NPR.

We are in a really wild moment in the economy right now.

So many things are changing so fast.

And it can be really hard to know which of these changes are permanent and which of these

changes are temporary.

Things that will just go back to the way they were before COVID.

Hello and welcome to Planet Money.

I'm Stacey Manick-Smith.

I am the host of Planet Money's Daily Podcast, the indicator, where every day we take

a slice of the economy and explain it in 10 minutes or less.

Today on the show, we have two stories from the indicator about massive shifts we've

seen in a couple of different industries that have been around for a long time.

First up, we will take a look at the fleet of ships that are idling in the waters off

the west coast, waiting weeks to be able to unload.

They're carrying things like our sneakers and our laptops, and it's not just the Suez

traffic jam that's to blame.

We talk to the Coast Guard and get up close to find out if the delays and the rising cost

these delays are causing our temporary or if they're the new normal.

Also, we take a look at another business that is undergoing rapid change, the business

of our pets.

Specifically, the doctors of our pets.

That's all coming up after the break.

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