C is for C-shaped economy

Retiree benefits bump, credit repayment slump, and a dating app in the dumps

It’s Indicators of the Week! On today’s episode: Retirees get a bump in benefits; credit card debt delinquency at a historically high level; and the dating app Bumble on a serious decline — Men first! IRL events! What will work!  Fact checking by Cooper Katz McKim and Vito Emanuel. Your Next Listen  — Trying to fix the dating app backlash [https://lnk.to/dkPYymWE] Connect with The Indicator — Sign up for The Indicator’s weekly newsletter [https://npr.org/indicatornewsletter]! — Buy the Planet Money book [https://lnk.to/i3AukBdDWE] — Find our socials, YouTube and more [https://linktr.ee/indicator_npr]! — For sponsor-free episodes, subscribe to NPR+ [https://plus.npr.org/] Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org [http://plus.npr.org/]. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]

C is for C-shaped economy

Which letter best describes how the U.S. economy is shaped: C or K? We examine the arguments for both and why there’s so much disagreement over who’s faring best in today’s economy.  Fact checking by Sierra Juarez [https://www.npr.org/people/1268825622/sierra-juarez]. Your Next Listen  — We resolve to watch these 2026 indicators [http://lnk.to/pLVECW]   Connect with The Indicator — Sign up for The Indicator’s weekly newsletter [https://npr.org/indicatornewsletter]! — Buy the Planet Money book [https://lnk.to/i3AukBdDWE] — Find our socials, YouTube and more [https://linktr.ee/indicator_npr]! — For sponsor-free episodes, subscribe to NPR+ [https://plus.npr.org/]  Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org [http://plus.npr.org/]. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]

Consumers are mad as hell and aren't gonna take it anymore

Rage. That’s what consumers are feeling right now. A new survey [https://theacsi.com/news-and-resources/press-releases/2026/08/11/press-release-national-acsi-q2-2026/] found consumer complaints hit a record high this year. Another [https://customercaremc.com/2025-national-customer-rage-study/] from last year found a huge share of consumers felt ‘rage’ with a product or service problem. Just think about the modern consumer experience: hidden fees, ballooning customer support wait times (perpetually experiencing higher call volumes than usual) … shrinkflation! Argh!! What’s going on?  On today’s show, unpacking consumer rage. And Heather Timmons, who covers consumer rights for The Guardian [https://www.theguardian.com/profile/heather-timmons], talks about what we might do about it. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez [https://www.npr.org/people/1268825622/sierra-juarez]. Your Next Listen  — Petty! Econ! Grievances! [https://www.npr.org/2026/07/27/nx-s1-5907115/petty-econ-grievances] Connect with The Indicator — Sign up for The Indicator’s weekly newsletter [https://npr.org/indicatornewsletter]! — Buy the Planet Money book [https://lnk.to/i3AukBdDWE] — Find our socials, YouTube and more [https://linktr.ee/indicator_npr]! For sponsor-free episodes, subscribe to NPR+ [https://plus.npr.org/] Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org [http://plus.npr.org/]. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]

Borrowing money to invest! What could go wrong?

The total amount of investors using margin aka borrowing money to help pay for a trade  is at an all time high of over $1.5 trillion. Is this something we should worry about? We spoke to Jurrien Tinner at Fidelity Investments.  Note: Jurrien Timmer's views are his own and not representative of Fidelity.  Fact checking by Sierra Juarez [https://www.npr.org/people/1268825622/sierra-juarez]. Your Next Listen  — How AI might mess with financial markets [http://lnk.to/zlkvbt] Connect with The Indicator — Sign up for The Indicator’s weekly newsletter [https://npr.org/indicatornewsletter]! — Buy the Planet Money book [https://lnk.to/i3AukBdDWE] — Find our socials, YouTube and more [https://linktr.ee/indicator_npr]! — For sponsor-free episodes, subscribe to NPR+ [https://plus.npr.org/] Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org [http://plus.npr.org/]. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]

Why is Trump paying to stop wind farms?

President Trump is no fan of wind farms. And his administration is putting taxpayer money where his mouth is, paying companies billions of dollars to NOT build them.  On today’s show, Trump’s plan to squelch wind farms with the public purse.  Fact checking by Tyler Jones.  Your Next Listen  — Wind boom, wind bust (Two Windicators) [https://lnk.to/YjmHD0] Connect with The Indicator — Sign up for The Indicator’s brand new newsletter [https://npr.org/indicatornewsletter]  — Find our socials, YouTube and more [https://linktr.ee/indicator_npr]! — For sponsor-free episodes, subscribe to NPR+ [https://plus.npr.org/] Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org [http://plus.npr.org/]. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]