The Indicator from Planet Money - Why Trump resurrected the Monroe Doctrine

203 years ago, President James Monroe declared the Western Hemisphere off limits to powerful countries in Europe. Fast forward, and President Trump is reviving the Monroe Doctrine to justify intervening in places like Venezuela, and threatening further action in other parts of Latin America and Greenland. On today’s show, how is Trump redefining the Monroe Doctrine and what does it mean for the world?

Related episodes:
Add to cart: Greenland
Is the Panama Canal a rip-off?
Venezuela didn’t steal U.S. oil. Here’s what happened  
Can Europe stand without the U.S. 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 Vito Emanuel. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.  

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What Next - Would You Die To Stop ICE?

The Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire went viral for telling clergy to have their affairs in order as they prepare to defend the most vulnerable, at a prayer vigil for Renee Good. He says, “I’ve said nothing new that I have not said in 35 years of ordained ministry.”


Guest: Bishop A. Robert Hirschfeld,10th Bishop in the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire serving since August 2012.


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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.




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Audio Mises Wire - Powell Should Be A Great American Villain. DC Will Make Him a Hero

The current Washington tiff between Donald Trump and Jerome Powell is being reframed as Powell heroically defending the Fed’s “independence.” In truth, the Fed has always done the administration’s dirty work and pursued inflation when it might temporarily boost the economy.

Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/powell-should-be-great-american-villain-dc-will-make-him-hero

More or Less - Have more than 100 private schools been forced to close because of VAT?

Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news. This week: A headline in the Mail says more than 100 private schools have closed since Labour came to power and ended the VAT exemption for private schools. Is that number right?

Is it true that when Covid hit the UK, a one-week delay in imposing lockdown led to 23,000 deaths?

Do 10 million families rely on X as their main source of news? That’s what government spokesperson Baroness Ruth Anderson said in the House of Lords, but is it correct?

s there really a “quiet revival” of Christian worship? Two YouGov polls found churchgoing had gone up by 50% between 2018 and 2024 in England and Wales. New polling data suggests otherwise.

If you’ve seen a number in the news you want the team on More or Less to have a look at, email moreorless@bbc.co.uk

Contributors: Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter, Emeritus Professor of Statistics in the Statistical Laboratory, University of Cambridge Professor Sir John Curtice, Senior Research Fellow at the National Centre for Social Research

Credits: Presenter: Tim Harford Reporters: Tom Colls and Nathan Gower Producers: Charlotte McDonald and Lizzy McNeill Production co-ordinator: Brenda Brown Sound mix: Gareth Jones Editor: Richard Vadon

What A Day - Iran, Greenland, And Trump’s Ego

In Iran, weeks of protests against the ruling regime have resulted in the deaths of thousands of protestors at the hands of the government. The Trump Administration has voiced its full-throated support for the protestors, with President Trump even claiming, “help is on its way.” Meanwhile, in Greenland, Prime Minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen joined Denmark’s Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in a joint news conference to say, again, Greenland does not want to be a part of the United States. But, of course, the President wants to annex Greenland anyway. So to talk more about President Trump’s continued desire to stick his nose in other countries’ business, we talked to Ben Rhodes. He’s the former U.S. deputy national security advisor under the Obama Administration and the co-host of Crooked Media’s Pod Save the World.

And in headlines, federal data shows roughly 800,000 fewer people have signed up for ACA individual health plans than at this time last year, net migration in the U.S. likely hit close to zero in 2025, and Elon Musk’s controversial AI bot, Grok, finds a new home inside… the Pentagon?

Show Notes:


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What Next - Should Congress Defund Ice?

Rep. Adam Smith is the ranking member of the House committee that’s supposed to have oversight on the Department of Defense—yes, that’s what he still calls it. But from strikes on Venezuela to ICE surges in Minneapolis, “oversight” isn’t a key function of Congress these days.


Guest:  Rep. Adam Smith, ranking member of the House Armed Services Committee, representative from Washington’s Ninth District.


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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.


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The Indicator from Planet Money - Can a good story change economic reality?

Economic decisions aren’t only driven by hard data. A compelling story can change economic behavior and outcomes. In today’s episode, we explore real-world examples of “narrative economics” like how the Suez Canal ended up getting built. And we ask: why do narratives sometimes matter more than truth or data? 

Related episodes: 
This indicator hasn’t flashed this red since the dot-com bubble 
Tariffs. Consumer sentiment. Cape Ratio. Pick The Indicator of The Year! 
The Beigie Awards: Manufacturing takes center stage 

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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Can a good story change economic reality?

Economic decisions aren’t only driven by hard data. A compelling story can change economic behavior and outcomes. In today’s episode, we explore real-world examples of “narrative economics” like how the Suez Canal ended up getting built. And we ask: why do narratives sometimes matter more than truth or data? 

Related episodes: 
This indicator hasn’t flashed this red since the dot-com bubble 
Tariffs. Consumer sentiment. Cape Ratio. Pick The Indicator of The Year! 
The Beigie Awards: Manufacturing takes center stage 

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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