Today's jobs report shows a slight rise in unemployment to 4%. And some frustrated job seekers are growing tired of applying for job after job with no replies, sometimes asking whether the listings are even real. And this isn't just vexing for applicants. It's also haunting economists when trying to figure out how much slack there is in the labor market, and whether interest rates should be raised or lowered. Today on the show: the rise of ghost jobs. Where they're happening and why.
Related episodes:
Not too hot, not too cold: a 'Goldilocks' jobs report
The Beigie Awards: From Ghosting to Coasting
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The Indicator from Planet Money - Why California’s high speed rail was always going to blow out
99.5 percent of megaprojects are either over time, over budget or have lower benefits than expected. What's going wrong? Today, we look at case studies from California's high speed rail project to the Sydney Opera House to consider the do's and don'ts of ambitious projects.
Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner's book on megaprojects is How Big Things Get Done: The Surprising Factors that Determine the Fate of Every Project, from Home Renovations to Space Exploration and Everything In Between.
Related episodes:
Why building public transit in the US costs so much (Apple / Spotify)
Planes, trains and bad bridges (Apple / Spotify)
ICYMI, preorder our new Indicator t-shirt at the NPR shop. For more ways to support our show, sign up for Planet Money+ where you'll get sponsor-free listening, bonus episodes, and access to even more Indicator merch!
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Bent Flyvbjerg and Dan Gardner's book on megaprojects is How Big Things Get Done: The Surprising Factors that Determine the Fate of Every Project, from Home Renovations to Space Exploration and Everything In Between.
Related episodes:
Why building public transit in the US costs so much (Apple / Spotify)
Planes, trains and bad bridges (Apple / Spotify)
ICYMI, preorder our new Indicator t-shirt at the NPR shop. For more ways to support our show, sign up for Planet Money+ where you'll get sponsor-free listening, bonus episodes, and access to even more Indicator merch!
Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Curious City - The Underground Railroad Existed Throughout Illinois, Including In Chicago
It's difficult to find records of Underground Railroad activity in Chicago because the work was inherently dangerous. But some historical documents offer a glimpse.
The Indicator from Planet Money - Why the U.S. helps pay for Israel’s military
The United States has been a supporter of Israel since the nation's establishment in 1948. With the civilian death toll rising in the Israel-Hamas war, growing scrutiny is mounting over just how much the U.S. should support Israel's military. Today, a historical explanation for why the United States tied itself so closely to support for Israel.
Related episodes:
Protesters want schools to divest from Israel. How would that work? (Apple / Spotify)
ICYMI, preorder our new Indicator t-shirt at the NPR shop. For more ways to support our show, sign up for Planet Money+ where you'll get sponsor-free listening, bonus episodes, and access to even more Indicator merch!
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Related episodes:
Protesters want schools to divest from Israel. How would that work? (Apple / Spotify)
ICYMI, preorder our new Indicator t-shirt at the NPR shop. For more ways to support our show, sign up for Planet Money+ where you'll get sponsor-free listening, bonus episodes, and access to even more Indicator merch!
Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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The Indicator from Planet Money - Common economic myths, debunked
Maybe you've heard these things on social media, in the news, and take them as fact: More than half of the adults in the US live paycheck to paycheck, the trade deficit is always bad, and making the super wealthy pay their fair share will fix everything.
Well, the truth isn't so simple. Today on the show: economic mythbusting. We take three factoids about the American economy and run them through the fact checkers.
Related episodes:
Is the federal debt REALLY that bad? (Apple/Spotify)
Is the financial media making us miserable about the economy? (Apple/Spotify)
ICYMI, preorder our new Indicator t-shirt at the NPR shop. For more ways to support our show, sign up for Planet Money+ where you'll get sponsor-free listening, bonus episodes, and access to even more Indicator merch!
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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Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Well, the truth isn't so simple. Today on the show: economic mythbusting. We take three factoids about the American economy and run them through the fact checkers.
Related episodes:
Is the federal debt REALLY that bad? (Apple/Spotify)
Is the financial media making us miserable about the economy? (Apple/Spotify)
ICYMI, preorder our new Indicator t-shirt at the NPR shop. For more ways to support our show, sign up for Planet Money+ where you'll get sponsor-free listening, bonus episodes, and access to even more Indicator merch!
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 - Unveiling our mascot’s new name and merch!
MERCH! You asked for it. We got it. After rebranding our podcast earlier this year, we decided it was time to create our own merch. On today's show, a brief oral history of early merch, how to score an Indicator t-shirt, and the winning name of our new mascot.
• Preorder the t-shirt now at shopnpr.org/indicator
• Sign up for Planet Money+ to access more Indicator merch
Related episodes:
Name our mascot. No, really (Apple / Spotify)
Planet Money Makes a T-shirt
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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• Preorder the t-shirt now at shopnpr.org/indicator
• Sign up for Planet Money+ to access more Indicator merch
Related episodes:
Name our mascot. No, really (Apple / Spotify)
Planet Money Makes a T-shirt
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
The Indicator from Planet Money - The cutest indicator in the world
Indicators of the Week is back, where we dig into three economic snapshots from the global economy. This week, we are exploring consumers' ever so slightly improved perception of the economy, what's going on with carbon offsets, and why China is sending some pandas to U.S. zoos.
Related Episodes:
Actors back. Pandas gone. WeBankrupt. (Apple / Spotify)
How Red Lobster got cooked and other indicators (Apple / Spotify)
Emission Impossible (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
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Related Episodes:
Actors back. Pandas gone. WeBankrupt. (Apple / Spotify)
How Red Lobster got cooked and other indicators (Apple / Spotify)
Emission Impossible (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 - Indicator Quiz: May Edition
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 ch-ch-changes. (That's a David Bowie reference, kids!) We're covering changes in the economy, the environment, the rental market, you get the picture. We're even tossing in a question about an AI-resurrected rapper.
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:
Hazard maps: The curse of knowledge
AI Tupac and the murky legality of digital necromancy
The highs and lows of US rents
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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We test you, dear listener, on your knowledge of topics that we've covered on The Indicator!
Today's quiz focuses on ch-ch-changes. (That's a David Bowie reference, kids!) We're covering changes in the economy, the environment, the rental market, you get the picture. We're even tossing in a question about an AI-resurrected rapper.
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:
Hazard maps: The curse of knowledge
AI Tupac and the murky legality of digital necromancy
The highs and lows of US rents
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
Curious City - Did Dinosaurs Ever Live In Chicago?
We went digging for dinosaur bones in Chicago and found a bunch of other fossils along the way. We explore the region's prehistoric activity, and we’ll hear about that one time a federal judge found a mastodon in his yard.
The Indicator from Planet Money - Using anecdotes to predict recessions
Eight times a year, we award regional Federal Reserve Banks with our coveted Beigie Award. While the anecdotes within the Beige Book offer us fascinating looks into the economy, to others, it can be difficult to make anything of the stories they tell. That's why we're giving out a special Beigie award today to some economists who found a way to use anecdotes to peer into our economic future.
Regional Economic Sentiment: Constructing Quantitative Estimates from the Beige Book and Testing Their Ability to Forecast Recessions
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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Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
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Regional Economic Sentiment: Constructing Quantitative Estimates from the Beige Book and Testing Their Ability to Forecast Recessions
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