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Paying for the Inflation Reduction Act
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

Paying for the Inflation Reduction Act

The Inflation Reduction Act has it all, from fighting climate change to cutting drug prices. But today, we're zooming in on one aspect of the bill. The changes to corporate taxes.

Paying for the Inflation Reduction Act

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What the Inflation Reduction Act does and doesn't do about rising prices

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., leaves a news conference at the U.S. Capitol on Friday, where he spoke to reporters about the Inflation Reduction Act. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images hide caption

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Politics

What the Inflation Reduction Act does and doesn't do about rising prices

The Inflation Reduction Act is not expected to bring down inflation dramatically or right away, but experts say that might not be such a bad thing given the bill's other areas of focus.

What Japan's "Lost Decade" teaches us about recessions
KAZUHIRO NOGI/AFP via Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

What Japan's "Lost Decade" teaches us about recessions

Not all recessions are created equal. Some look like Vs, while others look like Ks. But the scariest one of all is the L-shaped recession. Travel back to Japan's "Lost Decade" with us to understand why.

What Japan's Lost Decade teaches us about recessions

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Summer School 5: Car Parts, Celery & The Labor Market

Illustration by James Yang for NPR James Yang for NPR hide caption

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James Yang for NPR

Planet Money Summer School

Summer School 5: Car Parts, Celery & The Labor Market

You can learn a lot about a person from their job. The same can be said of an economy. The market for jobs can us a lot about how the economy is doing, but more importantly, it is where we look to see who the economy is working for, and who is left behind. In today's lesson we'll visit two workplaces each facing a different labor puzzle. At one end, there's the question of when to replace a worker with a robot, and what it is like to be that worker waiting for the robots to come. We'll also visit a farm where raising wages aren't enough to attract the workers needed to do the work. How wages are set, and who gets the raises on this session of Summer School. | Subscribe to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney. |At this Summer School, phones ARE allowed during class... Check out this week's PM TikTok! | Listen to past seasons of Summer School here.

Summer School 5: Car Parts, Celery & The Labor Market

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Planet Money Summer School 5: Car Parts, Celery & The Labor Market
James Yang for NPR

Planet Money

Planet Money Summer School 5: Car Parts, Celery & The Labor Market

You can learn a lot about a person from their job. The same can be said of an economy. The market for jobs can us a lot about how the economy is doing, but more importantly, it is where we look to see who the economy is working for, and who is left behind. In today's lesson we'll visit two workplaces each facing a different labor puzzle. At one end, there's the question of when to replace a worker with a robot, and what it is like to be that worker waiting for the robots to come. We'll also visit a farm where raising wages aren't enough to attract the workers needed to do the work. How wages are set, and who gets the raises on this session of Summer School. | Subscribe to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney. |At this Summer School, phones ARE allowed during class... Check out this week's PM TikTok! | Listen to past seasons of Summer School here.

Planet Money Summer School 5: Car Parts, Celery & The Labor Market

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Inflation is cooling thanks to gas prices, but many things still cost a lot more

A driver pumps gas at a Gulf gas station in Lynnfield, Mass., on July 19. Gasoline prices are dropping, which is helping bring down inflation. But the cost of many other things are still climbing. Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Joseph Prezioso/AFP via Getty Images

Inflation is cooling thanks to gas prices, but many things still cost a lot more

Falling gasoline prices put a dent in the July inflation rate, which fell to 8.5% from 9.1% in June. But other costs such as housing continue to climb, putting a strain on many family budgets.

Inflation is cooling thanks to gas prices, but many things still cost a lot more

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Double agents and drug discounts

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Stan Honda/AFP via Getty Images

The Indicator from Planet Money

Double agents and drug discounts

The cost of pharmaceuticals has been rising for years, well before inflation became the big economic talking point. Today on the show, why some policymakers suspect an obscure middleman is partly to blame.

Double agents and drug discounts

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Biden signs semiconductor bill into law, though Trump raid overshadows event

President Biden signed the CHIPS and Science Act on the South Lawn of the White House on Tuesday. The legislation is aimed at boosting the domestic production of semiconductors. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

Politics

Biden signs semiconductor bill into law, though Trump raid overshadows event

This was supposed to be a week where President Biden celebrated a series of legislative victories. But it was overtaken by news that FBI agents had searched the home of former President Donald Trump.

'We have nowhere to go': Many face eviction during a crisis in affordable housing

Nikki Cox faced possible eviction this summer after her work hours were cut, and then she lost three weeks of pay after getting COVID-19. Via Nikki Cox hide caption

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Via Nikki Cox

National

'We have nowhere to go': Many face eviction during a crisis in affordable housing

Most Americans say a lack of affordable housing is a serious problem where they live. An NPR poll also finds nearly twice as many Black renters as white faced an eviction threat in the past year.

'We have nowhere to go': Many face eviction during a crisis in affordable housing

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The secret to upward mobility: Friends
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The Indicator from Planet Money

The secret to upward mobility: Friends

Who your friends are may be the key to your economic success story. In a groundbreaking study by Harvard researchers, find out why cross-class friendships may be the key ingredient to the American Dream.

The secret to upward mobility: Friends

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Gas prices are finally dropping. Here are 4 things to know

A gas pump is seen at a gas station in Houston on June 9. Gas prices have dropped below $4 a gallon in parts of the country, although the national average remains above that level. Brandon Bell/Getty Images hide caption

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Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Gas prices are finally dropping. Here are 4 things to know

The average price of gasoline nationwide is expected to drop below $4 a gallon in the coming days as prices continue to fall from the record highs hit in June.

Gas prices are finally dropping. Here are 4 things to know

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What's really going on with unions
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The Indicator from Planet Money

What's really going on with unions

Baristas and warehouse workers unite! After decades of decline, we're hearing a lot about new unions starting around the country. But union membership actually declined last year. We look at what's really happening.

What's really going on with unions

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A new way to pay for college (Update)
Andrew Hancock/Andrew Hancock/Purdue University

Planet Money

A new way to pay for college (Update)

College has gotten incredibly expensive. And some colleges are offering students a new way to pay. It's not a scholarship. It's not quite a loan. It's more like the students are selling stock in themselves. We check in on how income share agreements at one school have been working. | Subscribe to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney.

A new way to pay for college (Update)

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The job market got even better, in a surprisingly positive sign for the economy

A 'We Want You!' sign is posted at an Ike's Love & Sandwiches store in Los Angeles on July 26. Mario Tama/Getty Images hide caption

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Mario Tama/Getty Images

The job market got even better, in a surprisingly positive sign for the economy

U.S. employers added 528,000 jobs in July, showing the labor market remains strong, despite high inflation and softening economic growth. The unemployment rate fell to 3.5%.

The job market got even better, in a surprisingly positive sign for the economy

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If the world had no accountants
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The Indicator from Planet Money

If the world had no accountants

We crunched the numbers (on Excel of course), and the results are in. There's not enough Certified Public Accountants right now. Can the world of finance come up with a solution to address this issue?

If the world had no accountants

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The Mystery of Inflation
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Throughline

The Mystery of Inflation

Gas. Meat. Flights. Houses. The price of things have gone up by as much as nine percent since last year. The same amount of money gets you less stuff. It's inflation: a concept that's easy to feel but hard to understand. Its causes are complex, but it isn't some kind of naturally-occurring phenomenon — and neither are the ways in which governments try to fight it.

The Mystery of Inflation

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Summer School 4: Inflation & Drinking Buddies
James Yang/James Yang

Planet Money Summer School

Summer School 4: Inflation & Drinking Buddies

Inflation can be one of the scariest forces in the economy. As prices rise and your dollar doesn't go as far, you feel poorer, and it's all out of your control. To better understand inflation, we turn to the story of Brazil, where, in the 90s, hyperinflation threatened to derail the whole economy until the country turned to a group of unlikely heroes: four drinking buddies. | Subscribe to Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney. |At this Summer School, phones ARE allowed during class... Check out this week's PM TikTok! | Listen to past seasons of Summer School here.

Summer School 4: Inflation & Drinking Buddies

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