It?s Indicators of the Week (now on YouTube!). It?s our weekly look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news. 

On today?s episode: China?s baaaaad job market has led to an interest in becoming a shepherd, a young YouTuber strikes Hollywood gold, and the Trump administration's new green card policy is telling immigrants to 'go home.'

Fact checking by Vito Emanuel. 

Your Next Listen 
? We're about to lose a lot of foreign STEM workers

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Is Saudi Arabia no longer a golf state? The Saudi sovereign wealth fund poured billions into culture and sports in the last decade, none more high profile than LIV Golf, a rival to the PGA. So why is it reversing course now?

Fact checking by Vito Emanuel. 

Your Next Listen 
? Why Saudi Arabia is building a new city in the desert 

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The Indicator hosts Adrian Ma and Wailin Wong discuss their favorite econ and business movies.

Fact checking by Sierra Juarez.

Your Next Listen 
?Before La La Land, there was Fort Lee, New Jersey

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Why is a law to reign in shell companies getting shelved by the Trump administration? The Corporate Transparency Act had bipartisan support, until it didn?t. We explain what the law was designed to do and why it?s on life support. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez. 

Your Next Listen 
? We set up a shell company 

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Diving deep into President Trump?s many stock trades, a peptide business posing as a sporting event and a new breakthrough in Shakira?s ongoing tax drama.

Fact checking by Sierra Juarez. 

Your Next Listen 
? Trump crypto, Trump ballroom and Trump drones

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The US-Israel War in Iran is almost three months in and oil prices have risen, but they?re not catastrophic ? yet. Why isn't the price of oil even higher? We learn about how the world is adapting to the blocked Strait of Hormuz.

Fact checking by Sierra Juarez. 

Your Next Listen 
? Think the oil shock is bad in the US? Look here

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In an era of AI slop, we find out how some artists are seeking out human verification for their work. Plus, we prove our own episode is 100% human-made.

Fact checking by Sierra Juarez. 

Your Next Listen ? Can you copyright artwork made using AI? 

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The vast majority of employer health plans do not cover GLP-1s for weight loss. But roughly 20% do, many believing it will help their bottom line. Perhaps when employees take Wegovy or Zepbound, they?ll need less medical care tied to health issues from obesity. Today on the show, can GLP-1s save employers money in the long run?

Fact checking by Sierra Juarez.

Your Next Listen 

? No healthcare premiums? In this economy?! Here's how.
? Julie Wernau's original episode with Tradeoffs

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Unpacking Donald Trump?s trip to China: arms sales to Taiwan, the Board of Trade proposal and China?s growing soft power.

Fact checking by Sierra Juarez. 

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? What might save China's economy

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On today?s Indicators of the Week: the Gamestop and eBay romance that never was, more and more people are taking out loans for everyday things, and no, everyday people can?t invest in OpenAI and Anthropic before they?ve gone public.

Fact checking by Julia Ritchey and Corey Bridges. 

Your Next Listen 
? OpenAI's deals are looking a little frothy 

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A new documentary from Frontline PBS, called ?The President vs. the Fed?, helps us make sense of the unprecedented power struggle between the world?s most powerful politician and the world?s most powerful bank. You can watch the film, directed by Frontline Correspondent James Jacoby, on Frontline?s website, YouTube channel, or the PBS app. 

Fact checking by Sierra Juarez.

Your Next Listen 
? Trump?s unprecedented attack on the Fed
? One Fed battle after another

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NATO was formed after World War 2 as a collective security alliance that would prevent future world wars. But President Trump sees NATO more like a transaction between countries where allies have to pay up or be left undefended. On today?s episode: How NATO is actually funded, why this longstanding alliance is under strain, and how the U.S. could pay the cost for these frayed relationships.

Fact checking by Sierra Juarez.

Your Next Listen

? Europe's NATO members take an economic hit

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It?s the Wild West of online betting. Prediction markets have been plagued by insider trading allegations, ethical questions and even national security concerns. Today on the show, what are sites like Polymarket doing to self-police, and what other regulations might be necessary? We talk to one U.S. senator with some ideas.

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Related: 
Is anyone gonna do anything about these Iran War trades?  
Do prediction market bettors make anything better?  
Polymarket bots, lithium found: lots!, marathon shoe thoughts  

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Anthropic?s AI model, Claude Mythos, is very powerful. SO powerful it can find software vulnerabilities that might let it, I don?t know, steal your bank login information. Anthropic is holding back the model from a wider release for now. Today on the show, how worried should we really be about Mythos? And are its capabilities actually unique?

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Related episodes:  
Fighting AI with AI 
How AI might mess with financial models

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With AI disrupting the workplace, is your job even going to be around in ten years? The Bureau of Labor Statistics has just the handbook for that. 

Today on the show, we flip through the Occupational Outlook Handbook and answer your questions about the future of work.

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Related episodes:  
How AI is shrinking the job market for teens  
Why wind techs are so in demand 
AI creates, transforms and destroys... jobs

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What do a Florida-based drone company, a crypto billionaire, and a European steelmaker have in common? Ties to President Trump. Since returning to office, the president, as well as his family and friends, have inked a number of business deals that raise questions about conflicts of interest. On today?s show, we scrutinize three of these deals.

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Related: 
Trump?s crypto interests  
Mixing family business with US trade policy in Vietnam 
Gilded Age 2.0?  
The tensions behind the sale of U.S. Steel 

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The US-Israel war in Iran is already being felt by American consumers at the gas pump, but when ? and how badly ? could it be felt at the supermarket? 

Today on the show, a food economist takes a crack at forecasting just how much our grocery bills could increase in the coming months, and which items will take the biggest hit.

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Related episodes: 
How are drivers riding out the gas crisis? 
Think the oil shock is bad in the US? Look here 
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Some of the earliest signs of dementia can show up in your financial portfolio. Missed bill payments and erratic investments could be indicators, and they can happen years before an official diagnosis. Today on the show, we dig into the connection between finances and dementia, and why the financial health of seniors is falling through the cracks.

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Related episodes: 
The dementia tax
What does the next era of Social Security look like?
Saving, borrowing, spending: an economist's take on popular advice (Planet Money+)

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Tax cuts for the middle and working classes, and tax hikes for the rich. What's behind this trend? We ask Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen to explain his bill that eliminates federal income tax for many workers while hiking taxes for high earners. We also hear from a tax policy expert who has some reservations. 

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Related episodes: 
What if our income was taxed ... totally differently? 
Will the tax cuts pay for themselves? 

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It?s Indicators of the Week (now on YouTube!). It?s our weekly look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news. 

On today?s episode: who wins and loses their Polymarket bets, an American lithium motherlode, and the economics of lightweight running shoes. 

Related episodes: 
The race to produce lithium 
Advanced Fairness At The Marathon 
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With the Iran War underway, the United Arab Emirates is looking for some economic certainty. The rich Arab nation is home to a lot of foreign-held deposits, and they?re worried investors will pull those funds. So, they?re looking for an economic backstop. Enter: currency swap lines. Today, we explain why the UAE is looking to its close ally, the U.S., for a currency swap line and how it would work.

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Related episodes: 
Where the US got $20B to bail out Argentina
Scott Bessent?s $20 billion dollar gamble on Argentina

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Iran?s weaponization of the Strait of Hormuz is the perfect example of how modern warfare is increasingly waged, not only with drones and bombs, but also through the weaponization of economic choke points. 

Today on the show, we talk to author Edward Fishman, who says the U.S. innovated a new kind of economic warfare a couple of decades ago, and that has sparked a new economic arms race. 

Edward Fishman?s book is ?Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare?.

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Related episodes: 
Think the oil shock is bad in the US? Look here
Fixing the oil crisis might not fix the Persian Gulf
How are drivers riding out the gas crisis?

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In 2025, President Trump pardoned more than 1,500 of the Jan.6 rioters who ransacked the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election. In addition to being convicted of crimes, many of the Jan. 6ers paid fines, the bulk of which went toward repairing the damage to the Capitol. After being pardoned, some of them want their money back. Today on the show, are they entitled to get those fines refunded? 

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Related episodes: 
Chaos At The Capitol
The Supreme Court struck down a bunch of Trump?s tariffs. Now what? 


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It?s the Beigie awards! Our less than ten times a year salute to the art and science of telling stories about the economy.

Today on the show, Kevin Dancy, vice president and regional executive at the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, lays out a worrying consumer trend that?s affecting how retailers do business.

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Related episodes: 
A little doomsday feeling is weighing on the economy
How to beach on a budget

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It?s Indicators of the Week, our weekly look at some of the most fascinating numbers from the news! And unlike florals for spring, these numbers ARE groundbreaking.

On today?s episode: A dramatic SNAP decrease, fuel costs ground flights, and the Devil Wears Wages Increasing Slightly Faster Than A Small Sample Of Luxury Items!

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Related episodes: 
After the shutdown, SNAP will still be in trouble
How far can philanthropy go to fill government gaps? 
Your next flight doesn't have to be so expensive. Here's why 
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Businesses might finally see some tariff money refunded to them. That?s because this week, the federal government officially rolled out a process that allows businesses to apply for a refund.

Today on the show, we speak with three business owners about the unexpected simplicity and frustration of the Trump tariff refund process. 

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Can I get my tariff money back now?
Trump's backup options for tariffs
Three ways companies are getting around tariffs

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The global oil market has supported the U.S. dollar for more than 50 years. But the system has shown signs of cracking. Amidst the Iran war, Iran has reportedly been collecting some tolls in yuan. Today on the show, how the petrodollar regime came to be and what losing it would mean for the U.S.

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Related episodes: 
Can Europe sell America?
Think the oil shock is bad in the US? Look here
Fixing the oil crisis might not fix the Persian gulf

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So you want to buy a house. You MIGHT notice that the owner isn?t a neighbor in your town, but a large corporation. A recent housing bill that passed the Senate wants to change that. This bill would restrict large institutional investors from owning too many single family homes. The hope is to improve affordability. But what?s the real connection between housing affordability and corporate landlords? We look at the evidence. 

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Is the YIMBY movement doomed? 
How to fix a housing shortage 

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Traders have made millions betting on the Iran War. They are also suspiciously timed. No public information, then boom: a Truth Social post from President Trump. Cue fat windfalls for the traders. It?s starting to look a lot like insider trading. 

On today?s show, suspicious bets on the Iran War. And are federal regulators or prosecutors looking into these trades ? is anyone?

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Related episodes: 
Did Trump enable insider trading?
Do traders who place big bets make big money?
How much is the Iran war costing us?

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It?s Indicators of the Week. Our weekly look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news. 

On today?s episode: the drama behind the Fed Chair nominee?s wealth; the shoe company Allbirds is becoming an AI firm; and a drop in how many people are paying for their Affordable Care Act plans.

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Related episodes: 
One Fed battle after another
The ghosts of Obamacare past, present and future
Allbirds: Tim Brown & Joey Zwillinger

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If the Strait of Hormuz completely reopens, it still might not be enough to restart the economies in the Persian Gulf. Many countries there have been hammered by the oil crisis. And although allowing ships through would stanch the immediate bloodletting in the energy sector, other sectors might not spring back so quickly. Tourists are visiting less. Property markets are at risk. 

On today?s show, we survey the economic damage to countries in the Gulf. And try to get a sense of the long-term economic implications. 

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Think the oil shock is bad in the US? Look here
How are drivers riding out the gas crisis? 
Will Trump?s shipping insurance plan work?

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Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz is pretty slow right now. A once steady stream of global oil has been severed, and oil prices have shot into the stratosphere. Countries across the world are trying to stop the bleeding. One is counting down the days until it runs out of oil. Another is ? just fine.

On today?s show, we take stock of how three countries, New Zealand, Zimbabwe, and China, are navigating the oil crisis.

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Related episodes: 
How are drivers riding out the gas crisis?
Will Trump?s shipping insurance plan work?

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With the 50th season of Survivor underway, three former Survivor winners tell us how some of the skills they learned in their careers helped them win the show. 

There?s game theory, social engineering, and learning how to get along with a group of castaways who have a $1 million incentive to vote you off the island. 

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Related episodes: 
Teamwork actually does make the dream work 
The game theory that led to nuclear standoffs

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They say do what you love and you?ll never work a day in your life. But c?mon. Is that possible in this day and age? On today?s show, we speak to a tech investor who tells us the ingredients he believes are needed to make passion pay. And we hear from an economist who?s run the numbers on luck. 

Bill Gurley?s book is Runnin? Down a Dream: How to Thrive in a Career You Actually Love.  

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Related episodes: 
Teamwork actually does make the dream work  
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It?s Indicators of the Week, our weekly look at some of the most fascinating numbers from the news. (Now on YouTube!) 

On today?s episode: Is the middle class actually hollowing out? Are more e-ships powered by batteries on the horizon? And how much are the first batch of L.A. Olympics tickets going for??? 

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Over the last half decade, wholesale electricity prices have increased 267% in places close to data centers. That?s contributed to a backlash against new ones. 

But some experts believe data centers are a scapegoat for long-term issues with an aging U.S. grid. Today on the show, we ask who is responsible for rising electricity prices and whether the U.S. can handle a new era of grid growth. 

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Related episodes:
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What AI data centers are doing to your electric bill 

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Come see Planet Money live on stage! 12 cities. Details and tix here: planetmoneybook.com 

If you?re a commuter, gas prices may not be your friend right now. The average cost of a gallon is more than $4 across the country. California?s average is close to $6. So how are drivers around the country responding? Today on the show, we hear how they?re adapting to higher prices and how much this gas price increase could cost Americans over the year. 

Related episodes: 
Will Trump?s shipping insurance plan work?
Breaking down the price of gasoline

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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We practically live on our phones these days. Scrolling and scrolling, endlessly. Entrepreneur Aza Raskin is responsible for creating this infinite scroll. He also testified against Meta, who have been under fire ? and in court ? charged with making their apps addictive to children.  

On today?s show: Raskin tells us about the changes he thinks platforms should make to help people take their attention back. 

Come see Planet Money live on stage! 12 cities. Details and tix here: planetmoneybook.com 

Related episodes: The Social Media Crisis 
How algorithms are changing the way we speak 

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

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Come see Planet Money live on stage! 12 cities. Details and tix here: planetmoneybook.com 

It?s not often you get to talk to a regional Fed president, let alone two at the same time!

Today on the show, we take the temperature of the economy with regional Fed presidents Austan Goolsbee and Beth Hammack.

Related episodes: 
One Fed battle after another
America's next top Fed Chair

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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Come see Planet Money live on stage! 12 cities. Details and tix here: planetmoneybook.com

Economists have described the state of the jobs market as ?low hire, low fire.? That means employers are not cutting many jobs, but they're also not adding much either, a dismal prospect for many new college grads. On this edition of Jobs Friday, we go to Howard University in Washington, D.C. to see how graduating seniors are faring. 

Related episodes: 
Just how bad are these jobs numbers? 
Do I need a four-year degree?  

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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Freedom of the Seas. GPS. The Large Hadron Collider. These are all public goods that make our world more prosperous, accurate, and knowledgeable. But we don?t always give them the attention they deserve. 

Today on the show, the Planet Money book?s main author Alex Mayyasi joins us to take an audio world tour of spectacular public goods, one whimsical postcard at a time. 

These postcards are gorgeously illustrated in the Planet Money book. 

Come see Planet Money live on stage in April! 12 cities. Details and tix here: https://tix.to/pm-book-tour. 

Related episodes: 
Lighthouses, Autopsies And The Federal Budget 
The highs and lows of US rents 

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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Pokémon cards are scorching hot right now. An index tracking the thousands of rare cards shows that valuations have increased 170% in the last year alone. Growth like that really makes you wish you hadn?t given away all your childhood cards years ago.

Today on the show, we cover three things that are contributing to the rapid growth of shiny cards produced by the world?s highest-grossing media franchise.

Come see Planet Money live on stage in April! 12 cities. Details and tix here: https://tix.to/pm-book-tour. 

Related episodes: 
The secret to Nintendo's success
The curious rise of novelty popcorn buckets

The Curse Of The Black Lotus (Update)
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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There is a $3 trillion dollar black box at the center of the economy. It?s called private credit. These are direct loans from private investors to private companies. They?re often riskier, less regulated than traditional bank loans ? and far less transparent. Spooked investors are scrambling to cash out, and some funds aren?t letting them. It?s all fueling fears of another financial crisis.

On today?s show, the private credit exodus. 

Come see Planet Money live on stage in April! 12 cities. Details and tix here: https://tix.to/pm-book-tour. 

Related episodes: 
What could break next? 
Who?s financing Meta?s massive AI data center?

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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School lunch has been revamped a ton over the last two decades. Now, the Trump administration wants to rejigger the menu once more to align with its Make America Healthy Again agenda. That means more meat. More dairy. But do schools really need another menu overhaul? And could they even afford it?

On today?s show, we join a school lunch line in South Carolina to find out what kids are actually eating.

Come see Planet Money live on stage in April! Twelve cities. Details and tix here: https://tix.to/pm-book-tour. 

Related episodes: 
A food fight over free school lunch
How beef climbed to the top of the food pyramid

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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It?s Indicators of the Week (now on YouTube!). It?s our weekly look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news. 

On today?s episode: The US ain?t doing too hot in attracting European tech workers; OpenAI takes its video generator Sora behind the barn; and a rapper, pound cake, and the police. 

Related episodes: 
OpenAI's deals are looking a little frothy 
We're about to lose a lot of foreign STEM workers 
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 Julia Ritchey and Vito Emanuel. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.  

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Every time you buy a ticket that leaves a U.S. airport, you pay a fee that?s supposed to help fund the TSA. So why have TSA workers been working without pay? Today on the show, we explore the history behind an earmarked tax and its very personal impacts.

Come see Planet Money live on stage in April! 12 cities. Details and tix here: https://tix.to/pm-book-tour. 

Related episodes:
Your next flight doesn't have to be so expensive. Here's why 
How flying got so bad (or did it?) 

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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Why are flight tickets so expensive right now? Increased oil prices seems like it?d be the obvious answer. That?s mostly right. Airlines used to do some financial magic to help keep airfare down as oil prices increased, a strategy called ?fuel hedging.? But they stopped. And now fliers are on the hook for a lot of the difference. 

On today?s show, the lost art of fuel hedging. How it worked, plus why airlines stopped doing it.

Come see Planet Money live on stage in April! 12 cities. Details and tix here: https://tix.to/pm-book-tour. 

Related episodes: 
A lot of gas trapped, oil reserves tapped, and Live Nation gets a (tiny) cap
Will Trump?s shipping insurance plan work?
Listener Questions: Airline tickets, grocery pricing and the Fed

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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How has Russia?s economy not completely collapsed after four years of war, sanctions and billions in debt? One economist says it is the war that has been propping up Russia's economy, not the other way around. He calls it smertonomika or death economics.

On today?s show, six reasons why Russia?s economy is still chugging along despite burning money by the billions waging war on Ukraine.

Come see Planet Money live on stage in April! 12 cities. Details and tix here: https://tix.to/pm-book-tour. 

Related episodes: 
How your favorite fish sticks might be funding Russia's war
Who?s propping up Russian oil?

The economic war against Russia, a year later
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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Live from London, it?s Saturday Night? Saturday Night Live made its UK debut over the weekend after a well-hyped promotional campaign. Will this all-American sketch show translate to British audiences? We examine SNL?s multi-million dollar gamble. 

Come see Planet Money live on stage in April! 12 cities. Details and tix here: https://tix.to/pm-book-tour. 

Related episodes: 
Why Paramount went looney tunes for Warner Bros.  

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.  

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

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It?s Indicators of the Week (now on YouTube!). It?s our weekly look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news. 

On today?s episode: The Trump administration cracks down on immigrant truck drivers, Poland becomes a top-twenty economy, and the booming business of ? ant smuggling? 

Related episodes: 
A trucker, a farmer, and an entrepreneur walk into a global supply shock 
You Could Always Go To Poland 
The little pet fish that saved a town in the Amazon 

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 Julia Ritchey and Vito Emanuel. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

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