Venezuela started 2019 with rolling blackouts, hyperinflation, and crippling food shortages. Things have actually gotten a little better, mostly thanks to the economic innovations of everyday people.

The U.S. and China signed a trade deal yesterday - one where China has pledged to buy $200 billion worth of U.S. goods over the next two years. Seems like a big win for the U.S., but is it?

In October 2019, Americans received a record number of robocalls: 5.7 billion. We talked to Los Angeles Times columnist David Lazarus about these pesky calls and how we can avoid them.

Over half of sales on Amazon are from third-party sellers, some of whom are selling counterfeit goods. Faulty car seats are threatening children's safety, but is Amazon being held liable?

How lobbyists' campaigns for exclusions to the trade war have skewed incentives and disadvantaged small businesses.

Two reasons to blow the airhorn today: it's Jobs Friday, and The Indicator's 500th episode!

Predictions can be a fool's errand. Instead, we take a look at economic trends that we're planning to keep an eye on this year.

Thirsty for yield, and eager for tax breaks, investors are falling over themselves to buy municipal bonds. That could be a problem if the economy turns sour.

A home is the largest purchase most Americans will ever make. Why single women are losing out in both buying and selling compared to their male counterparts.

Since 2000, the Pantone Color Institute has announced a "color of the year." This year's color: Classic Blue.

After a catastrophic accident, you may be rushed to the hospital in an air ambulance. It could save your life, but there's no way to predict how much it will cost.

How a simple financial innovation turned a parking garage in Kuwait into one of the most important markets in the world... and how it all came crashing down.

We continue our series on financial bubbles with the British bicycle mania of the 1890s and the trail of bankrupt companies it left behind.

What lessons should we learn from one of the earliest documented financial crises in history?

Economist Jared Bernstein thinks it's about time we admit that the unemployment rate is not as useful as it used to be. He offers three alternative indicators.

The most common jobs for men and the most common jobs for women tend to be different — and this separation has big effects for everyone.

The share of people aged 25 to 54 in the labor force has fallen in the past couple of decades. What happened?

The 1937 union agreement between General Motors and the United Auto Workers union ushered in a period of tremendous worker prosperity and union strength. But today, labor is nowhere near a powerful as it used to be. What happened?

Stacey busts out the funometer and casts judgment on Cardiff's facts.

Cardiff said the best gift he could imagine getting was a junk bond... so we thought, "Can we actually buy one of those? Also, what exactly is a junk bond?"

Economics is an academic field notorious for its lack of diversity. This is especially true for black female economists. Why are they being left out?

"It's the most wonderful time of the year. But for consumers, it's also the most dangerous." David Lazarus of the Los Angeles Times discusses some of the major scams that arise during the holidays.

When economists see holiday gifts, they see waste: sweaters that never get worn; books that never get read. Many recommend cash or no gift at all. Economist Tim Harford may have a compromise.

The Trump administration announced it would hit the brakes on a new set of tariffs that were set to go into effect on Dec. 15. Could it be the start of a détente in the ongoing trade war?

The 2010s have been a rich decade for economic megatrends. But some trends haven't gotten the attention they deserve.

Mary Rieckmann and her husband run a small dairy in rural Wisconsin. But a perfect storm of factors has plunged farmers like her into crippling debt.

It's been a tough year for small farmers hit by trade wars and extreme weather. And as Time's Alana Semuels reports, this latest trouble is just part of a decades-long decline in small-scale farming.

When the rich stop buying luxury condos, sale prices drop for everyone. But rents are a different story.

It's time for our favorite Friday of every month: Jobs Friday! This week, we look at job switching and what it reflects about the tightening labor market.

Nike, the country's largest sporting brand, is pulling its products off of Amazon. What spurred this decision, and will other companies follow suit?

Today, the show takes a distinctly positive stance in making the case for being optimistic about the economy in 2020. Five reasons why you should, plus kittens and rainbows.

Manhattan is known for being a grid. But 200 years ago, it was a hilly, bucolic wilderness. The transformation all started with a secret map. And the reason was all about economics.

Back in the early 1800s, Manhattan was a wild, sparsely populated place, but it was just about to be developed big-time. There was a lot of money to be made knowing what would go where.

Economist Claudia Sahm explains the eponymous Sahm Rule, and how changes in the unemployment rate point to whether or not we are in a recession.

Niche food products at grocery stores have been getting more and more popular. But, what took so long?

Next week, a new product will hit store shelves. It's been in development for 20 years and cost millions of dollars to bring to market. It's a new kind of apple. And the stakes are high.

After years of teasing, deliberating and negotiating, oil behemoth Saudi Aramco finally looks poised to go public. But the IPO is shaping up to be a lot more modest than the original plan.

What will Thanksgiving dinner cost you this year? Also, Cardiff brings back the debate on which is better, pumpkin or pecan pie.

In our second spotlight episode on Lancaster County, we look into what Lancaster's success can tell us about the relationship between refugees and the local economy.

The profit margin for groceries is razor thin. To stay competitive against increasingly large competitors like Amazon Prime, retailers are turning to a new service: curbside pickup.

The economy is one of the most important factors in how people vote. But its influence has been changing and it has everything to do with politics.

Cardiff surprises Stacey with three feel-good facts about the economy, and she decides whether or not those facts are awesome.

Esther Duflo and Abhijit Banerjee talk about their work and what happens when you win a Nobel Prize.

Did President Trump's trade policies cost Republican votes last year? We talk to economist Chad Bown to find out.

Sixty years ago, a food scare nearly crushed the cranberry business. Cranberries have bounced back since then, but the industry is facing new threats.

Netflix, HBO, Amazon, Hulu, Disney, NBC, they're all at war for your eyeballs. Today on the show, the streaming wars. Who the major players are, what's at stake and what it will mean for you.

A heavily rural county with a big manufacturing base and a low share of college graduates has found a way to thrive.

It's no secret that every online platform you use is keeping track of your information. But what if this data is being used to give you a 'score' as a customer?

The leather manufacturing industry was once a backbone of the American economy. Now the industry is in decline, and the trade war isn't helping.

Last year, the Education Department reported that U.S. universities received over $1.3 billion dollars in the form of gifts and contracts. Most of this money came from China.

A new working paper suggests that children of poor immigrants have higher rates of upward economic mobility than children of poor US-born parents. What factors are at play?

In this week's edition of jobs friday, we look into why 72% of unemployed people do not have unemployment insurance.

In our second episode on scary stories on the economy we ask Tim Harford and Jared Bernstein what keeps them up at night. Also, has anxiety about the economy spooked off the Halloween spirit?

PG&E announced it was shutting off power to thousands of Californians to lessen the risk of wildfire. This is costing residents and businesses dearly and PG&E says it will likely be the new normal.

We invite Tyler Cowen once again to play another round of overrated/underrated.

A lot of the stuff we buy comes via ship, using a particularly dirty kind of fuel. Now the shipping industry wants to change.

WeWork has had a rough few weeks — its CEO was fired, it's lost billions of dollars and it's laying off thousands of workers. What happened? And what does that mean for the business of co-working?

Economist Jared Bernstein thinks it's about time we admit that the unemployment rate is not as useful as it used to be. He offers three alternative indicators.

We ask economists what scares them about the US economy right now.

Our housing options matter not just for how much money we spend, but also in other ways that have a lasting impact on our quality of life.

Tomorrow the UK Parliament will vote on Brexit... again. Today, we take a look at what's happening, why Brexit is taking so long and what's at stake.

2019 has been a very dramatic year for the IPO market. From Uber to Pinterest to WeWork--the headlines just kept coming. We celebrate it all with the first Annual IPO Awards!

There are so many conflicting indicators about the economy's health, it's difficult to know where we're headed. We present the Jekyll and Hyde economy.

Nobel Laureate Robert Shiller talks about his new book, which looks at how narratives drive economic change and may help economists more accurately forecast recessions.

We talk to newly-minted Nobel Prize winner Michael Kremer about using economics to solve real-world problems and what it's like to receive his field's highest honor.

Lots of people have been freaking out over the repo market... but what IS the repo market?

The global economy used to have a simple rule: the US leads, everybody else follows. Things have changed.

Climate activists have long used political and social pressures to decrease the use of fossil fuels and preserve forests... but now many are following the money to try and affect change.

We're seeing a lot of firsts in this economy. Some good, some not so good, some surprising.

Forever 21's bankruptcy filing highlights the flaws in fast fashion.

On the first Friday of every month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases a jobs report which includes the number of new jobs added to the U.S. economy. But how is that number calculated?

The tourism explosion in Iceland helped the tiny island recover from the 2008 financial crisis, but did the tourism industry grow too big, too fast?

A budget airline, WOW Air, helped fly the tiny island nation of Iceland out of a financial crisis — but then it all came crashing down.

We play Overrated, Underrated with Jill Schlesinger, CBS business analyst and author of The Dumb Things Smart People Do With Their Money.

Another quarter ends today, but the news is nuts right now, so we take a step back and guide you through the big themes we'll be looking at in the fourth quarter of the year.

In an attempt to stem the tide of gun violence, a group of religious organizations turned to an unlikely place: the markets.

Probiotics are increasingly popular — flying off of the shelves, even being stolen from pharmacies. But the jury's still out on their safety and efficacy. So, how did they get on store shelves?

Data shows that many of the popular assumptions about millennials are dead wrong.

A gesture which is given out freely to victims of big, catastrophic events are thoughts and prayers. But what if you could assign a monetary value to this gesture?

We stumble on interesting nuggets of economic information all the time. Here are some of our recent favorites.

Do hedge funds and private equity firms charge too much money to their investors — including, potentially, your pension fund?

Edith Penrose transformed our understanding of how businesses grow, and also lived a remarkable life full of adventure, intrigue, and tragedy.

Urgent care centers look a lot like emergency rooms. But they're a lot cheaper, both for patients and operators.

Brands are struggling to strike a balance between the real and digital worlds.

What the attacks on Saudi Arabia's oil production facilities could mean for the global oil industry.

Chinese consumers not only account for a growing share of high-end luxury goods purchases; they're transforming the way the market works.

White Claw could be the hottest alcoholic beverage of the summer of 2019. You can thank tax policy for (some of) that.

Bonds issued by Chinese governments more than a century ago could come back to haunt the People's Republic of China.

When new sports are added to the Olympics — like surfing and sports climbing — they see a bump in the year following the games. But, what happens after that?

NPR politics correspondent Danielle Kurtzleben answers your questions about student loans, taxes and tariffs.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics has some predictions about the future of the US labor market.

Amazon is opening new stores — in the real world. And in true Big Tech fashion the experience is meant to emphasize convenience. All you need to do is walk in, grab your stuff, and go.

Proponents of Medicare for All argue it'll give all Americans health insurance and cost less. But even supporters admit it could mean job losses in the short term.

The costs of education and healthcare have climbed faster than other prices throughout the economy — for decades. An under-appreciated economic theory explains why.

There's a trend emerging in the finance world: Billionaire financiers are increasingly — if belatedly? — acknowledging inequality in America.

America doesn't produce much in the way of rare earths. As the trade war with China intensifies, that's becoming a problem.

Policy can take a back seat to politics in the run-up to elections. But that's no excuse for not watching to see what effects policy can have on an economy.

Not all goods are created equal: some are exempt from tariffs.

The 2020 election cycle is almost in full swing. People can barely go a day without seeing an ad from candidates asking for money. But does more money really mean more votes?

Our inbox is pretty much always filled with great questions about business, the economy and how the markets behave. Today, we answer three questions specific to the financial world.

Music festivals like Coachella and Lollapalooza have gotten a lot more expensive, and the reasons behind that increase can tell us a lot about how the economy is changing.

Our inbox is chock full of listener questions about whether there's a recession coming, and what we should do about it. Today, we answer.

China is the world's biggest rice producer. So why did China agree to buy two shipping containers of rice from the U.S.?

President Trump has kept his protectionist promises, but his scorched earth approach to dealmaking could have damaged global trading relationships for good.

Women pay more than men for many consumer products. Why some economists say that's a good thing.

Most states in the U.S. have a sales tax on menstrual products. Some states have repealed this so-called Tampon Tax, on the grounds that it's unfair to women. But the repeals come at a cost.

Women invest far less of their paychecks than men do. Sallie Krawcheck spent her career on Wall Street and she says this is a problem we need to solve.

When it came to the female labor force participation rate, America used to lead the world. But we've fallen behind. Today on the show: What happened?

A report from Glassdoor reveals which industries have the starkest gender pay gaps.

Short sellers are investors who bet against companies. They're the detectives of the stock market, unearthing flaws and making markets more efficient, though they also attract controversy.

Sporting event attendance is down. So teams are trying out creative, new ways to win back fans.

Graduate students are increasingly shouldering the country's student debt.

Listener questions! How the U.S.-China trade war has escalated, including a move by China to devalue its currency. Plus the history of pepperoni on pizza.

The stars of the new Fast & Furious movie will go to extraordinary lengths to protect their "tough guy" brands, even going so far as to negotiate to make sure their characters never lose a fight.

Happy Jobs Friday! The U.S. economy created 164,000 jobs in July, and the unemployment rate remained unchanged. But to send you into your weekend with more pep, we answer some listener questions.

Some presidential candidates have supported a policy — known as co-determination — that would see workers represented on corporate boards. We talked to one worker who already has a seat at the table.

The board of directors for most U.S. companies is made up of shareholders--not workers. A corporate system called co-determination aims to put employees at the table where big decisions are made.

The economy's looking pretty good. So, do we really need a rate cut right now? Stacey and Cardiff duke it out.

The Federal Reserve is set to cut interest rates this week. We also just passed the half-year mark. Two good reasons to check in on the health of the U.S. economy.

A growing workforce of high-tech specialists is luring American companies to Tijuana

The trade war between the U.S. and China started a little over a year ago, but the oft-predicted economic storm is yet to break.

An economic principle that has guided the Federal Reserve for decades is increasingly being questioned.

Investors will soon be able to bet on black rhinos. A conservation group is rolling out a 5 year, 50 million dollar rhino bond to help save the species.

Jared Bernstein has a shortlist of economic ideas that he thinks his colleagues have been getting wrong for decades.

Introducing a new series: Finance Fridays With Mary!

The price of gold is at a six-year high and gold bugs say it's the safest place to put your money in uncertain times. But is it actually a good investment?

The yield curve is inverted! We answer a few questions we have gotten from our listeners about our beloved recession predicting indicator.

About 44 million people owe nearly 1.5 trillion dollars in student loans all together. But for some people — like our producer Darius Rafieyan — paying them requires some mental adjustments.

GIPHY makes those viral mini-videos that people use to color their texts and emails. They're super popular, but they're free. So how does GIPHY plan to make money?

The computers that mine Bitcoin use a lot of electricity. That's created some unique arbitrage opportunities in different parts of the world. And causing governments some concern.

Japan's worker shortage has gotten so bad it's forced some companies to declare bankruptcy. The solution? Telling workers to work less.

One of the biggest international banks--Deutsche Bank--is laying off 18,000 workers and cutting costs to try and save itself from going under. How did things get so bad?

Last week's California quakes have reinforced fears of "the big one", the high-magnitude trembler that seismologists say is inevitable. How ready is the city of Los Angeles?

The monthly pace of jobs growth has slowed this year. But that's not necessarily a problem.

A look at the assets and liabilities of the American colonies on the eve of revolution.

The U.S. is a big place, nearly 1.9 billion acres. On today's Indicator, we look at how all that land is divvied up.

Today we answer listener questions: why is so much consumption necessary for a healthy economy (or as our listener put it — why do we have to buy so much crap for the economy to be healthy?). Plus, what are some good economic resources for teenagers?

One of the largest companies in the world, Amazon, just shuttered its food delivery service, Amazon Restaurants. But Amazon's fails are a bit different.

What it means that the U.S. is now the biggest consumer and producer of crude oil in the world.

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West got a lot of blowback for using private firefighters to protect their California home from a wildfire. Today on The Indicator, the business of private firefighting.

Basketball, football and baseball may draw big crowds and score primetime television spots, but niche sports, like cornhole, axe throwing and even professional arm wrestling, are beginning to attract interest and money.

If you're considering a popular uprising against a government, it turns out there may be a recipe that can almost guarantee your success.

Traditionally, noncompete clauses have been reserved for whiter collar professionals. But as the labor market tightens, employers increasingly want blue-collar workers to adhere to these agreements too.

The U.S. women's soccer team is way more successful than the men's. Yet they say they get paid less than half, on average, compared to the men's team.

Shares in the online chat service Slack hit the stock market today. But Slack went public in an unconventional way.

This week Facebook announced plans for its own cryptocurrency, the Libra. Regulators are cautious, and no one really knows how it will work. But Wall Street is excited.

Japan is still recovering from a brutal recession that lasted ten years. The country has tried a variety of fiscal and monetary measures to bring its economy back.

The U.S is about to mark the longest economic expansion in its history. It's an impressive achievement, but in many ways the economy is still struggling.

People hear the word 'economics' and probably think: numbers, equations, and percentages. But hidden underneath the math, is a force that can't be quantified.

The mayor of Huntington Beach says he wants less housing development in his city. The governor of California says that's against the law.

New rules governing water use in California have sparked innovation in agribusiness, including a brand new market for water.

Today we answer listener questions: How does U.S. gross domestic product break down into different industries, and how do meat alternatives compare to the real thing?

The introduction of the three-point line changed how people play basketball. And it has some compelling parallels to economics.

Happy Jobs Friday! The labor market is showing signs of slowing down. The unemployment rate is still low at 3.6 percent, but only 75,000 jobs were added in the month of May — a lot fewer than what economists expected.

Office temperature can affect more than comfort; a recent study shows it has serious implications for productivity. We talked to one economist who quantified the effects of temperature on men and women.

The deadliest wildfire in California's history destroyed thousands of homes in Butte County. The area is still an active disaster zone. But insurance companies are making residents move back.

Co-working spaces might just be the future of work. Take WeWork. It's been cropping up in cities all over the world--borrowing billions to fuel its growth. Now, it's planning to go public.

The trade war between the U.S. and China is challenging a long-standing assumption about globalization — that economic ties between countries would deepen with minimal political interference.

President Trump has threatened to impose new tariffs on Mexico unless the country stops the flow of migrants entering the U.S. But, Mexico is one of the biggest trade partner the U.S. has.

Economist Jared Bernstein recently survived a brain hemorrhage. The experience got him thinking about some of the economics in our healthcare system.

Economics is all about scarcity — and time is a scarce resource. We talk to economist Daniel Hamermesh, whose new book Spending Time examines time's complicated relationship to money, stress, and gender.

President Trump announced an aid package for farmers yesterday worth $16 billion. It's meant to offset losses from the trade war with China. We spoke to one U.S. farmer about how helpful it will be.

Canada and the U.S. have come to an agreement on trade, and lifted their punitive tariffs on each other's goods. But some small businesses are still feeling the pain.

Surfing and financial markets have a lot in common when it comes to taking and managing risk.

Norway is regarded as one of the most progressive nations in the world when it comes to encouraging female participation in the workforce. Yet the country still has relatively few female business leaders.

We have five economic indicators to help you understand the world of Game of Thrones.

Home ownership used to be a central pillar of the American Dream. Today, maybe not so much.

Many states and cities have their own minimum wages, which are higher than the federal minimum of $7.25 per hour. One economist calculated a single measure that accounts for all those differences.

The market for animal smuggling is relatively new. But it's gotten really big, really fast.

Around one in seven people do not have any official ID, according to the World Bank.

Budget deficits used to be seen as a bad thing. Today, not so much...and some economists even say they don't really matter. What changed?

The comedian and former Daily Show correspondent takes on complex social issues in his HBO show, Problem Areas. He discusses his approach to melding comedy with social commentary.

China is so big and growing so fast that many people say it will inevitably become a bigger economy than the U.S. in every way. But there are several good reasons for skepticism.

Plastic bags are no boon to the environment — but banning them might be worse.

Subway has more restaurants in the U.S. than any other fast food company. It did spectacularly well during the recession thanks, in part, to it's famous $5 footlong deal. But that deal has come back to haunt it.

Women have long been an untapped economic resource in Japan. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe decided to change that. Six years after he launched "womenomics," is it working?

Part-time workers make less per hour than full-time workers do. That has big implications for women and mothers.

The Tony nominations were announced this week and that got us thinking...how does the business of Broadway work?

Right now the economy looks good, but inflation is lower than the Federal Reserve would like. A future rate cut could juice prices, but the messaging has to be right.

The pay-to-play way your supermarket's shelves work.

A report from Glassdoor reveals which industries have the starkest gender pay gaps.

Superman could easily take over the world. But there are some good economic reasons why he doesn't.

On eBay right now: A baby T-Rex. The price? $2.95 million.

The first few months of 2019 looked troubling. But now we seem to be on the upswing.

The share of people ages 25 to 54 in the labor force has fallen in the past couple of decades. What happened? Listen to an excerpt from our live event with the Financial Times Alphachat.

New York will soon charge drivers to enter the most crowded parts of the city. Congestion pricing: Does it work? Who's doing it? And is it coming to a city near you?

Taxes have been around forever. But the income tax? In the U.S., it's relatively recent.

There's a gap in career earnings between introverts and extroverts.

The story behind the first six keyboard letters are driven by economics.

The cost of a measles outbreak - to individuals, families, communities, and the country - is high.

Free trade may solve problems for businesses transacting across borders, but it can make life painful for their workers.

Trade makes for peaceful relationships between nations, but gains for consumers and workers aren't spread evenly.

Prices for most agricultural products change with supply and demand. Not maple syrup.

A new round of U.S. tariffs could hit European wine, cheese, aircraft, and escargots.

The U.S. is one of the world's largest economies, but it lags when it comes to happiness: the World Happiness Report ranks America number 19.

Happy Jobs Friday! The economy is still adding jobs, unemployment remains low, and wage growth is fine. It's all good...right?

A recent paper examines the motivations behind Xi Jinping's corruption crackdown and arrives at a surprising answer.

Global demand for hazelnuts is growing, thanks to the popularity of products like Nutella. So it should be a great time to be in the hazelnut business... but there's one big problem.

Allison Schrager is an economist and journalist who visited a number of brothels to examine how we understand and deal with risk.

The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index is one of the indicators retailers, policy-makers and manufacturers use to gauge the health of the economy. But what is the index, exactly?

On the one hand, you could say the economy's looking rocky; on the other hand you could argue it's in good health. We lay out both sides.

Today, answers to your questions on dry cleaner pricing, and the comparative investment virtues of the housing and stock markets.

Gabriela Saade is a 27-year-old economist in Caracas, Venezuela. Yesterday, she walked us through Venezuela's staggering numbers. Today, we walk a mile in her shoes.

The crisis in Venezuela continues to deepen, with nationwide blackouts hitting the country again this week. Today, we talk to a Caracas-based economist about what's happening in her country.

Spotify recently launched in India, but that path was long and complicated. We take the experience of Spotify and use it as a lens to look at why breaking into India is so difficult.

The latest edition of "Overrated, Underrated" with economist Tyler Cowen.

All shares of stock are not created equal. Stock can come in different classes now: Class A, Class B. Some of this stock comes with superpowers... and some of it comes with almost no power at all.

Venezuelans are starving because there isn't enough food. But the country has so much fertile land, water, and sunshine — shouldn't it be a farmer's paradise?

Your average cup of coffee is getting more expensive — but the price for coffee beans is going down. How can that be?

Should you take out a student loan? Jill Schlesinger, author of "The Dumb Things Smart People Do With Their Money," does the math.

The scandal that dominated the news this week involved parents paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to get their kids into the right college. But what is a college degree really worth?

A lot of money is pouring into the global diamond industry, but demand for diamonds has been less than lustrous of late. But, at the same time, money has been pouring into the industry. Why? We have on our hands – a four carat mystery.

Economics looks at how we make decisions in a world of scarce resources. What happens when the scarce resource is our attention?

Dollar stores thrived during the economic downturn--opening thousands of locations across the country. They were recession-proof...but are they recovery-proof?

Leaving the EU is unprecedented, but leaving a large trading bloc is not.

The most common jobs for men and the most common jobs for women tend to be different — and this separation has big effects for everyone.

Technology is bringing us closer together, but it's also making the world a more unequal place.

Most states in the U.S. have a sales tax on menstrual products. Some states have repealed this so-called Tampon Tax, on the grounds that it's unfair to women. But the repeals come at a cost.

Trade negotiators from China and the U.S. seem to be closing in on a deal. But it's not clear what the terms will be.

Five things that a lot of people get wrong about the world's second largest economy - and what robots and zombies have to do with it.

"Neoliberalism" has become a loaded term.

Tomorrow is the day the U.S. hits its debt limit. What happens if Congress doesn't raise the debt ceiling?

Americans have more consumer debt, and they're also in better financial health. How can that be?

Both video games and television have radically improved in the past two decades. Have they also changed the way Americans spend their time?

Earlier this month, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced payday regulations would be delayed. We look at the business of payday loans, and what it's like to get into a debt cycle with payday lenders.

Sadie Alexander was the first African-American to earn a PhD in economics. We think her contributions deserve another look.

Personal finance specialist, author and former trader Jill Schlesinger explains market timing--that is, trying to figure out when to buy and sell stock--and why it's a fool's errand.

Tipping is ingrained in America's retail culture. And there's not much we can do to stop that.

Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman told us last year that Super Bowl weekend is one of the most accurate indicators of the health of the housing market for the year ahead. Well, the Patriots won - what happened with housing?

President Trump asked Congress for funds to build an extension of the wall on the border with Mexico. Congress refused, so Trump declared a national emergency. But what does that mean?

Today we answer listener questions about age discrimination; how work hours are counted; and whether the economy is running out of people to take jobs.

The 1937 union agreement between GM and the United Auto Workers union ushered in a period of strength for organized labor. Today, labor is nowhere near as powerful as it used to be. What happened?

An Instagram celebrity and a video game company are battling over who gets to own a dance move once it goes viral.

Economist Lisa Cook examined how race riots, lynchings, and segregation at the turn of the 20th century reduced the number of patents filed by African-Americans.

Small towns in rural areas across America are seeing a regeneration to advance technology, jobs and economic prospects.

The dedicated officers of the epidemic intelligence service are foot soldiers in a relentless battle against infectious disease.

India's government has proposed a plan to pay some of the country's poorest farmers a guaranteed income. What would this mean for the country's economy?

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says inflation isn't a problem right now, and that the short term interest rate, at 2.5 percent, is right where it should be.

Parts of America are in the grip of a cold snap. Others are being drenched by rain. How do we measure the cost of extreme weather conditions? We called a scientist to find out. It turns out storms are getting more and more expensive.

Jobs: Is the economy creating enough of them? Are they paying more than they used to? Do people have the jobs they want? All this and more.

How the once fairly-stable business of public utilities is changing.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated the economic impact of the longest shutdown in history.

How the invention of the government bond saved a bunch of mid-level politicians from certain death and became one of the most important pieces of financial technology the world has ever seen.

The annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland is supposedly an unabashed celebration of globalization. Not this year.

The shutdown is over... for now. Today on the Indicator, we talk to one of the 800,000 formerly-furloughed federal employees about his experience of the shutdown.

An economics experiment that streamlines the application and financial aid process for low-income students.

How the trade war with China is playing out on one peanut farm in Georgia.

The number of hunters in the U.S. is falling, which is bad news for wildlife conservation.

We armed The Indicator's producers with your questions, and they unleashed them on a roomful of economists at the annual meeting of the American Economic Association.

John Clifton "Jack" Bogle, founder of the Vanguard Group, passed away yesterday at the age of 89. Today we look back at his life and career.

Interest rates are higher, global growth is slowing, and the government is at an impasse. But there are also reasons for near-term optimism about the U.S. economy.

When it came to the female labor force participation rate, America used to lead the world. But we've fallen behind. Today on the show: what happened?

Which economic indicators do we pay too much attention to? Not enough? It's Overrated/Underrated: Economic Indicator edition

The U.S. partial government shutdown is on track to be the longest in history. Whatever its political consequences, the economic costs to the private sector will increase the longer it lasts.

Today on The Indicator: an update on the trade spat between China and the U.S.

Some signals on the economic dashboard are warning we could be heading for a downturn within a couple of years. Are we ready to fight off a recession?

2018 was one of the most volatile stock market years on record. And the market continues volatile today. But that's not necessarily a bad thing.

The Fed chair and his two predecessors speak at a big conference about Friday's stellar jobs report, and why, despite what the Phillips Curve might predict, they're not too worried about inflation

The miniseries Stockholm tells the story of a group of friends, one of whom is a frontrunner for the Nobel Prize in economics. But there's a problem: he's dead.

Shows developed by Aaron Sorkin included a lot of economics. We look at free trade in The West Wing, and Glass-Steagall in The Newsroom.

In Tom Clancy's Jack Ryan, the lead character is an economist in the CIA, tracking down terrorists by following their money.

Explaining the game theory in the plot of the movie Crazy Rich Asians.

The #MeToo movement transformed the experience of women in the workplace. The strong job market helped some women feel secure enough to come forward... but for others, it still doesn't feel safe to speak up.

The opioid problem has reached into all parts of American life, including the workplace. But the workplace could be key in addressing the problem.

2018 was a rough year for the housing market. We take a look at what happened.

Applications for H-1B work visas fell 16 percent in 2018 from 2017. Does that mean the U.S. could lose its edge in attracting global talent?

Our pals Josh Barro of New York Magazine and Jennifer Doleac from Texas A&M tell us what they're keeping an eye on in 2019.

What are the best indicators for 2019? Some of our best friends tell us what they'll be watching.

Depression severity, Australia's housing market and the minimum wage. You asked: here are some answers.

Cryptocurrency had a rough 2018. The big cryptos lost about 80% of their value. So what happened? Is crypto poised for a comeback or are we talking tulips?

We commemorate some of the darkest and funniest business and economic blackspots of the year.

President Donald Trump has made building a border wall between the U.S. and Mexico one of his signature issues. Today, the Indicator looks at the economics of a border wall.

There are so many mattress stores in the America, and they always seem to be empty. So how can they afford the real estate? And how do they stay in business?

The U.S. economy looks in fine shape — for now — but even a lot of Americans with jobs still struggle financially. Here are three Indicators to monitor economic insecurity in the U.S.

How one bike-sharing company used behavioral economics to solve one of its most vexing problems.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May's plan to exit the European Union has hit a wall. What happens now?

In honor of jobs day, we look at the jobs that used to be high-paying, that are now low-paying. What happened to these jobs? And what can it tell us about the U.S. economy?

For years after the Great Recession, the Federal Reserve kept short term interest rates near zero percent. It began raising rates in 2015 — but did it jump the gun.

What the yellow vest protests in Paris tell us about economic reform in France and the parallels with politics in the U.S.

When the yield curve inverts, people worry that it's a sign we're headed for recession. But its predictive reliability also depends on the way it inverts.

China and the U.S. have been locked in a trade war for most of 2018, but peace may be on the horizon.... at least a partial peace.

NASA has been taking a more hands-off approach to extra-planetary exploration. What will that mean for the economics of space?

From moon missions and space shuttles to public-private partnerships.

Sanctions have become an increasingly common foreign policy tool for the U.S. How effective are they?

Colleges and universities are finding creative ways to make money.

Marilyn Cohen talks bonds, rating agencies and the yield curve, in overrated, underrated.

The stock market has been on a wild ride lately. Today, the Indicator looks at what's going on and whether we should worry for the economy.

We talk turkey with the American Farm Bureau about changes in the price of Thanksgiving Dinner.

The minimum wage is a contentious issue. Some claim it's a job killer. But what does the research show?

Wondering whether we're poised to tip into a recession? The jobs market may point the way.

Are we heading into a recession? The Conference Board's Leading Indicator has ten ways to tell.

Australia hasn't had a recession in 27 years. Good policy? Or just good luck?

The decline in the oil price since the end of October has been stunning in its depth and speed, and follows more than a year of climbing. What changed?

Women pay more than men for many consumer products. Today on the show: Why some economists still think that's a good thing.

The next global economic downturn could be even harder to reverse than the last one.

The 401(k) retirement plan turned 40 this week! Today on the show, we chronicle the rise of the 401(k), the fall of the pension, and talk to the man who started it all.

How one bank gave a whole new meaning to the term "mobile banking"

You may not know it, but companies are silently scoring you... and using that score to figure out how to treat you.

We answer questions from our listeners and issue a couple of mea culpas.