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Jamilla Yipp
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Jamilla Yipp

Wailin Wong

Host, The Indicator from Planet Money

Wailin Wong is a long-time business and economics journalist who's reported from a Chilean mountaintop, an embalming fluid factory and lots of places in between. She is a host of The Indicator from Planet Money. Previously, she launched and co-hosted two branded podcasts for a software company and covered tech and startups for the Chicago Tribune. Wailin started her career as a correspondent for Dow Jones Newswires in Buenos Aires. In her spare time, she plays violin in one of the oldest community orchestras in the U.S.

Story Archive

Friday

AI models and Prince Harry
Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

AI models and Prince Harry

Indicators of the Week unpacks numbers from the news. This week, we delve into what President Trump's first AI announcement reveals about the economics of the industry, a Chinese company's answer to OpenAI, and the reason why Prince Harry may have settled with Rupert Murdoch's media empire.

AI models and Prince Harry

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Thursday

Why Trump's potential tariffs are making business owners anxious
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The Indicator from Planet Money

Why Trump's potential tariffs are making business owners anxious

A freshly re-inaugurated President Trump is reportedly considering making his first moves on tariffs: a 10% tariff on Chinese imports and a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico, both of which he says could start as early as next week.

Why Trump's potential tariffs are making business owners anxious

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Wednesday

Go ask ALICE about grocery prices
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The Indicator from Planet Money

Go ask ALICE about grocery prices

Grocery prices have gone up 27 percent since before the pandemic. And high prices are especially painful for lower income households, who have less wiggle room to adjust their spending. But their experience isn't always reflected in broad measures of inflation.

Go ask ALICE about grocery prices

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Tuesday

Add to cart: Greenland

Houses on Ilulissat, one of the main tourist destinations in Greenland Sean Gallup/Getty Images hide caption

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The Indicator from Planet Money

Add to cart: Greenland

President Donald Trump's proposal that the United States take "ownership" of Greenland has raised a lot of eyebrows. Can the U.S. just buy itself this big territory? Is that a thing? Turns out if you look at U.S. history, it's absolutely a thing.

Add to cart: Greenland

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Friday

Student loans, savings accounts, and goodbye to artificial red dye
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The Indicator from Planet Money

Student loans, savings accounts, and goodbye to artificial red dye

It's ... Indicators of the Week! Our weekly look at some of the most fascinating numbers from the news.

Student loans, savings accounts, and goodbye to artificial red dye

Listen · 9:27
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Thursday

Who's on the hook for California's uninsurable homes?
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The Indicator from Planet Money

Who's on the hook for California's uninsurable homes?

The Southern California wildfires are devastating large swathes of Los Angeles, destroying homes and businesses and displacing thousands. In the state's strained insurance system, homeowners who can't get fire coverage from traditional insurers are left with just one option—the FAIR Plan.

Who's on the hook for California's uninsurable homes?

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Tuesday

How batteries are riding the free market rodeo in Texas

Eolian's Chisholm Grid outside of downtown Fort Worth, TX Eolian Energy hide caption

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Eolian Energy

The Indicator from Planet Money

How batteries are riding the free market rodeo in Texas

If you want to build a grid-scale battery project in Texas, be prepared to ride the free-market rodeo. On our second episode of this week's battery series, we visit the state that has the second-most battery storage capacity to understand whether large-scale batteries can help prevent blackouts.

How batteries are riding the free market rodeo in Texas

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Friday

What's going on with men's labor force participation?

(Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images) Justin Sullivan/Getty Images hide caption

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The Indicator from Planet Money

What's going on with men's labor force participation?

It's the first Jobs Friday of the new year, and there's good news!

What's going on with men's labor force participation?

Listen · 9:01
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Wednesday

What's a moneyline bet anyway?
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The Indicator from Planet Money

What's a moneyline bet anyway?

The online financial website Investopedia compiles an annual list of the top ten financial terms that drew the most interest from their audience. The 2024 list covers familiar concepts like inflation and tariffs, as well as more niche terms like moneyline bets and stock splits. Today, we visit the highlights of 2024 in economic terms.

What's a moneyline bet anyway?

Listen · 9:18
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Tuesday

The curious rise of novelty popcorn buckets (Encore)

A screenshot of the "Deadpool & Wolverine" popcorn bucket shared by Ryan Reynolds. (Ryan Reynolds/YouTube) Ryan Reynolds/YouTube hide caption

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The Indicator from Planet Money

The curious rise of novelty popcorn buckets (Encore)

Even before the Dune: Part 2 popcorn bucket went viral this year, movie theaters have been trying all types of ways to lure customers back. There's reclining seats, expanded menu options, and even more merchandise. Today on the show, we track the rise of the popcorn bucket and its afterlife on eBay.

The curious rise of novelty popcorn buckets (Encore)

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Monday

Invest like a Congress member (Encore)
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The Indicator from Planet Money

Invest like a Congress member (Encore)

There are some new funds that track stock trading by members of Congress and their family. So we thought, why don't we get in on that?

Invest like a Congress member (Encore)

Listen · 9:24
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Thursday

How video games become more accessible (Encore)
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The Indicator from Planet Money

How video games become more accessible (Encore)

Gaming provides entertainment and community for billions of people worldwide. However, video games haven't always been accessible to those with disabilities. But this is changing. Today we explain how accessibility has become an increasingly important priority for game developers and how advocates pushed them to this point.

How video games become more accessible (Encore)

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Tuesday

How TV holiday rom-coms got so successful (Encore)
Mel Evans/AP Photo

The Indicator from Planet Money

How TV holiday rom-coms got so successful (Encore)

Happy Holidays from The Indicator! For the next week, we're running some of our favorite shows from this year. On today's show, we fire up the gas logs and pour a mug of cocoa to discuss the made-for-TV rom-com machine, and how television executives learned to mass produce seasonal romance.

How TV holiday rom-coms got so successful (Encore)

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Thursday

Can empty-nesters boost housing affordability?
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The Indicator from Planet Money

Can empty-nesters boost housing affordability?

The "silver tsunami" of aging Americans is often seen as a potential way to alleviate the country's housing affordability woes. However, the data suggests that an influx of empty-nester homes coming on the market won't have much of an impact on the problem—because of a geographical mismatch.

Can empty-nesters boost housing affordability?

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Wednesday

Trump's contradictory trade policies
Bogg

The Indicator from Planet Money

Trump's contradictory trade policies

President-elect Donald Trump has called for a weaker dollar given it would be good for American exporters. But tariffs, a staple of his economic policy, would actually strengthen the dollar. Today on the show, we explain tariffs and currencies by following one bag manufacturer from New Jersey.

Trump's contradictory trade policies

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Monday

There are a lot of billionaires in Trump's coming administration
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The Indicator from Planet Money

There are a lot of billionaires in Trump's coming administration

President-elect Donald Trump's administration picks are shaping up to be a very affluent bunch. If all are confirmed, Trump's incoming administration would be the wealthiest in the nation's history with a combined net worth upwards of $300 billion.

There are a lot of billionaires in Trump's coming administration

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Friday

Politics

Trump's picks would make his new administration the wealthiest in U.S. history

President-elect Donald Trump's administration picks are shaping up to be a very affluent bunch. If all are confirmed, Trump's incoming administration would be the wealthiest in the nation's history.

Trump’s picks would make his new administration the wealthiest in U.S. history

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Business

'The Indicator From Planet Money': Boeing's biggest blunder? Financial engineering

A corporate finance professor explains how Boeing's troubles stem from the company's fateful shift away from engineering to financial engineering decades ago.

'The Indicator From Planet Money': Boeing's biggest blunder? Financial engineering

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A supermarket beef, a quantum leap, and Christmas trees for cheap
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The Indicator from Planet Money

A supermarket beef, a quantum leap, and Christmas trees for cheap

It's the most wonderful time of year, er, week, because it's that time when we look at the most fascinating economic numbers from the news.

A supermarket beef, a quantum leap, and Christmas trees for cheap

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Wednesday

The brewing recovery in Western North Carolina
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The Indicator from Planet Money

The brewing recovery in Western North Carolina

The Federal Reserve's last Beige Book of 2024 is like Spotify Wrapped but for the economy. There's a little bit of everything inside — labor markets, inflation and even natural disasters. On today's show, we spotlight Western North Carolina's challenging recovery after Hurricane Helene, and check in with an Asheville malt manufacturer on the impact to local businesses.

The brewing recovery in Western North Carolina

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Tuesday

The Tuna Bonds Scandal and the fishy business of hidden debt
Grant Lee Neuenburg/Reuters

The Indicator from Planet Money

The Tuna Bonds Scandal and the fishy business of hidden debt

Back in 2016, the economy of Mozambique tipped into crisis. The culprit was a government corruption scandal linked to more than $1 billion that officials borrowed in secret.

The Tuna Bonds Scandal and the fishy business of hidden debt

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Monday

How influence actually works
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The Indicator from Planet Money

How influence actually works

Influence. The ability to persuade, motivate, or connect with other people. It's one of these skills that's hard to measure, but incredibly important in the office. However, some would argue that we often misunderstand how influence works.

How influence actually works

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Friday

Economy

Bond vigilantes could influence economic policies during Trump's second term

The incoming Trump administration has its eyes set on serious economic changes. But one group has unique power to influence fiscal and monetary policies and they're keeping watch: Bond Vigilantes.

PMI Cutdown: Bond Vigilantes

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Men without college degrees aren't doing well
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The Indicator from Planet Money

Men without college degrees aren't doing well

Many men in America don't feel like they're doing as well as their fathers. But what does the data say? Today on the show, we speak to Richard Reeves from the American Institute for Boys and Men about what's really going on with men's wages and what potential solutions could look like.

Men without college degrees aren't doing well

Listen · 9:48
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