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Corey Bridges Corey Bridges is an assistant producer at NPR's daily economics podcast, The Indicator.
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Corey Bridges

Monday

How big is the US housing shortage?
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The Indicator from Planet Money

How big is the US housing shortage?

Housing affordability is a top concern for Americans and a hot political topic. Estimates for the number of needed homes stretch into the millions, but how is this actually counted? Today on the show, we explain the tricky business of quantifying the US housing shortage.

How big is the US housing shortage?

Listen · 8:22
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Tuesday

How to shop during a crisis
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The Indicator from Planet Money

How to shop during a crisis

Events like the recent dock worker's strike and hurricanes sparked panic buying among American shoppers. Today, a logistics expert helps us craft a shopper's guide for how to navigate a supply chain crisis.

How to shop during a crisis

Listen · 9:29
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Friday

23andMe's financial troubles, Paul vs. Tyson and Bitcoin to the moon
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The Indicator from Planet Money

23andMe's financial troubles, Paul vs. Tyson and Bitcoin to the moon

On Indicators of the Week, we cover our favorite numbers in the news. On this week's edition we cover Netflix's foray into live sports, the possible psychology behind the post-election cryptocurrency rally, and a struggling DNA company's fight for survival.

23andMe's financial troubles, Paul vs. Tyson and Bitcoin to the moon

Listen · 9:19
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Thursday

The story behind Cuba's economic dysfunction
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The Indicator from Planet Money

The story behind Cuba's economic dysfunction

This week, a powerful hurricane hit Cuba, causing nationwide electricity outages — right after a string of power failures that have plagued the country in recent months. These power outages are a low point for a country that has struggled economically for years and is experiencing mass emigration.

The story behind Cuba's economic dysfunction

Listen · 9:15
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Friday

Cool, cool, cooling jobs
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The Indicator from Planet Money

Cool, cool, cooling jobs

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported the unemployment rate remained steady at 4.1% and 12,000 jobs were added to the U.S. economy during October. It's a lower-than-expected jobs number, from a period that saw two significant hurricanes in the southeast and a strike from workers at Boeing. Today on the show, we explain the complexities of calculating the monthly job numbers, and why the Bureau of Labor Statistics can be trusted.

Cool, cool, cooling jobs

Listen · 7:23
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Monday

What looks like a bond and acts like a bond but isn't a bond?
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The Indicator from Planet Money

What looks like a bond and acts like a bond but isn't a bond?

The Maldives is a small island nation struggling with a heavy debt load. Its borrowing includes $500 million worth of something called sukuk. These are bond-like investments that don't pay interest, to be in line with Islamic law. Today on the show, we explain how sukuk works, how it fits into the larger world of Islamic finance and what might happen if the Maldives can't pay back its debt.

What looks like a bond and acts like a bond but isn't a bond?

Listen · 9:49
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Tuesday

Why are some nations richer?
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The Indicator from Planet Money

Why are some nations richer?

This year's Economics Nobel went to a trio of researchers whose work focuses on the importance of strong institutions for an economy. Today we hear from the newly minted Nobel laureates about how they came to their groundbreaking conclusions.

Why are some nations richer?

Listen · 7:27
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Thursday

The trouble with water discounts
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The Indicator from Planet Money

The trouble with water discounts

The problem of how to price water is a perennial conundrum. Water is an essential limited resource that everyone needs, so how do you price it so everyone can afford it while making sure that utilities have enough revenue to fix their aging systems?

The trouble with water discounts

Listen · 9:25
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Wednesday

Thursday

The Olympian to influencer pipeline
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The Indicator from Planet Money

The Olympian to influencer pipeline

While the 2024 Paris Olympics are over for some athletes, many competitors are still seeking to capitalize on their fame back on their college campuses. Thanks to the NCAA's 2021 rule changes for Name, Image and Likeness, college athletes are now able to leverage their stardom to maximize their earning potential.

The Olympian to influencer pipeline

Listen · 9:14
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Monday

A food fight over free school lunch
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The Indicator from Planet Money

A food fight over free school lunch

The ascendance of Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz has made the topic of free school lunch a political flashpoint. Over the past several years, several states—including Walz's home state of Minnesota—have created free school lunch programs, to the dismay of some House Republicans who believe government subsidies should go only to needy students.

A food fight over free school lunch

Listen · 9:19
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Wednesday

What is the deal with car rentals?
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The Indicator from Planet Money

What is the deal with car rentals?

Like several aspects of the travel economy, renting a car is more expensive than it was before the pandemic. Today on the show, we explore the great reset happening in the U.S. rental car industry that's kept prices elevated, left fleets leaner, and customers frustrated.

What is the deal with car rentals?

Listen · 8:54
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Wednesday

Should presidents have more of a say in interest rates?
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The Indicator from Planet Money

Should presidents have more of a say in interest rates?

Former President Donald Trump recently suggested that if elected in this year's presidential election he would want more say on decisions made by the Federal Reserve. Presidents taking a more active role in monetary policy would mark an extraordinary shift in U.S. economic institutions, and mark the end of central bank independence.

Should presidents have more of a say in interest rates?

Listen · 9:25
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Tuesday

The Denver basic income experiment
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The Indicator from Planet Money

The Denver basic income experiment

Homelessness is a pervasive issue that cities across the country struggle to address. This led an entrepreneur to team up with researchers and local foundations for an experiment called the Denver Basic Income Project. The goal was to see how different variations of a basic income program would impact the local homeless population. What the researchers found could become a guide for how localities in the United States could address the problem of homelessness.

The Denver basic income experiment

Listen · 9:20
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Friday

Google's monopoly, gold medals and gasping markets
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The Indicator from Planet Money

Google's monopoly, gold medals and gasping markets

Indicators of the Week is a show dedicated to highlighting some of the most interesting numbers in the news. Today, we break down our favorite indicators in Google's antitrust defeat, the currency trade in Japan that jolted global markets and another way of creating an Olympic medal tally.

Google's monopoly, gold medals and gasping markets

Listen · 9:01
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