Episodes

  • Why the US government is buying more apples than ever before

    Why the US government is buying more apples than ever before
    Nov 4 2024
    For the second year in a row, the U.S. government is buying the largest quantity of apples in its history because there are not enough consumers and processors who want to buy them. Today on the show, an abundance of apples and why some apple growers are getting out of the game altogether.

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    9 mins
  • Cool, cool, cooling jobs

    Cool, cool, cooling jobs
    Nov 1 2024
    The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the unemployment rate remained steady at 4.1% and 12,000 jobs were added to the U.S. economy during October. It's a lower-than-expected jobs number, from a period that saw two significant hurricanes in the southeast and a strike from workers at Boeing. Today on the show, we explain the complexities of calculating the monthly job numbers, and why the Bureau of Labor Statistics can be trusted.

    Related episodes:
    Behind the scenes of Jobs Friday (Apple / Spotify / NPR)

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    7 mins
  • The U.S. once banned Chinese immigrants — and it paid an economic price

    The U.S. once banned Chinese immigrants — and it paid an economic price
    Oct 31 2024
    In 1880, the Chinese were the biggest group of immigrants in the western U.S. But Sinophobic sentiments crystallized into racist policies and eventually the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. The rationale was that banning Chinese laborers would boost job opportunities for U.S.-born workers. Today, an economist explains how the Chinese exclusion laws affected the economies of western states and what it says about our current debate over immigration and jobs.

    Read the working paper co-authored by Nancy Qian.

    A digital scan of the photo album in the California Historical Society's collections is available here.

    For more on this period of history, check out At America's Gates: Chinese Immigration during the Exclusion Era, 1882-1943 by Erika Lee.

    Related episodes:
    What's missing in the immigration debate (Apple / Spotify)

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    9 mins
  • What's missing in the immigration debate

    What's missing in the immigration debate
    Oct 30 2024
    Immigration is a top concern among U.S. voters this election cycle. But Zeke Hernandez, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania who studies immigration,thinks politicians and the media aren't giving the public the full story. Too often, he argues, they paint immigrants as objects of pity or fear, when the reality is much more complex — and positive. Today on the show, we look beyond the binary and explore the less talked about ways documented and undocumented immigrants shape the U.S. economy.

    Zeke's book is called The Truth About Immigration: Why Successful Societies Welcome Newcomers.

    Related listening:
    Is the border crisis really a labor market crisis? (Apple / Spotify)
    Do immigrants really take jobs and lower wages? (Apple / Spotify)
    Welcome to the USA! Now get to work (Apple / Spotify)

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    9 mins
  • What happens when Social Security runs out of money?

    What happens when Social Security runs out of money?
    Oct 29 2024
    Social Security has thus far been self-sustaining—payroll taxes go into this big fund, which then pays out monthly checks. But the problem we have now is the money coming into that fund is not keeping up with the money going out.

    The election hasn't been great for people concerned about the government's finances. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget estimates that Donald Trump's election proposals will speed up the rundown in the Social Security fund by a few years.

    So, when Social Security runs out of money as it's projected to do ... could we just borrow more money? And if so, what would that mean for the already rising government's debt?

    Today on the show, how worried should we be about Social Security and the federal debt? We explain a fresh indicator to assess whether or not America's getting too far in the red.

    Related Episodes:
    What does the next era of Social Security look like?
    Iceberg ahead for Social Security

    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 looks like a bond and acts like a bond but isn't a bond?

    What looks like a bond and acts like a bond but isn't a bond?
    Oct 28 2024
    The Maldives is a small island nation struggling with a heavy debt load. Its borrowing includes $500 million worth of something called sukuk. These are bond-like investments that don't pay interest, to be in line with Islamic law. Today on the show, we explain how sukuk works, how it fits into the larger world of Islamic finance and what might happen if the Maldives can't pay back its debt.

    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
  • An economist answers your questions on love

    An economist answers your questions on love
    Oct 25 2024
    We ask economists for their expertise all the time on The Indicator, so why not their tips on love? On our final installment of Love Week, we ask economist Tim Harford to answer listeners' relationship quandaries, from paying for a first date to alternatives to saying, 'I love you.'

    Thanks to Grant-Lee Phillps for composing our Love Week theme song and Kaitlin Brito for artwork.

    Related episodes:
    Trying to fix the dating app backlash (Apple / Spotify)
    How American heiresses became Dollar Princesses (Apple / Spotify)
    Why the publishing industry is hot (and bothered) for romance (Apple / Spotify)
    It's Love Week! How the TV holiday rom-com got so successful (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
  • Trying to fix the dating app backlash

    Trying to fix the dating app backlash
    Oct 24 2024
    Unanswered messages. Endless swiping. An opaque algorithm. The backlash to online dating feels like it's reached a fever pitch recently. For today's Love Week episode, why people are unhappy with online dating and what Hinge's CEO is trying to do about it. Also, a Nobel Prize economist delivers a little tough love.

    Related listening:
    How American heiresses became Dollar Princesses (Apple / Spotify)
    Why the publishing industry is hot (and bothered) for romance (Apple / Spotify)
    It's Love Week! How the TV holiday rom-com got so successful (Apple / Spotify)
    Hinge: Justin McLeod (How I Built This)
    The dating app paradox
    The economics behind sorority rush

    Special thanks to Grant-Lee Phillips for our Love Week theme song and Kaitlin Brito for episode artwork.

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

    Music by     Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

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    9 mins