Category: News

The most recent jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the United States economy exceeded expectations by adding 353,000 jobs in January. This continues the labor market's years-long trend of resilience in the face of the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes. However, digging deeper into the numbers reveals figures that economists are keeping a close eye on.

Today, we explain why it's not necessarily ideal for local government jobs to lift up a booming labor market.

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It's no secret — your phone knows where you are, and if that data exists, someone else might have it. Back in 2022, we covered the murky market for smartphone location data. Now, the Federal Trade Commission is cracking down on this multi-billion dollar industry. In today's episode, we explain why the agency is trying to ban a data broker from selling information tied to sensitive places like medical facilities.

Related episodes:
Ad targeting gets into your medical file (Apple / Spotify)

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In the 1980s, California was the heart of the aerospace industry. But when the Cold War ended, military spending cuts put those defense jobs in jeopardy.

This week, we're bringing you a three-part series on the defense industry. In this episode: how the state redirected some of those defense dollars to another economic opportunity provides an example of how the "peace dividend" can be used effectively.

Related episodes:
Are we overpaying for military equipment? (Apple / Spotify)

Can Just-In-Time handle a new era of war? (Apple / Spotify)

Industrial policy, the debate! (Apple / Spotify)

Giant vacuums and other government climate bets (Apple / Spotify)

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Just-in-time manufacturing began as a way to save space, remove costs and improve efficiency ... for Toyota. The U.S. defense industry has since incorporated this approach. Now, leaders in the defense industry question whether it's to blame for weapons and ammunition shortages.

This week, we're bringing you a three-part series on the defense industry. Today on the show, we look at how a just-in-time mindset filtered through the military contracting system, and we ask whether bare-bones manufacturing styles are leaving the U.S. in a bind.

Related Episodes
Are we overpaying for military equipment? (Apple / Spotify)

How to transform a war economy from peacetime (Apple / Spotify)

Toyota Camry, supply-chain hero

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If the proposed defense budget is passed, it will account for roughly 3.5 % of U.S. GDP. The military buys everything from pens and paper clips to fighter jets and submarines. But the market for military equipment is very different from the commercial market. And sometimes the system results in the Pentagon, and taxpayers, overpaying. This week, we're bringing you a three-part series on the defense industry.

Today, we unpack how defense costs are getting so high and why it's happening.

Related:
Can Just-In-Time handle a new era of war? (Apple / Spotify)

How to transform a war economy from peacetime (Apple / Spotify)

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It's Indicators of the Week, that time each Friday when we look at the most fascinating numbers from the news. Today, we explain the different directions of the Chinese and American economies ... and how a burrito can be a bellwether.

Related Episodes:

Young, "spoiled and miserable" in China (Apple / Spotify)
The mess at the heart of China's economy (Apple / Spotify)
China's Big Tech Crackdown

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From salsas to barbecue sauces to refrigerated beverages, small artisanal brands are infiltrating grocery shelves everywhere. How did this happen? Today on the show, we team up with Dan Pashman of The Sporkful food podcast to follow the rise of niche soda maker Olipop, and share the hidden incentives that have grocers making shelf space for these products.

Listen to The Sporkful on Apple or Spotify.

Related episodes:
Grocery delivery wars
How grocery shelves get stacked

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In her new book, Our World In Data's Head of Research Hannah Ritchie investigates how to meet the needs of people without destroying the planet. Today we ask Hannah: Can we feed the world, sustainably?

Related episodes
The Amazon, the Colorado River and a price on nature (Apple Podcasts / Spotify)
The Problem with the US's Farm Worker Program (Apple Podcasts / Spotify)

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Listener questions are back! On today's show, we answer whether universities are banks, how — or if — 401(k) contributions affect the stock market, and whether jobs report numbers account for people holding down multiple jobs. If you have a question you'd like us to answer, email us at indicator@npr.org.

Related Episodes:
Higher wages, fewer temp workers and indicators of the year results (Apple / Spotify)

Why pizza costs more in Iceland and other Listener Questions (Apple / Spotify)

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In the 1980s, economic tensions between the U.S. and Japan permeated American politics and pop culture. Similar tensions are resurfacing as Japan's Nippon Steel tries to buy U.S. Steel. Today on the show, the history of U.S.-Japan trade friction and why a new round of anxieties is complicating the sale of U.S. Steel.

Related episodes:
How one small change in Japan could sway U.S. markets (Apple / Spotify)
What Japan's lost decade teaches us about recessions

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