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Corporate tax cheats, recession deal eats and costly Halloween treats!
On a very spooktacular Indicators of the EEK!: How America’s top corporations are ghosting their taxes; why more meal deals are an ominous sign; and terrifying Halloween candy prices! Fact checking by Corey Bridges Your Next Listen –A finan
Can Montana end Citizens United?
The landmark supreme source case Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission opened the floodgates for massive corporate spending in elections. Today, can a Montana ballot initiative pave the way for getting corporate money out of Americ
Is it time to abolish the MBA?
Does business school fix the world? Or does it just churn out consultants, bankers and tech workers? A professor and a dean debate the value of the modern-day MBA. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez (https://www.npr.org/people/1268825622/sierra
Why Meta is giving you Muse for free
Meta’s new AI agent Muse is one of the fastest-growing apps ever. It’s a big bet from a company spending billions to win the AI race. But what is the real cost of using this powerful, free AI product? Fact checking by Sierra Juarez (https:/
How bots are overtaking humans on the internet
There are now more bots than humans online. What does that mean for how we experience the internet? Can bots and humans peacefully coexist online? Fact checking by Sierra Juarez (https://www.npr.org/people/1268825622/sierra-juarez). Your Ne
CoreWeave woes, Pokémon foes, and maple syrup lows
This week’s notable indicators: A distressing credit warning for CoreWeave, a Pokémon heist, and depleted maple syrup reserves in Canada. Fact checking by Cooper Katz McKim. Your Next Listen –Why Pokemon cards are growing faster than your r
Can a "moneyball" system work for campaign funding?
Elections are more expensive than ever, but are campaign donations going to the races where they’ll make the most impact? Today, we talk to the startup co-founder of Oath (https://app.oath.vote) who believes there’s a smarter way to allocat
The case for sharing your salary
Should money and class figure more prominently in how we identify ourselves? Pulitzer Prize-winning data journalist Mona Chalabi thinks yes. Today on the show, a conversation with Mona, author of the forthcoming book Ten Lives: How What We
The gamble of trying to inflate away debt
The United States national debt is running at more than $40 trillion dollars. It’s a potential crisis in the making, but President Donald Trump suggested it can all be solved just by inflating the debt away. Today, we dig into the nitty gri
Why Oracle's debt load could be your problem
Oracle, the multinational tech giant has taken on a lot of loans to build up its AI capacity. But Oracle’s investors are not happy with this piling debt load. We explain why Oracle is such a pivotal player — and potentially weak link — in t
Will AI take my job? Ask an economist!
Is AI coming for our jobs? Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei believes AI could wipe out many white-collar jobs in the next few years. While Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang argues AI will reshape existing roles and create even more jobs than we have now. S
Supercore inflation, Bumble valuation and Pooh's repatriation
This week’s indicators: Why is inflation so super (derogatory)? How did Bumble go from dating app doldrums to a stock market sweetheart?; And oh, bother! Could Winnie the Pooh be moving home to England from New York City? Fact checking by L
How did political campaigns get so expensive?
The 2026 midterm elections are fast approaching, and it’s gearing up to be the most expensive election in American history. So how did we get here, where every election feels more expensive than the last? Today on the show, we’re exploring
A rebate runaround, a car rental rip-off and … roaches?!
A labyrinthine rebate process. Shrinking cereal boxes. Mystery rental car charges. Cockroaches?! We share listener tales of Consumer Rage and unpack the economic forces driving that ANGER. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez (https://www.npr.org
How did we get a Nobel Prize in economics?
This year's Nobel Prize for Economics went to American economists Robert E. Hall and Michael Woodford! Their research focused on macroeconomic models and economic shocks. But … How did we get a Nobel Prize in economics, or as it’s actually
The echo of the bison (Encore)
Nearly 30 million bison once roamed North America, from modern Canada to Mexico. In the late 1800s, white settlers and the U.S. military annihilated the population of bison, bringing these creatures to the brink of extinction. The consequen
SNAP strains, youth baseball's class divide, and Meta's bug bounty
This week our top indicators include changes to the funding model for SNAP, private equity’s influence on youth baseball and Meta’s attempt to find flaws in its brand new AI assistant. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez (https://www.npr.org/peo
The chilling effect of ICE in hospitals
Federal immigration enforcement arrests reached record highs this past summer, and under the second Trump administration, immigration agents can now more easily access so-called sensitive areas, including hospitals. Today on the show: how b
One economist's answer to data center anxiety
Rising electricity prices are one of the primary reasons why data centers are a public enemy this election cycle. But is it realistic to expect energy prices to stay high forever? Fact checking by Sierra Juarez (https://www.npr.org/people/1
Inside Norway's sovereign wealth fund dilemma to divest from Israel
Norway has the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, but it’s facing a self-imposed dilemma. Should the fund's investments include companies that directly or indirectly contribute to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war? On today’s show, the ethic
The proper etiquette of the Venmo nudge
How do you ask your friends to pay you back in a timely way? We’ve got an etiquette coach to help with that. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez (https://www.npr.org/people/1268825622/sierra-juarez). Your Next Listen —Is this a bank? (https://ww
Can we make Social Security better for blue-collar workers?
Most workers can’t start collecting full Social Security benefits until age 67. But a new proposal from Michigan Congresswoman Haley Stevens would allow workers in “physically demanding jobs” to receive full retirement benefits at 60. Today
New college degrees designed to job-proof graduates
What do influencing, AI and health sciences have in common? They’re all degree programs colleges have launched in the last few years to attract students looking for a new career path. On today's show, how colleges are rethinking degrees for
Is investing in sports worth it for universities?
Universities spend millions of dollars every year on their athletics programs. But does that investment pay off? Today, we interrogate the “Doug Flutie Effect.” Fact checking by Cooper Katz McKim. Your Next Listen — How college sports juice
What does every business need but not every industry has?
What rhymes with "snakes" and helps the government classify economic activity? NAICS — or the North American Industry Classification System. These codes categorize every industry from artificial turf installation to zucchini farming. But th
How the rich make money by losing money
Decades ago, rich Americans used to pay taxes as high as 40% on their investments. Nowadays, an obscure investment strategy is helping them slash that figure toward … 0%. Today on the show, Bloomberg reporter Loukia Gyftopoulou, tells us ab
Unaffordability index: Rent, GLP-1s, Obamacare
This week’s indicators: Rent is squeezing middle-income earners, the Trump admin is squeezing ACA enrollees, and GLP-1s are squeezing employers. Fact checking by Julia Ritchey. Your Next Listen —Why GLP-1s aren't lowering employers' costs (
What Doordash, Dell and Palantir all have in common
President Trump and his money managers made more stock trades since his second term started than all members of Congress combined (https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2026-trump-stock-trades-congress/). The White House says there is no confl
Why are used cars priced like new cars?
The used car market is out of control and there doesn’t seem to be an easy fix for high prices. Today, three reasons why finding an affordable car is so difficult. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez (https://www.npr.org/people/1268825622/sierra
How will the US refill its dwindling oil reserves?
Whether it’s oil from Venezuela or somewhere else, the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve needs to be refilled. The SPR is widely considered critical for energy security. On today’s show, the challenges to refilling the reserves at a time of
