Stacey Vanek Smith

President Trump asked Congress for funds to build an extension of the wall on the border with Mexico. Congress refused, so Trump declared a national emergency. But what does that mean?

Today we answer listener questions about age discrimination; how work hours are counted; and whether the economy is running out of people to take jobs.

Governments all over the world use bonds to raise money. We examine how the the first bond came to be, and how it transformed the way governments borrow money.

The 1937 agreement between GM and the United Auto Workers union ushered in a period of strength for organized labor. Today, labor is nowhere near as powerful as it used to be. What happened?

An Instagram celebrity and a video game company are battling over who gets to own a dance move once it goes viral.

The dedicated officers of the epidemic intelligence service are foot soldiers in a relentless battle against infectious disease.

India's government has proposed a plan to pay some of the country's poorest farmers a guaranteed income. What would this mean for the country's economy?

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell says inflation isn't a problem right now, and that the short term interest rate, at 2.5 percent, is right where it should be.

Parts of America are in the grip of a cold snap. Others are being drenched by rain. How do we measure the cost of extreme weather conditions? We called a scientist to find out.

Jobs: Is the economy creating enough of them? Are they paying more than they used to? Do people have the jobs they want? All this and more.

The trade dispute between the U.S. and China has economic impacts on both countries — including America's agricultural communities. A Georgia farmer's livelihood is on the front lines of the dispute.

How the once fairly-stable business of public utilities is changing.

The Congressional Budget Office estimated the economic impact of the longest shutdown in history.

How the invention of the government bond saved a bunch of mid-level politicians from certain death and became one of the most important pieces of financial technology the world has ever seen.

The shutdown is over... for now. Today on the Indicator, we talk to one of the 800,000 formerly-furloughed federal employees about his experience of the shutdown.

An economics experiment that streamlines the application and financial aid process for low-income students.

How the trade war with China is playing out on one peanut farm in Georgia.

It turns out, 2018 was the most volatile year ever for the U.S. stock market. But while the market's ups and downs may be nerve-wracking, there might be less cause for alarm than one would think.

Interest rates are higher, global growth is slowing, and the government is at an impasse. But there are also reasons for near-term optimism about the U.S. economy.

When it came to the female labor force participation rate, America used to lead the world. But we've fallen behind. Today on the show: what happened?