode, America's small GDP increase, a big assist from China's government to its lower income residents, and a high-grossing, centuries-old Monkey King.

    Related Episodes:
    How Red Lobster got cooked and other indicators
    China's luxury liquor indicator

    For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

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    9 mins
  • What does the next era of Social Security look like?

    What does the next era of Social Security look like?
    Sep 26 2024
    Peak 65 is here. More than 4 million Americans will turn 65 each year between 2024 and 2027, representing the largest retirement surge in history. Years ago, older Americans could count on Social Security. But today there is some uncertainty on the program's solvency in the next decade plus. Now, many are entering their golden years with financial insecurity. Today on the show, how did Social Security become a thing? And what could the safety net for the Peak 65 generation and beyond look like?

    Related episodes:
    Iceberg ahead for Social Security (Apple / Spotify)
    What would it take to fix retirement? (Apple / Spotify)
    Social Insecurity

    For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

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    9 mins
  • Are pharmacy benefit managers driving up drug prices? (Update)

    Are pharmacy benefit managers driving up drug prices? (Update)
    Sep 25 2024
    A group of obscure yet powerful players in the prescription drug industry are under the microscope. On Tuesday, at a Senate hearing in D.C., the head of pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk blamed the health insurance industry and pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, for allegedly making products like the weight loss drug Ozempic way more expensive in the U.S. than it is in other countries. A few days before that, the Federal Trade Commission sued three of the country's largest PBMs for allegedly using unfair tactics to artificially inflate the price of insulin.

    So what exactly are PBMs and how do they work? In an episode that aired two years ago, we explain how the answer involves secret deals and double agents.

    Related episodes:
    Who can and cannot get weight loss drugs (Apple / Spotify)
    New drugs. Cheaper drugs. Why not both? (Apple / Spotify)

    For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

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    10 mins
  • How to pass on a global media empire

    How to pass on a global media empire
    Sep 24 2024
    Rupert Murdoch took an Australia paper in Adelaide and turned it into one of the most influential media empires in the world. The question of who will run it after he's gone though is the subject of speculation both in reality and on the HBO fictional series "Succession." Now, a small probate court in Nevada will weigh in on that very question.

    Today, how did the drama come to be? And what will the decision mean for the future of Fox, one of the most influential networks, on the planet and our political discourse?

    Related episodes:
    Dollar v. world / Taylor Swift v. FTX / Fox v. Dominion (Apple / Spotify)

    For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

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    9 mins
  • Could you live without GPS? It's OK, the economy can't, either

    Could you live without GPS? It's OK, the economy can't, either
    Sep 23 2024
    A recent survey found that nearly half of all Americans say they could not live without GPS in their car. The American economy couldn't live without GPS, either! Clocks on Wall Street, commercial fishermen, and of course, your Lyft driver, all rely on satellite navigation services.

    An outage in those services, however, would cripple the U.S. economy. A study found that an outage could cost at least $1 billion a day ... and we don't have a backup.

    Today on the show, we explain who owns GPS and why we don't have a Plan B if it fails.

    Related Episodes:
    The Military Industry ... It's Complex
    Why the FTC is cracking down on location data brokers

    For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

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    9 mins
  • The Fed cut rates ... now what? (featuring: Sasquatch)

    The Fed cut rates ... now what? (featuring: Sasquatch)
    Sep 20 2024
    It's ... Indicators of the Week! We roundup the economic indicators that caught our eyes and ears. This week, all our attention was on the Federal Reserve, which cut interest rates by half a percentage point. (Egad!)

    On today's episode, we've got dot plots, why the Fed rate cut may not bring immediate relief, and ... Sasquatch?!

    Related Episodes:
    Has the Fed lost the dot plot?
    Are both rents AND interest rates too dang high?
    When mortgage rates are too low to give up

    Related Reading:
    Mortgage Rates Puzzle Is a Worry for Housing and the Fed

    For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

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    9 mins
  • What are Harris' economic plans?

    What are Harris' economic plans?
    Sep 19 2024
    Yesterday we looked at Donald Trump's key economic proposals for a second term. On today's show, we do the same for Kamala Harris, examining the Democratic nominee's plans for taxes, housing and grocery store prices.

    Related episodes:
    What are Trump's economic plans? (Apple / Spotify)
    Three Kamala Harris indicators (Apple / Spotify)
    Bad economics, smart politics (Apple / Spotify)
    How much do presidents ACTUALLY influence the economy? (Apple / Spotify)
    When Uncle Sam stops paying the childcare bill (Apple / Spotify)

    For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

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    9 mins