The Indicator from Planet Money

OpenAI's waiting game, gas pump pain, and severe sulfur strain!

This week’s indicators: Tracking your pain at the gas pump in real-time; OpenAI’s IPO hard-launch tug-of-war; one unexpected ingredient is making fertilizer—and potential

Strait talk: Why the oil crisis is getting worse

A vital artery for Saudi oil exports is under siege and it’s not the Strait of Hormuz. Today on the show, we explain what’s going on in the Bab el-Mandeb shipping lane co

How the bond market is handling AI risks

Big tech companies are borrowing billions of dollars to finance the build-out of AI data centers, and your 401(k) might be helping to fuel that. Today on the show, what A

How much safer do Flock cameras make us?

Flock cameras promise to reduce crimes like car theft. But these automated license plate readers come with a trade-off: a wide-reaching surveillance network. Today on the

A beautiful bill, Mamdani's market, and stock subscriptions

It’s time for another Indicator Quiz! For today’s quiz, we’re testing the Indicator knowledge of a brilliant mathematician. Will we stump his theoretician brain? Tune in

Bessent's yen bet, cold Argentine data centers set, and the summer box office net

This week’s indicators: Is The U.S. Treasury Department futzing with financial markets?; Is Patagonia’s pretty picturesque setting … for data centers?; Was the summer box

Are small town colleges going extinct?

Our favorite entry on the regional economy from the latest Beige Book reveals a troubling development in higher education.  Fact checking by Sierra Juarez. Your Next Li

Let's play ... Who Wants To Be a Bank!

Why do so many fintech companies — like Square and Mercury — want to be banks? And what does it take to get there? Find out today when we play our fake game show … Who Wa

Canada fights tariffs with tariffs

The era of friendly diplomacy has fallen to the wayside once again as the U.S. - Canada trade war enters a new phase. This time, Canada is countering the latest round of

Which jobs are future-proofed?

With AI disrupting the workplace, is your job going to exist in ten years? The Bureau of Labor Statistics has just the handbook for that.  Today on the show, we flip thr

Are job hoppers better at their jobs?

People with jobs are not always eager to leave them … but there are exceptions. Call them job hoppers. While many employers look down on this sort of professional promisc

Does Planet Money’s game pass the shelf test? We go undercover to find out

We go undercover at a big box store for an inside look at the secret shelf test the makers of Exploding Kittens use for their hit games. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez.

For a lot of Gen Z, gambling is investing

Why are more than half of Gen Zers using investment dollars for sports gambling? It’s been eight years since sports betting became widely legal. Today we look at its impa

A Treasury showdown with the bond market

Why is the U.S. Treasury planning to buyback at least double the number of long-dated government bonds it usually does? And will Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s buybac

How ICE arrests are creating 'economies of fear'

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested nearly 50,000 people in July, marking the biggest month for ICE arrests of President Trump’s second term. We talk to a

The teacher pay penalty, Meta's major settlement, and a footwear flop

This week’s indicators: The teacher pay penalty; Meta’s massive settlement; Nike and Dick’s Sporting Goods are struggling.   Fact checking by Sierra Juarez. Correction:

Coyote vs. Acme finally gets its big break

Coyote vs. Acme will finally get its theatrical release on Friday after a years-long saga involving supposed tax write-downs, negotiations and multibillion-dollar studio

What Mark Cuban REALLY thinks of Medicare for All

Medicare for All could save the U.S. trillions… or maybe way less than that? In our second episode on Medicare for All, we look at the convoluted figures behind the hot p

Medicare for All is not Medicare for All

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 M

Could politics put your city's funding at risk?

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