Sandwiched between a burger joint and an oyster bar in New York City hangs a daunting image: The National Debt Clock. And that debt number? It just keeps ticking up. How deep in the hole are we? Nearly a hundred percent of gross domestic product. And counting. Today on the show, the federal debt. Is it time to freak out? Or is there nothing to see here?
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The Indicator from Planet Money - Taxing the final frontier
Launches by commercial space companies are becoming more frequent. Last year, the Federal Aviation Administration licensed 117, an all-time high. But these spaceflight companies aren't paying for all of the FAA's services that they use.
Today, we explore why the government is looking to change that and dig into the larger debate over whether human activity in space is a public or private project.
Related episodes:
Economics in space
Planet Money goes to space
Space economics
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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Today, we explore why the government is looking to change that and dig into the larger debate over whether human activity in space is a public or private project.
Related episodes:
Economics in space
Planet Money goes to space
Space economics
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.
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The Indicator from Planet Money - Video Game Industry Week: The Final Level
We wrap up our series on the economics of the video game industry with a triple roundup. Today, how the new ban on noncompete contracts could affect the gaming industry, whether young men are slacking off work to play games and the ever-controversial world of loot boxes.
Related episodes:
Forever games: the economics of the live service model (Apple / Spotify)
Designing for disability: how video games become more accessible (Apple / Spotify)
The boom and bust of esports (Apple / Spotify)
Work. Crunch. Repeat: Why gaming demands so much of its employees (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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Related episodes:
Forever games: the economics of the live service model (Apple / Spotify)
Designing for disability: how video games become more accessible (Apple / Spotify)
The boom and bust of esports (Apple / Spotify)
Work. Crunch. Repeat: Why gaming demands so much of its employees (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 - Work. Crunch. Repeat: Why gaming demands so much of its employees
Employees at video game companies are known for working long hours to meet product launch deadlines. This pressure, known in the industry as crunch, has only gotten more intense as games have grown more complex. Mounting layoffs in the growing industry have only made things worse on the labor front, inspiring some workers to take matters into their own hands.
Today, in the next installment of our series on the business of video games, we speak to several workers in the industry about their experiences with crunch and why they feel unionization is the key to preserving their careers.
Related episodes:
Forever games: the economics of the live service model (Apple / Spotify)
Designing for disability: how video games become more accessible (Apple / Spotify)
The boom and bust of esports (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
Today, in the next installment of our series on the business of video games, we speak to several workers in the industry about their experiences with crunch and why they feel unionization is the key to preserving their careers.
Related episodes:
Forever games: the economics of the live service model (Apple / Spotify)
Designing for disability: how video games become more accessible (Apple / Spotify)
The boom and bust of esports (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
Curious City - The Mayor, The Prince, and the Gift That Invaded Japan’s Biggest Lake
In October 1960, Prince Akihito of Japan visited Chicago for 21 hours. Chicago’s mayor presented the prince with a diplomatic gift: 18 bluegill. What happened next would change the underwater world of Japan forever.
Curious City - The Mayor, The Prince, and the Gift That Invaded Japan’s Biggest Lake
In October 1960, Prince Akihito of Japan visited Chicago for 21 hours. Chicago’s mayor presented the prince with a diplomatic gift: 18 bluegill. What happened next would change the underwater world of Japan forever.
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
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
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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.
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Articles of Interest - Modesty
Why would God care what we wear? A tour through Islam, Mormonism, and Judaism, and all of their varying and overlapping commands.
For more images and information, go to articlesofinterest.substack.com
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
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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