Category: Series

A group of obscure yet powerful players in the prescription drug industry are under the microscope. On Tuesday, at a Senate hearing in D.C., the head of pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk blamed the health insurance industry and pharmacy benefit managers, or PBMs, for allegedly making products like the weight loss drug Ozempic way more expensive in the U.S. than it is in other countries. A few days before that, the Federal Trade Commission sued three of the country's largest PBMs for allegedly using unfair tactics to artificially inflate the price of insulin.

So what exactly are PBMs and how do they work? In an episode that aired two years ago, we explain how the answer involves secret deals and double agents.

Related episodes:
Who can and cannot get weight loss drugs (Apple / Spotify)
New drugs. Cheaper drugs. Why not both? (Apple / Spotify)

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Rupert Murdoch took an Australia paper in Adelaide and turned it into one of the most influential media empires in the world. The question of who will run it after he's gone though is the subject of speculation both in reality and on the HBO fictional series "Succession." Now, a small probate court in Nevada will weigh in on that very question.

Today, how did the drama come to be? And what will the decision mean for the future of Fox, one of the most influential networks, on the planet and our political discourse?

Related episodes:
Dollar v. world / Taylor Swift v. FTX / Fox v. Dominion (Apple / Spotify)

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A recent survey found that nearly half of all Americans say they could not live without GPS in their car. The American economy couldn't live without GPS, either! Clocks on Wall Street, commercial fishermen, and of course, your Lyft driver, all rely on satellite navigation services.

An outage in those services, however, would cripple the U.S. economy. A study found that an outage could cost at least $1 billion a day ... and we don't have a backup.

Today on the show, we explain who owns GPS and why we don't have a Plan B if it fails.

Related Episodes:
The Military Industry ... It's Complex
Why the FTC is cracking down on location data brokers

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It's ... Indicators of the Week! We roundup the economic indicators that caught our eyes and ears. This week, all our attention was on the Federal Reserve, which cut interest rates by half a percentage point. (Egad!)

On today's episode, we've got dot plots, why the Fed rate cut may not bring immediate relief, and ... Sasquatch?!

Related Episodes:
Has the Fed lost the dot plot?
Are both rents AND interest rates too dang high?
When mortgage rates are too low to give up

Related Reading:
Mortgage Rates Puzzle Is a Worry for Housing and the Fed

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Yesterday we looked at Donald Trump's key economic proposals for a second term. On today's show, we do the same for Kamala Harris, examining the Democratic nominee's plans for taxes, housing and grocery store prices.

Related episodes:
What are Trump's economic plans? (Apple / Spotify)
Three Kamala Harris indicators (Apple / Spotify)
Bad economics, smart politics (Apple / Spotify)
How much do presidents ACTUALLY influence the economy? (Apple / Spotify)
When Uncle Sam stops paying the childcare bill (Apple / Spotify)

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With less than two months before election day in the U.S., there's still a lot to learn about both major candidates' economic platforms. Today we look at some key proposals from Donald Trump for a second term, including tariffs and immigration. Tomorrow: Kamala Harris' plans.

Related listening:
Bad economics, smart politics (Apple / Spotify)
How much do presidents ACTUALLY influence the economy? (Apple / Spotify)
Do immigrants really take jobs and lower wages? (Apple / Spotify)
Why tariffs are SO back (Apple / Spotify)
What is Trumponomics?
Trump vs. Red Tape

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The co-hosts return with answers to YOUR questions. In this episode of listener questions, we dive into why storefronts don't just fill up, how Tiny Desk found its secret sauce, and whether there's an ideal level of staff turnover.

Tiny Desk Donation Page

Related episodes:
Anatomy of a Layoff (Apple / Spotify)
Pay Cuts Vs. Layoffs

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Nippon Steel says it wants to keep jobs in America as it looks to buy out US Steel. And economists say: that makes sense. But U.S. presidential candidates are pushing back. Today, we'll look at the role politics plays in distorting economics and find out whether that's what's happening in Pennsylvania and some other battleground states.

Related episodes:
The tensions behind the sale of U.S. Steel (Apple / Spotify)
How much do presidents ACTUALLY influence the economy (Apple / Spotify)

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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