The Indicator from Planet Money

As midterms near, Medicare for All is back in the spotlight and Michigan U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed has become the newest face for it. Today, we dig into what Medicare for All would actually do and hear directly from El-Sayed on why he thinks it’s critical to figure out. Tomorrow, billionaire Mark Cuban joins the show as we continue our discussion on Medicare for All. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez . Your Next Listen — I’m just here for the health benefits Connect with The Indicator —

9m 10s

The Trump administration recently admitted to pulling grants over politics. This practice could become more common. How do cities use grant money, and how will they adapt? Fact checking by Sierra Juarez . Your Next Listen — How far can philanthropy go to fill government gaps? 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 with NPR+ a

8m 30s

This week’s indicators: EV sales sputter in North America but flutter internationally; U.S. Treasury Yields … RISE!; a low-budget movie so terrible, it became a box office hit in China. Fact checking by Julia Ritchey Your Next Listen — The story of China and Hollywood's big-screen romance 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 medi

9m 24s

Bankruptcy has a negative stigma surrounding it. But what if we told you it’s not as bad as you may think? In fact, economists think we should actually see more of it! Based on the radio story: More Americans are going bankrupt. What does that mean? Fact checking by Sierra Juarez . Your Next Listen — We're in a renter's market (believe it or not) Connect with The Indicator — Sign up for The Indicator’s weekly newsletter ! — Buy the Planet Money book — Find our socials, YouTube and more ! — For s

9m 0s

The best manager isn’t necessarily the best employee. Turns out it isn't so easy to predict what DOES make a good manager. Today on the show, we turn to science to help answer that very question. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez . Your Next Listen — Productivity and workforce whiplash 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 with

9m 29s

The Trump Organization has sued Capital One for closing its bank accounts. The organization says it did so out of political reasons. But banks can close accounts for a zillion reasons. They don’t have to say why. Capital One cited money laundering as a concern. On today’s show, how banks decide to close accounts, how much politics plays a role and what the bank might have seen in its crime-stopping crystal ball. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez . Your Next Listen — What is a 'freedom economy'? Con

8m 48s

Fenwick Island, Del. has only around 900 people on its voting rolls, but some of those registered voters are not human. Many are family trusts and a few are companies. The town says its system works for its tiny beach community. So why are some lawmakers trying to stop it? Fact checking by Sierra Juarez . Your Next Listen — Who’s behind that shell company? Connect with The Indicator — Sign up for The Indicator’s weekly newsletter ! — Buy the Planet Money book — Find our socials, YouTube and more

9m 17s

It’s Indicators of the Week! On today’s episode: Retirees get a bump in benefits; credit card debt delinquency at a historically high level; and the dating app Bumble on a serious decline — Men first! IRL events! What will work! Fact checking by Cooper Katz McKim and Vito Emanuel. Your Next Listen — Trying to fix the dating app backlash 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-fre

9m 13s

Which letter best describes how the U.S. economy is shaped: C or K? We examine the arguments for both and why there’s so much disagreement over who’s faring best in today’s economy. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez . Your Next Listen — We resolve to watch these 2026 indicators 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 with NPR+ an

8m 35s

Rage. That’s what consumers are feeling right now. A new survey found consumer complaints hit a record high this year. Another from last year found a huge share of consumers felt ‘rage’ with a product or service problem. Just think about the modern consumer experience: hidden fees, ballooning customer support wait times (perpetually experiencing higher call volumes than usual) … shrinkflation! Argh!! What’s going on? On today’s show, unpacking consumer rage. And Heather Timmons, who covers consu

9m 29s

The total amount of investors using margin aka borrowing money to help pay for a trade is at an all time high of over $1.5 trillion. Is this something we should worry about? We spoke to Jurrien Tinner at Fidelity Investments. Note: Jurrien Timmer's views are his own and not representative of Fidelity. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez . Your Next Listen — How AI might mess with financial markets Connect with The Indicator — Sign up for The Indicator’s weekly newsletter ! — Buy the Planet Money book

9m 3s

President Trump is no fan of wind farms. And his administration is putting taxpayer money where his mouth is, paying companies billions of dollars to NOT build them. On today’s show, Trump’s plan to squelch wind farms with the public purse. Fact checking by Tyler Jones. Your Next Listen — Wind boom, wind bust (Two Windicators) Connect with The Indicator — Sign up for The Indicator’s brand new newsletter — Find our socials, YouTube and more ! — For sponsor-free episodes, subscribe to NPR+ Support

9m 19s

Dependable health insurance is keeping more people in their jobs. Rising health costs don't help. Today we look at the repercussions this kind of job lock has on the wider economy. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez . Your Next Listen — The ghosts of Obamacare past, present and future 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 with N

8m 28s

Taco Bell and Taylor Farms are taking hits to their reputation due to the cyclosporiasis outbreak across the country. They could learn a thing or two from Chipotle, which went through its own public relations battle during a similar outbreak about a decade ago. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez . Your Next Listen — Big Lettuce meets Small Intestine Connect with The Indicator — Sign up for The Indicator’s weekly newsletter ! — Buy the Planet Money book — Find our socials, YouTube and more ! Support

9m 29s

What happens when roughly a million people working legally in the U.S. suddenly lose that right to stay here? We’re starting to find out in places like Miami, Florida, home to one of the largest Haitian communities in the country. There, we talk to people on what the end of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) means for their businesses and the wider economy. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez . Your Next Listen — Your American Dream is pending review Connect with The Indicator — Sign up for The Indicat

9m 6s

Shortages are in the news again! Here’s why the supply of blood, water and helium are at concerningly low levels. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez . Your Next Listen — How Colorado towns are trying to get some water certainty Connect with The Indicator — Sign up for The Indicator’s weekly newsletter ! — Buy the Planet Money book — Find our socials, YouTube and more ! Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening.

9m 19s

Musicians from the Rolling Stones to up-and-coming pop star Bella Kay have one thing in common: Influencers are being paid to promote their songs . On today's show: Who is an industry plant and why does it matter? Fact checking by Tyler Jones. Your Next Listen — Two Indicators: the influencer industry 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+ Suppor

9m 7s

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

8m 59s

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

8m 55s

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

8m 39s

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

9m 30s

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

8m 24s

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

9m 22s

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

9m 44s

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

8m 21s

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

8m 39s

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

9m 40s

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

3m 23s

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

10m 21s

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

8m 8s