The Indicator from Planet Money

How to make switching jobs not terrifying

The U.S. labor market is stagnant right now, with little hiring and lots of people holding onto their jobs for dear life. In Denmark, there’s a different kind of labor system where it’s easy for employers to hire and fire, but at the same time people have a strong safety net in-between jobs. Today on the show, we learn how “flexicurity” works through the story of a Danish woman who left her job, and we ask how the model could work in the U.S.  Related episodes: Why do we live in unusually innovative times? [https://www.npr.org/2025/10/14/nx-s1-5573115/why-do-we-live-in-unusually-innovative-times]How Marxism went from philosophy to cudgel [https://www.npr.org/2025/10/28/nx-s1-5587923/how-marxism-went-from-philosophy-to-cudgel]Ozempic's biggest side effect: Turning Denmark into a 'pharmastate'? [https://www.npr.org/sections/planet-money/2024/07/26/g-s1-13534/ozempic-biggest-side-effect-denmark-pharmastate] For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org [http://plus.npr.org/]. Fact-checking by Tyler Jones. Translation from Jasmine Lolila. Music by Drop Electric [https://dropelectric.bandcamp.com/]. Find us: TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@planetmoney], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/planetmoney/], Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/planetmoney], Newsletter [https://www.npr.org/newsletter/money].   Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices] NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]

Why you overpaid at that online auction

Ever put in the winning bid for something on an auction site only to realize you significantly overpaid? Yeah, there’s a phrase for that. On today’s show: the winner’s curse. Richard Thaler’s new book with Alex O. Imas is The Winner’s Curse: Behavioral Economics Anomalies, Then and Now [https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Winners-Curse/Richard-H-Thaler/9781982165116]. Read Planet Money’s newsletter on the winner’s curse [https://www.npr.org/sections/planet-money/2025/11/11/g-s1-96954/how-to-avoid-the-winners-curse].  For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org [http://plus.npr.org/]. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez [https://www.npr.org/people/1268825622/sierra-juarez]. Music by Drop Electric [https://dropelectric.bandcamp.com/]. Find us: TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@planetmoney], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/planetmoney/], Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/planetmoney], Newsletter [https://www.npr.org/newsletter/money].   Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices] NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]

50-year mortgages, falling real wages, and doing your rideshare due diligence

It’s … Indicators of the Week! We look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news and bring them to you. On today’s episode: The cost of living is outstripping wage growth [https://institute.bankofamerica.com/content/dam/economic-insights/paycheck-to-paycheck.pdf] for most of us, the math [https://apnews.com/article/home-prices-50-year-mortgage-trump-56a931881ca6f6efeccf2de0333a83bd] behind the Trump administration’s proposed 50-year mortgages, and how we’re just giving Uber and Lyft free money [https://www.nber.org/papers/w34441].  Related episodes:  Trump's plans for the housing market [https://www.npr.org/2024/11/26/1215240061/indicator-trump-plan-housing-market]  The Money Illusion: Have Americans really gotten a raise? [https://www.npr.org/2021/11/10/1054451446/the-money-illusion-have-americans-really-gotten-a-raise]  For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org [http://plus.npr.org/]. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez [https://www.npr.org/people/1268825622/sierra-juarez]. Music by Drop Electric [https://dropelectric.bandcamp.com/]. Find us: TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@planetmoney], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/planetmoney/], Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/planetmoney], Newsletter [https://www.npr.org/newsletter/money].   Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices] NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]

Where the US got $20B to bail out Argentina

The U.S. is committed to bailing out Argentina to the tune of $20 billion using a little known mechanism called the Exchange Stabilization Fund. On today’s show, what is this fund, why was it created and does Argentina have any hope of paying it back?  Related episodes:  Dollarizing Argentina [https://www.npr.org/2023/12/20/1197956140/javier-milei-argentina-dollarize-economy-inflation]   For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org [http://plus.npr.org/]. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez [https://www.npr.org/people/1268825622/sierra-juarez]. Music by Drop Electric [https://dropelectric.bandcamp.com/]. Find us: TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@planetmoney], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/planetmoney/], Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/planetmoney], Newsletter [https://www.npr.org/newsletter/money].   Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices] NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]

Trump's backup options for tariffs

The U.S. Supreme Court may soon rule on President Trump’s favorite tariff law.  It could render them moot, but that doesn’t mean the end of tariffs. On today’s show, we explain the president’s back-up options for imposing tariffs. Related episodes:  Are Trump’s tariffs legal? [https://www.npr.org/2025/06/11/1253992700/tariffs-ieepa-trump-legal-emergencies-law]  Worst. Tariffs. Ever. [https://www.npr.org/2024/12/11/1218506684/worst-tariffs-ever-update]   Three ways companies are getting around tariffs [https://www.npr.org/2025/08/26/nx-s1-5515756/three-ways-companies-are-getting-around-tariffs]    For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org [http://plus.npr.org/]. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez [https://www.npr.org/people/1268825622/sierra-juarez]. Music by Drop Electric [https://dropelectric.bandcamp.com/]. Find us: TikTok [https://www.tiktok.com/@planetmoney], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/planetmoney/], Facebook [https://www.facebook.com/planetmoney], Newsletter [https://www.npr.org/newsletter/money].   Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices [https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices] NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]