Stacey Vanek Smith

Restaurant, retail and airline employees continue to face unruly customers over COVID-19 precautions. A customer service expert explains how to defuse situations before they get out of hand.

In the Netflix hit series Squid Game, cash-strapped players compete in deadly children's games for money. NPR's podcast, The Indicator, looks at what the show reveals about debt and decision making.

Traditionally, brands rarely mention their competitors, and if they do it's likely to attack them. But one study shows how brands praising their competitors might actually help boost their sales.

The Beergame App simulates the steps of selling beer from brewer to drinker — revealing a real world problem that can tangle the supply chain.

Getting interrupted at work and having ideas stolen happens a lot to women, people of color and marginalized workers. Here are four ways to stop it from happening and make sure you're being heard.

Who owns the moon? Space travel is getting easier and cheaper and now companies and NASA are trying to establish a market for things from outer space.

The average American adult spends four or five hours a day on their phone. Is there a line where that much phone time crosses into addiction? The Indicator from Planet Money asked an economist.

The Senate is set to go on break without raising the debt ceiling, prompting grievances among Washington lawmakers. But the only time in history the debt was paid down, it didn't go quite as planned.

BTS has become a global economic force. The seven-member South Korean boy band is creating jobs, billions in revenue — and even moving the needle on South Korea's GDP.

During the COVID-19 crisis, almost 7 million Americans have started new businesses. Though an all time record, it's not unusual for such conditions to make people hungry to start their own thing.

When companies don't want to directly raise prices, they often shrink the size of the product while keeping the same price. This tendency to downsize products has come to be known as shrinkflation.

The latest Consumer Price Index showed prices were up 5.4% compared to a year ago. But how exactly does the government track this number?

Demand for homes has increased dramatically this year amidst a labor shortage in the construction industry. So employers are increasing wages and getting creative to entice people into the trades.

COVID-19 has brought so much loss and hardship, but there was at least one pleasant surprise for Beijing - less hazy skies and air pollution.

Many people will watch movies on a big screen this summer, but the pandemic fundamentally changed the industry. How can movie theaters survive and possibly thrive post-pandemic?

Zoom is the most popular video conferencing software and many people's communications lifeline during COVID-19. How did the tiny company beat tech giants like Google, Microsoft and Cisco?

Several schools have cut women's sports teams during the pandemic, and some of the teams have lawyered up in response. Ultimately, these lawsuits ask the question: how do we measure equality?

The U.S. just backed calls by South Africa and India to waive intellectual property protection for COVID-19 vaccines, but that may not be enough to ramp up vaccine production.

Skinny jeans dominated the jeans market for nearly two decades. Now they make up about 33% of jeans sales. The Indicator from Planet Money investigates the possible demise of the skinny jean.

Matel has given Barbie a total makeover, and it's led to skyrocketing sales. The Indicator from Planet Money explores how having a more inclusive lineup of dolls was key to the company's success.