The Indicator from Planet Money

It’s Indicators of the Week! On today’s episode: The inner workings of Mamdani’s marts; how much Americans gamble; and Gen-Z aren’t the sober generation we’ve been led to believe! Fact checking by Corey Bridges. Your Next Listen — Is gambling the reason we have pro sports? Connect with The Indicator — Sign up for The Indicator’s brand new newsletter — Find our socials, YouTube and more ! — For sponsor-free episodes, subscribe to NPR+ Fact checking by Corey Bridges Support public media with NPR+

8m 59s

President Trump’s social media company, Truth Social, wants to sell investors early access to its posts. When Trump announces tariffs or new strikes on Iran, those milliseconds matter in the market. Is this corruption? Is this legal? And what does corruption mean for the U.S. economy? Ray Fisman’s book with Miriam A. Golden is Corruption: What Everyone Needs to Know . Fact checking by Tyler Jones. Your Next Listen — Did Trump enable insider trading? Connect with The Indicator — Sign up for The I

8m 55s

For decades, consumer tech like laptops and gaming systems got better AND cheaper. Memory shortages caused by the AI boom are making those lower prices a thing of the past. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez . Your Next Listen — SK Hynix to the moon, Gen-Z to their rooms, and Connecticut tax reform looms Connect with The Indicator — Sign up for The Indicator’s weekly newsletter ! — Buy the Planet Money book — Find our socials, YouTube and more ! — For sponsor-free episodes, subscribe to NPR+ See pcm

8m 39s

The U.S. housing market is pretty weird right now. Whether you’re a buyer, seller or a renter, it leads to all kinds of questions, like: How did we end up with a housing shortage? Is housing still a good investment? What policies might unlock the housing inventory held by baby boomers? So we called up someone with answers: Redfin’s chief economist, Daryl Fairweather. On today’s show, your housing questions, answered. This is an excerpt of a live virtual event we held last week for our NPR+ and o

9m 30s

We have some grievances. Economic ones. And we’re airing them out. On today’s show: Redeeming fast food rewards points in airports, not knowing the full price of your meal upfront, and the pen-and-paper restaurant bill slowdown. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez . Your Next Listen — Three beefs: U.S. and Brazil, Taco Bell and liability, Waymo and trial lawyers Connect with The Indicator — Sign up for The Indicator’s brand new newsletter — Find our socials, YouTube and more ! — For sponsor-free epis

8m 24s

It’s Indicators of the Week! Today on the show: Brazil’s fast payments system that’s got the Trump administration huffy, why Taco Bell might be liable for their role in cyclospora infections and why some lawyers are lobbying against driverless cars. Fact checking by Emma Ferrara and Corey Bridges. Your Next Listen — Can I get my tariff money back now? Connect with The Indicator — Sign up for The Indicator’s brand new newsletter — Find our socials, YouTube and more ! — For sponsor-free episodes,

9m 22s

Paramount’s $111 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery has a few hurdles ahead of it. One of them is an FCC approval. But a recent investigation shows that Paramount and the FCC have a dubious relationship, one with potential conflicts of interest. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez . Your Next Listen — Why Paramount went looney tunes for Warner Bros. Connect with The Indicator — Sign up for The Indicator’s weekly newsletter ! — Buy the Planet Money book — Find our socials, YouTube and more ! —

9m 44s

Biz-friendly Texas is opening a stock exchange, built and based in the state. Can it become—or best—Wall Street? And how has politics influenced the birth of Y’all Street? Fact checking by Sierra Juarez . Your Next Listen — ESG bans cost Texas Connect with The Indicator — Sign up for The Indicator’s weekly newsletter ! — Buy the Planet Money book — Find our socials, YouTube and more ! — For sponsor-free episodes, subscribe to NPR+ See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use

8m 21s

The formerly sleepy economies of suburban Austin, Texas and Syracuse, NY are getting two new semiconductor chip plants. They’re bringing thousands of jobs and dollars to the area but while Austin’s housing market seems to be handling the change well, Syracuse is in the midst of an affordability crisis. On today’s show, why? Fact checking by Sierra Juarez . Your Next Listen — A solution to the housing shortage? Connect with The Indicator — Sign up for The Indicator’s brand new newsletter — Find o

8m 39s

Why has the Food and Drug Administration taken so long to approve new sunscreens? Unlike the rest of the world, the FDA only just approved its first new ingredient in nearly three decades. We learn about a proposal to speed up drug and sunscreen innovation, and a skincare influencer who lobbied for change. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez . Your Next Listen — The sneaky way companies get new chemicals into our food Connect with The Indicator — Sign up for The Indicator’s weekly newsletter ! — Buy

9m 40s

In the summer of 2020, sixteen-year-old Antonio Mays Jr. traveled a thousand miles to join the racial justice movement of his generation in the wake of George Floyd's killing. Antonio arrived in Seattle during the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest, known as CHOP. Less than a week later, he was shot and killed there. The case remains unsolved. In this eight-part series, hosts Sydney Brownstone of The Seattle Times and Will James of KUOW team up with NPR's Embedded to investigate Antonio's death. They

3m 23s

It’s Indicators of the Week (now on YouTube !). On today’s episode: What happened to Trump’s proposed Strait of Hormuz fee?; China’s pollution takes a dip … and maybe solves a mystery?; IMAX is expensive. But BIG. (For our eyes and theater owners.) Fact checking by Julia Ritchey and Cooper Katz McKim. Your Next Listen — The curious rise of novelty popcorn buckets Connect with The Indicator — Sign up for The Indicator’s brand new newsletter — Find our socials, YouTube and more ! — For sponsor-fre

10m 21s

Over 100 years ago, Pope Leo XIII wrote a seminal letter encouraging workers to unionize in the face of industrialization. The current Pope Leo XIV in his seminal letter warned of an economic disruption from today that threatens workers - Artificial Intelligence. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez . Your Next Listen — Jobs numbers, immigrants in healthcare, and ... Jesus Christ? Connect with The Indicator — Sign up for The Indicator’s weekly newsletter ! — Buy the Planet Money book — Find our social

8m 8s

Many Gulf states like the United Arab Emirates are diversifying away from oil, but how do you actually measure that? After China resumed buying American soybeans, what are farmers doing now? And is your neighbor paying less for their car than you? Today on the show, we explore YOUR listener questions. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez & Emma Ferrara. Your Next Listen — What do farmers do in a trade war? Connect with The Indicator — Sign up for The Indicator’s brand new newsletter — Buy the Planet M

8m 57s

AI summaries are gaining traction and making the potential for a “zero click web” increasingly real. What does that mean for the internet as we know it today? Fact checking by Sierra Juarez . Your Next Listen — AI is pumping out books. Are they any good? Connect with The Indicator — Sign up for The Indicator’s brand new newsletter — Buy the Planet Money book — Find our socials, YouTube and more ! — For sponsor-free episodes, subscribe to NPR+ See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collect

9m 57s

About one in 20 car loans made to young people are in serious delinquency. That’s the highest rate since the global financial crisis. Today on the show, former FDIC chair Sheila Bair answers young listeners' car buying questions. Sheila Bair’s book is How Not to Lose a Million Dollars: A Young Person's Guide to Avoiding the Tricks and Traps of Our Financial System Fact checking by Sierra Juarez . Your Next Listen — Why this former banking regulator is writing kids books Connect with The Indicato

9m 13s

It’s Indicators of the Week (now on YouTube !). On today’s episode: You could’ve septupled your money if you invested in this scalding-hot South Korean memory chip stock; nearly half of all adults under 30 are moving back in with the ‘rents; and a new democracy is born … in Connecticut. Fact checking by Julia Ritchey and Corey Bridges. Your Next Listen — Why Americans don't want to move for jobs anymore (Encore) Connect with The Indicator — Sign up for The Indicator’s brand new newsletter — Find

8m 52s

When it comes to AI, Google’s Gemini does not have the same household recognition that Claude and ChatGPT do. One big explanation: the innovator’s dilemma. We explain how Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis is trying to fight a lumbering company’s constraints to build AI superintelligence. Sebastian Mallaby’s book is The Infinity Machine: Demis Hassabis, DeepMind, and the Quest for Superintelligence Fact checking by Sierra Juarez . Your Next Listen — The inventor’s dilemma Connect with The Indica

9m 27s

Too much news, there’s just too much news. Today on the show, we tackle three big stories we’re following: Venezuela’s ever-increasing debt problem, the real story behind high egg prices, and how gaming companies are paying the pied piper. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez . Your Next Listen — What the cluck is happening with egg prices? Connect with The Indicator — Sign up for The Indicator’s brand new newsletter — Buy the Planet Money book — Find our socials, YouTube and more ! — For sponsor-free

9m 53s

Depends on where you live, but renters have a lot of power right now in the United States. What’s behind this trend and how might you be able to take advantage of the renters’ market at your next lease renewal. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez . Your Next Listen — Corporate landlords aren't the real villain Connect with The Indicator — Sign up for The Indicator’s brand new newsletter — Buy the Planet Money book — Find our socials, YouTube and more ! — For sponsor-free episodes, subscribe to NPR+ S

9m 29s

The US defense industry is struggling to keep up with the revolution in cheap drones vs. expensive reusable military equipment. Today on the show, we talk with Stacie Pettyjohn, the director of the Defense Program at the Center for a New American Security on the three big reasons the U.S. is falling behind. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez . Your Next Listen — How Iran is wasting American resources Connect with The Indicator — Sign up for The Indicator’s brand new newsletter — Buy the Planet Money

9m 0s

How do residents of the South Side of Chicago feel about their new neighbor: the Obama Presidential Center? A mixture of pride and excitement, tempered with some concerns about what it could do to housing affordability. On today’s show, we’re bringing you an episode from our friends at Code Switch on the new center and its relationship to the historically Black neighborhoods around it. Connect with The Indicator — Sign up for The Indicator’s brand new newsletter — Buy the Planet Money book — Fin

34m 31s

Last month, new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh presided over his first interest rate decision and press conference … but he didn't talk much about maximum employment. How much does Kevin Warsh care about the jobs side of the Fed’s dual mandate? Fact checking by Sierra Juarez . Your Next Listen — Are we in a new era of permanently higher prices? Connect with The Indicator — Sign up for The Indicator’s brand new newsletter — Buy the Planet Money book — Find our socials, YouTube and more ! — For sponsor-fre

8m 50s

During President Donald Trump’s first term, he touted the USMCA as the largest and most fair trade deal ever achieved. So why is he now talking about ‘terminating’ it? Fact checking by Sierra Juarez . Your Next Listen — Are Trump’s trade deals the real deal? Connect with The Indicator — Sign up for The Indicator’s brand new newsletter — Buy the Planet Money book — Find our socials, YouTube and more ! — For sponsor-free episodes, subscribe to NPR+ See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our col

9m 30s

If war is so costly, why do we keep fighting them? We dig into the wars in Iran, Ukraine and Gaza to understand the incentives that lead countries into violence. Today on the show, the five factors that lead to war. Chris Blattman’s book is Why We Fight: The Roots of War and the Paths to Peace . Fact checking by Sierra Juarez . Your Next Listen — The new economic arms race Connect with The Indicator — Sign up for The Indicator’s brand new newsletter — Buy the Planet Money book — Find our socials

10m 9s

For many of the 43 million Americans with federal student loans, July 1 is a day to mark on the calendar . Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act is introducing stricter borrowing caps and new repayment plans. Today on the show, we talk with NPR’s Education Reporter Cory Turner about the impact. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez . Your Next Listen — Will new loan limits lower the cost of grad sch ool? Connect with The Indicator — Sign up for The Indicator’s brand new newsletter — Buy the Planet Money b

9m 21s

It’s Indicators of the Week (now on YouTube !). On today’s episode: The effect of GLP-1s on women and the workplace ; NYC’s once flailing office space is BACK; your boss asking you to come back to the office miiiight be a narcissist . Fact checking by Emma Ferrara and Corey Bridges. Your Next Listen — Why GLP-1s aren't lowering employers' costs Connect with The Indicator — Sign up for The Indicator’s brand new newsletter — Find our socials, YouTube and more ! — For sponsor-free episodes, subscri

8m 43s

Are all these AI books any good? And by good, we mean are people willing to buy them — not whether the prose is singing. We talk to two researchers who’ve got some answers and a travel guide expert on why AI can’t replace first-hand experience. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez . Your Next Listen — Human certification in the age of AI slop Connect with The Indicator — Sign up for The Indicator’s brand new newsletter — Buy the Planet Money book — Find our socials, YouTube and more ! — For sponsor-fr

8m 46s

In 2019, Juan Hernandez was laid off from SpaceX. Luckily, he still had the opportunity to buy $50K - $60K of the company’s stock and, years later, it’s safe to say the risk was worth it. Today on the show, how stock options built California as a tech hub. Fact-checking by Emma Ferrara. Your Next Listen — Do traders who make big bets make big money? Connect with The Indicator — Sign up for The Indicator’s brand new newsletter — Buy the Planet Money book — Find our socials, YouTube and more ! — F

9m 54s

A plan to create a new $250—with President Donald Trump’s face on it—has created a lot of pushback. Who probably won’t be pushing back, though? Criminals. On today’s show, we explain why. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez . Your Next Listen — Trump crypto, Trump ballroom and Trump drones Connect with The Indicator — Sign up for The Indicator’s brand new newsletter — Buy the Planet Money book — Find our socials, YouTube and more ! — For sponsor-free episodes, subscribe to NPR+ See pcm.adswizz.com fo

8m 48s