The Fed cuts rates, America's FICO dips, and forever ends for sweepstakes winners

The Indicator from Planet Money

NPR

Business

4.7 • 9.2K Ratings

🗓️ 19 September 2025

⏱️ 10 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

It’s … Indicators of the Week! Our weekly look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news.

On today’s show: A rate cut and drama at the Federal Reserve, the average American gets a little less creditworthy, and those giant check sweepstakes winners? Well, they might have to get a job soon.

Related episodes:
Why an aggressive rate cut could backfire on Trump
Trump's unprecedented attack on the Fed
What goes into a credit score?

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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Transcript

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0:00.0	NPR.
0:11.7	This is the indicator from Planet Money.
0:13.8	I'm Waylon Wong.
0:15.0	I'm Adrienne Ma.
0:16.0	And joining us today is a little surprise guest, producer Cooper Katz McKim.
0:22.3	I am here. I have ascended to the highest level. Darian Woods, I've taken his role.
0:28.2	Oh, doing the accent work.
0:31.6	You know, I don't think people will know the difference. We'll find out. No, I just said who I was.
0:37.2	Well, Adrian and Cooper, this is a special day, not just because Cooper is here filling in.
0:42.3	It is Indicators of the Week.
0:45.6	Ah, the crowd goes wild.
0:48.2	We have looked at interesting numbers in the news this week, and we're here to tell you all about them.
0:53.1	Today on the show, the Federal Reserve finally cuts interest rates.
0:57.5	America's credit score goes down, and sweepstakes winners may have to go get a day job.
1:04.5	That is after the bryke.
1:13.2	There's a lot going on right now.
1:19.8	Mounting economic inequality threats to democracy, environmental disaster, the sour stench of chaos in the air.
1:21.9	I'm Brooke Gladstone, host of WNYC's On the Media.
1:25.6	Want to understand the reasons and the meanings of the narratives that led us here?
1:31.2	And maybe how to head them off at the pass?
1:34.0	That's on the media's specialty.
1:36.0	Take a listen wherever you get your podcasts.
	...

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