Back in 2021, the meme stock frenzy was at its peak: Roaring Kitty AKA Keith Gill, and young day traders gleefully upended financial markets. Roaring Kitty disappeared for a bit before returning just a couple months ago. His disciples that followed him into the markets, however, never left. That's according to Nathaniel Popper in his new book, The Trolls of Wall Street: How the Outcasts and Insurgents are Hacking the Markets . Today on the show, why Nathaniel believes these day traders are here ...
Jul 08, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast U.S. job growth cooled this month. But one job is hot to the touch: AI prompt engineer. The role can command a six figure salary, but ... what is it? Today, we speak to an AI prompt engineer to figure out what they actually do and how long the job could remain hot. Related: AI creates, transforms and destroys ... jobs ( Apple / Spotify ) If AI is so good, why are there still so many jobs for translators? Applying for a job? Make sure your resume is AI-Friendly ( Apple / Spotify ) For sponsor-fre...
Jul 05, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Last week, Vladimir Putin vowed to make new nuclear weapons and consider placing them close to NATO countries. Meanwhile, here in the US, the government boosted its nuclear weapon spending by 18% between 2022 and 2023. The world is closer to nuclear war than it's been in at least forty years. Today on the show: The game theory of nuclear war. When can mathematical models help us, and when can they lead us astray ... even to the brink of destruction? Guest Kelly Clancy's book is Playing With Real...
Jul 03, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Europe is expecting a wave of victories from far-right candidates in upcoming national elections. Voters are showing they're worried about income inequality, immigration and the effects of participating in a global economy. Today, we take a look at what the swing to the right means for Europe's economy and the European stance on globalization. Related Episodes: Can Europe fund its defense ambitions ( Apple / Spotify ) Why the EU is investigating China's wind turbines ( Apple / Spotify ) How viki...
Jul 02, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast It's been two years since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the right to an abortion, triggering a parade of restrictions and bans in conservative-led states. Today on the show, how the medical labor force is changing post-Roe and why graduating medical students, from OB-GYNs to pediatricians, are avoiding training in states with abortion bans. Related listening: What's the cure for America's doctor shortage? KFF: Medical Residents Are Increasingly Avoiding Abortion Ban States For sponsor-free e...
Jul 01, 2024•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast Indicators of the Week is BACK! This week we're doing something just a little bit different. You see, it's the same 'ol Indicators of the Week you're used to, but as a nod to last night's presidential debate, this time, it's debate style. On today's episode, your candidates argue over who has the best Indicator of the Week: the links discovered between health care prices and layoffs , stress-tested banks, and ... cow burps? Related Episodes: Time to make banks more stressed? The Cows Are Taking ...
Jun 28, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast For years, rich nations have sent money to lower-income countries to help deal with the impacts of climate change. But it turns out, these wealthy nations are finding creative ways to funnel some of that financing back into their own economies. Today, we look at how the climate crisis is reviving a debate over how money should flow from rich to less-rich nations. Related: A program meant to help developing nations fight climate change is funneling billions of dollars back to rich countries A cou...
Jun 27, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast The last major overhaul of the tax code was in 2017, when Republicans passed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. Much of that is set to expire next year, and that means a big debate over tax policy is looming. Voters this fall won't just be voting for a president—they'll essentially decide who pays for the government and how much for years to come. Today on the show, we explain the battle lines forming in this tax code throwdown. Related Episodes: The Good, The Bad and The Tax Cuts Happy Birthday, Tax Cu...
Jun 26, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast A few years ago, bike enthusiast Bryan Hance got a tip. A whole bunch of expensive bikes that were stolen in the Bay Area had suddenly turned up ... for sale on a Facebook page in Mexico. The revelation started Bryan down a years-long investigation where he would uncover an intricate, large-scale criminal operation out of Jalisco, Mexico. In today's episode, we talk to freelance reporter Christopher Solomon who wrote about Hance's journey in WIRED Magazine . Related episodes: Is retail theft get...
Jun 25, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast For a moment last week, semiconductor chip designer NVIDIA eclipsed Microsoft to become the world's most valuable company. How did it get there? Today on the show, David Rosenthal, one half of the tech podcast Acquired , explains how NVIDIA's founder Jensen Huang laid the groundwork for the company's meteoric rise, and why there may be obstacles ahead. Related episodes: The life and death spirals of social media networks ( Apple / Spotify ) The semiconductor founding father For sponsor-free epis...
Jun 24, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Indicators of the Week are back! We are here, as always, to bring you the most fascinating snapshots from the week of economic news. On today's show, we're digging into the embattled aerospace company, Boeing. We look at how paying your rent with a Wells Fargo credit card is costing the bank millions of dollars a month. And we learn how much richer the Planet Money coffers are after we invested in the funds that track stock trading by congresspeople and their families on both sides of the aisle....
Jun 21, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast When Diane Lewis' son, Jovaan, was sentenced to prison, she told him to call her every day. What he didn't know at the time is that those collect calls often meant Diane was unable to pay her other bills. Today on the show, how prison phone calls got so expensive, and the movement to make them free. Related listening: The Uncounted Workforce From Prison to the Workforce The Prisoner's Solution For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podc...
Jun 20, 2024•9 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...
Jun 18, 2024•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast The federal government classifies potatoes (whether they be baked, waffled, curly, fried) as a vegetable. Recently some nutritional scientists were questioning that logic as the feds updated their dietary guidelines for 2025. On today's episode, why potatoes have such sway on Capitol Hill and the real financial stakes spuds have in staying a veggie. 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 Elect...
Jun 17, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Indicators of the Week is back! This week, we've got indicators about oil gluts, big bucks for Ukraine and fewer bucks at Starbucks. (Apologies for the slurping.) Related episodes: How to get Russia to pay Ukraine An oil boom, a property slump and dental deflation ICYMI, preorder our new Indicator t-shirt at the NPR shop . For more ways to support our show, sign up for Planet Money+ where you'll get sponsor-free listening, bonus episodes, and access to even more Indicator merch. For sponsor-free...
Jun 14, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast There are many anecdotal complaints about Google search not being what it used to be. A German computer scientist and his colleagues put this theory to the test recently focusing on product reviews. Today on the show, we bring their findings to Google's chief search scientist. Related episodes: How Fortnite brought Google to its knees ( Apple / Spotify ) Microsoft vs. Google: Whose AI Is better? ( Apple / Spotify ) For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet...
Jun 13, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Federal Reserve introduced a visual tool called the "dot plot" in 2012 to communicate where officials think interest rates should be in the coming years. The dot plot is eagerly dissected by Fed watchers looking for insight on future policy, but others think that the dot plot has become a visual example of just how little the Fed can predict where the economy is going. Today on the show, we decode the dot plot and hear why some think that the Federal Reserve's artistic exercise should be scr...
Jun 12, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Politicians on both sides of the aisle call the surge at the US Southern Border a "border crisis." One camp says we need to focus on addressing the conditions in other countries that cause people to leave. The other says we have to focus on deterrence and enforcement. But...what if both camps are actually ignoring a major piece of the picture? Today on the show, an overlooked cause and potential solution to the situation at our southern border that has nothing to do with the border at all. Relat...
Jun 11, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast We are back to answer your questions that you, our listeners, have been sending. On today's show, is chicken actually getting cheaper? Why doesn't the Federal Reserve use different interest rates around the country? And: is election spending an indicator of economic health? If you have a question you'd like us to answer, email us at indicator@npr.org. Related episodes: Can an old law bring down grocery prices? ( Apple / Spotify ) How political campaigns raise millions through unwitting donors Ho...
Jun 10, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Today's jobs report shows a slight rise in unemployment to 4%. And some frustrated job seekers are growing tired of applying for job after job with no replies, sometimes asking whether the listings are even real. And this isn't just vexing for applicants. It's also haunting economists when trying to figure out how much slack there is in the labor market, and whether interest rates should be raised or lowered. Today on the show: the rise of ghost jobs. Where they're happening and why. Related epi...
Jun 07, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast 99.5 percent of megaprojects are either over time, over budget or have lower benefits than expected. What's going wrong? Today, we look at case studies from California's high speed rail project to the Sydney Opera House to consider the do's and don'ts of ambitious projects. Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner's book on megaprojects is How Big Things Get Done: The Surprising Factors that Determine the Fate of Every Project, from Home Renovations to Space Exploration and Everything In Between . Related...
Jun 06, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast The United States has been a supporter of Israel since the nation's establishment in 1948. With the civilian death toll rising in the Israel-Hamas war, growing scrutiny is mounting over just how much the U.S. should support Israel's military. Today, a historical explanation for why the United States tied itself so closely to support for Israel. Related episodes: Protesters want schools to divest from Israel. How would that work? ( Apple / Spotify ) ICYMI, preorder our new Indicator t-shirt at th...
Jun 05, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Maybe you've heard these things on social media, in the news, and take them as fact: More than half of the adults in the US live paycheck to paycheck, the trade deficit is always bad, and making the super wealthy pay their fair share will fix everything . Well, the truth isn't so simple. Today on the show: economic mythbusting. We take three factoids about the American economy and run them through the fact checkers. Related episodes: Is the federal debt REALLY that bad? ( Apple/ Spotify ) Is the...
Jun 04, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast MERCH! You asked for it. We got it. After rebranding our podcast earlier this year, we decided it was time to create our own merch. On today's show, a brief oral history of early merch, how to score an Indicator t-shirt, and the winning name of our new mascot. • Preorder the t-shirt now at shopnpr.org/indicator • Sign up for Planet Money+ to access more Indicator merch Related episodes: Name our mascot. No, really ( Apple / Spotify ) Planet Money Makes a T-shirt Learn more about sponsor message ...
Jun 03, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Indicators of the Week is back, where we dig into three economic snapshots from the global economy. This week, we are exploring consumers' ever so slightly improved perception of the economy, what's going on with carbon offsets, and why China is sending some pandas to U.S. zoos. Related Episodes: Actors back. Pandas gone. WeBankrupt. ( Apple / Spotify ) How Red Lobster got cooked and other indicators ( Apple / Spotify ) Emission Impossible ( Apple / Spotify ) For sponsor-free episodes of The Ind...
May 31, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast 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 focuses on ch-ch-changes. (That's a David Bowie reference, kids!) We're covering changes in the economy, the environment, the rental market, you get the picture. We're even tossing in a question about an AI-resurrected rapper. 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 ph...
May 30, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Eight times a year, we award regional Federal Reserve Banks with our coveted Beigie Award. While the anecdotes within the Beige Book offer us fascinating looks into the economy, to others, it can be difficult to make anything of the stories they tell. That's why we're giving out a special Beigie award today to some economists who found a way to use anecdotes to peer into our economic future. Regional Economic Sentiment: Constructing Quantitative Estimates from the Beige Book and Testing Their Ab...
May 29, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dental therapists have been practicing in other parts of the world for decades, but in the U.S. they are relatively few and far between. Like a hygienist, dental therapists can do cleanings as well as some procedures usually reserved for dentists, like simple extractions. They could also be the solution to getting underserved, rural communities better oral care. Today on the show, new momentum for dental therapy and why the American Dental Association is pushing back. Related episodes: The value...
May 28, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Indicators of the Week is back! On today's episode, we discuss Red Lobster's bankruptcy, the rancid vibes of the U.S. economy, and a surprising shift in vices among Americans. Related episodes: Endless shrimp and other indicators ( Apple / Spotify ) Is the financial media making us miserable about the economy? ( 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: TikTo...
May 24, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast Last week, President Biden placed tariffs on a slew of Chinese goods. When Donald Trump was president, he did the same. Regardless of who wins the election, the US is gearing up for heavy tariffs on imports in 2024. But this is far from the first time the economic tool has been in style. Today, a brief history of US tariffs: how they came into fashion, fell out of fashion, are now back again and why economists aren't too happy about it. Related Episodes: Trade wars and talent shortages ( Apple /...
May 23, 2024•9 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
