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The Indicator from Planet Money - Government shutdown fallout, price floors, and AI slop against the machine

It’s … Indicators of the Week! Our weekly look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news. 

On today’s episode: Frozen and canceled federal dollars, America’s intensifying tit-for-tat with China, and a sloppy trend infiltrating the music business. (With a pocket full of shells.)

Related episodes: 
China's trade war perspective 
Fighting AI with AI 

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Corey Bridges. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.


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Consider This from NPR - We may be in an AI bubble. What does that mean?

Is the AI boom an AI bubble? Wall Street and Silicon Valley increasingly think so.

This week JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon said "a lot of assets" appear to be "entering bubble territory."

Earlier this month Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said the AI market was an "industrial bubble" where stock prices were "disconnected from the fundamentals" of their businesses.

But big tech shows little sign of pausing its massive investments in artificial intelligence. So how is it that A-I could change the world ... and is also maybe in a bubble?

Stanford economist Jared Bernstein, a former White House chief economic adviser and co-author of a recent New York Times op-ed on the subject, explains.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. 

Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

This episode was produced by Brianna Scott. It was edited by Patrick Jarenwattananon. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.


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1A - What Department of Education Cuts Mean For Special Education

The Trump administration has decimated the Department of Education with staffing cuts.

Now, the latest round of layoffs all but wipes out the Office of Special Education Programs. So, what does that mean for the millions of kids who rely on these services?

We sit down to talk about how Education Department cuts will affect children with disabilities.

Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ atplus.npr.org/the1a.

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Up First from NPR - Venezuela Escalation, Shutdown Layoffs Paused, Military Pay

President Trump escalates pressure on Venezuela, authorizing covert CIA operations and striking suspected drug boats. A federal judge pauses the Trump administration’s shutdown layoffs, at least for now. And active-duty troops get paid after a last-minute fix, but military families still feel the strain as the shutdown drags on.

Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.

Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Dana Farrington, Emily Kopp, Andrew Sussman, Mohamad ElBardicy and Alice Woelfle

It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Milton Guevara.

We get engineering support from Zac Coleman. And our technical director is Stacey Abbott.

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Up First from NPR - Venezuela Escalation, Shutdown Layoffs Paused, Military Pay

President Trump escalates pressure on Venezuela, authorizing covert CIA operations and striking suspected drug boats. A federal judge pauses the Trump administration’s shutdown layoffs, at least for now. And active-duty troops get paid after a last-minute fix, but military families still feel the strain as the shutdown drags on.

Want more comprehensive analysis of the most important news of the day, plus a little fun? Subscribe to the Up First newsletter.

Today’s episode of Up First was edited by Dana Farrington, Emily Kopp, Andrew Sussman, Mohamad ElBardicy and Alice Woelfle

It was produced by Ziad Buchh, Nia Dumas and Milton Guevara.

We get engineering support from Zac Coleman. And our technical director is Stacey Abbott.

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The Indicator from Planet Money - OpenAI’s deals are looking a little frothy

There have been many headline-grabbing AI deals recently: Nvidia investing up to $100 billion in OpenAI. OpenAI promising to buy $300 billion worth of computing power from Oracle. Oracle buying tons of chips from Nvidia. 

But … where’s the money coming from? Is all this AI overhype … a bubble? 

On today's show, how money flows in the AI hyperscaling flood. 

Related episodes: 

Is AI overrated? 

Is AI underrated?


The messy human drama behind OpenAI 

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.  

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NPR's Book of the Day - ‘I Am You’ fictionalizes the story of a Dutch Golden Age painter and her maid

Dutch Golden Age painter Maria van Oosterwijck and her assistant, Gerta Pieters, lived side by side in 17th century Amsterdam, Pieters having started out as van Oosterwijck’s maid. Victoria Redel’s new historical novel I Am You fictionalizes their story, exploring their personal and working relationships. In today’s episode, Redel tells Here & Now’s Robin Young about expanding on what we know about the women – and whether it’s plausible they were lovers.


To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday

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Consider This from NPR - The fighting in Gaza has stopped. But dire conditions persist.

“A New and Beautiful day is rising.” That’s what President Trump told a gathering of world leaders this week.


He was speaking of the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas…meant to pave the way to a permanent end to the war that has left much of the Gaza strip in rubble. Now, Trump said, the rebuilding begins. 

There are huge questions about what comes after the ceasefire. Who will govern Gaza? Will Hamas disarm? When will Israeli troops fully withdraw? And before any of that, there’s a more urgent challenge — getting food and medicine to the people in Gaza.

For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. 

This episode was produced by Erika Ryan and Connor Donevan, with audio engineering by Tiffany Vera Castro and David Greenburg. It was edited by Courtney Dorning. It contains reporting from NPR’s Greg Myre. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.

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1A - Why is the Trump administration blowing up Venezuelan boats?

Last month, the Trump administration started blowing up boats off the coast of Venezuela, calling it part of an “armed conflict” with drug cartels. The White House’s so-called “war on cartels” is increasingly centered on Venezuela, not Mexico or Haiti, where most of these organizations actually operate.

The president is linking these cartels to the Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. The South American strong man has indicated he’s ready to declare a state of emergency in his country if things progress much further.

So, are these actions about drugs, or are they really about regime change?

Find more of our programs online. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a. 

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