The current economic upheaval has lots of us scrambling for our glossaries and history books.

Today on the show, the editor-in-chief of Investopedia walks us through three vocab terms ? spanning topics from tariff history to market volatility ? that are spiking on the website lately.

Related listening:
What can we learn from the year's most popular econ terms?
What's a moneyline bet anyway? (Apple / Spotify)
Why tariffs are SO back (Apple / Spotify)

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On the morning of April 9, President Trump posted on Truth Social "THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!! DJT." Around four hours later, he announced a pause on some new tariffs, causing a stock market spike. Now, Democrats are demanding an investigation into possible insider trading. But were Trump's posts actually insider trading?

Related episodes:
Morally questionable, economically efficient (Apple / Spotify)
An insider trader tells all

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If you've ever passed through airport customs overseas and been refunded a VAT ? or value added tax ? for souvenirs, you've benefited from the VAT system. But President Trump says VAT is unfair to the U.S. On today's episode, we learn what VAT is and what it isn't.

Related episodes:
What's so bad about a trade deficit? (Apple / Spotify)
Tarrified! We check in on businesses (Apple / Spotify)
Why there's no referee for the trade war (Apple / Spotify)

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The federal government has been tracking the weather for more than 150 years. But 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 how the Trump administration's early moves are clouding the government's future forecasting. This piece originally aired in November 2024.

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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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Today on the show, we discuss why the IRS is sharing some taxpayer information, why bonds and stocks both fell, and how robots will replace you,or at least most of your chore wheel, in the near future.

Related episodes:
Why are stocks and bonds both falling?

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"There's no bad weather, only bad clothing." That's the motto of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, where Austan Goolsbee is president. As economic weather conditions stay unpredictable, Austan tells us how he's gearing up for tariffs, inflation, and more.

Related episodes:
The Fed cut rates ... now what? (featuring: Sasquatch) (Apple / Spotify)
Tariffied! We check in on businesses (Apple / Spotify)
A chat with the president of the San Francisco Fed (Apple / Spotify)
Is the economy going stag(flation)?

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Today on the show, we meet Canada's new Prime Minister, economist Mark Carney.

What's it like when your former job ? being a non-political banker who decides a country's interest rate ? bleeds into your now-political decisions on everything?

Related episodes:
A polite message from Canada to the U.S. (Apple / Spotify)

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President Trump claims a main goal of his crippling tariffs is to address the U.S. trade deficit. So is the U.S. trade deficit a problem? On today's show, why we'll never have a trade surplus with every single country; what the benefits of a trade deficit are; and whether or not the trade deficit affects jobs.

Related episodes:
Tariffied! We check in on businesses (Apple / Spotify)
Why there's no referee for the trade war (Apple / Spotify)
Common economic myths debunked (Apple / Spotify)

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Trump's wave of tariffs is here. Just about everyone in the world of business is still processing exactly what this means. It's a massive, widespread increase in taxes. Today on the show, we hear from business people we've had on the show who tell us what they're doing in response to the latest, and largest, wave of tariffs.

Related episodes:
Trump's contradictory trade policies (Apple / Spotify)
How's ... everybody doing? (Apple / Spotify)
How Shein became a fast-fashion behemoth (Apple / Spotify)

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It's Jobs Friday and all eyes are on government workers. Will the Trump administration's layoffs finally show up in the latest jobs report? Today on the show, we look at the numbers for federal workers and who's trying to hire them.

Related listening:
Can ... we still trust the monthly jobs report (Apple / Spotify)
The last time we shrank the federal workforce (Apple / Spotify)
A 'Fork in the Road' for federal employees (Apple / Spotify)
How local government is propping up the U.S. labor market

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There have now been a few major vinyl booms. And unbeknownst to many, a small village in the Czech Republic has been responsible for manufacturing a large number of these albums. On today's show, how this dominant player became a problem for its competitors in the U.S.

Related episodes:
Rumor has it Adele broke the vinyl supply chain
'Let's Get It On' ... in court (Update) (Apple / Spotify)

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Billions of tech dollars flowing into a community to build data centers should transform a local economy ... right? Well, maybe not.

On today's episode: Why data centers create few permanent jobs. And why communities might want them anyway.

Related episodes:
Why China's DeepSeek AI is such a big deal (Apple / Spotify)
Is AI overrated? (Apple / Spotify)

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Mexico is gearing up to directly elect federal and state judges for the first time this June. President Claudia Sheinbaum says the new system will combat nepotism and increase the integrity of the courts. But critics see it as a naked attempt to dilute the court's independence. Today on the show, how Mexico's judicial reforms are creating angst for businesses at home and abroad.

Related episodes:
SCOTUS: De-facto pro-business?

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Brands trying to be your best bud. Generational labels. Gendered double standards.

Today on the show: three advertising experts bring their three pet peeves in advertisements.

Related episodes:
How to make an ad memorable (Apple / Spotify)
J. Screwed
The Gender Gap Series: The Problem With The Pink Tax

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On Indicators of the Week, we look at a huge projected tax shortfall, the price of copper and the afterlife of Napster, the peer-to-peer file-sharing service that refuses to die.

Related episodes:
A new-ish gold rush and other indicators (Apple / Spotify)
Can the Federal Reserve stay independent (Apple / Spotify)

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Many nonprofits accept your used cars as a way to donate. This happens from Make-A-Wish America to Habitat for Humanity to ... public radio stations!

So, how does the process actually work? And who takes a cut along the way?

Today, we follow the car money.

Related episodes:
Show your love for The Indicator from Planet Money by making a donation

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As relations between the US and Europe continue to sour, European countries are working to lower their reliance on the U.S. for weapons and security. Today on the show, we ask what Europe needs to do to become independent militarily and what potential barriers could stand in the way.

Related episodes:
Europe's NATO members take an economic hit (Apple / Spotify)
Two Indicators: Economics of the defense industry (Apple / Spotify)

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What's one word you'd use to describe the 2025 economy? That's the question we fanned out across the U.S. with microphones and open ears. From street parties in the South to an L.A. bookstore to a boardroom in Denver, we listen for financial signals in today's economy.

Related episodes:
How many times can you say uncertainty in one economic report? (Apple / Spotify)
The stock market is down, but you don't need to be (Apple / Spotify)
The highs and lows of US rent (Apple / Spotify)

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Half of all workers are showing signs of burnout according to a survey of international workers. Burnout can come from feeling detached from your work's purpose, having too much work, or ... from specialization. Today on the show, we speak with Shigehiro Oishi, author of Life in Three Dimensions: How Curiosity, Exploration, and Experience Make a Fuller, Better Life.

Related episodes:
Is endless vacation a scam? (Apple / Spotify)
Why we work so much

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It's Indicators of the Week! Our weekly look at interesting numbers from the news.

On today's show, we welcome back co-host Adrian Ma.

We also have the price of gold going up, German defense stocking up, and U.S. mergers and acquisitions slowing down.

Related episodes:
NPR's Adrian Ma remembers girlfriend, Kiah Duggins, who died in D.C. plane crash
Europe's NATO members take an economic hit (Apple / Spotify)

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In 2009, Bitcoin launched as the first cryptocurrency. Just under two decades, President Trump has signed an executive order to create the "Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and United States Digital Asset Stockpile." On today's show, we look at what the U.S. government plans for this new strategy, plus who benefits from a crypto reserve.

Related episodes:
Is an American sovereign wealth fund such a bad idea? (Apple / Spotify)
Is 'government crypto' a good idea? (Apple / Spotify)

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Thirty years ago, the U.S. helped create the World Trade Organization, a group of countries linked by a common set of free trade agreements. But then the U.S., starting with the Obama administration, turned against the WTO. This leaves a void where there should be a referee to settle trade disputes between countries. On today's show, how American grievances paralyzed the WTO's dispute settlement system and what happens when the U.S. no longer wants to play by the rules it once agreed to.

Related listening:
A polite message from Canada to the U.S. (Apple / Spotify)
Trump's contradictory trade policies (Apple / Spotify)
Worst. Tariffs. Ever. (Update) (Apple / Spotify)

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Fact-checking by Tyler Jones. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

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China has set out its target for economic growth this year: around 5 percent. That's a hefty goal for a nation coming off a painful real estate slump. But leaders have their eyes set on other industries to help its economy grow. Today, we dig into the headwinds and tailwinds facing China's economy.

Related episodes:
The mess at the heart of China's economy (Apple / Spotify)
The race to produce lithium (Apple / Spotify)
What's really happening with the Evergrande liquidation (Apple / Spotify)

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The federal government spends millions of dollars each year on wildlife damage management, a program that includes killing thousands of coyotes. Yet this program may actually have the opposite effect on the coyote's population. Today on the show, why the government keeps spending money on a problem it can't fix.

Related episodes:
Shooting Bambi to save Mother Nature

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It's Indicators of the Week! Our weekly look at interesting numbers from the news.

On today's show, we have Southwest Airlines changing course on their free checked bag policy, skyrocketing fraud, and Americans' insatiable appetite for avocados.

Related episodes:
More fraud, higher bond yields, and faster airline boarding

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Uncertainty. That's the word-of-the-moment with tariffs, market swings and lots of economic volatility. It's also showing up in the Federal Reserve's latest Beige Book, featuring anecdotes across the U.S. economy. On our latest edition of the Beigies, what can a farmer from the Mississippi Delta tell us about uncertainty?

Related episodes:
How USAID cuts hurt farmers (Apple / Spotify)
Why Trump's potential tariffs are making business owners anxious (Apple / Spotify)

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Government cuts. Tariff uncertainty. Sticky interest rates. These are not helping the tumbling stock market. There's a sinking feeling among some Americans that a crash is imminent.

But ... should we all be so worried? Today, we brush away the cobwebs of stock market fear and confusion, and bring some long-held facts to the surface.

Related episodes:
Why to look twice when your portfolio is doing well (Apple / Spotify)
The cautionary tale of a recovering day trading addict (Apple / Spotify)

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The Trump administration has some nits to pick with government spending: They don't think it should be counted as part of the country's GDP, that it should be counted separately.

In today's episode, we look at why government spending is part of the U.S.'s GDP and we speculate why Trump's administration might want to take it out ... and what that could mean.

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Bad Bunny's new album DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS laments how Puerto Rico is changing. We look at whether tax breaks to newcomers contributed.

Related episodes:
The battle for Puerto Rico's beaches
We Set Up An Offshore Company In A Tax Haven

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Between the Trump administration wanting to change how GDP is calculated and DOGE accessing sensitive government information, statistical agencies are under the microscope. Can we still trust official numbers like the monthly jobs report? A former Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner shares her worries about the future integrity of government data.

Related episodes:
Behind the scenes of Jobs Friday

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Even after Monday's pause on military aid to Ukraine following the Oval Office blow-up, it looks like a minerals deal between the U.S. and Ukraine is back on the table. We dive into what this potential deal would actually look like and whether Ukraine's minerals really live up to the hype.

Related episodes:
An end to China's rare earth monopoly? (Apple / Spotify)
The cost of a dollar in Ukraine (Apple / Spotify)

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Who pays to use the Panama Canal and how much? These questions are part of the tensions between the U.S. and Panama after President Trump threatened to take over the canal. We look at the global shipping lane's fee structure in light of the president's claim that the U.S. is getting ripped off.

Related episodes:
A drought, a jam, a canal ? Panama!
Add to cart: Greenland (Apple / Spotify)

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President Trump has been on an executive order-signing spree since returning to office, with 76 so far. Today we look at two of them. Can the Fed really split up independent and non-independent roles? And what does DOGE's cost-cutting streak add up to?

Related episodes:
Slender Starbucks, Medicaid at risk, and the gold card visa (Apple / Spotify)
What happens with billions in research funding goes away (Apple / Spotify)
Should presidents have more say over interest rates? (Apple / Spotify)

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Mardi Gras is in full swing. It's a crucial time for the New Orleans' economy, but the celebrations are cast behind the shadow of the recent terrorist attack. Today on the show, we talk about how terrorism impacts tourism and why some places recover faster than others.

Related episodes:
Do dollar store bans work (Apple / Spotify)

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It's Indicators of the Week! Our weekly look at interesting numbers from the news.

On today's show, we have potential cuts ahead for Medicaid, Starbucks goes back to basics and gold card immigration.

Related episodes:
How Magic Johnson's Starbucks created new neighborhood businesses (Apple / Spotify)
What's missing in the immigration debate (Apple / Spotify)

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When it comes to defense, one thing looks certain: European members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) are going to have to pay more. Countries that are struggling economically will soon need to spend hundreds of billions of dollars. Can they do it?

Related episodes:
Can Europe fund its defense ambitions? (Apple / Spotify)
The weapons supply chain

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President Donald Trump has said that Canada should be the 51st state... and Canadians? Well, they're furious about it. The nation's former finance minister is calling Trump the biggest threat Canada has faced since World War 2. So today on the show, we dig into what lessons Canada can teach the US, and how the two North American nations are already deeply intertwined.

Related episodes:
Add to cart: Greenland (Apple / Spotify)
Canada's key resource against Trump's potential trade war (Apple / Spotify)

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The personal story of how an energetic lawyer got knocked off from her dream career and what she thinks that might mean for whether the government can attract talented people in the future.

Related Episodes:
A 'Fork in the Road' for federal employees (Apple / Spotify)
Bailing out the FAIR plan, broligarchs beef, and CFPB RIP? (Apple / Spotify)

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We are back to answer YOUR listener questions. This time, we answer why bananas can be considered the 'unbothered fruit', what a flat income tax would actually look like, and how extended-hours stock trading works. If you have your own question about the economy, please email us at indicator@npr.org.

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The cautionary tale of a recovering day trading addict (Apple / Spotify)
So imPORTant: Bananas, frogs, and... Bob's?? (Apple / Spotify)

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Surprisingly stable chicken meat prices, a lawsuit threat against the Gulf of Mexico's name change, and the Trump administration's false claims about Social Security beyond the grave are all under the microscope on this edition of Indicators of the Week.

Related episodes:
What the cluck is happening with egg prices?
What does the next era of Social Security look like?
The fight for a legendary shipwreck's treasure

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Federal funding from the National Institutes of Health has driven the biomedical research industry in cities across America including Birmingham, Alabama. It's helped support research into life-saving treatments for cancers, strokes and Parkinson's. But, the Trump Administration says the NIH is getting ripped off in how those grants are calculated. We take a look.

Related episodes:
The gutting of USAID (Apple / Spotify)
A 'Fork in the Road' for federal employees (Apple / Spotify)

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The ties between U.S. foreign aid and American agriculture run deep ? or at least used to. The U.S. International Agency for Development, or USAID, is the largest provider of humanitarian food aid in the world. Much of that aid comes from U.S. farmers, whose corn, wheat and rice is sold in bulk to the government for USAID's programs. What happens now if those programs end?

Link to Jordan Schermerhorn's research of USAID ties by state.

Related episodes:
The gutting of USAID (Apple / Spotify)
A 'Fork in the Road' for federal employees (Apple / Spotify)
Trump threatens the grim trigger (Apple / Spotify)

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We visit a local egg farm and talk to an industry analyst to get to the bottom of why the prices of eggs are soaring so quickly and when they might come back to earth.

Related episodes:
Egg Prices: States Cry Foul
Indicators of the Week: tips, eggs and whisky
Go ask ALICE about grocery prices

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It's time for The Indicator Quiz! We test you, dear listener, on your knowledge of topics that we've covered on The Indicator.

Today's quiz is an economic smorgasbord, ranging from the WWE to the silver tsunami.

Play along with us and see how you do!

Are you interested in being a contestant on our next Indicator Quiz? Email us your name and phone number at indicator@npr.org and put "Indicator Quiz" in the subject line.

Related episodes:
AI Tupac, sin taxes, and a soon-to-be college sophomore (Apple / Spotify)

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Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

CORRECTION: In this episode we referred to WWE (World Wrestling Entertainment) and PCE (Personal consumption expenditures) as acronyms, which is incorrect; they are initialisms, a type of abbreviation that uses the first letters of words in a phrase but, unlike acronyms, is spoken with the individual letters.

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What's going on with the FAIR plan in a post-Eaton and Palisades fires California? What's the backstory to the frozen Consumer Financial Protection Bureau? And why are the two tech bros very publicly going at it?

Indicators of the Week explains!

Related episodes:
How a consumer watchdog's power became a liability

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Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

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The United States Agency for International Development, or USAID, has funneled humanitarian aid to countries around the globe for over six decades. Today on the show, people familiar with USAID's work describe the fall-out from the Trump administration's sudden dismantling of the agency, and what that means for the country's longstanding use of foreign aid to advance American national security and economic goals.

Related episodes:
A 'Fork in the Road' for federal employees (Apple / Spotify)
Trump threatens the grim trigger (Apple / Spotify)
Why are some nations richer?

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

Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.


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The name Charles Ponzi immediately recalls the financial scheme that bears his name. But what of the man who helped expose Ponzi's scheme? Today on the show, the incredible, little known story of Simon Swig, who upended Boston's financial and banking world in the early 20th century before crossing paths with the notorious scammer.

Related episodes:
Charles Ponzi's scheme

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

Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

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President Donald Trump has already made noise with tariff threats against the United States' North American trading partners. And soon, the United Kingdom could become another target which has a chance to drive a wedge between the U.K's trade relationship with the EU.

Today on the show, we explore what the U.K. could possibly offer the United States to ease trade tensions.

Related episodes:
Trump threatens the grim trigger
Why tariffs are SO back
How Trump's tariffs plan might work

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

Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

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Memecoins are having a moment, but who's making money off them? On today's show, how a dearly beloved internet squirrel found an afterlife as a cryptocurrency and how others, including President Trump, are trying to capitalize on online fame.

Related episodes:
Is government crypto a good idea? (Apple / Spotify)
WTF is a bitcoin ETF? (Apple / Spotify)
Who let the Doge(coin) out?

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Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

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The job security of government employees has been in the spotlight since President Trump took office with big plans to slash the federal workforce. About 2 million employees were given an offer to quit their jobs. The government says those who resign can collect pay and benefits through September without working. But is this offer even legal?

Today on the show, an employment lawyer shares his concerns about the government's offer. And we talk to some of those federal workers about making this critical decision during an uncertain time.

Related episodes:
Federal hiring is about to get the Trump treatment (Apple / Spotify)

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

Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

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