The Indicator is one of the brilliant podcasts that come from the teams at NPR – it is associated with Planet Money and has many of the same hosts and production teams. In bite-sized episodes of 10 minutes or less, the Indicator gives you a great walk-through on a single economic issue in context of the time, teaching you more about work, business and the economy in the space of a coffee break.
Money makes the world go round – the folks at The Indicator, a spin-off of sorts from the show Planet Money, give you easily- digestible stories about one part of the current economic situation in chunks of 10 minutes or less.
One week it might be a deep discussion about the economic situation in Iceland, a discussion about the latest economic figures, a story about Nuns and Guns, or an analysis of financial myths about Millennials. The stories are fast paced, well told, and rarely boring. While I don’t always understand why the topics were initially chosen, they rarely fail to deliver on an interesting story for listeners.
The only real challenge for the show is that it is, by nature of its audience, a US-focused show. The discussions are typically either American or global-focused, because NPR is a US radio and media station. However, since the USA is our next-door neighbor, you’ll rarely find the knowledge completely useless in a Canadian setting.
Whether you’re aiming to learn more about the world of business, work, or the economy, or just to sound smarter at your next dinner party, The Indicator is a fun way to learn more about the world we all live in, without a huge investment of time. Given that economics are a fundamental foundation of how the world works, the discussions on The Indicator give you a surprisingly thorough grounding in the issues you see in the news – and the fundamental concepts underneath those stories.
Give it a try for 10 minutes, I think you’ll find it is time well spent.
Alex Conde works in content marketing and has a deep love for good stories and good food. He also believes that every dog deserves a home – check out Redemption Paws