The Indicator from Planet Money

The landmark supreme source case Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission opened the floodgates for massive corporate spending in elections. Today, can a Montana ballot initiative pave the way for getting corporate money out of American elections?   Fact checking by Sierra Juarez . Your Next Listen  – Can a "moneyball" system work for campaign funding? –Over 2,000 episodes in our archive on...

Does business school fix the world? Or does it just churn out consultants, bankers and tech workers? A professor and a dean debate the value of the modern-day MBA. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez . Your Next Listen  –– Are small town colleges going extinct? ––Over 2,000 episodes in our archive on the NPR App Connect with The Indicator from Planet Money – The Indicator newsletter — a weekly roundup...

Meta’s new AI agent Muse is one of the fastest-growing apps ever. It’s a big bet from a company spending billions to win the AI race. But what is the real cost of using this powerful, free AI product?  Fact checking by Sierra Juarez . Your Next Listen  – SNAP strains, youth baseball's class divide, and Meta's bug bounty –Over 2,000 episodes in our archive on the NPR App Connect with The Indicator...

There are now more bots than humans online. What does that mean for how we experience the internet? Can bots and humans peacefully coexist online?   Fact checking by Sierra Juarez . Your Next Listen  – Can the internet survive AI summaries?   –Over 2,000 episodes in our archive on the NPR App Connect with The Indicator from Planet Money – The Indicator newsletter — a weekly roundup of news, ideas...

This week’s notable indicators: A distressing credit warning for CoreWeave, a Pokémon heist, and depleted maple syrup reserves in Canada.   Fact checking by Cooper Katz McKim.  Your Next Listen  – Why Pokemon cards are growing faster than your retirement account –Over 2,000 episodes in our archive on the NPR App Connect with The Indicator from Planet Money – The Indicator newsletter — a weekly rou...

Elections are more expensive than ever, but are campaign donations going to the races where they’ll make the most impact? Today, we talk to the startup co-founder of Oath who believes there’s a smarter way to allocate individual donations. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez . Your Next Listen  – How did political campaigns get so expensive? –Over 2,000 episodes in our archive on the NPR App Connect wi...

Should money and class figure more prominently in how we identify ourselves? Pulitzer Prize-winning data journalist Mona Chalabi thinks yes. Today on the show, a conversation with Mona, author of the forthcoming book Ten Lives: How What We Have Shapes Who We Are . Fact checking by Sierra Juarez .  Your Next Listen  – Chasing the American Dream at Outback Steakhouse –Over 2,000 episodes in our arch...

The United States national debt is running at more than $40 trillion dollars. It’s a potential crisis in the making, but President Donald Trump suggested it can all be solved just by inflating the debt away. Today, we dig into the nitty gritty on how and when inflating the national debt could work. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez . Your Next Listen  – Is the federal debt REALLY that bad? –Over 2,00...

Oracle, the multinational tech giant has taken on a lot of loans to build up its AI capacity. But Oracle’s investors are not happy with this piling debt load. We explain why Oracle is such a pivotal player — and potentially weak link — in the AI-fueled economy. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez . Your Next Listen  – How the bond market is handling AI risk? –Over 2,000 episodes in our archive on the N...

Is AI coming for our jobs? Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei believes AI could wipe out many white-collar jobs in the next few years. While Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang argues AI will reshape existing roles and create even more jobs than we have now. So which future are we really facing: a job-pocalypse or a jobs transformation? For answers, join The Indicator 's Adrian Ma for "Ask An Economist.” This is a vi...

This week’s indicators: Why is inflation so super (derogatory)? How did Bumble go from dating app doldrums to a stock market sweetheart?; And oh, bother! Could Winnie the Pooh be moving home to England from New York City? Fact checking by Leyla Doss. Your Next Listen  – Retiree benefits bump, credit repayment slump, and a dating app in the dumps –Over 2,000 episodes in our archive on the NPR App C...

The 2026 midterm elections are fast approaching, and it’s gearing up to be the most expensive election in American history. So how did we get here, where every election feels more expensive than the last?  Today on the show, we’re exploring what’s causing the flood of money into our politics.  Fact checking by Sierra Juarez . Your Next Listen  – Bad economics, smart politics –Over 2,000 episodes i...

A labyrinthine rebate process. Shrinking cereal boxes. Mystery rental car charges. Cockroaches?! We share listener tales of Consumer Rage and unpack the economic forces driving that ANGER. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez . Your Next Listen  – Consumers are mad as hell and aren't gonna take it anymore –Over 2,000 episodes in our archive on the NPR App Connect with The Indicator from Planet Money – T...

This year's Nobel Prize for Economics went to American economists Robert E. Hall and Michael Woodford! Their research focused on macroeconomic models and economic shocks. But … How did we get a Nobel Prize in economics, or as it’s actually called, the more long-winded “Swedish Central Bank Prize in Economic Sciences in memory of Alfred Nobel”? And why did nearly 70 years pass between the first Nob...

Nearly 30 million bison once roamed North America, from modern Canada to Mexico. In the late 1800s, white settlers and the U.S. military annihilated the population of bison, bringing these creatures to the brink of extinction. The consequences for the people who relied on the bison were dire — and still being felt today. In an episode that first aired in August 2023, we spoke to one economist who...

This week our top indicators include changes to the funding model for SNAP, private equity’s influence on youth baseball and Meta’s attempt to find flaws in its brand new AI assistant.  Fact checking by Sierra Juarez . Your Next Listen  – Why Trump's spending bill could close your grocery store –Over 2,000 episodes in our archive on the NPR App Connect with The Indicator from Planet Money – The In...

Federal immigration enforcement arrests reached record highs this past summer, and under the second Trump administration, immigration agents can now more easily access so-called sensitive areas, including hospitals. Today on the show: how both patients and healthcare workers are bearing the physical and economic costs of these deportation campaigns.  Featuring Dr. William D. Lopez, author of Raidi...

Rising electricity prices are one of the primary reasons why data centers are a public enemy this election cycle. But is it realistic to expect energy prices to stay high forever?  Fact checking by Sierra Juarez . Your Next Listen  No AI data centers in my backyard! Over 2,000 episodes in our archive on the NPR App Connect with The Indicator from Planet Money The Indicator newsletter — a weekly ro...

Norway has the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, but it’s facing a self-imposed dilemma. Should the fund's investments include companies that directly or indirectly contribute to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war? On today’s show, the ethical tightrope Norway is walking to invest its oil riches responsibly.  Fact checking by Sierra Juarez . Your Next Listen  — How would a US sovereign wealth fund...

How do you ask your friends to pay you back in a timely way? We’ve got an etiquette coach to help with that.  Fact checking by Sierra Juarez . Your Next Listen  — Is this a bank? 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+   Support public media wi...

Most workers can’t start collecting full Social Security benefits until age 67. But a new proposal from Michigan Congresswoman Haley Stevens would allow workers in “physically demanding jobs” to receive full retirement benefits at 60. Today, two social security experts tell us the pros and cons.  Fact checking by Sierra Juarez . Your Next Listen  — Iceberg ahead for Social Security Connect with Th...

What do influencing, AI and health sciences have in common? They’re all degree programs colleges have launched in the last few years to attract students looking for a new career path. On today's show, how colleges are rethinking degrees for a changing job market. Fact checking by Leyla Doss.  Your Next Listen  — Community colleges are kind of underrated   Connect with The Indicator  — Sign up for...

Universities spend millions of dollars every year on their athletics programs. But does that investment pay off? Today, we interrogate the “Doug Flutie Effect.”  Fact checking by Cooper Katz McKim. Your Next Listen  — How college sports juiced Olympic development Connect with The Indicator  — Sign up for The Indicator’s weekly newsletter !  — Buy the Planet Money book   — Find our socials, YouTube...

What rhymes with "snakes" and helps the government classify economic activity? NAICS — or the North American Industry Classification System. These codes categorize every industry from artificial turf installation to zucchini farming. But they’re not exactly easy to get. Today we look at one business’ quest for a NAICS code and what makes them so valuable.  Fact checking by Leyla Doss.  Your Next L...

Decades ago, rich Americans used to pay taxes as high as 40% on their investments. Nowadays, an obscure investment strategy is helping them slash that figure toward … 0%. Today on the show, Bloomberg reporter Loukia Gyftopoulou, tells us about this generation’s “great American tax dodge,” and the “mad genius” behind it. A Tax Strategy for the Rich Built the World’s Largest Hedge Fund - Bloomberg F...