The Indicator Archives - TPR: The Public's Radio

Trump supporters clash with police as they storm the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021.

NPR

Jan. 6ers already got pardoned. Will they get their money back too?

by Vito Emanuel April 28, 2026April 28, 2026

In 2025, President Trump pardoned more than 1,500 of the Jan.6 rioters who ransacked the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election. In addition to being convicted of crimes, many of the Jan. 6ers paid fines, the bulk of which went toward repairing the damage to the Capitol. After being pardoned, some of them want their money back. Today on the show, are they entitled to get those fines refunded?

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For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

On Monday, the U.S. Customs portal began accepting refund requests from businesses that paid President Trump's tariffs before the Supreme Court ruled them illegal.

NPR

How to get your tariff cash back

by Alina Selyukh April 23, 2026April 23, 2026

Businesses might finally see some tariff money refunded to them. That’s because this week, the federal government officially rolled out a process that allows businesses to apply for a refund.

Today on the show, we speak with three business owners about the unexpected simplicity and frustration of the Trump tariff refund process.

Come see Planet Money live on stage! 12 cities. Details and tix here: planetmoneybook.com/#tour

The Indicator has a weekly newsletter! Be among the first and sign-up now: npr.org/indicatornewsletter

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

A Kashmiri man scrolls through a social media post featuring Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on his phone in Srinagar on June 28, 2025.

NPR

Is anyone gonna do anything about these Iran War trades?

by Ricky Mulvey April 20, 2026April 20, 2026

Traders have made millions betting on the Iran War. They are also suspiciously timed. No public information, then boom: a Truth Social post from President Trump. Cue fat windfalls for the traders. It’s starting to look a lot like insider trading.

On today’s show, suspicious bets on the Iran War. And are federal regulators or prosecutors looking into these trades … is anyone?

Come see Planet Money live on stage! 12 cities. Details and tix here: planetmoneybook.com/#tour

Investor Bill Gurley's new book is "Runnin' Down a Dream" is about pursuing your career passions.

NPR

Can you really do what you love?

by Darian Woods April 13, 2026April 13, 2026

They say do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life. But c’mon. Is that possible in this day and age? On today’s show, we speak to a tech investor who tells us the ingredients he believes are needed to make passion pay. And we hear from an economist who’s run the numbers on luck.

Bill Gurley’s book is Runnin’ Down a Dream: How to Thrive in a Career You Actually Love.

Come see Planet Money live on stage! 12 cities. Details and tix here: planetmoneybook.com/#tour

Related episodes:
Teamwork actually does make the dream work
Why women make great bosses

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

As data centers pop around the U.S., locals wonder how it's affecting their electricity prices

NPR

Where AI data centers are reducing power bills

by Darian Woods April 9, 2026April 9, 2026

Over the last half decade, wholesale electricity prices have increased 267% in places close to data centers. That’s contributed to a backlash against new ones.

But some experts believe data centers are a scapegoat for long-term issues with an aging U.S. grid. Today on the show, we ask who is responsible for rising electricity prices and whether the U.S. can handle a new era of grid growth.

Come see Planet Money live on stage! 12 cities. Details and tix here: planetmoneybook.com/#tour

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., joined by Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks to members of the media on Oct. 7, 2025. The GOP leaders said Wednesday they have found a path forward to end the shutdown at the Department of Homeland Security.

NPR

Republicans in Congress say they have a deal to end the record-long shutdown at DHS

by Sam Gringlas April 1, 2026April 1, 2026

The plan would fund DHS, except for immigration enforcement, through September. Republicans would then try to fund the whole agency for three years using a tactic that would not need Democratic votes.

Cafeteria worker looks at watch over food for school lunches.

NPR

Do school lunches really need an overhaul?

by Julia Ritchey March 30, 2026March 30, 2026

School lunch has been revamped a ton over the last two decades. Now, the Trump administration wants to rejigger the menu once more to align with its Make America Healthy Again agenda. That means more meat. More dairy. But do schools really need another menu overhaul? And could they even afford it?

On today’s show, we join a school lunch line in South Carolina to find out what kids are actually eating.

Come see Planet Money live on stage in April! Twelve cities. Details and tix here: https://tix.to/pm-book-tour.

NPR

The US loses tech hires, sayonora to Sora, and Afroman’s win

by Darian Woods March 27, 2026March 27, 2026

It’s Indicators of the Week (now on YouTube!). It’s our weekly look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news.

On today’s episode: The US ain’t doing too hot in attracting European tech workers; OpenAI takes its video generator Sora behind the barn; and a rapper, pound cake, and the police.

Related episodes:
OpenAI’s deals are looking a little frothy
We’re about to lose a lot of foreign STEM workers
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Julia Ritchey and Vito Emanuel. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

A United Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9 airplane passes a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 while taking off from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX).

NPR

Your next flight doesn’t have to be so expensive. Here’s why

by Wailin Wong March 25, 2026March 25, 2026

Why are flight tickets so expensive right now? Increased oil prices seems like it’d be the obvious answer. That’s mostly right. Airlines used to do some financial magic to help keep airfare down as oil prices increased, a strategy called “fuel hedging.” But they stopped. And now fliers are on the hook for a lot of the difference.

On today’s show, the lost art of fuel hedging. How it worked, plus why airlines stopped doing it.

Come see Planet Money live on stage in April! 12 cities. Details and tix here: https://tix.to/pm-book-tour.

Listener Questions: Airline tickets, grocery pricing and the Fed
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

A man walks past a currency exchange office in Moscow on November 23, 2024.

NPR

Why hasn’t the Russian economy collapsed?

by Paddy Hirsch March 24, 2026March 24, 2026

How has Russia’s economy not completely collapsed after four years of war, sanctions and billions in debt? One economist says it is the war that has been propping up Russia’s economy, not the other way around. He calls it smertonomika or death economics.

On today’s show, six reasons why Russia’s economy is still chugging along despite burning money by the billions waging war on Ukraine.

Come see Planet Money live on stage in April! 12 cities. Details and tix here: https://tix.to/pm-book-tour.

The economic war against Russia, a year later
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.