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 phone number at indicator@npr.org and put "Indicator Quiz" in the subject line.
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.
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.
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.
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.
In August 2020, Epic Games launched a legal assault against both Google and Apple, alleging that their mobile app stores are illegal monopolies. Almost four years later, Epic could be close to forcing Google to make major changes to its Play Store.
Today, we explain the legal battle behind Epic v. Google and why the outcome could have major implications for where consumers get their apps and how they pay for them.
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Back in 2019, The Indicator started checking in on with a Venezuelan economist Gabriela Saade. The economy was in freefall. The country was suffering from hyperinflation and a huge jump in poverty. Today, the U.S. faces a spike in migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, many from Venezuela. So we check back in with Gabriela. Venezuela is due to go to the polls in July. We ask Gabriela and two other Venezuelans: what are economic conditions like at the moment? How has life changed since the pandemic? Some of the answers surprised us.
What happens when small town politics collide with the climate crisis? And how do hazard maps—maps that show which homes in your neighborhood are at risk of getting destroyed or damaged by a natural disaster—come into play? On today's episode, how some people—from Indiana to Oregon to Alaska—are facing some very real concerns about insurance and the ability to sell their houses.
In Western Colorado, towns and farms are banding together to pay a hundred million dollars for water they don't intend to use. Today on the show, how scarcity, climate change and a first-dibs system of water management is forcing towns, farms and rural residents to get spendy.
College campuses nationwide are erupting with protests against Israel's war on Hamas in Gaza. A consistent theme among these actions: a call for university endowment "divestment."
Today, we unpack what that means and how divestment would work. Plus, we hear from an expert who explains why divestment might not have the effect that many believe.
Related episodes: Why Israel uses diaspora bonds (Apple / Spotify) How much of your tax dollars are going to Israel and Ukraine (Apple / Spotify)
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
