Fed chair, health care, and AI shoe repair

Fed chair, health care, and AI shoe repair

From The Indicator from Planet Money by NPR

April 17, 2026 · 9 min

About this episode

This episode discusses economic indicators including the Fed Chair nominee's wealth, Allbirds' transition to an AI firm, and a decline in Affordable Care Act plan payments.

It’s Indicators of the Week. Our weekly look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news. On today’s episode: the drama behind the Fed Chair nominee’s wealth; the shoe company Allbirds is becoming an AI firm; and a drop in how many people are paying for their Affordable Care Act plans. The Indicator is launching a newsletter! Be among the first and sign-up now: npr.org/indicatornewsletter Come see Planet Money live on stage! 12 cities. Details and tix here: planetmoneybook.com/#tour Related episodes: One Fed battle after another The ghosts of Obamacare past, present and future Allbirds: Tim Brown & Joey Zwillinger 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 . See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

People in this episode

Host: NPR

Topics covered

  • Federal Reserve
  • health care
  • AI technology
  • economic indicators
  • Affordable Care Act

Keywords

  • Fed Chair
  • Allbirds
  • AI
  • health care
  • Affordable Care Act
  • economic numbers
  • NPR

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: NPR, Allbirds, Affordable Care Act, Planet Money, Drop Electric

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