The Indicator from Planet Money

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 they even afford it?

On today’s show, we join a school lunch line in South Carolina to find out what kids are actually eating.

Come see Planet Money live on stage in April! Twelve cities. Details and tix here: https://tix.to/pm-book-tour. 

Related episodes: 
A food fight over free school lunch
How beef climbed to the top of the food pyramid

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.  

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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 rapper, pound cake, and the police. 

Related episodes: 
OpenAI's deals are looking a little frothy 
We're about to lose a lot of foreign STEM workers 
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Julia Ritchey and Vito Emanuel. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.  

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Every time you buy a ticket that leaves a U.S. airport, you pay a fee that’s supposed to help fund the TSA. So why have TSA workers been working without pay? Today on the show, we explore the history behind an earmarked tax and its very personal impacts.

Come see Planet Money live on stage in April! 12 cities. Details and tix here: https://tix.to/pm-book-tour. 

Related episodes:
Your next flight doesn't have to be so expensive. Here's why 
How flying got so bad (or did it?) 

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.  

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Why are flight tickets so expensive right now? Increased oil prices seems like it’d be the obvious answer. That’s mostly right. Airlines used to do some financial magic to help keep airfare down as oil prices increased, a strategy called “fuel hedging.” But they stopped. And now fliers are on the hook for a lot of the difference. 

On today’s show, the lost art of fuel hedging. How it worked, plus why airlines stopped doing it.

Come see Planet Money live on stage in April! 12 cities. Details and tix here: https://tix.to/pm-book-tour. 

Related episodes: 
A lot of gas trapped, oil reserves tapped, and Live Nation gets a (tiny) cap
Will Trump’s shipping insurance plan work?
Listener Questions: Airline tickets, grocery pricing and the Fed

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

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How has Russia’s economy not completely collapsed after four years of war, sanctions and billions in debt? One economist says it is the war that has been propping up Russia's economy, not the other way around. He calls it smertonomika or death economics.

On today’s show, six reasons why Russia’s economy is still chugging along despite burning money by the billions waging war on Ukraine.

Come see Planet Money live on stage in April! 12 cities. Details and tix here: https://tix.to/pm-book-tour. 

Related episodes: 
How your favorite fish sticks might be funding Russia's war
Who’s propping up Russian oil?

The economic war against Russia, a year later
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:

See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.

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