The Indicator from Planet Money - Go ask ALICE about grocery prices

Grocery prices have gone up 27 percent since before the pandemic. And high prices are especially painful for lower income households, who have less wiggle room to adjust their spending. But their experience isn't always reflected in broad measures of inflation.

Today on the show, we look at a different way of measuring price increases that's designed to capture the pain that many households feel daily, including at the supermarket.

Read more about the ALICE Essentials Index.

Related Episodes:
A food fight over free school lunch
Feeling inflation in the grocery store

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The Indicator from Planet Money - Add to cart: Greenland

President Donald Trump's proposal that the United States take "ownership" of Greenland has raised a lot of eyebrows. Can the U.S. just buy itself this big territory? Is that a thing? Turns out if you look at U.S. history, it's absolutely a thing.

Today on the show: how massive land deals called "sovereignty purchases" have shaped the country we live in today, and why the idea of the U.S. buying Greenland is a lot more complicated than it would have been in the past.

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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The Indicator from Planet Money - Student loans, savings accounts, and goodbye to artificial red dye

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

On today's episode, we examine three measures the Biden administration is squeezing in before the clock runs out. Those include student loan cancellations, a lawsuit against Capital One, and the banishment of a sweet, sweet artificial dye.

Related Episodes:
How a consumer watchdog's power became a liability
Why big banks aren't interested in your savings account

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

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Curious City - Why telling “the proper stories” is vital to understanding the Piasa

Roadside attractions aren’t always the kitschy photo op we imagine them to be. Some have a complicated history that you can’t see from the side of the road. Last episode, we took a road trip to Southern Illinois to look into a metal, firebreathing dragon. Today, we’re looking at a different landmark in nearby Alton: the Piasa. Unlike the Kaskaskia dragon, the Piasa has a centuries-old history that starts with the Indigenous people of what is now the Mississippi River. The Piasa — as most people know it — is a mythical creature painted on the bluffs of the Mississippi. The image depicts a winged figure with antlers, fangs and talons. It’s a recreation of the original image which was destroyed in the 1850s because of quarrying on the bluffs. Through the centuries, different stories have been told about the meaning and origins behind this creature, including one that is popular but fabricated. Dr. Mark Wagner, director of the Center for Archaeological Investigations at Southern Illinois University at Carbondale, talks about the layered history of the mural. Logan Pappenfort, director of tribal relations for the Illinois State Museum, talks about why it’s important to uplift true cultural artifacts and says the real history behind them isn’t hard to uncover if you know where to look.