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The Economy Explained
What's the long-term cost of federal layoffs?

Demonstrators protest against President Trump's anticipated plan to close the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Washington, DC, February 10, 2025. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images hide caption

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The Indicator

What's the long-term cost of federal layoffs?

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The personal story of how an energetic lawyer got knocked off from her dream career and what she thinks that might mean for whether the government can attract talented people in the future.

What's the long-term cost of federal layoffs?

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What if our income was taxed ... totally differently?

Bananas are particularly cheap and price resilient in part due to their supply chain. Tom Kelley/Getty Images hide caption

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The Indicator

What if our income was taxed ... totally differently?

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We are back to answer YOUR listener questions. This time, we answer why bananas can be considered the 'unbothered fruit', what a flat income tax would actually look like, and how extended-hours stock trading works. If you have your own question about the economy, please email us at [email protected].

What if our income was taxed ... totally differently?

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The rise and fall of Long Term Capital Management
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Planet Money

The rise and fall of Long Term Capital Management

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There's this cautionary tale, in the finance world, that nearly any trader can tell you. It's about placing too much confidence in math and models. It's the story of Long Term Capital Management.

The rise and fall of Long Term Capital Management

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Chicken meat, Gulf of Mexico lawsuit and Social Security beyond the grave
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Chicken meat, Gulf of Mexico lawsuit and Social Security beyond the grave

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Surprisingly stable chicken meat prices, a lawsuit threat against the Gulf of Mexico's name change, and the Trump administration's false claims about Social Security beyond the grave are all under the microscope on this edition of Indicators of the Week.

Chicken meat, Gulf of Mexico lawsuit and Social Security beyond the grave

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What happens when billions of dollars in research funding goes away

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The Indicator

What happens when billions of dollars in research funding goes away

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Federal funding from the National Institutes of Health has driven the biomedical research industry in cities across America including Birmingham, Alabama. It's helped support research into life-saving treatments for cancers, strokes and Parkinson's. But, the Trump Administration says the NIH is getting ripped off in how those grants are calculated. We take a look.

What happens when billions of dollars in research funding goes away

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Can the president override Congress on spending?

A worker removes the U.S. Agency for International Development sign on their headquarters on February 07, 2025 in Washington, DC. President Donald Trump and Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) abruptly shutdown the U.S. aid agency earlier this week leaving thousands unemployed and putting U.S. foreign diplomacy and aid programs in limbo. Kayla Bartkowski/Getty Images hide caption

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Planet Money

Can the president override Congress on spending?

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So the president can't spend more money than Congress has agreed and voted to spend. But can the president spend less money than Congress wants?

Can the president override Congress on spending?

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How USAID cuts hurt American farmers

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The Indicator

How USAID cuts hurt American farmers

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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?

How USAID cuts hurt American farmers

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What the cluck is happening with egg prices?
Darian Woods

The Indicator

What the cluck is happening with egg prices?

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We visit a local egg farm and talk to an industry analyst to get to the bottom of why the prices of eggs are soaring so quickly and when they might come back to earth.

What the cluck is happening with egg prices?

Listen · 9:14
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WWE, a very expensive banana, and a quiz contestant

WWE superstar Cody Rhodes attends the Los Angeles Premiere Of Netflix's "WWE Monday Night Raw" at Intuit Dome on January 06, 2025 in Inglewood, California. JC Olivera/Getty Images hide caption

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The Indicator

WWE, a very expensive banana, and a quiz contestant

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It's time for The Indicator Quiz! We test you, dear listener, on your knowledge of topics that we've covered on The Indicator.

WWE, a very expensive banana, and a quiz contestant

Listen · 9:19
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Bailing out the FAIR plan, broligarchs beef, and CFPB RIP?

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The Indicator

Bailing out the FAIR plan, broligarchs beef, and CFPB RIP?

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What's going on with the FAIR plan in a post-Eaton and Palisades fires California? What's the backstory to the frozen Consumer Financial Protection Bureau? And why are the two tech bros very publicly going at it?

Bailing out the FAIR plan, broligarchs beef, and CFPB RIP?

Listen · 9:25
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The gutting of USAID
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The Indicator

The gutting of USAID

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The United States Agency for International Development, or USAID, has funneled humanitarian aid to countries around the globe for over six decades. Today on the show, people familiar with USAID's work describe the fall-out from the Trump administration's sudden dismantling of the agency, and what that means for the country's longstanding use of foreign aid to advance American national security and economic goals.

The gutting of USAID

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Exposing Charles Ponzi
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The Indicator

Exposing Charles Ponzi

by  Darius Rafieyan ,  ,  , 

The name Charles Ponzi immediately recalls the financial scheme that bears his name. But what of the man who helped expose Ponzi's scheme? Today on the show, the incredible, little known story of Simon Swig, who upended Boston's financial and banking world in the early 20th century before crossing paths with the notorious scammer.

Exposing Charles Ponzi

Listen · 9:31
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The 'Crypto Wizard' vs. Nigeria
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Planet Money

The 'Crypto Wizard' vs. Nigeria

by  Dina Temple-Raston ,  ,  ,  ,  Sean Powers

The trip that changed Tigran Gambaryan's life forever was supposed to be short — just a few days. When he flew to Nigeria in February of 2024, he didn't even check a bag. Tigran is a former IRS Special Agent. He made his name investigating high-profile dark web and cryptocurrency cases. Some colleagues called him the 'Crypto Wizard' because of his pioneering work tracing crypto transactions for law enforcement. Since 2021, he's worked at the world's largest crypto exchange, Binance.

The 'Crypto Wizard' vs. Nigeria

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The U.K.'s tariff balancing act
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The Indicator

The U.K.'s tariff balancing act

by  Paddy Hirsch ,  ,  , 

President Donald Trump has already made noise with tariff threats against the United States' North American trading partners. And soon, the United Kingdom could become another target which has a chance to drive a wedge between the U.K's trade relationship with the EU.

The U.K.'s tariff balancing act

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How the memecoin game is played

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The Indicator

How the memecoin game is played

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Memecoins are having a moment, but who's making money off them? On today's show, how a dearly beloved internet squirrel found an afterlife as a cryptocurrency and how others, including President Trump, are trying to capitalize on online fame.

How the memecoin game is played

Listen · 9:23
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The fight for a legendary shipwreck's treasure
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Planet Money

The fight for a legendary shipwreck's treasure

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The San Jose was a marvel of 17th century technology. The Spanish galleon weighed more than a thousand tons, was made of wood reinforced with iron, and featured three masts and 64 cannons. In its cargo were gold, silver, silk and porcelain. But in 1708, it sank after a battle with an English ship near what is now Colombia.

The fight for a legendary shipwreck's treasure

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A 'Fork in the Road' for federal employees

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The Indicator

A 'Fork in the Road' for federal employees

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The job security of government employees has been in the spotlight since President Trump took office with big plans to slash the federal workforce. About 2 million employees were given an offer to quit their jobs. The government says those who resign can collect pay and benefits through September without working. But is this offer even legal?

A 'Fork in the Road' for federal employees

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How would a US sovereign wealth fund even work?
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The Indicator

How would a US sovereign wealth fund even work?

by  Paddy Hirsch ,  ,  ,  , 

What is a sovereign wealth fund? President Trump's executive order calling for a plan to start a U.S. sovereign wealth fund is not a new idea. But it remains a topic of much debate among economists and policymakers. So is a national sovereign wealth fund a good or even viable idea?

How would a sovereign wealth fund even work?

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How the scratch off lottery changed America
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Planet Money

How the scratch off lottery changed America

by  ,  Ian Coss ,  , 

Americans spend more on scratch lottery tickets per year than on pizza. More than all Coca-Cola products. Yet the scratch ticket as a consumer item has only existed for fifty years. Not so long ago, the idea of an instant lottery, of gambling with a little sheet of paper, was strange. Scary, even.

How the scratch off lottery changed America

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Trump's tariff role model
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The Indicator

Trump's tariff role model

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President Trump speaks fondly of William McKinley, the 25th U.S. president who was a strong advocate for tariffs. He's credited with helping to protect the fledgling tinplate industry in the late 19th century. But did the tariff work? We take a closer look at McKinley's tinplate tariff and if it was worth the cost.

Trump's tariff role model

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