The Indicator

About the show

The economy, one number at a time.

Ten minutes or less. Every weekday. From the people who make Planet Money.

01 The show

An indicator is a number that tells you something bigger is going on. The unemployment rate. The price of a dozen eggs. How many years since sports betting became legal. Every weekday, The Indicator picks one and works out what it means.

It comes from the people who make Planet Money, NPR’s show about the economy. Same curiosity, smaller package: one number, one story, ten minutes or less, Monday to Friday.

No economics degree required. If you can read a price tag, you can follow along. The jargon gets translated, the math gets shown, and the guests are the people who actually did the thing.

It is made for the commute, the dog walk, and the ten minutes before a meeting starts. For the curious. For people who read the business page and want the part that did not fit. For anyone who wants a quick, smart hit of money, work and business without the homework.

02 How an episode works

Roughly. Every episode is different, but the clock tends to run like this.

  1. 00:00 The number. One figure, said out loud before anything else. That is the indicator.
  2. ~01:00 Why it matters. What the number is measuring, and why anyone outside a central bank should care.
  3. ~03:00 The story. A person, a market, a policy, an argument. Usually with someone who was actually there.
  4. ~08:00 What it means for you. Rent, wages, groceries, your 401(k). The part you can use.
  5. ~09:30 Out. Credits, and one more thing to think about on the walk back.

03 The hosts

One number a day, three voices taking turns. They trade off, they argue on air, and they do the math so you do not have to.

  • Wailin Wong

    Wailin Wong

    Host

  • Adrian Ma

    Adrian Ma

    Host

  • Darian Woods

    Darian Woods

    Host

04 Credits

Full production credits are being confirmed with NPR.

05 The network

From Planet Money · NPR

The Indicator is made by NPR and comes from the Planet Money team. NPR keeps the official show page, the feed, transcripts and the newsletter; Planet Money is the longer, weekly show this one grew out of.