The Indicator from Planet Money

Three beefs: U.S. and Brazil, Taco Bell and liability, Waymo and trial lawyers

It’s Indicators of the Week!  Today on the show: Brazil’s fast payments system that’s got the Trump administration huffy, why Taco Bell might be liable for their role in cyclospora infections and why some lawyers are lobbying against driverless cars.  Fact checking by Emma Ferrara and Corey Bridges.  Your Next Listen  — Can I get my tariff money back now? [http://lnk.to/lL9Tc0] 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 Paramount "gift" its way past the FCC?

Paramount’s $111 billion merger with Warner Bros. Discovery has a few hurdles ahead of it. One of them is an FCC approval. But a recent investigation shows that Paramount and the FCC have a dubious relationship, one with potential conflicts of interest. Fact checking by Sierra Juarez [https://www.npr.org/people/1268825622/sierra-juarez]. Your Next Listen  — Why Paramount went looney tunes for Warner Bros. [http://lnk.to/Iot95V] 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]

Can Y’all Street outflank Wall Street?

Biz-friendly Texas is opening a stock exchange, built and based in the state. Can it become—or best—Wall Street? And how has politics influenced the birth of Y’all Street? Fact checking by Sierra Juarez [https://www.npr.org/people/1268825622/sierra-juarez]. Your Next Listen  — ESG bans cost Texas [https://lnk.to/rqApcEWE] 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]

Tale of Two Cities

The formerly sleepy economies of suburban Austin, Texas and Syracuse, NY are getting two new semiconductor chip plants. They’re bringing thousands of jobs and dollars to the area but while Austin’s housing market seems to be handling the change well, Syracuse is in the midst of an affordability crisis. On today’s show, why? Fact checking by Sierra Juarez [https://www.npr.org/people/1268825622/sierra-juarez].  Your Next Listen  — A solution to the housing shortage? [http://lnk.to/wVPNqR] 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 doesn't the US have better sunscreen?

Why has the Food and Drug Administration taken so long to approve new sunscreens? Unlike the rest of the world, the FDA only just approved its first new ingredient in nearly three decades. We learn about a proposal to speed up drug and sunscreen innovation, and a skincare influencer who lobbied for change.  Fact checking by Sierra Juarez [https://www.npr.org/people/1268825622/sierra-juarez].   Your Next Listen  — The sneaky way companies get new chemicals into our food [http://lnk.to/CjZZHm] 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]