Obsession, the most fun job in China, and a new green card policy

The fired labor economist who couldn't get unemployment

A top labor economist encounters the endlessly frustrating labyrinth of filing for unemployment after getting fired by President Trump. Why are unemployment benefits so hard to get, and can we do anything to fix the system?  Fact checking by Sierra Juarez [https://www.npr.org/people/1268825622/sierra-juarez]. Your Next Listen  — What you need to know about the job report revisions [http://lnk.to/inBkiL]  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]

Who should new grads boo more? AI or remote work?

Is AI really to blame [https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=6787638] for young people finding it hard to land first jobs [https://libertystreeteconomics.newyorkfed.org/2026/06/remote-work-leaves-younger-workers-sidelined/]? Is Black unemployment a leading indicator for the rest of the economy? Here’s what the hosts of our Ambies award-winning business podcast think you should take away from the May jobs report. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez [https://www.npr.org/people/1268825622/sierra-juarez] and Vito Emanuel [https://www.npr.org/people/nx-s1-63544/vito-emanuel].  Your Next Listen  — Which jobs are future-proofed? [https://lnk.to/NS9YKY]  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]

Equinomics, bag fees, and leftover campaign dollars

Our listeners have QUESTIONS about the economy. And we have answers. Today on the show, we look at why horse breeding might be slowing down, why airlines charge baggage fees, and where campaign cash actually goes. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez [https://www.npr.org/people/1268825622/sierra-juarez].  Your Next Listen  — Can the yield curve still predict recessions? [https://lnk.to/5aUzF0NI] 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]

Can the internet be reclaimed from Big Tech?

Why one former senior advisor of the FTC thinks a libertarian myth of the internet [https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/833829/reclaiming-the-internet-by-olivier-sylvain/] has given Big Tech too much power. Fact checking by Vito Emanuel. Your Next Listen  — Why infinite scroll's inventor wants to kill his creation [https://lnk.to/XjpHn6WE] 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]

Why boardinghouses could make a comeback

There is a burgeoning effort across the U.S. to revive boardinghouses, aka single room occupancy units or SROs, as a solution to the housing crisis. But what happened to them in the first place? We track the disappearance of the first rung of the housing ladder. Fact-checking by Vito Emanuel.  Your Next Listen  — How to build abundantly [http://lnk.to/HevSSF] 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]