The Indicator from Planet Money A little show about big ideas. From the people who make Planet Money, The Indicator helps you make sense of what's happening today. It's a quick hit of insight into work, business, the economy, and everything else. Listen weekday afternoons.

Try Planet Money+! a new way to support the show you love, get a sponsor-free feed of the podcast, *and* get access to bonus content. You'll also get access to The Indicator and Planet Money Summer School, both without interruptions. sign up at plus.npr.org/planetmoney

The Indicator from Planet Money

From NPR

A little show about big ideas. From the people who make Planet Money, The Indicator helps you make sense of what's happening today. It's a quick hit of insight into work, business, the economy, and everything else. Listen weekday afternoons.

Try Planet Money+! a new way to support the show you love, get a sponsor-free feed of the podcast, *and* get access to bonus content. You'll also get access to The Indicator and Planet Money Summer School, both without interruptions. sign up at plus.npr.org/planetmoney

Most Recent Episodes

STEPHANE DE SAKUTIN/AFP via Getty Images

A million-dollar fossil, and other indicators

Today on the show, we cover this week's top indicators in new work permits for Venezuelan migrants, behind-the-scenes climate meetings and a million-dollar dinosaur skeleton sale.

A million-dollar fossil, and other indicators

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Selling safety in the fight against wildfires

Wildfires are becoming more frequent and serious due to human-caused climate change. This is prompting a new industry focused on residential wildfire preparedness. Today, we consider the new technology addressing wildfire risk and the cost of protecting yourself.

Selling safety in the fight against wildfires

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The rat under the Fed's hat

The Federal Reserve said today it wasn't raising interest rates, but left the door open to keep hiking later. But there's more to this decision than meets the eye. Today on the show, we use Disney's Ratatouille to explain the Fed's recipe for monetary policy — and take off the chef's hat to reveal the two interest rates that really matter when the Fed is hiking rates.

The rat under the Fed's hat

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Miba Industrial Bearings

The Beigie Awards: Manufacturing takes center stage

The Beigies roll around once again to recognize the regional Federal Reserve Bank with the best Beige Book entry. This edition's winner put a spotlight on a company increasing their efforts to recruit young people for an important piece of the manufacturing puzzle.

The Beigie Awards: Manufacturing takes center stage

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Schneyder Mendoza/AFP via Getty Images

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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Kevin Winter/Getty Images for TAS Rights Mana

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

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CARL DE SOUZA/AFP via Getty Images

Wait — did we really need to raise rates?

Inflation remains stubbornly high as the Federal Open Markets Committee weighs whether they will raise interest rates again. However, new research suggests that elevated interest rates weren't the primary driver for the decline in inflation. Today, we take a look at the debate surrounding disinflation and what comes next for the Federal Reserve.

Wait — did we really need to raise rates?

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Global Thermostat's pilot plant for direct air carbon capture, on April 4, 2023, in Brighton, Colorado. The company is also receiving funding from the U.S. Department of Energy to build a plant with 1,000 times the capacity of this demonstration plant. Hart Van Denburg/CPR News/Hart Van Denburg/CPR News hide caption

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Hart Van Denburg/CPR News/Hart Van Denburg/CPR News

Giant vacuums and other government climate bets

Yesterday we brought you a debate over whether the government should subsidize industries in the name of economic growth and societal benefits. Today on the show, we zero in on the climate industrial policy of the Biden administration, which is funneling billions into experimental projects that promise to remove, capture and store carbon. It's an effort by the U.S. to meet its ambitious climate goals, but it's not without its skeptics.

Giant vacuums and other government climate bets

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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

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!

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Is retail theft getting worse?

Lately, retailers have been complaining to their investors about thieves coming to their stores and stealing stuff and blaming them for falling profits. It's the biggest part of a well-known industry problem called "shrink," but is this trend as pervasive as stores are making it out to be? Today on the show, retail theft and what stores are doing about it.

Is retail theft getting worse?

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