What is a sovereign wealth fund? President Trump's executive order calling for a plan to start a U.S. sovereign wealth fund is not a new idea. But it remains a topic of much debate among economists and policymakers. So is a national sovereign wealth fund a good or even viable idea? A version of this episode originally aired Oct. 1, 2024. Related episode: Why oil in Guyana could be a curse For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts ...
Feb 06, 2025•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast President Trump speaks fondly of William McKinley, the 25th U.S. president who was a strong advocate for tariffs. He's credited with helping to protect the fledgling tinplate industry in the late 19th century. But did the tariff work? We take a closer look at McKinley's tinplate tariff and if it was worth the cost. Related episodes on tariffs: Trump threatens the grim trigger ( Apple / Spotify ) Canada's key resource against Trump's possible trade war ( Apple / Spotify ) Why Trump's potential ta...
Feb 05, 2025•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast President Donald Trump had promised new tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China. However, after negotiations with both Mexico and Canada on Monday tariffs against those countries are paused for at least a month. He said tariffs are not a negotiating tool, but he's used them as one as recently as January in a dispute with Colombia. Today, we dissect the game theory behind Trump's use of tariffs. Related episodes: Canada's key resource against Trump's potential trade war ( Apple / Spotify ) How tariff...
Feb 04, 2025•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast With so much water in the eastern U.S., why can't the region pipe some of it to its drought-prone neighbors in the West? This perennial question nags climate journalists and western water managers alike. We break down why building a pipeline is unrealistic right now for the Colorado River. Related episodes: How Colorado towns are trying to get some water certainty The trouble with water discounts For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple P...
Feb 03, 2025•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast Why haven't American 8th graders' math scores recovered? Does Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actually have the resources to make all the deportations Trump's promised? And what's the path for interest rates in the Trump economy? All that on Indicators of the Week. Related Episodes: The U.S. once banned Chinese immigrants — and it paid an economic price Why Is The Fed So Boring? For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts ...
Jan 31, 2025•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Canadians have a key leverage point if President Trump makes good on his threat to impose 25% tariffs: oil. We talk to a business journalist with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation on why oil would be the "biggest arrow in the quiver" should Canada and the U.S. descend into a trade war — but only as a last resort. Listen to CBC's Cost of Living with Paul Haavardstrud here . Related episodes: I will PAY you to take my natural gas Oil prices and the Israel-Hamas war For sponsor-free episodes of...
Jan 30, 2025•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast President Trump is making big moves to shrink and reshape the federal workforce. He's offered buyouts, instituted a hiring freeze, and called for prioritizing job seekers who are "passionate about the ideals of our American Republic." While his actions have drawn criticism, some see an opportunity for the new administration to improve the federal hiring process. Today on the show, Jennifer Pahlka, Senior Fellow at the Niskanen Center, tells us why, in her view, government hiring has been broken ...
Jan 29, 2025•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast The story of a man who started buying and selling stocks as a hobby ... and got seriously addicted. We also speak with a neuroeconomist about the human brain on day trading. Related episodes: The young trolls of Wall Street are growing up Invest like a Congress member 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 . Learn more about sponso...
Jan 28, 2025•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast With the LA wildfires still burning, we were left with a lot of questions. Today, we answer two of them: whether GoFundMe campaigns could interfere with receiving federal assistance and how much of those "proceeds" from special product sales actually go to wildfire victims. Related episodes: After the fires ( Apple / Spotify ) Why is insurance so expensive right now? And more listener questions ( Apple / Spotify ) For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet ...
Jan 27, 2025•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Indicators of the Week unpacks numbers from the news. This week, we delve into what President Trump's first AI announcement reveals about the economics of the industry, a Chinese company's answer to OpenAI, and the reason why Prince Harry may have settled with Rupert Murdoch's media empire. Related listening: Is AI overrated or underrated? ( Apple / Spotify ) AI creates, transforms and destroys... jobs For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via A...
Jan 24, 2025•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast A freshly re-inaugurated President Trump is reportedly considering making his first moves on tariffs: a 10% tariff on Chinese imports and a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico, both of which he says could start as early as next week. If the U.S. slaps tariffs on foreign products, U.S companies that import foreign goods, and their customers, will bear the cost. But, before any of that happens, businesses can also face a less tangible cost—uncertainty. Today on the show, we hear from a co...
Jan 23, 2025•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast Grocery prices have gone up 27 percent since before the pandemic. And high prices are especially painful for lower income households, who have less wiggle room to adjust their spending. But their experience isn't always reflected in broad measures of inflation. Today on the show, we look at a different way of measuring price increases that's designed to capture the pain that many households feel daily, including at the supermarket. Read more about the ALICE Essentials Index . Related Episodes: A...
Jan 22, 2025•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast President Donald Trump's proposal that the United States take "ownership" of Greenland has raised a lot of eyebrows. Can the U.S. just buy itself this big territory? Is that a thing? Turns out if you look at U.S. history, it's absolutely a thing. Today on the show: how massive land deals called "sovereignty purchases" have shaped the country we live in today, and why the idea of the U.S. buying Greenland is a lot more complicated than it would have been in the past. For sponsor-free episodes of ...
Jan 21, 2025•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast It's ... Indicators of the Week! Our weekly look at some of the most fascinating numbers from the news. On today's episode, we examine three measures the Biden administration is squeezing in before the clock runs out. Those include student loan cancellations, a lawsuit against Capital One, and the banishment of a sweet, sweet artificial dye. Related Episodes: How a consumer watchdog's power became a liability Why big banks aren't interested in your savings account For sponsor-free episodes of Th...
Jan 17, 2025•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Southern California wildfires are devastating large swathes of Los Angeles, destroying homes and businesses and displacing thousands. In the state's strained insurance system, homeowners who can't get fire coverage from traditional insurers are left with just one option—the FAIR Plan. Today on the show, we explain how the FAIR Plan works and the existential problems it now faces as the wildfires put new pressure on California's insurance market. Related episodes: When insurers can't get insu...
Jan 16, 2025•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast Lithium is one of the hot commodities of the 21st century: needed for electric vehicles, semiconductors needed for AI, and grid-scale batteries. While the U.S. was once a pioneer in lithium production, it's fallen off — with others, including China, taking the reins. On our third and final episode of our grid battery series, we look at the race to produce the key ingredient in most of these batteries. Related episodes: How batteries are already changing the grid ( Apple / Spotify ) How EV batter...
Jan 15, 2025•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast If you want to build a grid-scale battery project in Texas, be prepared to ride the free-market rodeo. On our second episode of this week's battery series, we visit the state that has the second-most battery storage capacity to understand whether large-scale batteries can help prevent blackouts. Related episodes: How batteries are already changing the grid ( Apple / Spotify ) Texas' new power grid problem ( Apple / Spotify ) For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe...
Jan 14, 2025•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast Renewable energy, when it comes to solar and wind power, has always had a caveat: it can only run when the wind blows or the sun shines. The idea of a battery was floated around to make renewables available 24/7. For years, it existed as an expensive, little-used technology. And then in 2021, it took off. In California, there is now enough grid-scale battery storage to power millions of homes, at least for a few hours, and it's growing fast. How did that happen, and what does the newfound succes...
Jan 13, 2025•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast It's the first Jobs Friday of the new year, and there's good news! The unemployment rate ticked down slightly to 4.1%, and the economy added 256,000 jobs. So, for the last month of 2024, the jobs market finished pretty strong. Today on the show, we look at the indicators from this month's jobs report that give us a snapshot of where our economy's headed. We look at how men are potentially reversing a decades-long trend of declining labor force participation, how people who are unemployed are sta...
Jan 10, 2025•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast The online financial website Investopedia compiles an annual list of the top ten financial terms that drew the most interest from their audience. The 2024 list covers familiar concepts like inflation and tariffs, as well as more niche terms like moneyline bets and stock splits. Today, we visit the highlights of 2024 in economic terms. The 2024 Investopedia Terms of the Year Related episodes: The Indicator's bet on the Super Bowl How Trump's tariffs plan might work The tower of NVIDIA For sponsor...
Jan 08, 2025•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Last night, after years on cable, WWE's flagship show, Monday Night Raw, made its debut on Netflix. It's another example of live sports programming making the move to streaming as more people abandon cable television. Today on the show, we talk to a TV analyst about what Netflix's increasing investments in live sports means for the war between streamers and cable companies. For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr....
Jan 07, 2025•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast There's a rural area in Arizona with massive groundwater basins underneath the earth. Water should be plentiful there, but wells are running dry. Today on the show, what's behind the water issues in rural Arizona? Related episodes: Why Midwest crop farmers are having a logistics problem ( Apple / Spotify ) Why the US government is buying more apples than ever ( Apple / Spotify ) For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus...
Jan 06, 2025•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast On this edition of Indicators of the Week, we discuss the economic legacy of former President, Jimmy Carter. Today on the show, we detail some of his top accomplishments from empowering the Federal Reserve's aggressive approach to inflation, deregulation of major industries and his push for cost saving energy measures that we still feel to this day. 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 Si...
Jan 03, 2025•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast People with American stocks in their portfolio are likely very happy right now. U.S. stocks were on a tear in 2024. But to some investors, that's a reason to look a longer look at their portfolio. Today on the show, one investor makes the case for the only free lunch in finance: diversification. Related episodes: Invest like a Congress member ( Apple / Spotify ) Rethinking what counts in investing ( Apple / Spotify ) For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Plan...
Jan 02, 2025•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast Even before the Dune: Part 2 popcorn bucket went viral this year, movie theaters have been trying all types of ways to lure customers back. There's reclining seats, expanded menu options, and even more merchandise. Today on the show, we track the rise of the popcorn bucket and its afterlife on eBay. This piece originally aired on July 23, 2024. Related episodes: Coyote vs. Warner Brothers Discovery ( Apple / Spotify ) Why platforms like HBO Max are removing streaming TV shows ( Apple / Spotify...
Dec 31, 2024•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast There are some new funds that track stock trading by members of Congress and their family. So we thought, why don't we get in on that? Today on the show, we crack open the Planet Money Investment Jar to learn more about how our political leaders play the market, investing in funds tracking Democratic and Republican stock trades. Whether Congressional stock trading should be limited is a hotly debated matter. So to test whether lawmakers are beating the market, Dartmouth College economist Bruce S...
Dec 30, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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. This piece originally aired October 9, 2024. Related episodes: Two indicators: supply chain solutions ( Apple / Spotify ) For spo...
Dec 27, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Gaming provides entertainment and community for billions of people worldwide. However, video games haven't always been accessible to those with disabilities. But this is changing. Today we explain how accessibility has become an increasingly important priority for game developers and how advocates pushed them to this point. This piece originally aired April 23, 2024. Related episodes: Forever games: the economics of the live service model ( Apple / Spotify ) The Indicator's video game series For...
Dec 26, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Happy Holidays from The Indicator! For the next week, we're running some of our favorite shows from this year. 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. This piece originally aired October 21, 2024. Related episodes: Love Week series page TV holiday rom coms and the alpaca bubble that burst (PM+ only) Special thanks to Grant-Lee Phillips for our Love Week the...
Dec 24, 2024•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast 2024 is over (phew!). We had weird consumer sentiment vibes, Bitcoin went to the moon, and the economy might have achieved a soft landing. And that's just a few 2024 indicators! As we enter 2025, what indicators should we keep an eye on? Planet Money co-hosts Kenny Malone and Jeff Guo look ahead with Adrian Ma for Indicators of the Year ... Ahead! Related Episodes: Econ Battle Zone: Disinflation Confrontation The Fed cut rates ... now what? (featuring: Sasquatch) The Indicators of this year and ...
Dec 23, 2024•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
