Who is a music industry plant? And does it matter?

I'm just here for the health benefits

Dependable health insurance is keeping more people in their jobs. Rising health costs don't help. Today we look at the repercussions this kind of job lock has on the wider economy.  Fact checking by Sierra Juarez [https://www.npr.org/people/1268825622/sierra-juarez]. Your Next Listen  — The ghosts of Obamacare past, present and future [http://lnk.to/OzXNow]  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]

Following the Chipotle playbook for the cyclospora crisis

Taco Bell and Taylor Farms are taking hits to their reputation due to the cyclosporiasis outbreak across the country. They could learn a thing or two from Chipotle, which went through its own public relations battle during a similar outbreak about a decade ago. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez [https://www.npr.org/people/1268825622/sierra-juarez]. Your Next Listen  — Big Lettuce meets Small Intestine [http://lnk.to/a3OP5h] 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]! 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]

How ending TPS is squeezing workers, businesses and (soon) consumers

What happens when roughly a million people working legally in the U.S. suddenly lose that right to stay here? We’re starting to find out in places like Miami, Florida, home to one of the largest Haitian communities in the country. There, we talk to people on what the end of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) means for their businesses and the wider economy. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez [https://www.npr.org/people/1268825622/sierra-juarez]. Your Next Listen  — Your American Dream is pending review [http://lnk.to/7GhO7b]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 we're short on blood, water and helium

Shortages are in the news again! Here’s why the supply of blood, water and helium are at concerningly low levels. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez [https://www.npr.org/people/1268825622/sierra-juarez]. Your Next Listen  — How Colorado towns are trying to get some water certainty [http://lnk.to/UDxNGE] 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]! 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]

Who is a music industry plant? And does it matter?

Musicians from the Rolling Stones to up-and-coming pop star Bella Kay have one thing in common: Influencers are being paid to promote their songs [https://www.npr.org/2026/07/13/nx-s1-5849926/influencers-paid-music-promotion].  On today's show: Who is an industry plant and why does it matter? Fact checking by Tyler Jones.  Your Next Listen  — Two Indicators: the influencer industry [https://lnk.to/1oGtIcWE] 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]