How did we get a Nobel Prize in economics?
This year's Nobel Prize for Economics went to American economists Robert E. Hall and Michael Woodford! Their research focused on macroeconomic models and economic shocks.
Archive
Every episode
300 episodes Aug 14, 2025 – Oct 13, 2026
Every indicator we’ve published, newest first. Search by topic, filter by year, or scroll until something makes you say huh.
Find one
Page 1 of 13 Oct 13, 2026 – Sep 10, 2026
-
-
The echo of the bison (Encore)
Nearly 30 million bison once roamed North America, from modern Canada to Mexico. In the late 1800s, white settlers and the U.S.
-
SNAP strains, youth baseball's class divide, and Meta's bug bounty
This week our top indicators include changes to the funding model for SNAP, private equity’s influence on youth baseball and Meta’s attempt to find flaws in its brand new AI…
-
The chilling effect of ICE in hospitals
Federal immigration enforcement arrests reached record highs this past summer, and under the second Trump administration, immigration agents can now more easily access so-called…
-
One economist's answer to data center anxiety
Rising electricity prices are one of the primary reasons why data centers are a public enemy this election cycle. But is it realistic to expect energy prices to stay high forever?
-
Inside Norway's sovereign wealth fund dilemma to divest from Israel
Norway has the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, but it’s facing a self-imposed dilemma.
-
The proper etiquette of the Venmo nudge
How do you ask your friends to pay you back in a timely way? We’ve got an etiquette coach to help with that.
-
Can we make Social Security better for blue-collar workers?
Most workers can’t start collecting full Social Security benefits until age 67. But a new proposal from Michigan Congresswoman Haley Stevens would allow workers in “physically…
-
New college degrees designed to job-proof graduates
What do influencing, AI and health sciences have in common? They’re all degree programs colleges have launched in the last few years to attract students looking for a new career…
-
Is investing in sports worth it for universities?
Universities spend millions of dollars every year on their athletics programs. But does that investment pay off? Today, we interrogate the “Doug Flutie Effect.”
-
What does every business need but not every industry has?
What rhymes with "snakes" and helps the government classify economic activity? NAICS — or the North American Industry Classification System.
-
How the rich make money by losing money
Decades ago, rich Americans used to pay taxes as high as 40% on their investments. Nowadays, an obscure investment strategy is helping them slash that figure toward … 0%.
-
Unaffordability index: Rent, GLP-1s, Obamacare
This week’s indicators: Rent is squeezing middle-income earners, the Trump admin is squeezing ACA enrollees, and GLP-1s are squeezing employers.
-
What Doordash, Dell and Palantir all have in common
President Trump and his money managers made more stock trades since his second term started than all members of Congress combined.
-
Why are used cars priced like new cars?
The used car market is out of control and there doesn’t seem to be an easy fix for high prices. Today, three reasons why finding an affordable car is so difficult.
-
How will the US refill its dwindling oil reserves?
Whether it’s oil from Venezuela or somewhere else, the U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve needs to be refilled. The SPR is widely considered critical for energy security.
-
How Hemp-THC businesses are bracing for a near total ban
Follow us to Tennessee where hemp farmers are already pivoting in the face of a state ban and soon, a looming federal ban on basically all THC-derived hemp products.
-
OpenAI's waiting game, gas pump pain, and severe sulfur strain!
This week’s indicators: Tracking your pain at the gas pump in real-time; OpenAI’s IPO hard-launch tug-of-war; one unexpected ingredient is making fertilizer—and potentially your…
-
Strait talk: Why the oil crisis is getting worse
A vital artery for Saudi oil exports is under siege and it’s not the Strait of Hormuz. Today on the show, we explain what’s going on in the Bab el-Mandeb shipping lane connected to…
-
How the bond market is handling AI risks
Big tech companies are borrowing billions of dollars to finance the build-out of AI data centers, and your 401(k) might be helping to fuel that.
-
How much safer do Flock cameras make us?
Flock cameras promise to reduce crimes like car theft. But these automated license plate readers come with a trade-off: a wide-reaching surveillance network.
-
A beautiful bill, Mamdani's market, and stock subscriptions
It’s time for another Indicator Quiz! For today’s quiz, we’re testing the Indicator knowledge of a brilliant mathematician. Will we stump his theoretician brain?
-
Bessent's yen bet, cold Argentine data centers set, and the summer box office net
This week’s indicators: Is The U.S. Treasury Department futzing with financial markets?; Is Patagonia’s pretty picturesque setting … for data centers?; Was the summer box office…
-
Are small town colleges going extinct?
Our favorite entry on the regional economy from the latest Beige Book reveals a troubling development in higher education.
