As Wall Street investors divine what a second Trump administration might mean for markets, there's talk of a new gang in town: the bond vigilantes. On today's show, where they came from, what they want, and how to tell when they're about to spring into action.

Related episodes:
Trying to solve the mystery of big bond yields
What the 'bonkers' bond market means for you

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There's been a lot of research showing how third spaces ? a place that isn't the home nor the workplace ? have brought communities together, even catalyzed revolutions. New research shows that coffee shops in particular could be key to sparking new businesses, too.

Today on the show, caffeine-fueled entrepreneurship. We go back a few decades for the story of how Magic Johnson partnered to build Starbucks cafes in Black and Latino neighborhoods, and how new research has shed light on how Magic's plan changed entrepreneurship in those communities.

Related Episodes:
Oil gluts, Russian bucks, and Starbucks
Magic Johnson on basketball, business, and being the face of HIV

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Events like the recent dock worker's strike and hurricanes sparked panic buying among American shoppers. Today, a logistics expert helps us craft a shopper's guide for how to navigate a supply chain crisis.

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There is a LOT of economic news happening at the moment (it all happens, so very much of it, all the time), so we wanted to give you an idea of what we here at The Indicator are keeping tabs on.

Today on the show, we look ahead to: countries coughing up money for climate change at COP29, how confident are home builders feeling right now, and ... is US manufacturing REALLY in decline?

Related Episodes:
A countdown to climate action
Why aren't more people taking on the trades?
Do polluters pay, or do they get paid?

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Today, we're sharing an episode of a podcast that we've enjoyed, and think you will, too! It's called The Economics of Everyday Things. It's made by the Freakonomics Radio Network and on each of its episodes, host Zachary Crockett uncovers the hidden stories behind ordinary things! Stock photos, girl scout cookies, and cashmere sweaters, you name it.

In this episode, you're about to hear Zachary crack the lid open on ... the humble pizza box.

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On Indicators of the Week, we cover our favorite numbers in the news. On this week's edition we cover Netflix's foray into live sports, the possible psychology behind the post-election cryptocurrency rally, and a struggling DNA company's fight for survival.

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Nuclear energy hasn't been a growing industry in decades. But now, it seems to be making a comeback. This week, the Biden administration announced a goal to triple nuclear energy capacity in the US by 2050. And over the past few months, Amazon, Microsoft, and Google have all made deals to use nuclear energy to power their artificial intelligence appetites. Today on the show, could nuclear energy work differently this time?

Related episodes:
The debate at the heart of new electricity transmission (Apple / Spotify)
Wind boom, wind bust (Two windicators) (Apple / Spotify)
How China became solar royalty (Apple / Spotify)

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Major flooding events are increasingly common across the U.S., but homeowners looking for flood insurance will find few choices. The main providers of flood insurance is the U.S. government through the National Flood Insurance Program, or NFIP. But even though the NFIP is one of the only flood insurance games in town, it's drowning in debt. On today's episode, the NFIP's struggle to stay afloat.

Related listening:
Hazard maps: The curse of knowledge (Apple / Spotify)
When insurers can't get insurance
Flood money

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In a first-best world, we'd all save enough money and there'd be no scammers. In a second-best world, we'd all know how to protect ourselves.

That's what Sheila Bair thought, too. As former chair of the FDIC, she noticed many kids and adults weren't quite getting the education they needed. So, she decided to do something about it.

Today on the show: What Sheila Bair has learned about American capitalism as one of its top regulators and how she's trying ? one book at a time ? to help new generations from falling into its traps.

We learned about Sheila Bair's kids books from listener Erin Vetter. If you've come across anything that makes finance fun, email us! We're at [email protected].

Related Episodes:
Mailbag: Children Edition
Beach reads with a side of economics

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The federal government has been tracking the weather for more than 150 years. Yet over the last few decades, the rise of the Internet and big tech have made weather forecasting a more crowded space. Today on the show: the value of an accurate forecast and the debate over who should control the data.

Related stories:
Hazard maps: The curse of knowledge (Apple / Spotify)
Should we invest more in weather forecasting?
After a year of deadly weather, cities look to private forecasters to save lives

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It's ... Indicators of the Week! It's that time of week when we look at the most fascinating economic numbers from the news.

On today's episode: Election aftermath. Stocks jump, the temperamental Mexican peso, and which states are raising minimum wage.

Related Episodes:
Should We Raise The Minimum Wage?
America's economy is the envy of the world. Will it stay that way?

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This week, a powerful hurricane hit Cuba, causing nationwide electricity outages ? right after a string of power failures that have plagued the country in recent months. These power outages are a low point for a country that has struggled economically for years and is experiencing mass emigration.

Today on the show, we explain why Cuba is struggling to keep the lights on and investigate the root causes of the Caribbean nation's dramatic fall.

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Donald Trump's victory in this year's election had a lot to do with how many Americans feel about the US economy (surprise: not good). But Simon Rabinovitch, US Economics Editor for The Economist, argues that, despite the turmoil of the past few years, America's economy remains the envy of the world. Today on the show, Simon explains why that is, but also why he believes a Trump presidency puts America's 'economic exceptionalism' at risk.

The envy of the World - The Economist

Related episodes:
How much do Presidents ACTUALLY influence the economy? (Apple / Spotify)
Why are some nations richer? (Apple / Spotify)

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It's the most important day of the year for the country ... The Beigie Awards! The Beigie Awards are back to recognize the regional Federal Reserve Bank with the best Beige Book entry. This time, we shine a spotlight on one entry that speaks to a logistics problem affecting farms in the midwest.

Related episodes:
Using anecdotes to predict recessions (Apple / Spotify)
The Beigie Awards: Why banks are going on a "loan diet" (Apple / Spotify)

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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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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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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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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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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

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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.

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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)

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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.

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In the late 19th century, British aristocrats had a big problem. They were short on cash to fund their lifestyles and maintain their vast country estates. In our third installment of Love Week, we look at the economic forces that drove some British men of the time to marry American heiresses, dubbed "Dollar Princesses," forming a union of money, status and, sometimes, love.

For more on Dollar Princesses, Mark Taylor's research paper is published here. Kristen Richardson's book is called The Season: A Social History of the Debutante.

Related episodes:
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)

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Once relegated to supermarket aisles, romance books are now mainstream. And authors, an often-maligned group within publishing, have found greater commercial success than many writers in other genres. On today's episode of Love Week, our series on the business of romance, we find out how romance novelists rode the e-book wave and networked with each other to achieve their happily-for-now status in the industry.

Read more by Christine Larson, Priscilla Oliveras and Natalie Caña.

Thanks to Grant-Lee Phillips for our theme song and Kaitlin Brito for artwork.

Related listening:
It's Love Week! How the TV holiday rom-com got so successful (Apple / Spotify)
Rufaro Faith's 'Let the Games Begin' is a rom-com set in the Olympic village

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Welcome to Love Week on the Indicator, our weeklong series exploring the business and economic side of romance. On today's show, we fire up the gas logs and pour a mug of cocoa to discuss the made-for-TV rom-com machine, and how television executives learned to mass produce seasonal romance.

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

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It's ... Indicators of the Week! It's that time of week where we look at the most intriguing indicators from this last week of economic and business news.

On today's episode: NHPR's Nate Hegyi, host of the podcast Outside/In, joins us to talk natural disaster loans, election prediction markets and ... potato chips?

Related Episodes:
What's with all the tiny soda cans? And other grocery store mysteries, solved.
A market to bet on the future

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When the leader of the Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin died in an exploding plane widely attributed to Russian President Vladimir Putin, it wasn't clear what would happen. Today, why the Wagner Group has been called the world's most dangerous private army, its relationship with Russia and how its business model creates a blueprint for others to follow.

Related episodes:
Not your typical army: how the Wagner Group operates (Apple / Spotify)
How the 'shadow fleet' helps Russia skirt sanctions (Apple / Spotify)

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Two years ago, the yield curve inverted. That means short-term interest rates on Treasury bonds were unusually higher than long-term interest rates. When that's happened in the past, a recession has come. In fact, the inverted yield curve has predicted every recession since 1969 ... until now. Today, are we saying goodbye to the inverted yield curve's flawless record?

Related episodes:
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Yield curve jitters
Two Yield Curve Indicators

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This year's Economics Nobel went to a trio of researchers whose work focuses on the importance of strong institutions for an economy. Today we hear from the newly minted Nobel laureates about how they came to their groundbreaking conclusions.

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It's ... Indicators of the Week! It's that time of week when we look at the most fascinating economic numbers from the news.

On today's episode: Inflation slowly coming down, getting the lead out of water pipes, and a more expensive Mega Millions.

Related Episodes:
Lotteries And Happiness
Indicator exploder: jobs and inflation

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The problem of how to price water is a perennial conundrum. Water is an essential limited resource that everyone needs, so how do you price it so everyone can afford it while making sure that utilities have enough revenue to fix their aging systems?

Today on the show, we find out why it's so hard to price water and how a city's solution led to a threat to cut off thousands of residents from a popular welfare program.

You can read more about the fight over water prices here.

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If you need some reading glasses in the United States, you don't have to break the bank to pick some up. That's important for older folks who need a little extra magnification. But in some parts of the world, people who need readers don't have that privilege. Today on the show, we'll find out why that is and learn the economic solution to the reading glasses shortage.

Related episodes:
Two indicators: supply chain solutions (Apple / Spotify)

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Is 2024 the year the music festival died? Festivals are getting canceled left and right, from Northern California to Florida to Virginia.

Big name festivals that used to sell out in minutes struggled to sell tickets this year, too, like Burning Man and Coachella.

And it's not just America. By one count, over 60 music festivals were canceled in the UK this year alone. In Australia, so many festivals were canceled that one newspaper there recently asked, are the nation's music festivals extinct?

Today on the show, the music festival recession. What's behind it and is it temporary or a permanent cultural shift?

Related Episodes:
Live Music Industry Blues
The Economics of Music Festivals

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The U.S. economy is breathing a little easier after the International Longshoremen's Association reached a tentative agreement last week with the United States Maritime Alliance. The short-lived dockworkers strike reignited a debate over whether the president ought to intervene, invoking an old law on the books called the Taft-Hartley Act. On today's show, we explain what the Taft-Hartley Act is, why it was created and why it's still scorned by unions.

Related episodes:
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Why residuals are taking center stage in actors' strike (Apple / Spotify)
The never-ending strike (Apple / Spotify)
The strike that changed U.S. labor

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It's Jobs Friday! It's that time of the month where we check in on the American worker.

In September, 254,000 jobs were added to the US economy and the unemployment rate ticked down very slightly to 4.1%. It's unexpectedly strong, and relieving news for workers after a pretty lackluster summer.

But ... given how the labor market cooled over summer, is the labor market still on thin ice? And if there were to be a plummet in jobs, could anything be done to speed up the recovery?

Today on the show: How it's easier to break the economy than to fix it, and whether we can escape from the patterns of the past.

Related Episodes:
The Sahm Rule With The Eponymous Economist
How much would you do this job for? And other indicators

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In Germany, döner kebabs are more than just an affordable, satisfying street food. They're a symbol of Turkey's culinary influence in the country. Today on the show, how an effort to give döner kebabs a protected status under a little-known EU regulation could dish out some real economic consequences, in Germany and beyond.

Special thanks to Sidney Gennies, Sönke Matschurek, and Maren Möhring.

Related episodes:
Cheese wars
Coca Cola vs. Coca Pola (Apple / Spotify)

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TikTok could begin shutting down in the U.S. as soon as January 19 of next year. But the app is not going down without a fight. The company is asking a panel of federal judges to block the law in a high-profile case that pits free speech versus national security. Today on the show, how TikTok got to this point and what we can expect from the app's last ditch effort to stay alive in the U.S.

Related episodes:
Tick tock for TikTok? (Apple / Spotify)
Is Project Texas enough to save TikTok? (Apple / Spotify)

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Sovereign wealth funds have been around since the 1800s, but they're having a bit of a moment right now ... The financial instrument was recently name-dropped in HBOs 'Industry' (good show!) and members of both the Biden administration and the Trump campaign have floated the idea of an American sovereign wealth fund.

That idea, for the most part, has been derided by economists. But... is an American sovereign wealth fund such a bad idea?

On today's show: What IS a sovereign wealth fund? Is a US national sovereign wealth fund a good or even viable idea?

Related Episodes:
Why oil in Guyana could be a curse
The boom and bust of esports

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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: [email protected]!

Related episodes:
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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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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

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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?

James Chappel's book: Golden Years: How Americans Invented and Reinvented Old AgeGolden Years: How Americans Invented and Reinvented Old Age

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

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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)

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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)

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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

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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

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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)

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With less than two months before election day in the U.S., there's still a lot to learn about both major candidates' economic platforms. Today we look at some key proposals from Donald Trump for a second term, including tariffs and immigration. Tomorrow: Kamala Harris' plans.

Related listening:
Bad economics, smart politics (Apple / Spotify)
How much do presidents ACTUALLY influence the economy? (Apple / Spotify)
Do immigrants really take jobs and lower wages? (Apple / Spotify)
Why tariffs are SO back (Apple / Spotify)
What is Trumponomics?
Trump vs. Red Tape

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The co-hosts return with answers to YOUR questions. In this episode of listener questions, we dive into why storefronts don't just fill up, how Tiny Desk found its secret sauce, and whether there's an ideal level of staff turnover.

Tiny Desk Donation Page

Related episodes:
Anatomy of a Layoff (Apple / Spotify)
Pay Cuts Vs. Layoffs

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Nippon Steel says it wants to keep jobs in America as it looks to buy out US Steel. And economists say: that makes sense. But U.S. presidential candidates are pushing back. Today, we'll look at the role politics plays in distorting economics and find out whether that's what's happening in Pennsylvania and some other battleground states.

Related episodes:
The tensions behind the sale of U.S. Steel (Apple / Spotify)
How much do presidents ACTUALLY influence the economy (Apple / Spotify)

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It's ... Indicators of the Week! We roundup the economic indicators that caught our attention. On this (kinda) spoOoOooky Friday the 13th, we were morbidly curious about higher household incomes, a Keurig K-Cup kerfuffle and, believe it or not, the return of Fyre Festival.

Related Episodes:
Wake up and smell the fraud
How much would you do this job for? And other indicators

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