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

Planet Money

The Economy Explained
The Case Against Facebook

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 29: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg testifies before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law on Online Platforms and Market Power in the Rayburn House office Building, July 29, 2020 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. (Photo by Mandel Ngan-Pool/Getty Images) Pool/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Pool/Getty Images

Planet Money

The Case Against Facebook

The government just filed one of the largest antitrust cases in history against Facebook. Why now? And what will it mean? | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.

The Case Against Facebook

Listen · 21:04
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/947160910/947377035" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Overrated/Underrated After The Great Stagnation
Richard Baker/In Pictures via Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

Overrated/Underrated After The Great Stagnation

There's no denying that 2020 has been a rough year, but economist Tyler Cowen brings the show a source of hope: the possible return of productivity growth. And he plays overrated/underrated! | Support public radio here.

Overrated/Underrated After The Great Stagnation

Listen · 9:52
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/947291727/947294567" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Who Gets A Vaccine? A Conversation With Alvin Roth
Sergei Malgavko/Sergei Malgavko/TASS

The Indicator from Planet Money

Who Gets A Vaccine? A Conversation With Alvin Roth

Right now, demand for a coronavirus vaccine far outweighs supply. Leaders are trying to figure out who should get the vaccine first. Dr. Alvin Roth, a Nobel Prize winning economist who specializes in game theory, has some ideas. | Support The Indicator here.

Who Gets A Vaccine? A Conversation With Alvin Roth

Listen · 9:42
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/946883259/946887990" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Pandemic Adaptation: Bookstore Edition
Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

Pandemic Adaptation: Bookstore Edition

Early in the pandemic, things looked bleak for Source Booksellers, a bookstore in Detroit. But they survived. The secret? Adaptation and loyal customers. | Support public radio here.

Pandemic Adaptation: Bookstore Edition

Listen · 9:59
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/946411427/946531203" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
We Buy a Lot of Christmas Trees

Nick Fountain hawks a Frasier Fir in Brooklyn. Robert Smith/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Robert Smith/NPR

Planet Money

We Buy a Lot of Christmas Trees

Nick and Robert head to the world's largest Christmas tree auction with $1,000 and a truck. And get schooled in the tree market. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.

We Buy a Lot of Christmas Trees

Listen · 29:20
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/945606413/945642348" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Our Friends Give Us Hope
Visions of America LLC/Corbis via Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

Our Friends Give Us Hope

Some friends of The Indicator join the show and share some economic indicators that give them hope for the future. | Donate to your NPR member station here.

Our Friends Give Us Hope

Listen · 8:38
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/945547065/945638545" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
The Long, Slow Recovery
Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

The Long, Slow Recovery

Team Indicator follows up with ice cream shop owner Molly Moon to look at the road to recovery for small businesses. | Show your love for The Indicator here.

The Long, Slow Recovery

Listen · 9:43
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/945105075/945219239" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
The Stolen Company (Classic)

Come at me, ABRO. Nick Fountain/NPR hide caption

toggle caption
Nick Fountain/NPR

Planet Money

The Stolen Company (Classic)

When an American company named ABRO learns their goods are being counterfeited in China, they start their own trade war. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.

The Stolen Company (Classic)

Listen · 23:41
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/944687059/944824907" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Shipping Delays: Why Your Packages Are Taking Forever
picture alliance/picture alliance via Getty Image

The Indicator from Planet Money

Shipping Delays: Why Your Packages Are Taking Forever

by Sally Herships ,

As the holiday season approaches, people are beginning to notice an online shopping trend: shipping delays. Today, we explain why packages are taking longer to ship than usual this year. | Donate to your member station here.

Shipping Delays: Why Your Packages Are Taking Forever

Listen · 9:59
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/944777576/944780382" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
The Strangest Indicator Of 2020
Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

The Strangest Indicator Of 2020

Average real disposable income this year is on pace to rise at the fastest rate in more than 35 years. How could that be? We break down the strangest economic indicator of 2020. | Support public radio here.

The Strangest Indicator Of 2020

Listen · 9:43
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/944375878/944411649" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
The Marriage Business
Courtesy of Elope Asheville

The Indicator from Planet Money

The Marriage Business

Like all industries that revolve around large gatherings, weddings have been hit hard...but some wedding planners have found a way to adapt. Hint: It involves eloping. | Support The Indicator here.

The Marriage Business

Listen · 9:58
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/943960152/943993802" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
How The Rat Blew Up

The rat being inflated and installed in lower Manhattan by District Council 16 of the Cement and Concrete Workers on November 18, 2020. Amanda Aronczyk hide caption

toggle caption
Amanda Aronczyk

Planet Money

How The Rat Blew Up

Unions have been putting giant inflatable rats in front of businesses for years. Now businesses are trying to deflate them, in court. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.

How The Rat Blew Up

Listen · 22:39
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/943288148/943350688" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Jobs Friday: The Four Labor Markets
NurPhoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

Jobs Friday: The Four Labor Markets

For the final jobs report of the year, we break down how different sectors of the economy have handled the pandemic. | Support your NPR member station here.

Jobs Friday: The Four Labor Markets

Listen · 9:06
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/943241113/943315810" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
The Beigies: Some Economic Bright Spots
Dan Istitene - Formula 1/Formula 1 via Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

The Beigies: Some Economic Bright Spots

The Federal Reserve's Beige Book focuses on stories from the economy. The latest edition shows some hopeful points of light in an otherwise gloomy economic landscape. | Support The Indicator here.

The Beigies: Some Economic Bright Spots

Listen · 9:05
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/942449312/942483779" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Before The Shot In The Arm
Vincenzo Pinto/AFP via Getty Images

Planet Money

Before The Shot In The Arm

Inventing a vaccine for COVID-19 was hard, but getting billions of doses to billions of people is going to be even harder. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.

Before The Shot In The Arm

Listen · 24:20
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/941716442/941862617" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
The Economics of America's Nurse Shortage
KONTROLAB/KONTROLAB/LightRocket via Getty

The Indicator from Planet Money

The Economics of America's Nurse Shortage

Early in the pandemic, there were national shortages of protective equipment and hospital supplies. Now, there's a shortage of nurses.

The Economics of America's Nurse Shortage

Listen · 9:49
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/941706036/941741833" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
What Biden Could Do On Immigration
NurPhoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

What Biden Could Do On Immigration

As President-elect Biden prepares to take office, there's a lot of speculation about how his administration might change the federal approach to immigration.

What Biden Could Do On Immigration

Listen · 9:44
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/940774528/940870413" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Electric Car Chargers: When Supply Drives Demand
Nathan Stirk/Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

Electric Car Chargers: When Supply Drives Demand

People are hesitant to buy electric cars because fast chargers still aren't widely available. The irony? Most people charge at home, not with fast chargers. NPR's Camila Domonoske explains.

Electric Car Chargers: When Supply Drives Demand

Listen · 9:59
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/940172037/940209046" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Hot Dog Hail Mary (Classic)

Hot dog. Alex Brandon/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Alex Brandon/AP

Planet Money

Hot Dog Hail Mary (Classic)

by Tik Root ,

The Falcons are trying something radical: Making their food cheaper. It could break stadium economics.

Hot Dog Hail Mary (Classic)

Listen · 20:40
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/939513137/939514280" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Swamp Gravy (UPDATE)

Swamp Gravy Colquitt Miller Arts Council hide caption

toggle caption
Colquitt Miller Arts Council

Planet Money

Swamp Gravy (UPDATE)

Colquitt, Georgia, was struggling. And then musical theater came along. | Subscribe to our weekly newsletter here.

Swamp Gravy (UPDATE)

Listen · 30:52
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/939016028/939120846" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Browse archive or search npr.org