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Wailin Wong Wailin Wong is a host of The Indicator from Planet Money.
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Wailin Wong

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Jamilla Yipp
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Jamilla Yipp

Wailin Wong

Host, The Indicator from Planet Money

Wailin Wong is a long-time business and economics journalist who's reported from a Chilean mountaintop, an embalming fluid factory and lots of places in between. She is a host of The Indicator from Planet Money. Previously, she launched and co-hosted two branded podcasts for a software company and covered tech and startups for the Chicago Tribune. Wailin started her career as a correspondent for Dow Jones Newswires in Buenos Aires. In her spare time, she plays violin in one of the oldest community orchestras in the U.S.

Story Archive

Thursday

The cost of a dollar in Ukraine

In Lviv, Kateryna Sporysh holds a box of medicine to donate to people living near Ukraine's front lines. Joel Wasserman/Joel Wasserman hide caption

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Joel Wasserman/Joel Wasserman

The Indicator from Planet Money

The cost of a dollar in Ukraine

How one Ukrainian is circumventing the government exchange rate to turn U.S. dollars into medicine for Ukrainians near the front lines.

The cost of a dollar in Ukraine

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Tuesday

Batteries are catching fire at sea

Feb. 18, 2022, smoke billows from the burning Felicity Ace car transport ship as seen from the Portuguese Navy NPR Setubal ship southeast of the mid-Atlantic Portuguese Azores Islands. (Portuguese Navy via AP, file) Portuguese Navy via AP/AP hide caption

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Portuguese Navy via AP/AP

The Indicator from Planet Money

Batteries are catching fire at sea

Lithium-ion batteries—used in everything from smart phones and laptops to electric scooters and cars—are catching fire on land and at sea. A former cargo ship captain walks us through why these fires are so hard to put out and why ocean-going car carriers are particularly at risk.

Batteries are catching fire at sea

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Monday

Why tech bros are trying to give away all their money (kind of)
Marta Lavandier/AP

The Indicator from Planet Money

Why tech bros are trying to give away all their money (kind of)

How do you do the most good in the world? Money and data! That's according to this new wave of philanthropy known as effective altruism, heralded by the likes of Sam Bankman-Fried. Today on the show we uncover the art and science of effective altruism.

Why tech bros are trying to give away all their money (kind of)

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Friday

Too many subscriptions, not enough organs
Maggie Shannon/The Washington Post via Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

Too many subscriptions, not enough organs

Our indicators of the week: how a federal agency is trying to make it easier for you to cancel your subscriptions. And what's being done to address the 100,000-plus person backlog for organ transplants.

Too many subscriptions, not enough organs

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'John Wick: Chapter 4' wonders, 'When does this all end?'

Keanu Reeves returns as John Wick in John Wick: Chapter 4. Murray Close/Lionsgate hide caption

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Murray Close/Lionsgate

Review

Pop Culture Happy Hour

'John Wick: Chapter 4' wonders, 'When does this all end?'

In previous John Wick films, Keanu Reeves played a retired hitman out of revenge. In the latest entry, John Wick: Chapter 4, his reasons are a little more simple — he just wants to be left alone. Wick's quest for freedom takes him all across the world, as encounters would-be assassins, busy traffic, and a sadistic French aristocrat.

'John Wick: Chapter 4' wonders, 'When does this all end?'

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Tuesday

What banks do when no one's watching
NOAH BERGER/AFP via Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

What banks do when no one's watching

Recent banking turmoil is shining a spotlight on the people whose job it is to monitor banks themselves. Today, we examine the bank examiners and learn why their job is so important for the banking sector. Plus, a recent government report that shows they could be in short supply very soon.

What banks do when no one's watching

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Thursday

Need workers? Why not charter a private jet?
Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

Need workers? Why not charter a private jet?

It's time for another edition of the Beigie Awards! Today, our winner comes through with one of the best anecdotes in Beigie history with a story about a Montana construction company that flew in workers via a private jet.

Need workers? Why not charter a private jet?

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Tuesday

The Fed's new dilemma: Protect banks or fight inflation?

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 07: Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell testifies before the Senate Banking Committee March 7, 2023 in Washington, DC. Powell spoke on the state of the U.S. economy and suggested that interest rates will need to stay higher for longer than expected in order to curb inflation. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images) Win McNamee/Getty Images hide caption

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Win McNamee/Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

The Fed's new dilemma: Protect banks or fight inflation?

Prices are rising. A major bank has collapsed. And the Fed is left holding the hose trying to put out these fires. The question of whether to raise interest rates or not just got even more challenging.

The Fed's new dilemma: Protect banks or fight inflation?

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Friday

We found the 'missing workers'
MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

We found the 'missing workers'

Millions of people opted out of the labor force during the pandemic, and the Federal Reserve's most recent update on the economy explains why. Today, we hear from people who made that decision to leave the workforce.

We found the 'missing workers'

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Tuesday

Listener Questions: baby booms, sewing patterns and rural inflation
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The Indicator from Planet Money

Listener Questions: baby booms, sewing patterns and rural inflation

It's another listener questions episode where we take on what you want to know! On today's show... We look at the U.S. birth rate. Are we booming or busting? Does the Consumer Price Index capture what's happening in rural America? And copyrighting knitting & sewing patterns, it's a tangled issue! If you have a question you'd like us to answer, email us at indicator@npr.org.

Listener Questions: baby booms, sewing patterns and rural inflation

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Friday

Is the government choosing winners and losers?

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 21, 2022: U.S. President Joe Biden puts his arm on Intel CEO Patrick Gelsinger. Gelsinger announced that Intel Corp would invest an initial $20 billion to develop a new semiconductor manufacturing plant in Ohio. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images) Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption

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Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

Is the government choosing winners and losers?

Washington is doubling down on the industries it wants to see grow. From semiconductor chips to lithium-ion batteries, we trace where the money is going and why. And which part's got the European Union all bent outta shape.

Is the government choosing winners and losers?

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Planet Money

Why price gouging can seem obvious to consumers but hard for economists to identify

Consumers and politicians across the country are complaining about price gouging. But when do prices cross the line from market-rate to exorbitant — or even unethical?

Why price gouging can seem obvious to consumers but hard for economists to identify

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Tuesday

Is price gouging a problem?
STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

Is price gouging a problem?

Consumers and politicians around the country are making a lot of noise about price gouging. But when do prices cross the line from simply high to something more painful? We talk to an economist to find out.

Is price gouging a problem?

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Friday

Economy

Do work requirements for SNAP assistance actually lead to economic self-sufficiency?

SNAP, a federal nutrition assistance program, will again require some recipients to work in order to receive aid. But new research raises questions about whether work requirements actually work.

Do work requirements for SNAP assistance actually lead to economic self-sufficiency?

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The economic war against Russia, a year later

(Photo by Carl Court/Getty Images) Carl Court/Getty Images hide caption

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Carl Court/Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

The economic war against Russia, a year later

On this day one year ago, Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Today, we cover three indicators about the war's economic impact.

The economic war against Russia, a year later

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Thursday

Do work requirements help SNAP people out of government aid?

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 19: A worker stocks items during special hours open only to seniors and the disabled at Northgate Gonzalez Market, a Hispanic specialty supermarket, on March 19, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. The vast majority of the shelves in the market were fully stocked. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images) Mario Tama/Getty Images hide caption

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Mario Tama/Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

Do work requirements help SNAP people out of government aid?

Do work requirements actually work? The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, will soon require some benefit recipients to work in order to receive government aid. New economic research looks at whether that approach is effective in getting participants into the workforce and earning more.

Do work requirements help SNAP people out of government aid?

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Friday

Recession, retail, retaliation

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 15: Congressional Budget Office (CBO) Director Phillip Swagel speaks during a news briefing on the release of new economic reports at Ford House Office Building on February 15, 2023 in Washington, DC. Alex Wong/Getty Images hide caption

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Alex Wong/Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

Recession, retail, retaliation

Economic news of the week – from the government's new projections on unemployment and inflation to the latest retail spending numbers. Plus, what's the deal with companies retaliating against union organizers?

Recession, retail, retaliation

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Wednesday

Two Indicators: Inside the Fed, then and now
Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

Planet Money

Two Indicators: Inside the Fed, then and now

A lot of the time, economic policy can seem pretty impersonal — cold, hard, data-driven. But at the heart of the Federal Reserve are people: fallible, complicated people who are just doing their best to steer the economy in the right direction.

Two Indicators: Inside the Fed, then and now

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Microsoft vs. Google: Whose AI is better?
JASON REDMOND/AFP via Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

Microsoft vs. Google: Whose AI is better?

The quest for dominance in artificial intelligence is taking shape in the tech world with some familiar players. Both Google and Microsoft are spending billions to come out on top of the chatbot arms race. Today, we put ChatGPT and Bard to the test to see which company hosts the superior chatbot.

Microsoft vs. Google: Whose AI is better?

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Wednesday

Why a debt tsunami is coming for the global economy
OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

Why a debt tsunami is coming for the global economy

Low-income countries are falling behind on their debt payments. Countries like Zambia, Chad and Sri Lanka have already defaulted, and others could be on the brink. Today, we examine the escalating debt crisis in the global economy and how the International Monetary Fund says it's going to help.

Why a debt tsunami is coming for the global economy

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Friday

Economy

What went wrong in Arthur Burns' time as Fed chair in the 1970s

History remembers Arthur Burns as the Fed chair who let inflation run rampant. That's precisely the outcome that current Fed Chairman Jerome Powell wants to avoid.

What went wrong in Arthur Burns' time as Fed chair in the 1970s

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Thursday

Arthur Burns: shorthand for Fed failure?

Presidential nominee Richard Nixon poses with a team of economic advisers in San Diego, CA, Aug. 14, 1968. From left to right; Dr. Pierre A. Rinfret; Dr. Milton Friedman; Nixon; Dr. Arthur Burns; Dr. Don Perlberg. AP hide caption

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AP

The Indicator from Planet Money

Arthur Burns: shorthand for Fed failure?

History remembers Arthur Burns as the Fed chair who let inflation run rampant. That's precisely the outcome that current Fed chair Jerome Powell wants to avoid. Today, we look back at the '70s to find out what went wrong.

Arthur Burns: shorthand for Fed failure?

Listen · 9:23
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Monday

Economy

Encore: Examining the state of global shipping and what it might mean

During the pandemic, the cost to fill and transport a shipping container skyrocketed. Now, shipping rates have dropped by roughly 80% over the last six months.

Encore: Examining the state of global shipping and what it might mean

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