Accessibility links
Planet Money The economy, explained, with stories and surprises. Imagine you could call up a friend and say, "Meet me at the bar and tell me what's going on with the economy." Now imagine that's actually a fun evening. That's what we're going for at Planet Money. People seem to like it.

Planet Money

The Economy Explained
A food fight over free school lunch
Getty Images

The Indicator

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
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197972284/1257854889" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
The trade fraud detective
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Planet Money

The trade fraud detective

When David Rashid took over US autoparts maker Plews and Edelmann, the company was losing business to its Chinese rival, Qingdao Sunsong. Both companies make power steering hoses, but Sunsong was offering its hoses to retailers at a much lower price.

The trade fraud detective

Listen · 26:43
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197961495/1257772451" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
How much would you do this job for? And other indicators
Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images/Getty Images

The Indicator

How much would you do this job for? And other indicators

Welcome to another edition of Indicators of the Week! On today's show, the large downward revision to jobs numbers, the awkward release of that news and a survey that asks U.S. workers for the minimum salary they would accept a new job for.

How much would you do this job for? And other indicators

Listen · 9:29
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197972223/1257764576" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Biden's beef with bad customer service
Spiderstock/Getty Images

The Indicator

Biden's beef with bad customer service

Earlier this month, the White House unveiled a new initiative aimed at trying to serve and protect American consumers: Time is Money.

Biden's beef with bad customer service

Listen · 9:19
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197968195/1257710231" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
What is the deal with car rentals?
Getty Images

The Indicator

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
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197968188/1257650625" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Summer School 7: The Great Depression, the New Deal and how it changed our economy

NPR NPR hide caption

toggle caption
NPR

Planet Money

Summer School 7: The Great Depression, the New Deal and how it changed our economy

by , , Audrey Dilling

Find all the episodes from this season here. And past seasons here. And follow along on TikTok here for video Summer School.

Summer School 7: The Great Depression, the New Deal and how it changed our economy

Listen · 35:29
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197961446/1257649319" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
So, how's this No Tax On Tips thing gonna go?
STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images

The Indicator

So, how's this No Tax On Tips thing gonna go?

By now, you've probably heard a lot from both presidential nominees about getting rid of taxes on tips.

So, how's this No Tax On Tips thing gonna go?

Listen · 9:21
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197968182/1257570411" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Is endless vacation a scam?
Robert F. Bukaty/AP

The Indicator

Is endless vacation a scam?

Unlimited paid time off may sound like a nice perk, but it's not always what it appears. Employers aren't typically obligated to pay out unused vacation balances when a worker leaves, and it can be hard for workers to understand just how much time they can actually take off.

Is endless vacation a scam?

Listen · 9:27
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197968177/1257505540" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Mortgage applications, China's housing and ... Carrie Bradshaw?
Cindy Ord/Photo by Cindy Ord/Getty Images for Max®)

The Indicator

Mortgage applications, China's housing and ... Carrie Bradshaw?

It's ... Indicators of the Week! We cover the numbers in the news that you should know about. This week, we cover mortgage applications increasing, China's home prices decreasing, and Carrie Bradshaw ... Indices-ing?

Mortgage applications, China's housing and ... Carrie Bradshaw?

Listen · 9:02
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197968170/1257414680" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
The hidden world behind your new "banking" app
Filo/Getty Images

Planet Money

The hidden world behind your new "banking" app

You might have seen ads for online banking services that seem to offer a lot of great stuff — accounts you can open in minutes and without a minimum balance or monthly fees. The ads seem to say: "These aren't your parents' boring old banks." But the truth is: Even though they might resemble banks, they aren't.

The hidden world behind your new "banking" app

Listen · 21:12
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197961372/1257360657" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Why big banks aren't interested in your savings account
Matt Slocum/AP

The Indicator

Why big banks aren't interested in your savings account

Some bank customers are jumping to high-yield savings accounts to escape the shockingly low interest rates of personal savings accounts at big banks. So why aren't these banks raising their rates to attract more customers? Today on the show, we explore why big banks may not care about your savings account anymore.

Why big banks aren't interested in your savings account

Listen · 9:02
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197968131/1257357084" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Should presidents have more of a say in interest rates?
Getty Images

The Indicator

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
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197968126/1257297469" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Summer School 6: China, Taiwan and how nations grow rich

NPR NPR hide caption

toggle caption
NPR

Planet Money

Summer School 6: China, Taiwan and how nations grow rich

by , , Audrey Dilling

Episodes each Wednesday through labor day. Find all the episodes from this season here. And past seasons here. And follow along on TikTok here for video Summer School.

Summer School 6: China, Taiwan and how nations grow rich

Listen · 36:24
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197961332/1257282018" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
The Denver basic income experiment
Getty Images

The Indicator

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
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197968119/1257219826" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Beach reads with a side of economics
NPR

The Indicator

Beach reads with a side of economics

It's that time of year when we want to lie on a beach and lose ourselves in a good book. Today on the show, three summer reading recs that got our hosts thinking about economics. Remember, anything read on the beach is, in fact, a "beach read."

Beach reads with a side of economics

Listen · 9:30
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197968112/1257130424" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Will the Olympics break breakdancing?
David Balogh/Getty Images

Planet Money

Will the Olympics break breakdancing?

For some sports, picking the winner is simple: It's the athlete who crosses the finish line first, or the side that scores the most goals. But for the new Olympic sport of breaking (if you want to be cool, don't call it breakdancing), the criteria aren't quite that straightforward. How do you judge an event whose core values are dopeness, freshness, and breaking the rules?

Will the Olympics break breakdancing?

Listen · 25:48
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197961314/1257075081" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Google's monopoly, gold medals and gasping markets
Getty Images

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
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197968107/1257068479" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
You can't spell Olympics without IP
Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images

The Indicator

You can't spell Olympics without IP

The International Olympic Committee has developed a reputation over the years for stringently enforcing its trademarks during the summer games. It has good reason to, with brands like Coca-Cola and Visa paying top dollar for exclusive sponsorship rights. Today on the show, the lengths the IOC will go to protect its trademarks and how smaller brands try to avoid their dragnet.

You can't spell Olympics without IP

Listen · 9:27
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197968045/1257016381" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Is the UK open for business?

Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Indicator Co-Host Darian Woods Darian Woods/Darian Woods hide caption

toggle caption
Darian Woods/Darian Woods

The Indicator

Is the UK open for business?

Globalization, as we once knew it, is dead ... well, that's according to the UK's new Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rachel Reeves.

Is the UK open for business?

Listen · 9:28
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197968038/1256938170" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Summer School 5: 250 years of trade history in three chapters

NPR NPR hide caption

toggle caption
NPR

Planet Money

Summer School 5: 250 years of trade history in three chapters

by , , Audrey Dilling

Episodes each Wednesday through labor day. Find all the episodes from this season here. And past seasons here. And follow along on TikTok here for video Summer School.

Summer School 5: 250 years of trade history in three chapters

Listen · 36:59
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197961299/1256916969" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
The debate at the heart of new electricity transmission
Joe Raedle/Getty Images/Getty Images

The Indicator

The debate at the heart of new electricity transmission

The U.S. wants to become a net-zero emissions economy by 2050. That will mean a lot of new generation from renewable energy. It also means more transmission networks are needed to bring it onto the grid.

The debate at the heart of new electricity transmission

Listen · 9:19
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197967999/1256855584" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Getting more men into so-called pink-collar jobs
Maskot/Getty Images

The Indicator

Getting more men into so-called pink-collar jobs

Jobs numbers came out today and they weren't great: Unemployment hit 4.3% and only 114,000 jobs were added to the economy in July. The U.S. economy's downshifting gears ... but there are bright spots.

Getting more men into so-called pink-collar jobs

Listen · 8:47
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1197967989/1256695419" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Browse archive or search npr.org