Episodes

  • The cost of living, lead pipe removal, and a more expensive Mega Millions

    The cost of living, lead pipe removal, and a more expensive Mega Millions
    Oct 11 2024
    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

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

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    9 mins
  • The trouble with water discounts

    The trouble with water discounts
    Oct 10 2024
    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.

    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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    9 mins
  • Half a billion people need reading glasses. Why can't they get them?

    Half a billion people need reading glasses. Why can't they get them?
    Oct 9 2024
    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.

    Thanks to Abi Steinberg

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

    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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    9 mins
  • The year the music festival died

    The year the music festival died
    Oct 8 2024
    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

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

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    9 mins
  • Why the name Taft-Hartley got airplay during the dockworkers' brief strike

    Why the name Taft-Hartley got airplay during the dockworkers' brief strike
    Oct 7 2024
    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:
    What the data reveal about labor strikes (Apple / Spotify)
    Why residuals are taking center stage in actors' strike (Apple / Spotify)
    The never-ending strike (Apple / Spotify)
    The strike that changed U.S. labor

    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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    9 mins
  • Does unemployment whiplash mean recession?

    Does unemployment whiplash mean recession?
    Oct 4 2024
    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

    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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    9 mins
  • Champagne. Neapolitan pizza. Now döner kebabs?

    Champagne. Neapolitan pizza. Now döner kebabs?
    Oct 3 2024
    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)

    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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    9 mins
  • Are we about to lose TikTok? Like actually tho?

    Are we about to lose TikTok? Like actually tho?
    Oct 2 2024
    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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    9 mins