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A bite-sized show about big ideas. From the people who make Planet Money, The Indicator helps you make sense of what's happening in today's economy. It's a quick hit of insight into money, work, and business. Monday through Friday, in 10 minutes or less.

The Indicator from Planet Money

With only several seconds of audio, someone can clone a victim’s voice, call their bank, and potentially get access to … everything. Vocal deepfakes have gotten very good, but so has the technology to fight back. 

This week on The Indicator we're gonna bring you a special series on the evolving business of crime. In this episode, we hear from the company helping banks beat deepfakes, and we learn about the efforts to protect us all from AI voice fraud. 

Related episodes: 
Can you copyright artwork made using AI? 
AI creates, transforms and destroys... jobs 

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. 

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Fighting AI with AI

Crime doesn’t resemble the old days. A deepfake of your voice can be used to convince a relative you need money. AI bots are capable of colluding in financial markets. There are seemingly countless new strategies of making data breaches more common. This week on The Indicator from Planet Money, we bring you five episodes digging into the evolving business of crime. 

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter. 

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Vice Series: The evolving business of crime

Americans are moving at record lows for work. What’s driving people to, well, not drive cross-country for jobs? On today’s Jobs Friday, we explore the rising homebody economy. 

Related episodes: 
Can … we still trust the monthly jobs report? 
Why moms are leaving their paid jobs 
How the end of Roe is reshaping the medical workforce 

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 Corey Bridges. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

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Why Americans don't want to move for jobs anymore

We have seen a blurring of boundaries between government and business under President Trump. It has some political commentators ringing the alarm bell over something called “crony capitalism" — a corrupt system where political power meets big business. Today on the show, is the Trump administration nudging the U.S. further down the road toward crony capitalism? 

Related episodes: 
China’s trade war perspective 

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. 

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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How close is the US to crony capitalism?

Gold is on fire right now with some gold ETFs outperforming the major stock indexes over the past 12 months. Gold is supposed to be boring, an inflation hedge. But right now, it's responding to something else. Today on the show, we talk to a finance professor about what’s behind the current gold rush and if gold’s hot streak is built to last. 

Understanding Gold by Claud B. Erb and Campbell R. Harvey

Related episodes: 

A new-ish gold rush and other indicators

Gold Rush 2.0

A secret weapon to fight inflation

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. 

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Why is everyone buying gold?

Earlier this month, President Donald Trump announced a $100,000 fee on new H-1B visa petitioners. Today on the show, we talk to an economist about how much H-1B visa holders have contributed to US growth, their effects on American-born workers, and why the United States’ competitors are taking advantage of this moment. 

Related episodes: 

How much international students matter to the economy 

The precarity of the H-1B work visa 

Could foreign workers unlock America's tight labor market? 

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. 

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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We're about to lose a lot of foreign STEM workers

Jimmy Kimmel’s brief departure from the airwaves triggered a wave of debate over free speech. Partly triggering his suspension was the government threatening to leverage its power over pending media deals. That’s in part due to a piece of decades-old legislation. 

Today on the show, we look at how the Telecommunications Act of 1996 set the stage for government meddling and corporate capitulation. 

Related episodes: 
Breaking up big business is hard to do 
Mergers, acquisitions and Elon’s “rude” proposal 

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. 

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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What media consolidation means for free speech

It’s Indicators of the Week! It is that show where we parse the most fascinating financial numbers in the news and bring them to you. 

On today's show: Argentina needs a bailout, Microsoft’s new way to cool data centers, and retail hiring is not looking like it’s in the holiday spirit.

Related episodes: 

A radical plan to fix Argentina's inflation

What $10 billion in data centers actually gets you

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. 

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Argentina's bailout, a new way to cool data centers, and a cold holiday hiring season

Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Junior says doctors are pushing vaccines onto their patients in order to make profits. 

Healthcare in the US is a business … but does that mean that doctors actually make money on vaccines?

Today on the show, we talk with doctors who explain the financial reality behind vaccines and how RFK Jr’s words and actions could harm public health. 

Related episodes: 

More for Palantir, less for mRNA, and a disaster database redemption arc 

What is a 'freedom economy'?

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 Tyler Jones. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter. 

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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No, your doctor isn't getting rich off of vaccines

Faced with declining enrollment, public school districts across the country are rethinking how many schools they can run. Fewer students often means less government funding, forcing schools to cut services. Yet school closures can disrupt communities and have negative effects on learning. On today’s show, the tough calculus parents and schools confront. 

Related episodes: 

Why ‘free’ public education doesn’t always include school supplies 

A food fight over free school lunch 

The evidence of school vouchers that’ll please nobody 

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. 

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Why are so many public schools closing?

President Trump claims a main goal of his crippling tariffs is to address the U.S. trade deficit. So is the U.S. trade deficit a problem? On today's show, why we'll never have a trade surplus with every single country; what the benefits of a trade deficit are; and whether or not the trade deficit affects jobs. 

Related episodes:
Tariffied! We check in on businesses (Apple / Spotify) 
Why there's no referee for the trade war (Apple / Spotify) 
Common economic myths debunked (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. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter. 

Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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What's so bad about a trade deficit?

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