Our Favorite Indicator Episodes Of The Year

We say goodbye to 2021 by looking back at some of our favorite stories on The Indicator. [View this email online]( [Planet Money]( The Best Indicators Of 2021 --------------------------------------------------------------- by Greg Rosalsky This past year has been a pretty wild time for the economy. The Great Resignation. The record-breaking boom in new business creation. The surge in asset prices. The supply chain meltdown. Inflation. The Indicator, Planet Money’s daily podcast, has been there every step of the way, covering it all. The Indicator’s staff selected some of their favorite episodes from this year, and we decided we’d share them this week while we’re out for the holidays. [How Do You Measure Inflation?]( Heritage Images via Getty Images The Consumer Price Index helps us to understand prices and inflation, but where do the numbers come from in the first place? The Indicator tagged along with an economist to find out the prices of socks, butter, and daycare. [Listen here]( [The Time the US Paid Off All Its Debt]( Getty Images President Andrew Jackson was ruthless in reducing federal debt. The administration paid off all interest-bearing debt in 1835, but the results were not as rosy as people expected. [Listen here]( [The COVID Small Business Boom]( Laura Chase de Formigny Photography After millions of people lost their jobs during the pandemic, many of them started their own businesses. In June people started over 440,000 new businesses. The Indicator spoke with a hot dog stand owner about his journey (as well as an economist about what’s behind the boom). [Listen here]( [Saving Birds With Economics]( California Rice The Pacific Flyway, one of the major bird migration routes in North America, has lost over 90% of its original wetland habitat in California. Purchasing and restoring these lands would cost a lot of money. But one economist had an idea: A reverse auction for rice farmers to flood their fields. [Listen here]( [​​​​​​​Shrinkflation: Inflation's Sneaky Cousin]( Flickr Inflation was the talk of the town this year, but, instead of simply raising prices, some companies have been shrinking the size of their products and charging the same price. It’s known as “shrinkflation.” [Listen here]( Not subscribed? [Subscribe to this newsletter.]( Want to spread the love? [Share the web-version of this newsletter on social media.]( Craving more content? [Listen to our podcasts.]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Newsletter continues after sponsor message --------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- Stream your local NPR station. Visit NPR.org to find your local station stream. [Find a Station]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Subscribe to Planet Money+](. Your support helps make our show possible and unlocks access to our sponsor-free episodes. What do you think of today's email? We'd love to hear your thoughts, questions and feedback: [planetmoney@npr.org](mailto:planetmoney@npr.org?subject=Newsletter%20Feedback) Enjoying this newsletter? Forward to a friend! They can [sign up here](. Looking for more great content? [Check out all of our newsletter offerings]( — including Daily News, Politics, Health and more! You received this message because you're subscribed to Planet Money emails. This email was sent by National Public Radio, Inc., 1111 North Capitol Street NE, Washington, DC 20002 [Unsubscribe]( | [Privacy Policy]( [NPR logo]