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The trade fraud detective
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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

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How much would you do this job for? And other indicators
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The Indicator from Planet Money

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

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Biden's beef with bad customer service
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The Indicator from Planet Money

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

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What is the deal with car rentals?
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The Indicator from Planet Money

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?

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

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Planet Money

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

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

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So, how's this No Tax On Tips thing gonna go?
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The Indicator from Planet Money

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?

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Is endless vacation a scam?
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The Indicator from Planet Money

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?

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Mortgage applications, China's housing and ... Carrie Bradshaw?
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The Indicator from Planet Money

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?

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The hidden world behind your new "banking" app
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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

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Why big banks aren't interested in your savings account
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The Indicator from Planet Money

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

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Should presidents have more of a say in interest rates?
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The Indicator from Planet Money

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?

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

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

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

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Sick of customer service bots and subscription headaches? There's a plan for that

The Biden administration announced it is taking on what it calls the "doom loop" of customer service calls. William Thomas Cain/Getty Images hide caption

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Consider This from NPR

Sick of customer service bots and subscription headaches? There's a plan for that

This week, the Biden administration announced it is taking on more of what it calls "everyday headaches and hassles that waste Americans' time and money."

Sick of customer service bots and subscription headaches? There's a plan for that

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The Denver basic income experiment
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The Indicator from Planet Money

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

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Beach reads with a side of economics
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The Indicator from Planet Money

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

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Will the Olympics break breakdancing?
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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?

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Google's monopoly, gold medals and gasping markets
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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

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You can't spell Olympics without IP
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The Indicator from Planet Money

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

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Is the UK open for business?

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The Indicator from Planet Money

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?

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History 5: 250 years of trade history in three chapters

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Planet Money Summer School

History 5: 250 years of trade history in three chapters

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.

History 5: 250 years of trade history in three chapters

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

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Planet Money

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

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
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The debate at the heart of new electricity transmission
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The Indicator from Planet Money

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

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