In unpredictable times, how can we stay calm, grounded, and on course? This hour, TED speakers lead us through uncertainty. Guests include former medical clown Matt Wilson, psychologist Jamil Zaki, writer and filmmaker Hrund Gunnsteinsdóttir and human rights activist Yifat Susskind.

(Original broadcast date: January 10, 2025)

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2025 is finally over. It was a wild year for the U.S. economy. Tariffs transformed global trading, consumer sentiment hit near-historic lows, and stocks hit dramatic new heights! So … which of these economic stories defined the year?

We will square off in a family feud to make our case, debate, and decide it. 

Also, as we enter 2026, we are watching the trends and planning out what next years stories are likely to be. So we’re picking  which indicators will become next years most telling. 

On today’s episode, our indicators of this past year AND our top indicator predictions for 2026.

Related episodes:

The Indicators of this year and next (2024)

This indicator hasn’t flashed this red since the dot-com bubble 

What would it mean to actually refund the tariffs?

What AI data centers are doing to your electric bill 

What indicators will 2025 bring? 

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This episode of Planet Money was produced by James Sneed. The episodes of The Indicator were produced by Angel Carreras, edited by Julia Ritchey, engineered by Robert Rodrigez and Kwesi Lee, and fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. Kate Concannon is the editor of the Indicator. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer. 

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With the year coming to a close, we’re sharing our most popular Planet Money bonus episode of 2025! 

As U.S. trade with China exploded in the early 2000’s, American manufacturing began to shrivel. Those workers struggled to adapt and find new jobs. It ran counter to how mainstream economics at the time viewed free trade … that it would be a clear win for the U.S. Greg Rosalsky talks with David Autor about why economists got free trade with China so wrong. 
 
Autor, an MIT economics professor, and his colleagues published a series of eye-opening studies over the last 15 years or so that brought to light the costs of U.S. trade with China. We also hear Autor’s thoughts on the role of tariffs and get an update on his research. With better, more precise data, Autor says we have a more nuanced and “bleaker” picture of what happened to these manufacturing workers. 

You can read about Autor’s research and sign up for The Planet Money Newsletter here. 

To hear more bonus content like this and support NPR and public media, sign up for Planet Money+ in Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org/planetmoney. Regular episodes remain free to listen!

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Most stories keep going even after we set down our microphones and the music fades up. That’s why, at the end of each year, we look back and we take stock. 

We call this tradition “The Rest of the Story.” And we bring you updates on the stories we’ve reported, and from the people we’ve met along the way.

Today, we check in on an engineer and patent attorney who made a safer saw; we get an update on the Planet Money game; an update on money in Gaza; and we have updates on a diamond that may or may not have had a second life. 

Listen to the original stories:

The Subscription Trap 

Planet Money buys a mystery diamond 

In Gaza, money is falling apart 

BOARD GAMES 1: We’re making a game  

How to save 10,000 fingers 

This episode of Planet Money was produced by Luis Gallo, edited by Alex Goldmark, fact-checked by Vito Emanuel, and engineered by Debbie Daughtry.

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Play the new version of our game here. Version 4.

Listen free: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the NPR app or anywhere you get podcasts.

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Finding “the one” can seem like life’s ultimate goal—but should it be? This hour, TED speakers expand the definition of life partnership, whether it’s with a friend, a spouse, a pet, or no one at all.

Guest include journalist Rhaina Cohen, marriage and family therapist Stephanie Yates-Anyabwile, social psychologist Bella DePaulo and photographer Elias Weiss Friedman of “The Dogist.”

Original broadcast date: February 7, 2025

TED Radio Hour+ subscribers now get access to bonus episodes, with more ideas from TED speakers and a behind the scenes look with our producers. A Plus subscription also lets you listen to regular episodes (like this one!) without sponsors. Sign-up at plus.npr.org/ted.

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On the eve of Netflix shoveling a fourish-hour chunk of Stranger Things onto Christmas Day, we visit the past, present, and future of binge-dropped television shows. 

The strategy of releasing an entire season at the same time has been key to taking Netflix from a little startup that used to lend us DVDs in the mail … to a company so big and powerful, it is maybe going to buy Warner Brothers and own Bugs Bunny and Tony Soprano and the Harry Potter movies.

But even Netflix may be flirting with some slightly less binge-y models of content release. Are we entering … the end of the binge drop?

On our latest: what data tells us about binge watching. Was it the greatest business decision, and who does binge watching really benefit? 

Here’s some of the research. 

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This episode was produced by Willa Rubin and edited by Meg Cramer. It was fact-checked by Dania Suleman and engineered by Maggie Luthar. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.

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As a country, we are spending more to get data centers up and running than we spent to build the entire interstate highway system. (Yes, that’s inflation-adjusted.) With tech companies spending hundreds of billions of dollars on AI, data centers have kind of become the thing in the US economy. 

But along with that growth have come a lot of questions. Like where is all the electricity to run these data centers supposed to come from? And how much are residential customers’ electric bills increasing as a result?

On today’s episode, we go to Ohio to trace one electric bill back to its source, to see what exactly is causing the big price increases people are seeing. We take a tour of a data center hot spot, and get to the bottom of how prices are set from inside the power company.

Related episodes:
– Asking for a friend … which jobs are safe from AI? 
– No AI data centers in my backyard! 
– What $10 billion in data centers actually gets you 
– Is AI overrated or underrated? 
– Green energy gridlock

Pre-order the Planet Money book and get a free gift. / Subscribe to Planet Money+

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Today’s show was hosted by Keith Romer and Jeff Guo. It was produced by Sam Yellowhorse Kesler. It was edited by Jess Jiang and fact checked by Sierra Juarez and Vito Emanuel. It was engineered by Cena Loffredo. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money‘s executive producer. 

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International Space Station leaders Laura Shaw and  Jennifer Buchli discuss the science, discoveries, and innovations that have defined nearly 25 years aboard the orbiting laboratory. HWHAP 406.