The curious case of odious debt

As Vice Week wraps up here at The Indicator, we wanted to take a slightly different perspective on the evolving business of crime and take a look at TRUE crime. As in the genre. Because look, people are obsessed with it! Today on the show, our hosts favorite pieces of true crime ... Show More

Market manipulation is an age-old issue. People trying to make money off unsuspecting investors by artificially influencing the price of a stock, say. But what happens when the one manipulating markets isn't human? This week on The Indicator from Planet Money, we bring you five e ... Show More

The Sinaloa Cartel made the bulk of its money on cocaine. But cartels are diversifying into new operations including things like wildlife trafficking. Think sharks, jaguars, capybaras. The result is something called “narco-degradation.” On today’s show, we look at what’s driving ... Show More

SUMMARY: Discover how personal and public debt has reached an inflection point. Richard Vague joins Andy to discuss realistic ways to reduce student loans, home mortgages, and small business debt.   SHOW NOTES: 2:42: How Is Personal Debt The Real Crisis? 4:48: What Is The Paradox ... Show More

When talking government bond defaults, plenty of people think of Argentina and Greece. But the biggest sovereign debt default of all time was arguably Russia’s repudiation of debt in 1918, after the Bolshevik revolution. In this episode, we speak to Hassan Malik, an emerging mark ... Show More

Every year, the U.S. government spends more money than it takes in. In order to fund all that spending, the country takes on debt. Congress has the power to limit how much debt the U.S. takes on. Right now, the debt limit is $31.4 trillion dollars. Once we reach that limit, Congr ... Show More

I've got a question for you. What would it feel like to be debt-free, to start over from a blank page, to not have that stress and worry hanging over you? I would imagine pretty good – but becoming debt-free takes time, some tips and tricks and as Michael Bovee says, it’s all abo ... Show More

Why is Sri Lanka facing its biggest economic crisis for decades? It's left the population enduring months of power cuts, while essentials are in short supply. How has the country's debt spiralled out of control and what will a debt default mean for ordinary people? We hear from p ... Show More

Quand un pays connaît, pour diverses raisons, une situation économique difficile, il peut se retrouver en "défaut de paiement". C'est ce qui pourrait arriver à la Russie à plus ou moins court terme. Qu'est-ce qu'un pays en défaut de paiement ? Un pays est déclaré en défaut de pai ... Show More

We’ve hit the 80s and Reagan’s low tax and defence spending have contributed to the America’s worst foreign debt in history. It turns out the US has consistently been in debt, so why does this time matter? Well, because they’re borrowing heavily from the Japanese, and have turned ... Show More

On today’s show we are taking a look at what can happen when politicians print too much money. The US, Japan, Canada, the UK, and Europe, China and many others are all at risk of becoming financially unstable.  Argentina has a history of being fiscally irresponsible. The country ... Show More

The US House of Representatives debates a bipartisan deal to raise the government's debt ceiling and avoid a damaging default. Also: Russia says heavy shelling from Ukraine is behind its decision to evacuate hundreds of children from Belgorod, and how difficult is it to make tast ... Show More