A bite-sized show about big ideas. From the people who make Planet Money, The Indicator helps you make sense of what's happening in today's economy. It's a quick hit of insight into money, work, and business. Monday through Friday, in 10 minutes or less. Sign up for our newsletter. Support public media by joining NPR+ at plus.npr.org. You’ll get perks for over 25 NPR podcasts, including bonus episodes for Planet Money and sponsor-free listening for The Indicator.
Latest episodes
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10 min
Why Meta is giving you Muse for free
Meta’s new AI agent Muse is one of the fastest-growing apps ever. It’s a big bet from a company spending billions to win the AI race. But what is the real cost of using this powerf…
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9 min
How bots are overtaking humans on the internet
There are now more bots than humans online. What does that mean for how we experience the internet? Can bots and humans peacefully coexist online? Fact checking by Sierra Juarez.Yo…
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9 min
CoreWeave woes, Pokémon foes, and maple syrup lows
This week’s notable indicators: A distressing credit warning for CoreWeave, a Pokémon heist, and depleted maple syrup reserves in Canada. Fact checking by Cooper Katz McKim. Your N…
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8 min
Can a "moneyball" system work for campaign funding?
Elections are more expensive than ever, but are campaign donations going to the races where they’ll make the most impact? Today, we talk to the startup co-founder of Oath who belie…
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9 min
The case for sharing your salary
Should money and class figure more prominently in how we identify ourselves? Pulitzer Prize-winning data journalist Mona Chalabi thinks yes. Today on the show, a conversation with…
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9 min
The gamble of trying to inflate away debt
The United States national debt is running at more than $40 trillion dollars. It’s a potential crisis in the making, but President Donald Trump suggested it can all be solved just…
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9 min
Why Oracle's debt load could be your problem
Oracle, the multinational tech giant has taken on a lot of loans to build up its AI capacity. But Oracle’s investors are not happy with this piling debt load. We explain why Oracle…
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2 min
Will AI take my job? Ask an economist!
Is AI coming for our jobs? Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei believes AI could wipe out many white-collar jobs in the next few years. While Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang argues AI will reshape…
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9 min
Supercore inflation, Bumble valuation and Pooh's repatriation
This week’s indicators: Why is inflation so super (derogatory)? How did Bumble go from dating app doldrums to a stock market sweetheart?; And oh, bother! Could Winnie the Pooh be m…
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8 min
How did political campaigns get so expensive?
The 2026 midterm elections are fast approaching, and it’s gearing up to be the most expensive election in American history. So how did we get here, where every election feels more…
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9 min
A rebate runaround, a car rental rip-off and … roaches?!
A labyrinthine rebate process. Shrinking cereal boxes. Mystery rental car charges. Cockroaches?! We share listener tales of Consumer Rage and unpack the economic forces driving tha…
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9 min
How did we get a Nobel Prize in economics?
This year's Nobel Prize for Economics went to American economists Robert E. Hall and Michael Woodford! Their research focused on macroeconomic models and economic shocks.But … How…
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10 min
The echo of the bison (Encore)
Nearly 30 million bison once roamed North America, from modern Canada to Mexico. In the late 1800s, white settlers and the U.S. military annihilated the population of bison, bringi…
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9 min
SNAP strains, youth baseball's class divide, and Meta's bug bounty
This week our top indicators include changes to the funding model for SNAP, private equity’s influence on youth baseball and Meta’s attempt to find flaws in its brand new AI assist…
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9 min
The chilling effect of ICE in hospitals
Federal immigration enforcement arrests reached record highs this past summer, and under the second Trump administration, immigration agents can now more easily access so-called se…
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9 min
One economist's answer to data center anxiety
Rising electricity prices are one of the primary reasons why data centers are a public enemy this election cycle. But is it realistic to expect energy prices to stay high forever?…
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8 min
Inside Norway's sovereign wealth fund dilemma to divest from Israel
Norway has the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, but it’s facing a self-imposed dilemma. Should the fund's investments include companies that directly or indirectly contribute…
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9 min
The proper etiquette of the Venmo nudge
How do you ask your friends to pay you back in a timely way? We’ve got an etiquette coach to help with that. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez.Your Next Listen — Is this a bank?Connec…
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9 min
Can we make Social Security better for blue-collar workers?
Most workers can’t start collecting full Social Security benefits until age 67. But a new proposal from Michigan Congresswoman Haley Stevens would allow workers in “physically dema…
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8 min
New college degrees designed to job-proof graduates
What do influencing, AI and health sciences have in common? They’re all degree programs colleges have launched in the last few years to attract students looking for a new career pa…