The Indicator from Planet Money

Nvidia chips for China, frozen Russian funds, and a lot of self-checkout stealing

It’s … Indicators of the Week! Our weekly look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news.  On today’s episode: Nvidia chips OK’d for China, a sticky frozen Russian asset situation, and a lot of you seem to be stealing from self-checkout.  Related episodes: The tower of NVIDIA  [https://www.npr.org/2024/06/24/1197965414/how-nvidia-jensen-huang-fueled-ai]How to get Russia to pay Ukraine [https://www.npr.org/2024/03/07/1197962873/how-to-get-russia-to-pay-ukraine] Why the U.S. cut China off from advanced chips [https://www.npr.org/2022/10/19/1129990818/why-the-u-s-cut-china-off-from-advanced-chips] 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 Corey Bridges. 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 to make $35 trillion ... disappear

You may be familiar with the AI-fueled stock market boom. Well, former International Monetary Fund Chief Economist Gita Gopinath warns it could mirror the dot-com boom of the late 1990s. But worse. She calculates a similar crash could erase $35 trillion in global wealth [https://www.economist.com/by-invitation/2025/10/15/gita-gopinath-on-the-crash-that-could-torch-35trn-of-wealth]. Today on the show, what would that mean for the US and global economies?  Related episodes:  This indicator hasn’t flashed this red since the dot-com bubble [https://www.npr.org/2025/11/06/nx-s1-5600041/this-indicator-hasnt-flashed-this-red-since-the-dot-com-bubble]  Open AI’s deals are looking a little frothy [https://www.npr.org/2025/10/16/nx-s1-5575729/openais-deals-are-looking-a-little-frothy] 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]

Bitcoin miners are betting on AI over crypto

If you want to make Bitcoin, you need powerful computers and a lot of energy. Well, it turns out the same infrastructure needed for Bitcoin mining is pretty valuable in the era of AI. Today on the show, why some miners are starting to throw in the towel on crypto in favor of supporting AI infrastructure.  Related episodes:  Whose financing Meta’s massive AI Data Center? [https://www.npr.org/2025/11/25/nx-s1-5619276/whos-financing-metas-massive-ai-data-center] This indicator hasn’t flashed this red since the dot-com bubble [https://www.npr.org/2025/11/06/nx-s1-5600041/this-indicator-hasnt-flashed-this-red-since-the-dot-com-bubble] 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]

How a former Fed vice chair would approach rate cuts

Federal Reserve is meeting to make its interest rate decision after the government shutdown delayed key economic data. Today on the show, we talk to the former Vice Chair of the Fed, Lael Brainard, about what she would do with interest rates in this critical yet foggy economic moment. Related episodes:  A little doomsday feeling is weighing on the economy [https://www.npr.org/2025/12/04/nx-s1-5630924/a-little-doomsday-feeling-is-weighing-on-the-economy] Can ... we still trust the monthly jobs report? [https://www.npr.org/2025/03/07/1236538089/doge-gdp-bls-department-of-labor-jobs-report] 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]

Take a penny, leave a penny, get rid of the penny

In November, the U.S. stopped production of the humble penny after 232 years in circulation. On today’s show, a former U.S. Mint director shares the fiscal math that doomed the penny, and an artist pay tribute to this American icon.  View more of Robert Wechsler’s artwork here [https://robertwechsler.com/]. Related episodes:  What’s the deal with the platinum coin? [https://www.npr.org/2023/01/26/1151831868/whats-the-deal-with-the-platinum-coin]   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 Corey Bridges. 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]