NPR: Planet Money

Diesel hasn't always been more expensive than other gasoline. Then in 2004, a switch happened due to air quality standards, demand, and taxes. In this week's Indicator newsletter, we dig into diesel prices, what kind of fun people are buying, and other forms of making your tax bill smaller.

San Francisco leaders say AI-powered cameras helped drive a dramatic decline in car crime. We examine the evidence - and whether the city can keep its high-tech dragnet without sacrificing civil liberties.

How does one price a cemetery plot? Are they using dynamic pricing to figure it out? We tackle that question and many more in this week's Indicator newsletter.

Oil supplies are falling, sulfur prices are threatening food costs, and we measure Lego against Hollywood

They own car dealerships, law firms, dental practices, and restaurant chains. Collectively, these overlooked business owners hold far more wealth than the Forbes 400 - and wield considerable political power.

Why Patagonia might become a new data center hub

A K means the rich and poor are pulling apart. A C supposedly means they're coming back together. We hear the case for both. Which letter you see may depend on what you choose to pay attention to.

Changing SNAP eligibility actually can change consumption habits.

Investors will buy your life insurance policy today - and collect the payout when you die.

AI can generate songs in seconds. But behind every AI track is a complicated question: Who should get paid? And, how? The fights have started.

From Nobel Prize-winning research to the Laffer Curve, Scabby the Rat, Veblen's peacock, and more - the economic ideas and inside jokes hiding throughout Planet Money's new board game.

Why food companies love labels like "organic" and "high protein," why our brains are misled by them - and how to avoid paying extra for marketing.

AI companies use tokens to track usage and bill customers. Now economists are using them to track the spread of AI through the economy.

Our free economics course for your ears is on a quest for great economics ideas.

AI is moving beyond chatbots and into toys, dolls, and robots built to befriend children. A leading child-development expert says the technology offers real promise - but also risks crowding out the human relationships children need most.

Remember Project 2025? Democrats are building their own governing blueprint, and one proposal takes aim at the "annoyance economy": robocalls, endless hold times, hidden fees and other everyday frustrations.

Denver renters are celebrating falling housing costs. But sometimes cheaper housing is a sign of economic decline. How can you tell the difference?

A new study suggests the growing educational and economic divide between men and women is reshaping marriage and family life in America - leaving many women with a shrinking pool of economically stable partners.

New research finds that ICE raids and deportation fears disrupted local economies, reduced work among undocumented immigrants, and may have hurt some U.S.-born workers too.

Spirit Airlines helped pioneer ultra-cheap flying and soared. Then legacy airlines copied them, outmaneuvered them with loyalty programs, and the economy turned against their core customers.

For decades, economists gave short shrift to the idea of monopsony - a power employers can have to suppress wages. Now a wave of research suggests it's everywhere, and a new book argues it's key to understanding today's inequality.

Behind the acid blood and jump scares of the Alien franchise is an even more insidious horror: a single employer with unchecked power. How Weyland-Yutani helps explain monopsony - and the rise of inequality on Earth.

Bill Phillips was an outsider to economics, but he used a machine and a chart to change the way we think about the government's role in a capitalist economy.

World Cup tickets are expensive, and buying them has been frustrating and confusing. But this is what economics is for: figuring out the best ways to allocate scarce resources. FIFA, steal these ideas.

From artificial intelligence to fatalities from music streaming to the effects of immigrants on elderly health care, the Planet Money newsletter rounds up some interesting new economic studies.

The grandson of the Reese's Peanut Butter Cups creator has launched a campaign against The Hershey Company, which owns the Reese's brand. He wants them to stop skimping on ingredients.

For decades, rising home prices have been an engine for middle-class wealth. Now a growing movement wants to slow - or even reverse - that trend. Are the politics around new housing development inherently stacked against them?

Cocaine has made a roaring comeback, and it's having some big negative effects in the U.S. and around the world.

On paper, the Fed chair is just one vote among many. In practice, the job carries far more influence. We analyze what gives the Fed chair power.

Planet Money went to the annual meeting of the American Economics Association, and we saw some fascinating papers presented there.

Economists may have a pretty dismal record with predictions. But we're still interested in what they see in their non-existent crystal balls.

Warner Bros. has a history of disastrous mergers and acquisitions. Can they avoid another bad sequel as Netflix and Paramount battle to buy it?

Demand for professional Santas and other seasonal workers seems to have cooled. Could that be a sign we're in a recession?

For this Thanksgiving, Planet Money and The Indicator staffers offer economic insights they're grateful for.

Last week, the internet piled on President Trump's proposal for a 50-year mortgage. But maybe it's not as crazy as it sounds.

A new book by the Nobel-winning pioneer of behavioral economics offers some advice we can all use.

The Planet Money newsletter rounds up some new economic studies.

America's immigration crackdown might have serious financial consequences for a range of countries.

A new book diagnoses a sickness affecting some of America's biggest companies.

Special gifts. Great stories. And economics too!? Can it be true? The Planet Money book is available for preorder.

Join us Saturday, November 1st for a virtual hang-and-play of the Planet Money game. Co-hosts Kenny Malone and Erika Beras will be joined by Exploding Kittens co-founder Elan Lee to talk about our game, the decisions that went into it, and to answer your questions

We're teaming up with Exploding Kittens to make a board game. It needs to be fun and also about economics. This is hard. You can help. Sign up to be notified when it goes on sale, about pre-sale discounts and other updates, like invitations to play along with PM hosts. Download the print-at-home prototype and tell us how we can make it better. Send us a voice memo and you may appear in a future episode...

The export-led industrial model that Germany has pursued for decades is now at a crossroads.

What even is the business of the S&P 500, and how does it make so much money?

What makes rents go down and neighborhood diversity go up? Corporate landlords. But they also make it harder to own for yourself.

Why evil histories sell. A visit to Hitler's bunker, and a deep dive into the economics and ethical quandaries of "dark tourism."

Fungi and plants have something to teach humans about global trade and cooperation

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 lithiumHow batteries are already changing the gridHow batteries are riding the free market rodeo in TexasHow EV batteries tore apart Michigan (Update)Batteries are catching fire at seaFor 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.

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 LanguageRelated 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.

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.