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A bite-sized show about big ideas. From the people who make Planet Money, The Indicator helps you make sense of what's happening in today's economy. It's a quick hit of insight into money, work, and business. Monday through Friday, in 10 minutes or less.

The Indicator from Planet Money

There’s been an era-defining race underway between two types of batteries used in electric vehicles: lithium batteries that use cobalt, and ones that use iron phosphate. Cobalt, a metal with a checkered human rights record, has been in the lead. Until recently. 

Henry Sanderson’s book on the elements that build electric vehicles is Volt Rush: The Winners and Losers in the Race to Go Green.

Related episodes: 
The race to produce lithium 
How batteries are already changing the grid 
How batteries are riding the free market rodeo in Texas 
How EV batteries tore apart Michigan (Update) 
Batteries are catching fire at sea 

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. 

Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter. 

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Cobalt-free batteries reign in Chinese EVs. Why not the US?

Social media has birthed an entire lexicon replicated by millions online — even if these words don’t actually mean skibidi. On today’s show, we talk to author Adam Aleksic about how TikTok and Instagram's engagement metrics, and viral memes, are rewiring our brains and transforming language at warp speed.

Adam Aleksic’s book is Algospeak: How Social Media is Transforming the Future of Language 

Related episodes: 
What we’re reading on the beach this summer 

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. 

Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter. 

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How algorithms are changing the way we speak

Innovation is crucial for long-term economic prosperity. One area where that’s happening aplenty: medical technology. From a cancer vaccine to an Alzheimer’s blood test to a life-changing exoskeleton, we take you on a tour of the economics of health technology. 

Related episodes: 
The hidden costs of healthcare churn (Apple / Spotify) 
More for Palantir, less for mRNA, and a disaster database redemption arc (Apple / Spotify) 
It's actually really hard to make a robot, guys (Apple / Spotify) 

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. 

Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Voice-over by Greg Hardes. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter. 

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Three innovations pushing the medical field forward

It’s … Indicators of the Week! Our rapid run through the numbers you need to know. 

On today’s episode: John Legend croons; CPI inflation soothes; Same job as mom? You’ll earn more, dude; Apple vs. Apple, a courtroom feud. 

Related episodes: 
Why every A-lister also has a side hustle 
The DOJ's case against Apple 
The Intergenerational Transmission of Employers and the Earnings of Young Workers
Generational Wealth: How High Earners Help Their Children’s Careers

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. 

Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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The nepo baby premium, frothing markets, and Apple vs. Apples

Seemingly every celebrity has their own brand these days, whether it’s booze (Cameron Diaz, Matthew McConaughey) or cosmetics (Selena Gomez, Lady Gaga) or squeezy food pouches (Jennifer Garner). Today on the show, what is fueling the celebrity business bonanza? We hear from two legendary singers, Lisa Loeb AND John Legend, who are pursuing ventures outside of show business. 

Related episodes: 
The celebrity crypto nexus 
The Olympian to influencer pipeline (Apple / Spotify)

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter. 

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Why every A-lister also has a side hustle

Trump’s tax and spending law makes the largest cut in history to one of the nation’s biggest safety net programs. Today on the show, we explore how cuts to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, also known as SNAP, impacts families and grocery stores alike. 

Based on the digital story: Independent grocery stores have had a tough five years. SNAP cuts will make it harder

Related episodes:
Do work requirements help SNAP people out of government aid? 
When SNAP Gets Squeezed 
The trouble with water discounts

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter. 

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Why Trump's spending bill could close your grocery store

Insulin needles. Sleeping bags. Nutella. These are items Arwa Damon’s charity — International Network for Aid, Relief and Assistance — has tried to send to Gaza and Israel has rejected. It’s a glimpse into the harsh reality of a humanitarian crisis with no end in sight. Today on the show, we talk to Damon about the economics of running a humanitarian nonprofit and what’s stopping more aid from reaching Gaza. 

Related episodes: 
Why Israel uses diaspora bonds 
Why the U.S. helps pay for Israel’s military 
What could convince Egypt to take Gaza’s refugees? 

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. 

Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter. 

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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The arduous system for getting aid into Gaza

It's time for our annual beach reading recs. Today we bring you three books, with a little economic learning to boot. Our recs: 

Who is Government? The Untold Story of Public Service edited by Michael Lewis 
El Dorado Drive by Megan Abbott 
Algospeak: How Social Media is Transforming the Future of Language by Adam Aleksic 

Related episodes: 
Beach reading with a side of economics 
How to beach on a budget 

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. 

Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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What we're reading on the beach this summer

It's ... Indicators of the Week! Our weekly look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news. 

On today's episode: Palantir crosses a billion dollars in quarterly revenue (what do they actually do again?); mRNA vaccine research gets a big cut in RFK Jr's health department; and a climate disaster database gets a new lease on life.

Related episodes:
How Palantir, the secretive tech company, is rising in the Trump era
An indicator lost: big disaster costs
Moonshot in the arm

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez and Cooper Katz McKim. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter. 

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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More for Palantir, less for mRNA, and a disaster database redemption arc

President Trump's new round of tariffs took effect today. It will bring in billions of dollars to the government, in part paid for by U.S. importers who can decide whether to pass that cost onto American families. But are these tariffs legal?

Today on the show, the arguments for and against the president's tariffs and what happens to that tariff revenue if Trump loses.

Related episodes:
Trump's tariff role model
Dealmaker Don v. Tariff Man Trump
Are Trump's tariffs legal? 

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter. 

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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The legal case for — and against — Trump's tariffs

The ties between U.S. foreign aid and American agriculture run deep — or at least used to. The U.S. International Agency for Development, or USAID, is the largest provider of humanitarian food aid in the world. Much of that aid comes from U.S. farmers, whose corn, wheat and rice is sold in bulk to the government for USAID's programs. What happens now if those programs end? 

Link to Jordan Schermerhorn's research of USAID ties by state.

Related episodes: 
The gutting of USAID (Apple / Spotify) 
A 'Fork in the Road' for federal employees (Apple / Spotify) 
Trump threatens the grim trigger (Apple / Spotify) 

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. 

Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter. 

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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How USAID cuts hurt American farmers

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