Category: Series

Globalization, as we once knew it, is dead ... well, that's according to the UK's new Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves.

Chancellor Reeves has run the UK Treasury since July 2024. She's facing an economic backdrop familiar to many countries: hollowed-out industrial towns; climate change; global wars and conflicts.

Today on the show: Our conversation with Chancellor Reeves on her visit this week to the US. What she thinks went wrong with globalization, and the new economic map she's coursing.

Related Episodes:
From Brexit to Regrexit

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 U.S. wants to become a net-zero emissions economy by 2050. That will mean a lot of new generation from renewable energy. It also means more transmission networks are needed to bring it onto the grid.

But there's a debate over how that new transmission should be built — between a competitive or monopoly approach. Today, we look at why competition is so divisive and why each side thinks they should build the next generation of transmission infrastructure.

Related Listening:
Texas' new power grid problem (Apple / Spotify)
Green energy gridlock (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

It's been a turbulent couple of days for financial markets around the world. Japan's biggest stock market saw its worst day in decades. Corporate earnings disappointed investors. And last week's jobs report here in the US showed disappointing numbers. Is this a sign of a recession or just some temporary turbulence? Today, we speak with two economic analysts to make sense of what's really going on.

Related:
Matt Klein's newsletter "The Overshoot"
Why are we so bummed about the economy? (Apple / Spotify)
The Sahm Rule With The Eponymous Economist

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

Jobs numbers came out today and they weren't great: Unemployment hit 4.3% and only 114,000 jobs were added to the economy in July. The U.S. economy's downshifting gears ... but there are bright spots.

Care jobs grew. Like social assistance: 9,000 new jobs in July.

Social work organizations have been calling out for more men in particular ... and with unemployment rising for men, a lot of them want jobs. So why aren't they meeting?

Today on the show: Getting more men into so-called pink-collar jobs. We learn about an experiment that showed a surprising way to encourage men into industries traditionally represented by women.

Related Episodes:
Wanted: Social workers
Ghost jobs

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 modern Olympic Games are notorious for saddling host cities with burdensome cost overruns into the billions. Organizers for the Paris 2024 Olympics were aware of this and planned to put on one of the most cost-effective Olympics in recent memory. They still went over budget.

Today on the show, why the Olympics almost always costs host cities much more than they anticipate and what we can learn from the Olympic Games' original economic sin.

Related episodes:
Peacock, potassium and other Paris Olympics Indicators (Apple / Spotify)
Why California's high speed rail was always going to blow out (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 Federal Reserve has once again opted to leave interest rates unchanged. That appears to be creating a big challenge to one part of the economy: housing prices. Today, we look at how elevated interest rates may actually be keeping home prices and rent high. Plus, we see how one community is taking the issue of housing affordability into its own hands.

Read the research paper co-authored by Julia Fonseca, Lu Liu, and Pierre Mabille.

Related episodes:
When mortgage rates are too low to give up (Apple / Spotify)
The housing shakeup (Apple / Spotify)
The highs and lows of US rent (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

It's time for The Indicator Quiz!

We test you, dear listener, on your knowledge of topics that we've covered on The Indicator!

Today's quiz focuses on our June episodes, in which we covered a lot of... well, a little bit of everything! NVIDIA, ChatGPT, and...Peppa Pig?

Play along with us and see how you do!

Are you interested in being a contestant on our next Indicator Quiz? Email us your name and phone number at indicator@npr.org and put "Indicator Quiz" in the subject line.

Related Episodes:
Spud Spat
The tower of NVIDIA
Indicators of the Week: Debate Edition

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 childcare industry has been having a tough go of it. It's already expensive; pandemic-era programs have ended; plus there are too few providers. Enter a new challenge: increasing liability insurance premiums. Today, we look at why these premiums are rising for childcare providers, and how they're impacting both businesses and consumers.

Related episodes:
Baby's first market failure (Apple / Spotify)
When Uncle Sam stops paying the childcare bill (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