NPR.

If you drive a gas-powered car, for weeks, you've seen prices at the pump going one way, up.

And up, and up.

As of our recording, U.S. gas prices are now averaging

$4.14 a gallon, the highest in three years. And that's just an average. It can run higher

in places like Los Angeles, where Carter Victoria was filling up. It's almost six bucks,

$5.79, something like that. It's expensive.

Or somewhat cheaper than the national average, like in the southern United States. Gas was

$369 a gallon at the Kroger gas station in Savannah, Georgia, where retiree Joseph Spelman was filling

up his 2007 Toyota sedan. Have you noticed you've had to spend more to fill up? Not really, because I don't drive. It used to cost me $5 to drive for a week. Now it cost me $10, so it don't bother me. I wish I could be as unbothered as Joseph. This is the indicator from Planet Money. I'm Waylon Wong, and I'm joined by producer Julia Ritchie.

Good to be back.

The U.S.-Iran conflict is now entering its second month with no clear exit ramp,

sending oil prices to their highest levels since the 2008 financial crisis.

The impact on the U.S. and oil prices has been less severe than for many other countries,

but that doesn't mean it hasn't been felt at home.

Today on the show, drivers describe how they're adapting to higher prices,

and an economist tells us when or if we might see some relief.

Neil Mahoney is an economist at Stanford University.

Neil is in California where gas prices are highest.

Still, he's one of the lucky ones because he drives an EV.

Not that he hasn't noticed the prices around town.

Every time I drive, I see multiple gas stations with signs where the price is, you know,

...