logo
episode-header-image
Mar 2025
8m 45s

Can ... we still trust the monthly jobs ...

NPR
About this episode
tail spinning
Up next
Today
Who's afraid of private credit?
There is a $3 trillion dollar black box at the center of the economy. It’s called private credit. These are direct loans from private investors to private companies. They’re often riskier, less regulated than traditional bank loans – and far less transparent. Spooked investors ar ... Show More
9m 28s
Yesterday
Do school lunches really need an overhaul?
School lunch has been revamped a ton over the last two decades. Now, the Trump administration wants to rejigger the menu once more to align with its Make America Healthy Again agenda. That means more meat. More dairy. But do schools really need another menu overhaul? And could th ... Show More
9m 4s
Mar 27
The US loses tech hires, sayonora to Sora, and Afroman's win
It’s Indicators of the Week (now on YouTube!). It’s our weekly look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news. On today’s episode: The US ain’t doing too hot in attracting European tech workers; OpenAI takes its video generator Sora behind the barn; and a rap ... Show More
9m 22s
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2025
Would you trust an economist with your economy?
Trust in experts is down. In all kinds of institutions and professions - in government, in media, in medical science... and lately, economists are feeling the burn acutely. In fact, President Trump just fired the economist who ran the Bureau of Labor Statistics, accusing her – wi ... Show More
32m 21s
Aug 2025
What happens when governments cook the books
After President Trump fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, economists and statisticians across the board were horrified. Because the firing raises the spectre of potential manipulation – and it raises the worry that, in the future, the numbers won't be as trustworthy ... Show More
34m 51s
Mar 2025
Can we just change how we measure GDP?
There's one statistic that rules them all when it comes to keeping track of the economy: gross domestic product (GDP). It's the sum of all final transactions, so all the goods or services bought and sold, in an economy. GDP tells us how hot the economy is running, or how cool — l ... Show More
22m 16s
Apr 2025
OIRA: The tiny office that's about to remake the federal government
OIRA — the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs — is an obscure, but powerful federal office around the corner from the White House. President Trump has decided that it should get even more powerful.For the last 45 years, OIRA has overseen most federal agencies by reviewi ... Show More
26m 57s
Aug 2025
At The Money: How to Manage Your News & Data Flow
This episode of At The Money was recorded in July, before President Trump fired the Bureau of Labor Statistics Commissioner Erika McEntarfer. So please note that this conversation was had before that departure. We live in an age of endless news and spin. We rely on data and news ... Show More
15m 46s
Jun 2025
Trump's crypto interests (Two Indicators)
Today on the show – our crypto president. Just before President Donald Trump began his second administration in January, he and his business partners launched the $TRUMP coin. It's a memecoin that quickly raked in hundreds of millions of dollars. And there's a lot of earning pote ... Show More
18m 13s
Aug 2025
Should the government be in the business of business?
What happens when the federal government owns part of a company? That’s one of MANY questions about federal policy right now, as the Trump Administration aggressively pushes for stakes — and oversight — of major private companies.This week, the White House announced it was taking ... Show More
8m 52s
Feb 2025
The Big Government Money Pipe Freeze
There has been chaotic uncertainty around billions of dollars allocated by Congress. The Trump administration ordered a pause on — and review of — certain types of federal assistance. A judge blocked that freeze. But reports continue to emerge that certain parts of the government ... Show More
25m 52s
Oct 2023
Indicator exploder: jobs and inflation
When someone says "the economy is doing well"—what does that even mean? Like, for workers, for employers, for the country as a whole? According to what calculation? How do you put a number on it?The world of economics is filled with all sorts of "measuring sticks." GDP. Inflation ... Show More
18m 29s
Apr 2025
Do trade deficits matter?
At the heart of President Trump's tariffs is this idea that we should not be buying more from other countries than they are buying from us. Basically, he wants to get rid of the trade deficit. And in the wake of the tariff announcement we got a LOT of questions from listeners abo ... Show More
23m 37s