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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

Tuesday

How to make an ad memorable
TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP via Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

How to make an ad memorable

Super Bowl ads this year relied heavily on nostalgia and surprise –– a few tricks that turn out to embed information into our brains. Today, neuroscientist Charan Ranganath joins the show to dissect the world of marketing to its biological fundamentals and reveal advertisers' bag of tricks.

How to make an ad memorable

Listen · 9:30
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Thursday

Why banks are fighting changes to an anti-redlining program
KAREN BLEIER/AFP via Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

Why banks are fighting changes to an anti-redlining program

In 2023, The Federal Reserve and other banking regulators announced they were making changes to how they grade banks on servicing local communities. This all stems from a 1977 law called the Community Reinvestment Act, which was designed to encourage banks to better meet the needs of moderate and low-income borrowers. However, major banking trade groups weren't too excited about the new rules and filed a lawsuit against the banking regulators last week.

Why banks are fighting changes to an anti-redlining program

Listen · 9:02
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Thursday

Why Saudi Arabia is building a new city in the desert
FAYEZ NURELDINE/AFP via Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

Why Saudi Arabia is building a new city in the desert

For decades, Saudi Arabia's economy has been defined by its abundant oil reserves. Its ability to influence global oil supply propelled Saudi Arabia to one of the richest countries in the world. The Saudi royal family became important players on the world stage. However, waning dominance in the oil market is forcing the Saudi government to think differently about its reliance on the commodity.

Why Saudi Arabia is building a new city in the desert

Listen · 9:15
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Friday

How local government is propping up the U.S. labor market
MARTIN BUREAU/AFP via Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

How local government is propping up the U.S. labor market

The most recent jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the United States economy exceeded expectations by adding 353,000 jobs in January. This continues the labor market's years-long trend of resilience in the face of the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes. However, digging deeper into the numbers reveals figures that economists are keeping a close eye on.

How local government is propping up the U.S. labor market

Listen · 8:01
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Friday

Tumbling Chinese stocks and rapid Chipotle hiring
Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

Tumbling Chinese stocks and rapid Chipotle hiring

It's Indicators of the Week, that time each Friday when we look at the most fascinating numbers from the news. Today, we explain the different directions of the Chinese and American economies ... and how a burrito can be a bellwether.

Tumbling Chinese stocks and rapid Chipotle hiring

Listen · 8:18
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Wednesday

Mid-East conflict escalation, two indicators

A picture taken during an organized tour by Yemen's Houthi rebels on November 22, 2023 shows the Galaxy Leader cargo ship, seized by Houthi fighters two days earlier, docked in a port on the Red Sea in the Yemeni province of Hodeida. AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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AFP/Getty Images

Planet Money

Mid-East conflict escalation, two indicators

On today's show, we look at two indicators of the economic disruptions of the war in Gaza and try to trace how far they will reach.

Mid-East conflict escalation, two indicators

Listen · 16:20
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Tuesday

How the world economy could react to escalation in the Middle East
-/AFP via Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

How the world economy could react to escalation in the Middle East

The conflict between Israel and Hamas has been going on for more than three months, and is now beginning to spill into other parts of the Middle East. That includes attacks on commercial ships in the Red Sea, rocket attacks by Hezbollah and U.S. airstrikes in Yemen. On today's show, we'll consider what escalation could mean for global trade and the region's most important export: oil.

How the world economy could react to escalation in the Middle East

Listen · 8:51
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Thursday

The lawsuit that could shake up the rental market
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

The lawsuit that could shake up the rental market

A number of lawsuits against Texas-based company RealPage are putting increased attention on how algorithms can interact with the rental market. In the lawsuit, RealPage is accused of facilitating a cartel between major property managers that results in higher prices for renters and increased profits for landlords who use RealPage's software. RealPage, however, denies any wrongdoing.

The lawsuit that could shake up the rental market

Listen · 9:12
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Monday

Five reasons why Americans and economists can't agree on the economy
Chris Hondros/Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

Five reasons why Americans and economists can't agree on the economy

One of the most puzzling developments for economists in recent months is the disconnect between positive traditional economic data and how people say they feel negatively about the economy. Add to that, people's behavior tracks with what economists would normally expect for happy times. So what's going on?

Five reasons why Americans and economists can't agree on the economy

Listen · 9:18
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Wednesday

What a pot of gumbo can teach us about disinflation
ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

What a pot of gumbo can teach us about disinflation

News about inflation made a lot of noise in the past two years, but the national CPI reports seem to indicate that inflation is starting to normalize within the Federal Reserve's target range. However, the national CPI basket of goods can have trouble representing inflation at a local level.

What a pot of gumbo can teach us about disinflation

Listen · 9:24
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Tuesday

Coyote vs. Warner Bros. Discovery
Ethan Miller/Ethan Miller

The Indicator from Planet Money

Coyote vs. Warner Bros. Discovery

The movie Coyote vs. Acme was set to release this summer featuring characters from the iconic Looney Tunes cartoons. The studio behind the film, Warner Bros. Pictures, had some other ideas. Instead of releasing the completed film, the studio canceled Coyote vs. Acme, with no intention of ever releasing it.

Coyote vs. Warner Bros. Discovery

Listen · 9:08
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Thursday

What women want (to invest in)
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

What women want (to invest in)

Women lag behind men when it comes to investing. Combine this with the fact that women tend to earn less than their male peers and live longer, and it can create a waterfall of awful long-term consequences for half of America's population. Today, we speak to an author of an investing study who says he's found a solution.

What women want (to invest in)

Listen · 8:44
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Tuesday

Are the products in your shopping cart real?
Ehsan Sayyad

The Indicator from Planet Money

Are the products in your shopping cart real?

How often are you shopping online and think to yourself, is that shirt/dress/jeans in my shopping cart ... even real? That is a question some shoppers are asking themselves as AI-generated products increasingly infiltrate the world of e-commerce.

Are the products in your shopping cart real?

Listen · 9:16
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Wednesday

Two food and drink indicators
Leon Neal/Schneyder Mendoza/AFP via Getty Images

Planet Money

Two food and drink indicators

Today on the show, we have two episodes from our daily podcast, The Indicator, about things we spend a lot of time thinking about this time of year: food and drink.

Two food and drink indicators

Listen · 19:05
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Tuesday

Americans don't like higher prices but they LOVE buying new things
Carl Court/Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

Americans don't like higher prices but they LOVE buying new things

Eight times a year, regional Federal Reserve Banks release a collection of anecdotes that reveal stories about the economy. These stories come together in what's known as the "Beige Book," and we award the regional bank with the best entry with our coveted Beigie Award. Today, we're highlighting an entry that gets to the heart of the contradictions we're seeing when it comes to consumer preferences and sentiment.

Americans don't like higher prices but they LOVE buying new things

Listen · 9:10
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