After a firehose of economic news in 2025, we wanted to check back on some of the people we’ve heard from on our show. Today, we check in with a former federal employee caught in the Trump administration's wood chipper, a Louisiana shrimper on Trump’s tariffs and an update on a financial aid scam.
Related episodes:
Why do shrimpers like tariffs?
What’s the long-term cost of federal layoffs?
A big bank’s mistake, explained
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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What Next | Daily News and Analysis - Why Antisemitism Is Everywhere
It’s not that antisemitism ever went away, but it’s still jarring to watch people spread its oldest and most vile tropes on social media in a way that would’ve been unthinkable ten years ago.
Guest: Isaac Saul, politics reporter in Bucks County, Penn., author of the Tangle newsletter
Want more What Next? Subscribe to Slate Plus to access ad-free listening to the whole What Next family and across all your favorite Slate podcasts. Subscribe today on Apple Podcasts by clicking “Try Free” at the top of our show page. Sign up now at slate.com/whatnextplus to get access wherever you listen.
Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.
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Audio Mises Wire - The Next Economic Downturn Will Be Here Soon Enough
The US economy is hooked on easy money and artificially low interest rates. Huge credit expansions are not “stimulating” the economy; they are destroying it.
Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/next-economic-downturn-will-be-here-soon-enough
Audio Mises Wire - Why Hayek Rejected Merit-Based Equality
In criticizing the progressive notion of equity, or equality of results, critics of such views embrace an order of “meritocracy.” F.A. Hayek, however, understood that in a free society, inequality is inevitable, and it is something we must accept.
Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/why-hayek-rejected-merit-based-equality
More or Less - Do we really have ‘superflu’?
The NHS is warning of an unprecedented flu season - we check what the numbers say.
Is there really a mass exodus of Brits leaving the UK due to Labour tax policies? We look at the latest emigration figures.
We take a look at the prison service’s curious habit of letting prisoners out early – or keeping them in for too long - is there a trend?
Plus - why the US economy can’t grow at 25 percent a year.
Presenter: Tim Harford Reporter: Nathan Gower Producers: Charlotte McDonald, Katie Solleveld, Lizzy McNeill and Tom Colls. Production co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele Sound mix: Gareth Jones Editor: Richard Vadon
What A Day - Quantifying Happiness In 2026
Unemployment is up. Two-thirds of Americans have recently struggled with the rising cost of groceries. And the President of the United States has occupied his time attempting to start a land war in Venezuela, posting on the internet, and blowing up the East Wing of the White House. Times are… tough. So what can we do, as individuals and as a society, to be happier? To find out, we spoke to Michael Plant. He’s the founder and director of the Happier Lives Institute, a nonprofit that researches the most cost-effective ways to improve wellbeing around the world.
And in headlines, unemployment surges to its highest rate in four years, the deadline to extend Affordable Care Act subsidies draws dangerously near, and Vice President J.D. Vance asks Americans for patience during a speech in Pennsylvania.
Show Notes:
- Check out the Happier Lives Institute – www.happierlivesinstitute.org
- Call Congress – 202-224-3121
- Subscribe to the What A Day Newsletter – https://tinyurl.com/3kk4nyz8
- What A Day – YouTube – https://www.youtube.com/@whatadaypodcast
- Follow us on Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/crookedmedia/
- For a transcript of this episode, please visit crooked.com/whataday
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What Next | Daily News and Analysis - The Unaffordable Economy
Even though the economy looks to be slowing down, prices are still rising. And while presidents don’t have a ton of control over the economy, there is something in Donald Trump’s power that could help reverse these trends.
Guest: Catherine Rampell, economics editor at The Bulwark and anchor at MS NOW.
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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The Indicator from Planet Money - The ghosts of Obamacare past, present and future
Absent a holiday miracle, premium subsidies for the Affordable Care Act are set to expire at the end of this year. This will greatly increase the cost of health insurance for many who rely on the marketplace for their coverage. Today on the show, we are visited by the ghosts of Obamacare past, present and future to learn what’s next for this landmark healthcare legislation.
Related episodes:
Is Obamacare doomed without extended subsidies?
The hidden costs of healthcare churn
How doctors helped tank universal healthcare
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.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Related episodes:
Is Obamacare doomed without extended subsidies?
The hidden costs of healthcare churn
How doctors helped tank universal healthcare
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.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Audio Mises Wire - Obama’s PowerPoint Death Parade Led to Trump’s Venezuelan Killings
President Trump and Hegseth are cashing a blank check for carnage that was written years earlier by President Barack Obama.
Original article: https://mises.org/power-market/obamas-powerpoint-death-parade-led-trumps-venezuelan-killings
The Indicator from Planet Money - Will new loan limits lower the cost of grad school?
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act made a lot of changes to the federal student loan system. One of those changes put a new cap on the amount of loans students in graduate school can take on. Today on the show, we explain the theory behind this change and how it could impact the broader labor market going forward.
Related episodes:
The Market For Student Loans
Here's why Black students are defaulting
Student loans are back, U.S. travel is whack, and AI — please, step back
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.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
Related episodes:
The Market For Student Loans
Here's why Black students are defaulting
Student loans are back, U.S. travel is whack, and AI — please, step back
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.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy