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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

The Sinaloa Cartel made the bulk of its money on cocaine. But cartels are diversifying into new operations including things like wildlife trafficking. Think sharks, jaguars, capybaras. The result is something called “narco-degradation.” On today’s show, we look at what’s driving cartels beyond drugs and how this is wreaking havoc on ecosystems in Central America.

Related episodes: 
Can breaking the law be good for business? 
Waste Land 
Will Economic Growth Destroy the Planet? 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. 

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When cartels start to diversify

It may seem like data breaches have gotten a heck of a lot more common. Well, there’s something to that. The bad guys are getting badder faster than the good guys are getting better. 

This week, we’re bringing you five episodes on the evolving business of crime. Today on the show, we look at why the evolution of data breaches has been supercharged and why you don’t have to be a hacker to get into the game. 

Related episodes: 
Are data breaches putting patients at risk? 
So your data was stolen in a data breach

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

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What’s supercharging data breaches?

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. 

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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. 

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

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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. 

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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. 

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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

The federal government has been tracking the weather for more than 150 years. But the rise of the Internet and big tech have made weather forecasting a more crowded space. Today on the show, the value of an accurate forecast and how the Trump administration's early moves are clouding the government's future forecasting. This piece originally aired in November 2024. 

Related stories: 
Hazard maps: The curse of knowledge (Apple / Spotify) 
Should we invest more in weather forecasting? 
After a year of deadly weather, cities look to private forecasters to save lives 

Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter. 

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

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How much is a weather forecast worth? (Update)

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