The Indicator from Planet Money

Mamdani markets, America bets, Gen Z drinks

It’s Indicators of the Week!  On today’s episode: The inner workings of Mamdani’s marts; how much Americans gamble; and Gen-Z aren’t the sober generation we’ve been led to believe!  Fact checking by Corey Bridges.  Your Next Listen  — Is gambling the reason we have pro sports? [https://lnk.to/lvwibUWE] 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/] Fact checking by Corey Bridges 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]

Trump’s new Truth Social plan: pay $100K

President Trump’s social media company, Truth Social, wants to sell investors early access to its posts. When Trump announces tariffs or new strikes on Iran, those milliseconds matter in the market. Is this corruption? Is this legal? And what does corruption mean for the U.S. economy?  Ray Fisman’s book with Miriam A. Golden is Corruption: What Everyone Needs to Know [https://global.oup.com/academic/product/corruption-9780190463977?cc=us&lang=en&]. Fact checking by Tyler Jones. Your Next Listen  — Did Trump enable insider trading? [https://www.npr.org/2025/04/16/1245044457/did-trump-enable-insider-trading] 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/]  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]

Even Moore’s law can't save affordable tech

For decades, consumer tech like laptops and gaming systems got better AND cheaper. Memory shortages caused by the AI boom are making those lower prices a thing of the past. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez [https://www.npr.org/people/1268825622/sierra-juarez]. Your Next Listen  — SK Hynix to the moon, Gen-Z to their rooms, and Connecticut tax reform looms [http://lnk.to/sJWUvE] 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/] 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]

You had housing questions. An economist answered them.

The U.S. housing market is pretty weird right now. Whether you’re a buyer, seller or a renter, it leads to all kinds of questions, like: How did we end up with a housing shortage? Is housing still a good investment? What policies might unlock the housing inventory held by baby boomers? So we called up someone with answers: Redfin’s chief economist, Daryl Fairweather.  On today’s show, your housing questions, answered. This is an excerpt of a live virtual event we held last week for our NPR+ and other qualifying supporters. To hear the entire event, make sure you’re signed up for NPR+. We’ll be publishing it as a bonus episode in the Planet Money feed next week!     Fact checking by Vito Emanuel. Your Next Listen  — Two Cities. Two chip plants. One affordability crisis. [https://www.npr.org/2026/07/21/nx-s1-5900993/two-cities-two-chip-plants-one-affordability-crisis] 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]

Petty! Econ! Grievances!

We have some grievances. Economic ones. And we’re airing them out.  On today’s show: Redeeming fast food rewards points in airports, not knowing the full price of your meal upfront, and the pen-and-paper restaurant bill slowdown.  Fact checking by Sierra Juarez [https://www.npr.org/people/1268825622/sierra-juarez].   Your Next Listen  — Three beefs: U.S. and Brazil, Taco Bell and liability, Waymo and trial lawyers [https://www.npr.org/2026/07/24/nx-s1-5905782/three-beefs-u-s-and-brazil-taco-bell-and-liability-waymo-and-trial-lawyers] 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]