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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

France has one of the most generous pension systems in the world. But several governments there have collapsed over questions about how the government will fund it. All over the world, aging populations are forcing governments to rethink their assumptions. 

Today on the show, what France’s political fiascos teach all of us about the economics of an aging population, and what a retirement expert’s ideal retirement system might look like.

Mercer CFA Institute Global Pension Index 2025

Related episodes: 

What would it take to fix retirement? 

What does the next era of Social Security look like? 

When Retirement Advice Goes Viral 

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 the French pensions débâcle is a warning to us all

There’s one job that gets all the attention during a government shutdown: air traffic controllers. Today on the show, we spotlight why this job has taken on outsize political influence and one controller’s experience during the longest shutdown on record. 

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. 

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Can air traffic controllers keep calm and carry on — without pay?

The “Shiller PE Ratio” is at its highest level since November of 1999. That was at the peak of the online gold rush right before the dot com bubble burst in 2000. Today on the show, we learn what the Shiller PE Ratio is, how it works and whether we should be worried that it’s relatively high right now. 

You can find John Campbell's book here: Fixed: Why Personal Finance is Broken and How to Make It Work for Everyone

Related episodes: 
What’s a Bubble? 
Zombie 2nd mortgages are coming to life, threatening thousands of Americans' homes 

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. 

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This indicator hasn’t flashed this red since the dot-com bubble

Russia’s been subject to more than 5,000 sanctions since its invasion of Ukraine. Yet many purported allies of Ukraine are still getting Russian oil — directly or indirectly. On today’s show, how governments are straddling the fence and skirting their own sanctions. 

Related episodes: 
How the ‘shadow fleet’ helps Russia skirt sanctions 

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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Who's propping up Russian oil?

Last month, the Trump administration asked Apple to remove an app from its App Store that crowdsourced sightings of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Today on the show, we explain what an ongoing legal battle involving the developer of the video game Fortnite has to do with Apple’s latest move to comply with the Trump administration.

Related episodes: 
How Fortnite brought Google to its knees
The DOJ's case against Apple
Apple v Everybody

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 Apple's market power blocked ICEBlock

Companies are starting to use AI to interview potential employees. Sound creepy? Well, a new study suggests it might not be all bad.. Today on the show, we look at why a job interview with AI might be preferable to one with a human. ? And Adrian gets grilled by an AI job recruiter named “Anna.” 

Related episodes: 
AI creates, transforms and destroys … jobs 
Fighting AI with AI 

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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When AI is your job interviewer

It’s … Indicators of the…Eek! (Indicators of the Week.) Our regular look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news. 

On today’s episode: How cell phone bans in schools affect grades, white collar workers get the axe, and AHHH! Halloween candy inflation! 

Related episodes: 

Are you afraid of inflation? 

A finance fright fest 

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

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

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A school cellphone ban study, white collar jobs wither, and spooky candy prices

China and India have a long, complicated history. Just a few years ago, there was a spate of armed skirmishes between the two nations. And yet, there are signs of warming relations amidst President Trump’s ongoing trade war. Today on the show, is that trade war pushing India toward China? And what could happen if two of the world’s largest economies come together? 

Related episodes: 
China’s trade war perspective 
What might save China's economy 
Is the US pushing countries towards China? 

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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Are China and India BFFs now?

Health insurance subsidies are at the center of the current government shutdown. Democrats want to extend some expiring Affordable Care Act/Obamacare subsidies. Obamacare has weathered several political storms since its inception, but how will it fare without those subsidies? 

Today on the show, death spirals and the future of Obamacare.

Related episodes: 
The hidden costs of healthcare churn 
How doctors helped tank universal healthcare 

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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Is Obamacare doomed without extended subsidies?

Republican politicians like to use the term ‘Marxist’ to criticize Democrats. Lately, they’ve dubbed New York City mayoral candidate a ‘Marxist’ despite him identifying himself as a democratic socialist. Today on the show, we dig into what ‘Marxism, as an economic term,’ actually means.

Related episodes: 
Socialism 101
Even the facts are polarized

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 Marxism went from philosophy to cudgel

What is a sovereign wealth fund? President Trump's executive order calling for a plan to start a U.S. sovereign wealth fund is not a new idea. But it remains a topic of much debate among economists and policymakers. So is a national sovereign wealth fund a good or even viable idea? 

A version of this episode originally aired Oct. 1, 2024. 

Related episode: 
Why oil in Guyana could be a curse 

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 would a US sovereign wealth fund even work?

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