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Brittany Cronin Brittany Cronin is an assistant producer for NPR's daily economics podcast, The Indicator from Planet Money.
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Brittany Cronin

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Friday

Planet Money

World's oldest bond is gearing up for its 400th birthday. It's still paying interest

Hidden deep in an archive in New Jersey is the world's oldest living bond. It was originally issued to fund a dike in the Netherlands after a big flood.

World's oldest bond is gearing up for its 400th birthday. It's still paying interest

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Wednesday

Bond. World's oldest living bond.

A photo of the world's oldest living bond, issued in 1624. Photo provided by the New York Stock Exchange hide caption

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Photo provided by the New York Stock Exchange

The Indicator from Planet Money

Bond. World's oldest living bond.

Hidden deep in an archive in New Jersey is the world's oldest living bond. Originally issued to fund a dike in the Netherlands after a big flood, these days, it's gearing up for its 400th birthday and still paying interest. Today on the show, we visit this elder bond and hear its story.

Bond. World's oldest living bond.

Listen · 9:04
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Tuesday

Are real estate agent fees a racket?
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

Are real estate agent fees a racket?

In the typical home sale, the home seller pays a commission, not just to their agent, but also to the buyer's agent. This fee-sharing arrangement is part of a decades-old practice involving what real estate agents call an "offer of compensation."

Are real estate agent fees a racket?

Listen · 9:31
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Wednesday

There's one business like show business
Kevin Winter/Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

There's one business like show business

There's no business like show business. Or is there? It turns out the business of producing a Broadway hit shares a few things in common with the business of investing in tech start-ups. Today on the show, the producer of hits like Dear Evan Hansen and Leopoldstadt explains how he applies lessons learned from venture capital tech funding to investing in multi-million dollar Broadway productions.

There's one business like show business

Listen · 9:25
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Wednesday

A treacherous descent? What will the Fed do next?

A tourists is seen in silhouette in front of the Matterhorn mountain in Riffelalp above Zermatt, Switzerland. Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

A treacherous descent? What will the Fed do next?

In the world of summiting mountains, more accidents happen on the way down than on the climb up. Today on the show, why that could be a bad omen for interest rates.

A treacherous descent? What will the Fed do next?

Listen · 9:29
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Tuesday

A conversation with Nobel laureate Claudia Goldin (Update)

2023 recipient of the Nobel in Economics, Claudia Goldin. LAUREN OWENS LAMBERT/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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LAUREN OWENS LAMBERT/AFP via Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

A conversation with Nobel laureate Claudia Goldin (Update)

This episode was originally published on November 30, 2021

A conversation with Nobel laureate Claudia Goldin (Update)

Listen · 9:25
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Tuesday

EVs killed the AM radio star

Mark Warwick and Paige Posey host a morning show called 'The Breakfast Club' on their AM/FM station in Hendersonville, N.C. Julia Ritchey/NPR hide caption

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Julia Ritchey/NPR

The Indicator from Planet Money

EVs killed the AM radio star

When some automakers confirmed this year that they were phasing out AM radio in their electric vehicles, the political backlash was immediate and remarkably bipartisan. Today on the show, what's all the fuss about AM radio? And why does the government want to keep AM radio in your car?

EVs killed the AM radio star

Listen · 9:22
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Wednesday

Tuesday

Chasing the American Dream at Outback Steakhouse
Alexi Horowitz-Ghazi/NPR

The Indicator from Planet Money

Chasing the American Dream at Outback Steakhouse

How often do you hang out with people in a different socioeconomic bracket than you? And where do you meet and congregate? Economist Maxim Massenkoff, and his co-author Nathan Wilmers, looked at cell phone location data to figure out where people with vastly different incomes commune together. Today on the show, Maxim discusses his research, and Darian and Alexi head to a restaurant to try and witness some of this class mixing in action.

Chasing the American Dream at Outback Steakhouse

Listen · 9:20
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Monday

Coca Cola v. Coca Pola
Schneyder Mendoza/AFP via Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

Coca Cola v. Coca Pola

The coca leaf has been an important part of Andean culture for thousands of years. But when one indigenous woman decided to use the plant in a drink she calls Coca Pola, she awoke a sleeping giant. Today on the show, a small business goes head to head with Coca-Cola over a trademark dispute.

Coca Cola v. Coca Pola

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Friday

Economics, boosternomics and Swiftnomics
Kevin Winter/Getty Images for TAS Rights Mana

The Indicator from Planet Money

Economics, boosternomics and Swiftnomics

For this week's Indicators of the Week, Darian is joined by NPR colleagues Jeff Guo and Sydney Lupkin. We get into the latest numbers on child poverty in the U.S. and what it tells us about effective policy intervention. Sydney brings an update on the new covid booster and who's paying for it. And Jeff talks about Taylor Swift...again. He promises it has to do with economics.

Economics, boosternomics and Swiftnomics

Listen · 9:21
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Tuesday

Industrial policy, the debate!

DURHAM, NC - MARCH 28: Union workers look on during a series of remarks by U.S. President Joe Biden during a visit to Wolfspeed, a semiconductor manufacturer, as he kicks off his Investing in America Tour on March 28, 2023 in Durham, North Carolina. Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images hide caption

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Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

Industrial policy, the debate!

There is a lot of taxpayer money going into propping up industry in the U.S. From semiconductor chip fabrication in Arizona to green hydrogen plants in California. Is this smart policy? Today on the Indicator, our guests debate!

Industrial policy, the debate!

Listen · 9:29
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Sunday

Thursday

'Welcome to the USA! Now get to work.'

Syrian refugees take notes during their Vocational ESL class at the International Rescue Committee center in San Diego on August 31, 2016. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

'Welcome to the USA! Now get to work.'

When refugees arrive in the U.S. the clock starts ticking. They usually have up to 90 days to get a job and become 'self-sufficient'.

'Welcome to the USA! Now get to work.'

Listen · 9:28
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Friday

Jobs Friday: More jobs and more unemployment
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

Jobs Friday: More jobs and more unemployment

The jobs report is in! And both the rate of employment AND unemployment went up in August. How does that happen? Plus, how disabled people are doing in the labor market.

Jobs Friday: More jobs and more unemployment

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Friday

AI chips, shared trips, and a shorter work week
Lionel Bonaventure/AFP via Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

AI chips, shared trips, and a shorter work week

It's Indicators of the Week, our weekly news roundup. Today, AI doesn't want to invest in AI, a county in Washington state implements a 4-day work week, and NYC says bye bye to Airbnb, sorta.

AI chips, shared trips, and a shorter work week

Listen · 9:21
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Tuesday

Why pizza costs more in Iceland and other listener questions
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

Why pizza costs more in Iceland and other listener questions

You ask, we answer! We help a parent explain exchange rates to their kid, a high school teacher explain bond prices to his students, and we follow up on what happened to the diversity of the student body at the University of California after the state's ban on affirmative action.

Why pizza costs more in Iceland and other listener questions

Listen · 9:16
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Monday

The echo of the bison
Eric Baradat/AFP via Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

The echo of the bison

For over 10,000 years, many peoples in what's now known as North America relied on bison. Thirty million of these creatures stretched from modern Canada all the way down to Mexico.

The echo of the bison

Listen · 9:27
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Wednesday

How Yellow wound up in the red
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

How Yellow wound up in the red

Yellow stunned the trucking industry when it filed for bankruptcy this month. The nearly hundred-year old company said it will lay off 30,000 employees and liquidate all of its assets. On today's show, a glimpse into Yellow's bankruptcy process: who's blaming who for what, and an explainer on a specific type of loan - the debtor in possession financing - which promises some rich returns to the lender in this case.

How Yellow wound up in the red

Listen · 9:26
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Thursday

Is this a bank?
Stephen Brashear/Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

Is this a bank?

You've heard of The Price Is Right, but what about Is This A Bank? It's a game show where contestants puzzle over some obvious and not-so-obvious places where people store their money. This podcast may or may not remind you where your secret stashes of cash are hidden.

Is this a bank?

Listen · 9:30
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Tuesday

Return of the crab twins
JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

Return of the crab twins

RaeShawn and LaShone Middleton are twin sisters and business owners based in Columbia, Maryland. We last talked to them in the midst of the pandemic when they were just getting started with their steamed crab delivery service called R&L Crab. Today, we check back with the sisters and see how their business is fairing two years later.

Return of the crab twins

Listen · 9:13
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Monday

What could break next?
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

What could break next?

Even if there isn't a recession right now, there are still vulnerable spots in the economy that could cause economic pain. Today on the show, we explore why some are concerned about the markets for commercial real estate and private credit.

What could break next?

Listen · 9:26
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Tuesday

When remote work works and when it doesn't
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

When remote work works and when it doesn't

Do office workers get as much done working from home as they do in person? We've been debating this question for years.

When remote work works and when it doesn't

Listen · 9:30
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Tuesday

Women's labor comeback
Jason DeCrow/Associated Press

The Indicator from Planet Money

Women's labor comeback

Lots of women left the workforce early in the pandemic. At the time, there were fears these women would stay out of the workforce for years, if they returned at all. But women's participation in the labor force, between the ages of 25 and 54, is at an all time high.

Women's labor comeback

Listen · 9:00
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