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The Indicator from Planet Money A little show about big ideas. From the people who make Planet Money, The Indicator helps you make sense of what's happening today. It's a quick hit of insight into work, business, the economy, and everything else. Listen weekday afternoons.

Try Planet Money+! a new way to support the show you love, get a sponsor-free feed of the podcast, *and* get access to bonus content. You'll also get access to The Indicator and Planet Money Summer School, both without interruptions. sign up at plus.npr.org/planetmoney
The Indicator from Planet Money

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The Indicator from Planet Money

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A little show about big ideas. From the people who make Planet Money, The Indicator helps you make sense of what's happening today. It's a quick hit of insight into work, business, the economy, and everything else. Listen weekday afternoons.

Try Planet Money+! a new way to support the show you love, get a sponsor-free feed of the podcast, *and* get access to bonus content. You'll also get access to The Indicator and Planet Money Summer School, both without interruptions. sign up at plus.npr.org/planetmoney

Most Recent Episodes

Rebranding 'the world's most dangerous private army'

A member of the Wagner Group pays tribute to its former leader Yevgeny Prigozhin. VLADIMIR NIKOLAYEV/Getty Images hide caption

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VLADIMIR NIKOLAYEV/Getty Images

Rebranding 'the world's most dangerous private army'

When the leader of the Wagner group, Yevgeny Prigozhin died in an exploding plane widely attributed to Russian President Vladimir Putin, it wasn't clear what would happen. Today, why the Wagner Group has been called the world's most dangerous private army, its relationship with Russia and how its business model creates a blueprint for others to follow.

Rebranding 'the world's most dangerous private army'

Listen · 9:29
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Can the yield curve still predict recessions?

The 'Fearless Girl' statue stands in front of the New York Stock Exchange. Angela Weiss/Getty Images hide caption

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Angela Weiss/Getty Images

Can the yield curve still predict recessions?

Two years ago, the yield curve inverted. That means short-term interest rates on Treasury bonds were unusually higher than long-term interest rates. When that's happened in the past, a recession has come. In fact, the inverted yield curve has predicted every recession since 1969 ... until now. Today, are we saying goodbye to the inverted yield curve's flawless record?

Can the yield curve still predict recessions?

Listen · 9:08
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Why are some nations richer?
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Why are some nations richer?

This year's Economics Nobel went to a trio of researchers whose work focuses on the importance of strong institutions for an economy. Today we hear from the newly minted Nobel laureates about how they came to their groundbreaking conclusions.

Why are some nations richer?

Listen · 7:27
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The cost of living, lead pipe removal, and a more expensive Mega Millions

(Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images) OLIVIER DOULIERY/Getty Images hide caption

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OLIVIER DOULIERY/Getty Images

The cost of living, lead pipe removal, and a more expensive Mega Millions

It's ... Indicators of the Week! It's that time of week when we look at the most fascinating economic numbers from the news.

The cost of living, lead pipe removal, and a more expensive Mega Millions

Listen · 8:53
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The trouble with water discounts
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The trouble with water discounts

The problem of how to price water is a perennial conundrum. Water is an essential limited resource that everyone needs, so how do you price it so everyone can afford it while making sure that utilities have enough revenue to fix their aging systems?

The trouble with water discounts

Listen · 9:25
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Half a billion people need reading glasses. Why can't they get them?
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Half a billion people need reading glasses. Why can't they get them?

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.

Half a billion people need reading glasses. Why can't they get them?

Listen · 9:29
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The year the music festival died
Christopher Polk/Getty Images

The year the music festival died

Is 2024 the year the music festival died? Festivals are getting canceled left and right, from Northern California to Florida to Virginia.

The year the music festival died

Listen · 9:10
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Why the name Taft-Hartley got airplay during the dockworkers' brief strike
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Why the name Taft-Hartley got airplay during the dockworkers' brief strike

The U.S. economy is breathing a little easier after the International Longshoremen's Association reached a tentative agreement last week with the United States Maritime Alliance. The short-lived dockworkers strike reignited a debate over whether the president ought to intervene, invoking an old law on the books called the Taft-Hartley Act. On today's show, we explain what the Taft-Hartley Act is, why it was created and why it's still scorned by unions.

Why the name Taft-Hartley got airplay during the dockworkers' brief strike

Listen · 9:19
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Does unemployment whiplash mean recession?
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Does unemployment whiplash mean recession?

It's Jobs Friday! It's that time of the month where we check in on the American worker.

Does unemployment whiplash mean recession?

Listen · 9:26
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Champagne. Neapolitan pizza. Now döner kebabs?

Arif Keles owns Hisar Fresh Food in Schöneberg, Germany, which makes döner kebabs. He is opposed to Turkey's effort to give döners Traditional Specialty Guarantee status in the EU. (Willa Rubin/NPR) Willa Rubin/NPR hide caption

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Willa Rubin/NPR

Champagne. Neapolitan pizza. Now döner kebabs?

In Germany, döner kebabs are more than just an affordable, satisfying street food. They're a symbol of Turkey's culinary influence in the country. Today on the show, how an effort to give döner kebabs a protected status under a little-known EU regulation could dish out some real economic consequences, in Germany and beyond.

Champagne. Neapolitan pizza. Now döner kebabs?

Listen · 9:27
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