What Iran teaches us about why wars start

What Iran teaches us about why wars start

If war is so costly, why do we keep fighting them? We dig into the wars in Iran, Ukraine and Gaza to understand the incentives that lead countries into violence. Today on the show, the five factors that lead to war.  Chris Blattman’s book is Why We Fight: The Roots of War and the Paths to Peace [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/636263/why-we-fight-by-christopher-blattman/]. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez [https://www.npr.org/people/1268825622/sierra-juarez].  Your Next Listen  — The new economic arms race [https://www.npr.org/2026/04/29/nx-s1-5803494/the-new-economic-arms-race]Connect with The Indicator — Sign up for The Indicator’s brand new 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/]  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]

What you should know about your student loans

For many of the 43 million Americans with federal student loans, July 1 is a day to mark on the calendar [https://www.npr.org/2026/06/10/nx-s1-5835633/student-loans-guide-education-changes-repayment-plan]. Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act is introducing stricter borrowing caps and new repayment plans. Today on the show, we talk with NPR’s Education Reporter Cory Turner about the impact. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez [https://www.npr.org/people/1268825622/sierra-juarez]. Your Next Listen  — Will new loan limits lower the cost of grad sch [http://lnk.to/V38mY1]ool? [http://lnk.to/V38mY1] Connect with The Indicator — Sign up for The Indicator’s brand new 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/] 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]

GLP-1 and women, the AI office boom, and RTO: CEO ego?

It’s Indicators of the Week (now on YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/@planetmoney]!). On today’s episode: The effect of GLP-1s on women and the workplace [https://www.rebecca-diamond.com/research]; NYC’s once flailing office space is BACK; your boss asking you to come back to the office miiiight be a narcissist [https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0749597826000300#b1330].  Fact checking by Emma Ferrara and Corey Bridges.  Your Next Listen  —Why GLP-1s aren't lowering employers' costs [https://lnk.to/wttruAWE] 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/] 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]

AI is pumping out books. Are they any good?

Are all these AI books any good? And by good, we mean are people willing to buy them — not whether the prose is singing. We talk to two researchers who’ve got some answers [https://www.nber.org/papers/w34777] and a travel guide expert on why AI can’t replace first-hand experience. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez [https://www.npr.org/people/1268825622/sierra-juarez].  Your Next Listen   — Human certification in the age of AI slop [http://lnk.to/oq2bp5] Connect with The Indicator — Sign up for The Indicator’s brand new 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/] 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]

How stock options made him an overnight millionaire

In 2019, Juan Hernandez was laid off from SpaceX. Luckily, he still had the opportunity to buy $50K - $60K of the company’s stock and, years later, it’s safe to say the risk was worth it. Today on the show, how stock options built California as a tech hub. Fact-checking by Emma Ferrara.  Your Next Listen  — Do traders who make big bets make big money? [https://lnk.to/qalv4mWE] Connect with The Indicator — Sign up for The Indicator’s brand new 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/]  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]