The Indicator from Planet Money

Davos drama, credit card caps and tariff truths

It’s time for … Indicators of the Week! Our weekly look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news.  On today’s episode: Why does Davos feel interesting this year? What if we did cap credit card interest rates? And we’re paying most of those tariffs, aren’t we?   Also, big news! Planet Money wrote a book and we’re going on tour this spring. Find tickets and info at planetmoneybook.com [http://planetmoneybook.com].  Related episodes:  Trump's backup options for tariffs [https://www.npr.org/2025/11/12/nx-s1-5605545/trumps-backup-options-for-tariffs]  Globalization At Davos: What Happened? [https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2019/01/28/689518374/globalization-at-davos-what-happened]  The carbon coin: A novel idea [https://www.npr.org/2022/11/11/1136169902/the-carbon-coin-a-novel-idea] 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. 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]

How beef climbed to the top of the food pyramid

Beef is back on top. Well, at least on top of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s new food pyramid, unveiled alongside updated national dietary guidelines. Red meat really never left the great American menu. But how’d it climb all the way up there? On today’s show, America’s storied love affair with beef. And how big business and government have long influenced what winds up on our plates. Related episodes:  Why beef prices are so high [https://www.npr.org/2025/09/15/nx-s1-5539846/why-beef-prices-are-so-high] Who’s buying all the beef? [https://www.npr.org/2025/11/24/nx-s1-5616521/whos-buying-all-the-beef] 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]

Is Greenland really an untapped land of riches?

President Donald Trump is dead set on acquiring Greenland, and while national security is the stated reason, the country’s untapped mineral wealth could offer another explanation.  Today on the show: is Greenland really an untapped land of riches? We talk to one Australian geologist who discovered the great costs and potential rewards of extracting these minerals himself.  Related episodes:  Add to cart: Greenland [https://www.npr.org/2025/01/21/1225890655/add-to-cart-greenland]  Why Trump resurrected the Monroe Doctrine [https://www.npr.org/2026/01/15/nx-s1-5677625/why-trump-resurrected-the-monroe-doctrine]  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] and Julia Ritchey. 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]

Are U.S. defense contractors lavishing their investors too much?

In early January, President Donald Trump signed an executive order threatening bans on defense contractors paying dividends or buying their stock back. Today on the show, we learn about the Trump Administration’s frustrations with the weapons supply chain, find out what a defense industry investor makes of the move, and ask whether this reflects the state tightening its grip on the industry that arms the U.S. military. Related episodes:  Are we overpaying for military equipment? [https://www.npr.org/2024/01/29/1197961492/are-we-overpaying-for-military-equipment] Can Just-In-Time handle a new era of war? [https://www.npr.org/2024/01/30/1197961507/can-just-in-time-handle-a-new-era-of-war] How to transform a war economy for peacetime [https://www.npr.org/2024/01/31/1197961524/how-to-transform-a-war-economy-for-peacetime] 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]

ICE influencers, a world-record trade surplus, and the moon goes nuclear

Welcome back to Indicators of the Week! Our weekly look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news.  On today’s episode: Influencers for ICE [https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/12/31/ice-wartime-recruitment-push/], China’s tremendous trade surplus, and America heads back to the moon.  Related episodes:  We resolve to watch these 2026 indicators  [https://www.npr.org/2026/01/02/nx-s1-5662709/we-resolve-to-watch-these-2026-indicators] China's trade war perspective [https://www.npr.org/2025/04/22/1246322286/chinas-trade-war-perspective]  Who owns the moon? [https://www.npr.org/2021/08/18/1029084078/who-owns-the-moon] 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 Vito Emanuel. 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]