Episodes

  • How hurricanes became a hot investment

    How hurricanes became a hot investment
    Dec 5 2025

    A few years ago, the Jamaican government started making an unusual financial bet. It went to investors around the world asking if they'd like to wager on the chances a major hurricane would hit the island in the next couple of years.

    In finance terms, these kinds of wagers are called "catastrophe bonds." They're a way to get investors to share the risk of a major disaster, whether that's a Japanese earthquake, a California wildfire, or a Jamaican hurricane.

    This market for catastrophe has gotten really hot lately. And it’s changing the way that insurance works for all of us.

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    This episode was produced by Willa Rubin and edited by Marianne McCune. It was engineered by Jimmy Keeley and Kwesi Lee. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez and Vito Emanuel. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.

    Music: Universal Music Production - “Lagos to London,” “Sleazy Does It,” “The Sundown Set.”

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    31 mins
  • Is AI slopifying the job market? (Two Indicators)

    Is AI slopifying the job market? (Two Indicators)
    Dec 3 2025
    Vote for us in NPR’s People’s Choice Awards: npr.org/peopleschoice

    AI is already reshaping how people find work. Fewer entry-level jobs, robot recruiters, and ever-changing new skill requirements all add up to a new, daunting landscape for humans trying to find dignified work.

    Today on the show: two stories from the edges of a changing labor market. First we’ll assess claims that AI is causing a white collar job apocalypse. What does the data actually say? We meet an economist who has found one small but fascinating way to measure the impact of AI on workers.

    Then, we go face-to-face, or at least voice-to-voice, with AI. We meet a robot recruiter for a job interview and find cause to ask, ‘When might that actually be preferable to a human recruiter?’

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    The original Indicator episodes were hosted by Wailin Wong, Darian Woods, and Adrian Ma. They were produced by Cooper Katz McKim and engineered by Robert Rodriguez and Debbie Daughtry. They were fact checked by Sierra Juarez. They were edited by Paddy Hirsch and Kate Concannon.

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    19 mins
  • Capitalism (Taylor's Version) (25-minute Podcast Version)

    Capitalism (Taylor's Version) (25-minute Podcast Version)
    Nov 28 2025

    Taylor Swift reaches new heights with her latest album, which is both divisive and record-breaking. And it’s fueled by an elaborate series of business choices that propel profits but also chart numbers. Today’s episode comes from our friends at Today Explained, Vox’s lively, smart daily news podcast.

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    This episode was hosted by Noel King. It was produced by Ariana Aspuru, edited by Amina Al-Sadi, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, and engineered by Adriene Lilly.

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    25 mins
  • Saving lives with fewer dollars

    Saving lives with fewer dollars
    Nov 27 2025
    Givewell is a nonprofit organization that gives money to “save or improve the most lives per dollar.” Part of their whole thing is a rigorous research process with copious and specific datapoints. So, in the chaotic wake of USAID’s gutting, they scrambled to figure out if they could fund the kind of projects USAID used to.

    Today on the show: GiveWell let us in on their decision-making process, as they try to reconcile the urgency of the moment with their normal diligence. We get to watch as they decide if they can back one project, to support health facilities in Cameroon.

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    This episode was hosted by Mary Childs. It was produced by Sam Yellowhorse Kesler. It was edited by Marianne McCune, fact-checked by Vito Emanuel, and engineered by Jimmy Keeley with help from Robert Rodriguez. Planet Money’s executive producer is Alex Goldmark.

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    33 mins
  • The Consumer Sentiment vs. Consumer Spending Puzzle

    The Consumer Sentiment vs. Consumer Spending Puzzle
    Nov 21 2025

    Wherever consumer sentiment goes, consumer spending usually goes too. They’re like buddies that do everything together. Consumer sentiment wants a hair cut, its buddy consumer spending does too.

    But lately, these friends are drifting apart.

    While consumer sentiment about the economy is down … spending remains strong.

    And not just that… Interest rates are still high, inflation is growing, tariffs have made the prices of goods go up. And yet, consumer spending looks good. What gives?

    Today - a consumer spending mystery. Is the economy actually healthy? Or is something distorting our view of the economy?

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    This episode was hosted by Sarah Gonzalez and Kenny Malone. It was produced by James Sneed. It was edited by Meg Cramer and fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. It was engineered by Debbie Daughtry and Kwesi Lee. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.

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    20 mins
  • Days of our Tariffs

    Days of our Tariffs
    Nov 19 2025
    Tariffs. They’ve been announced, unannounced, re-announced, raised and lowered. It’s an on-going saga with billions at stake!


    On today’s episode, we run full-on at the twisty, turny drama of life with broad-based tariffs and tackle perhaps our most asked question: Are we, regular U.S. shoppers, feeling the tariffs yet? When we’re at the grocery store or the coffee shop, are we paying more for things because of the tariffs?


    We now have the data to get a very clear answer to that question. Plus, we hear a cautionary tale from our dear colleague James Sneed, who ordered a collectible doll and wound up with a surprise tariff bill at his door.


    Related episodes:

    • Are Trump's tariffs legal?
    • What is Temu?
    • What "Made in China" actually means

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    This episode was produced by Willa Rubin and edited by Jess Jiang. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez with research help from Vito Emanuel. It was engineered by Jimmy Keeley and Maggie Luthar. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.


    Music: NPR Source Audio - “Mirror,” “Remorse,” “Endless,” “Secrets,” “Schmaltzy,” “Water Mirror.”

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    30 mins
  • The obscure pool of money the US used to bail out Argentina

    The obscure pool of money the US used to bail out Argentina
    Nov 15 2025
    Last month, during the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that the United States had offered to functionally loan Argentina $20 billion. Despite the sums involved, this bailout required no authorization from Congress, because of the loan’s source: an obscure pool of money called the Exchange Stabilization Fund. The ESF is essentially the Treasury Department’s private slush fund.


    Its history goes all the way back to the Great Depression. But, in the 90 years since its creation, it has only been used one time at this scale to bailout an emerging economy: Mexico, in 1995. That case study contains some helpful lessons that can be used to make sense of Bessent’s recent move. Will this new credit line to Argentina work out as well as it did the last time we tried it? Or will Argentina’s economic troubles hamstring the Exchange Stabilization Fund forever?


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    This episode was hosted by Keith Romer and Erika Beras. It was produced by Luis Gallo. It was edited by Eric Mennel and fact checked by Sierra Juarez. It was engineered by Cena Loffredo. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money’s executive producer.

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    29 mins
  • Buy now, pay dearly? (update)

    Buy now, pay dearly? (update)
    Nov 12 2025

    (Note: A version of this episode originally ran in 2022.)

    Every time you shop online and make it to the checkout screen, you see those colorful pastel buttons at the bottom. Affirm. Klarna. Afterpay. Asking: Do you want to split your payment into interest-free installments? No credit check needed. Get what you want, right now.

    That temptation got shoppers like Amelia Schmarzo into some money trouble. Back in 2022, she maxed out her credit card after a month of buying now and paying later. She’s not alone. Buy now, pay later is everywhere now. And you can finance almost anything with it. Your clothes, your furniture … even your lips.

    But if these companies don’t charge interest, how do they make money? In short, people buy more stuff using these services and so sellers are willing to pay up. Which makes buy now, pay later, something of a threat to credit card companies. Cue the tussle for your impulse-buying clicks.

    Today on the show, we find out how the companies work, who’s most likely to use these services and who’s getting a good deal. And a warning: those little loans will soon be on your credit report.


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    This episode was produced by Emma Peaslee, engineered by Josh Newell and edited by Molly Messick. Our update was reported by Vito Emanuel, produced by Willa Rubin, engineered by Gilly Moon and edited by our executive producer, Alex Goldmark.

    Music: Universal Music Production - "Retro Funk," "Comin' Back For More," "Reactive Emotion," and "EAT."


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    25 mins