Category: Series

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The Indicator from Planet Money - The spite acquisition that launched Warren Buffett

With an unprecedented decades-long run of success, Warren Buffett is retiring on December 31, 2025. Buffett’s turning point began with the acquisition of a failing textile mill called Berkshire Hathaway. What began as a “terrible mistake” became the foundation for his empire. Today on the show, how did Buffett become this legendary figure? 

Related episodes: 
Planet Money Summer School 2: Index Funds & The Bet
Brilliant vs. Boring 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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More or Less - The shocking world of US health costs

A loyal listener wrote in to question this claim made by neuroscientist Dr Daniel Levitin: "Here in the US valium in a pharmacy might be $3 that same pill in a hospital setting might be $750."

Our listener was shocked at how one pill can cost 250 x more in a hospital setting than in a pharmacy. But can it? Sort of.

We turned to Elisabeth Rosenthal to take us on a dive into the frankly shocking world of US Health costs.

Presenter: Tim Harford Producer: Lizzy McNeill Series Producer: Tom Colls Editor: Richard Vadon Production Coordinator: Maria Ogundele Sound Mix: Neil Churchill

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The Indicator from Planet Money - Tariffs. Consumer sentiment. Cape Ratio. Pick The Indicator of The Year!

2025 was a wild year for the U.S. economy. Tariffs transformed the global economy, consumer sentiment hit near-historic lows, and the stock market hit scary, spooky, blood-curdling new heights! So … which of these economic stories defined the year? 

Our hosts from Planet Money and The Indicator duke it out during our annual … Family Feud!

Tell us who you think has THE indicator of the year by emailing us at indicator@npr.org. Put “Family Feud” in the subject line. 

Related episodes:


The Indicators of this year and next 

This indicator hasn’t flashed this red since the dot-com bubble 

What would it mean to actually refund the tariffs?

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

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Curious City - Krampus is coming: The Christmas demon’s Chicago connection

On the morning of St. Nicholas Day, good kids rush downstairs to see what kind of gifts might be in their shoes. The bad kids? Unfortunately they might get a visit from Krampus, an ancient monster that has naughty children praying for a lump of coal instead. The origins of this half-goat, half-man folklore character date back centuries, largely to German-speaking countries in Europe. But these days, Krampus is more popular than ever — especially in America, with parades, festivals, Hollywood horror films, Ocean Spray commercials and endless amounts of merchandise. That popularity is largely attributed to Chicagoan Monte Beauchamp, who first published images of Krampus in his alternative comic magazine, Blab!, in 2000. “I can't believe what's taken place since I introduced Krampus in the pages of Blab! Magazine, which led to a book, and then from there it just exploded,” Beauchamp told Curious City. In our last episode, we looked at a long-running holiday tradition in Chicago, Goodman Theatre’s rendition of “A Christmas Carol.” In today’s episode, we explore the origins of this very different kind of Christmas tradition and its curious local connection.