A new report from the Fed shows little change in family finances over the last year, but rising prices remain a big worry. And parents of children under the age of 18 feel worse off than a year ago.
With a few clicks of AI software, anyone can conjure the voice or visual likeness of a dead celebrity — or really anyone. This new world has opened up a bunch of new legal questions about the rights of people and their heirs to control digital replicas of themselves. Today on the show, how a Drake diss track featuring the voice of Tupac made it into the Congressional record, and how it may lead to more regulation of AI.
Homes are not just where we eat and sleep, but one of the primary ways people build generational wealth in the U.S. But with home shortages and harsh climates, rural America's path to building that wealth looks a little different than other parts of the country. Today on the show, we focus in on housing challenges in Alabama's Black Belt and one innovative solution to preserving generational wealth.
Last month, the world narrowly avoided a cyberattack of stunning ambition. The targets were some of the most important computers on the planet. Computers that power the internet. Computers used by banks and airlines and even the military.
What these computers had in common was that they all relied on open source software.
A strange fact about modern life is that most of the computers responsible for it are running open source software. That is, software mostly written by unpaid, sometimes even anonymous volunteers. Some crucial open source programs are managed by just a single overworked programmer. And as the world learned last month, these programs can become attractive targets for hackers.
In this case, the hackers had infiltrated a popular open source program called XZ. Slowly, over the course of two years, they transformed XZ into a secret backdoor. And if they hadn't been caught, they could have taken control of large swaths of the internet.
On today's show, we get the story behind the XZ hack and what made it possible. How the hackers took advantage of the strange way we make modern software. And what that tells us about the economics of one of the most important industries in the world. Help support Planet Money and hear our bonus episodes by subscribing to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney.
For decades, the Dominican Republic's economy has been growing at a remarkably steady pace. The Caribbean nation of 11 million people is today considered a middle-income nation, but the International Monetary Fund projects it could become an advanced economy within the next 40 years.
Today on the show, we uncover the reasons behind the Dominican Republic's economic success and whether or not these benefits are being felt widely in the country.
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
Inflation eased last month, according to a report Wednesday from the Labor Department, which means people feeling stretched by high prices and high borrowing costs could feel a little relief soon.
The latest inflation numbers are in. This month's Consumer Price Index, or the CPI, is ... well, good and bad news for renters. Shelter prices went up over the last year, but at a slower pace. Shelter makes up nearly a third of the CPI. Today's episode: Rent. Where is it high? Where is it low? What exactly is "coffee milk"? The Indicator tours the U.S. to bring you the answers.
In the past few months, the price of gold has gone way up – even hitting a new high last month at just over $2,400 per troy ounce.
Gold has long had a shiny quality to it, literally and in the marketplace. And we wondered, why is that?
Today on the show, we revisit a Planet Money classic episode: Why Gold? Jacob Goldstein and David Kestenbaum will peruse the periodic table of the elements with one goal in mind: to learn which element would really make the best money.
This classic Planet Money episode was part of the Planet Money Buys Gold series, and was hosted by Jacob Goldstein and David Kestenbaum.
This rerun was hosted by Sally Helm, produced by Willa Rubin, edited by Keith Romer, and fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.
Recent publications point to differing estimates of how many hospitals are at risk, but consider ownership, profitability and debt as contributing factors.
Nearly 1 in 5 Americans have maxed out their credit card borrowing, according to the Federal Reserve Bank in New York. Tiny Desk Contest crowns its 10th anniversary winner.
Credit card delinquencies rose in the first three months of the year. That's a sign of the growing financial stress that some families are feeling in an era of rising prices and high interest rates.
When June Carbone, Naomi Cahn and Nancy Levit set out to write a book about women in the workforce, they initially thought it would be a story all about women's march towards workplace equality. But when they looked at the data, they found something more disturbing: of the ways in which women's push toward workplace equality has actually been stalled for years.
In today's episode, law professor June Carbone argues that the root of the problem lies in something they call the "winner take all" approach to business. That's the thesis of their new book, "Fair Shake: Women & the Fight to Build a Just Economy".
Related episodes: What would it take to fix retirement? (Apple / Spotify)
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
AI can conjure the voice or likeness of a dead celebrity with just a few clicks. This opens a host of legal questions about the rights of the deceased and their heirs to control their digital replicas