The Indicator from Planet Money - The boom and bust of esports

The origins of competitive gaming are rooted in college campuses going back to the early 1970s. Now a globally popular industry, esports is at the center of many questions about long-term financial viability.

Today, we dive deep into the hype surrounding esports and why the luster seems to be rubbing off the industry that was once seen by some as the next NBA.

Related episodes:
Forever games: the economics of the live service model (Apple / Spotify)
Designing for disability: how video games become more accessible (Apple / Spotify)

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.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

Crimetown - Introducing | Beyond All Repair

A new 10-part true-crime podcast, Executive Produced and Edited by Zac Stuart-Pontier, co-creator of Crimetown.

Imagine if, one day, you are accused of something. Something horrible, violent, heinous. Something you swear you did not do, and nothing you say can convince anyone otherwise — even the people closest to you.

That’s Sophia Johnson’s story.

Sophia was starting fresh: A new life, a new husband, a baby on the way. But it all unraveled on January 10, 2002, when her mother-in-law Marlyne Johnson was found bludgeoned to death in her home. Days later, Sophia was charged with the murder.

To this day, Sophia swears she didn’t do it. But someone says they witnessed it — her own brother.

When family betrays family, who do you believe? In this story of a sibling rivalry beyond compare, WBUR’s Amory Sivertson turns the clock back. She reexamines an unsolved case, a family torn apart, and a woman who wasn’t believed.

From WBUR and ZSP Media, Beyond All Repair is a 10-part true crime investigation into a cold case. The series ends with an answer.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Indicator from Planet Money - Designing for disability: how video games become more accessible

Gaming provides entertainment and community for billions of people worldwide. However, video games haven't always been accessible to those with disabilities. But this is changing.

Today, in the next installment of our series on the business of video games, we explain how accessibility has become an increasingly important priority for game developers and how advocates pushed them to this point.

Related episodes:
Forever games: the economics of the live service model (Apple / Spotify)

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.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy

The Indicator from Planet Money - Forever games: the economics of the live service model

People used to pay one standard price for their favorite games in a one-off transaction. But now, many game companies are offering their games for free, supported by in-game purchases. This is called the live service model.

Today, the first episode of a week-long series about the video game industry. We investigate the promise and pains of the live service model and explain how it turned the industry upside down.

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.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

NPR Privacy Policy