The Indicator from Planet Money - What indicators will 2025 bring?

2024 is over (phew!). We had weird consumer sentiment vibes, Bitcoin went to the moon, and the economy might have achieved a soft landing. And that's just a few 2024 indicators!

As we enter 2025, what indicators should we keep an eye on? Planet Money co-hosts Kenny Malone and Jeff Guo look ahead with Adrian Ma for Indicators of the Year ... Ahead!

Related Episodes:
Econ Battle Zone: Disinflation Confrontation
The Fed cut rates ... now what? (featuring: Sasquatch)
The Indicators of this year and next (2023)

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More or Less: Behind the Stats - Did Mussolini make the trains run on time?

?Say what you like about Mussolini but he did make the trains run on time.? This phrase is the political equivalent of ?every cloud has a silver lining? ? but does it have any factual basis? Mussolini?s dictatorship in Italy was full of atrocities, brutal suppression and propaganda. Did it also create a more efficient railway network? We speak to Professor Ruth Ben-Ghiat about the truth of the claim and why the Mussolini regime wanted us to believe it. Presenter: Lizzy McNeill Producer: Lizzy McNeill Researcher: Esme Winterbotham Series Producer: Tom Colls Editor: Richard Vadon Sound Master: James Beard Production Co-ordinator: Katie Morrison.

Image: Benito Mussolini in his train studying maps. (Photo by ullstein picture/ullstein picture via Getty Images)

The Indicator from Planet Money - Help us pick the indicator of the year!

2024 was a wild year for the U.S. economy: The economy did well in terms of inflation and unemployment, but vibes ruled the roost. (Mostly didn't feel great!) Additionally, Bitcoin went to the moon and some wacky stuff was happening with unemployment and job opening rates, showing that we might have achieved an economic soft landing.

So ... which of these economic stories defined the year?

Our hosts from Planet Money and The Indicator duke it out in ... Family Feud!

Tell us who you think won today's episode by submitting your vote to Planet Money's Instagram or email us with "Family Feud" in the subject line.

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Music by
Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

Related Episodes:
Is the financial media making us miserable about the economy?
What's behind Bitcoin's bullrun?
What the Beveridge curve tells us about jobs

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