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A.J. Jenkins, a truck operations specialist, observes an autonomous truck operating in no vehicle operator (NVO) mode during a route in Ellis County, Texas. Desiree Rios for NPRhide caption

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Desiree Rios for NPR

Will technology provide a boost to truck drivers — or will it replace them?

November 24, 2025 •The American economy depends on truckers. Technology is promising to transform this industry with new driver-assistance features that are meant to make the job safer and less demanding.

Shoppers will find some bargains as they prepare for this week's Thanksgiving meal. Turkey and stuffing prices are down from a year ago. Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Imageshide caption

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Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images

Economy

Give thanks for the discounts: The feast will cost a little less this year

November 24, 2025 •Shoppers can be thankful for discounts on turkey and stuffing this year. While overall grocery prices are up, this year's Thanksgiving meal should cost a bit less than last year's.

Give thanks for the discounts: Thanksgiving feast should cost a little less this year

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A variety of colorful cans of THC drinks are arranged on a grass. Some flavors include The Tenacious Seed's Blood Orange beverage, Silly Goose's root beer THC-infused soda and Mountain High Seltzer's Berry Wild.

Drinks with THC derived from hemp are sold in dozens of states, including ones that ban the sale of cannabis products. But a recently passed law promises to tighten controls on hemp, potentially hobbling the booming THC beverage sector. Ryan Wiramidjaja/for NPRhide caption

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Ryan Wiramidjaja/for NPR

National

THC drinks are flying high. A new hemp law could kill the buzz

November 24, 2025 •Drinks infused with cannabis' buzzy compound THC are wildly popular and available in many states. But a year from now, the hemp-based products could be banned under a newly approved federal law.

THC Beverages are booming, but are they about to go bust?

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NYC is home to El Gauchito, an Argentine butcher with beef cuts like this Darian Woods/NPRhide caption

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Darian Woods/NPR

The Indicator from Planet Money

Who’s buying all the beef?

November 24, 2025 •President Trump has said he’d try to get more Argentine beef into the U.S. So who would actually do the buying? That’s a general theme with a lot of these trade deals — big numbers but vague details. When China says it’ll buy more soybeans, is it the government or companies that does the buying? When South Korea promises to invest in American shipyards, who’s actually doing that? Today on the show, we dig into two questions from listeners and hear directly from an Argentine butcher. Related episodes:

Who’s buying all the beef?
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Daycare is expensive. Should it be? Getty Images/Getty Imageshide caption
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It's Been a Minute
Kids are expensive. Do they have to be?
November 24, 2025 •Can you afford to pay two rents?
Who’s afraid of universal childcare?
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Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang delivers a keynote address at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas in January. Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Imageshide caption
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Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
Technology
Here's why concerns about an AI bubble are bigger than ever
November 23, 2025 •Tech companies are pouring billions into AI chips and data centers. Increasingly, they are relying on debt and risky tactics. Financial analysts are worried there's a bubble that will soon pop.
Here's why concerns about an AI bubble are bigger than ever
Audio will be available later today.
Jamal Khashoggi. Mohammed Al-Shaikh/AFP via Getty Imageshide caption
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Mohammed Al-Shaikh/AFP via Getty Images
Opinion
Simon Says
Opinion: Jamal Khashoggi's words live forever
November 22, 2025 •Jamal Khashoggi came from a prominent Saudi family but fled his country in June, 2017, after he'd become increasingly critical of his government. The Saudi journalist was murdered in 2018.
ESSAY 11-22-25
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Planet Money
The Consumer Sentiment vs. Consumer Spending Puzzle
November 21, 2025 •Wherever consumer sentiment goes, consumer spending usually goes too. They’re like buddies that do everything together. Consumer sentiment wants a hair cut, its buddy consumer spending does too.But lately, these friends are drifting apart.While consumer sentiment about the economy is down … spending remains strong. And not just that… Interest rates are still high, inflation is growing, tariffs have made the prices of goods go up. And yet, consumer spending looks good. What gives?Today - a consumer spending mystery. Is the economy actually healthy? Or is something distorting our view of the economy?Pre-order the Planet Money book and get a free gift. / Subscribe to Planet Money+Listen free: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the NPR app or anywhere you get podcasts.Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter.This episode was hosted by Sarah Gonzalez and Kenny Malone. It was produced by James Sneed. It was edited by Meg Cramer and fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. It was engineered by Debbie Daughtry and Kwesi Lee. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.
The Consumer Sentiment vs. Consumer Spending Puzzle
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Kate Hippler adjusts a THOR-5F female crash test dummy in a vehicle at Humanetics in Farmington Hills, Mich., Tuesday, June 10, 2025. Paul Sancya/APhide caption
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The female crash test dummy has been a long time coming — but she isn't here yet
November 21, 2025 •After years of limbo, the U.S. government has given the green light to a crash test dummy based on the female body. But will it be used right away? Not so fast.
The female crash test dummy has been a long time coming — but she isn’t here yet
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A rare earth minerals mine in China's Jiangsu province, photographed in 2010. ‎/AFP via Getty Imageshide caption
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‎/AFP via Getty Images
National
Rare earths: Federal backing and tech advances aim to help the U.S. catch up to China
November 21, 2025 •Rare earths aren't all that rare. The real choke point is in processing and refining them, where China enjoys market dominance.
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Packages of ground beef are seen at a supermarket in Houston, Texas. RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP/Getty Imageshide caption
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The Indicator from Planet Money
Pay transparency. The WhatsApp and Instagram decision. Our beef with screwworms.
November 21, 2025 •It’s … Indicators of the Week! Our weekly look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news.
Pay transparency. The WhatsApp and Instagram decision. Our beef with screwworms.
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ByHeart is recalling all of its infant formula products after they were linked to a growing botulism outbreak in over a dozen states. They were available in cans and single-serve packets online and at major retailers. Cheyanne Mumphrey/APhide caption
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Cheyanne Mumphrey/AP
National
Recalled baby formula linked to a botulism outbreak may still be in some stores
November 20, 2025 •A botulism outbreak that has sickened more than two dozen babies in 15 states has been linked to ByHeart formula sold nationwide. Here's what to know about it.
Hiring picked up in the early fall after a lackluster summer. A report from the Labor Department on Thursday shows employers added 119,000 jobs in September. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Imageshide caption
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Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images
Economy
Overdue jobs report shows employers added 119,000 jobs in September
November 20, 2025 •U.S. employers added 119,000 jobs in September, while the unemployment rate inched up to 4.4%. The report, which was delayed by the government shutdown, may hint at the pace of hiring and firing.
Delayed by the government shutdown, the September jobs report finally arrives
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After adjusting for inflation, tuition has essentially doubled for private and public colleges over the past 30 years. Getty Images/Emily Bogle/NPRhide caption
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Getty Images/Emily Bogle/NPR
Cost of Living
College 'sticker prices' have risen dramatically. Here's why
November 20, 2025 •It's no secret that going to college can be very expensive, with tuition costs rising faster than financial aid. But what's causing that price tag to rise so quickly?
College costs have risen dramatically in the last 20 years. Here's why
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A monarch butterfly feeds on milkweed, July 15, 2025, in Chicago. Erin Hooley/APhide caption
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Erin Hooley/AP
National
Trump administration seeks to roll back protections for imperiled species and habitat
November 19, 2025 •The Interior Department proposed reviving a suite of changes to Endangered Species Act regulations first made during the Republican's first term. Those changes were reversed under former President Biden.
Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images
The Indicator from Planet Money
How to avoid scammers after a natural disaster
November 19, 2025 •When people lose their homes to wildfire, hurricanes or flooding, they're eager to rebuild. But scammers are also ready to take advantage. On today’s show, the lucrative business of contractor fraud and advice on how to avoid them. Related episodes:
How to avoid scammers after a natural disaster
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The staff of Chicago Women in Trades lead a parade of female construction workers at the Tradeswomen Build Nations conference in Chicago on Sept. 20, 2025. Andrea Hsu/NPRhide caption
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Politics
How a small Chicago nonprofit is resisting Trump's war on DEI
November 19, 2025 •Since 1981, Chicago Women in Trades has worked to promote equity by getting more women into the construction trades. Now the nonprofit faces a different challenge: Trump's efforts to erase DEI.
Chicago nonprofit fights for DEI
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Planet Money
Days of our Tariffs
November 19, 2025 •Tariffs. They’ve been announced, unannounced, re-announced, raised and lowered. It’s an on-going saga with billions at stake!
Days of our Tariffs
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American auto parts suppliers book times at the Mazda-Toyota table for speed dating. Stephan Bisaha/Stephan Bisahahide caption
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The Indicator from Planet Money
Looking for love in the auto supply chain
November 19, 2025 •Foreign automakers already have huge assembly plants in the U.S., but lots of parts and materials come from overseas.
Looking for love in the auto supply chain
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Facebook employee take a photo in front of new Meta Platforms Inc. sign outside the company headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif., Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021. Tony Avelar/APhide caption
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Tony Avelar/AP
Judge sides with Meta in antitrust trial, will not spin off WhatsApp and Instagram
November 18, 2025 •A federal judge ruled against the Federal Trade Commission's antitrust suit alleging that Meta had stifled competition by buying up its rivals.
Farewell, sweet penny. The last of you was minted last week, but you will never stray far from our thoughts and aphorisms. Matthew Hatcher/Getty Imageshide caption
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History
Farewell, fair penny. You are finished, but never forgotten
November 18, 2025 •This tiny disc of zinc with just a smidge of copper has played an outsized role in our national (and international) discourse. The U.S. Mint ended production of the one-cent coin last week.
Newsday LLC/Getty Images
Analysis
Planet Money
Is a 50-year mortgage really that much crazier than a 30-year one?
November 18, 2025 •Last week, the internet piled on President Trump's proposal for a 50-year mortgage. But maybe it's not as crazy as it sounds.
A flag flies at Warner Bros. Studio on Sep. 12, 2025 in Burbank, Calif. Mario Tama/Getty Imageshide caption
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Culture
Theater owners watch closely as a Warner Bros. Discovery sale looms
November 18, 2025 •Earlier mergers, like Disney's 2019 acquisition of Fox, cut the number of films studios released theatrically — a troubling trend for theater owners already coping with consolidation and streaming.
Theater Owners Watch As Warner Bros Sale Looms (ME Update)
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Rakul Skardenni found a smooth path towards a new job with Denmark's "flexicurity" system John Mcconnico/Getty Imageshide caption
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The Indicator from Planet Money
How to make switching jobs not terrifying
November 18, 2025 •The U.S. labor market is stagnant right now, with little hiring and lots of people holding onto their jobs for dear life. In Denmark, there’s a different kind of labor system where it’s easy for employers to hire and fire, but at the same time people have a strong safety net in-between jobs. Today on the show, we learn how “flexicurity” works through the story of a Danish woman who left her job, and we ask how the model could work in the U.S. Related episodes:
How to make switching jobs not terrifying
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