What the movies teach us about recessions, memestocks and gold
The Indicator from Planet Money
NPR
4.7 • 9.5K Ratings
🗓️ 27 May 2026
⏱️ 9 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
The Indicator hosts Adrian Ma and Wailin Wong discuss their favorite econ and business movies.
Fact checking by Sierra Juarez.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | NPR. |
| 0:02.0 | This is the indicator from Planet Money. I'm Adrienne Ma. |
| 0:15.0 | And I'm Waylon Wong, and today we are going to the movies. |
| 0:19.0 | That is right. |
| 0:23.8 | Recently, we were asked to go on NPR's news program, |
| 0:28.4 | All Things Considered, to talk about our favorite films about business and economics. |
| 0:30.9 | We come to this place for learning, Adrian. |
| 0:36.6 | Somehow, getting incredibly nerdy just feels right in a place like this. |
| 0:37.3 | Cinema. If you are hungry for more econ-tinged entertainment, we have Rex. |
| 0:42.5 | This conversation is hosted by our colleague Rob Schmitz, and after the break, he takes it from there. |
| 0:53.3 | Even for those who don't know a thing about business or finance, that has not stopped Hollywood |
| 0:58.8 | from trying to teach us what it takes to make millions. But how do these movies go down with people |
| 1:05.3 | who actually cover business and finance for a living? So, Waylon, I'm going to start with you. |
| 1:16.7 | You've covered business, finance, and the economy for years, and I hear you are a big movie fan. |
| 1:17.2 | What are your favorite films in this genre? |
| 1:20.0 | Okay, I know everyone is expecting me to say, like, trading places, but I'm going to |
| 1:23.1 | zag. |
| 1:23.7 | I'm going to say, The Insider, this is from 1999, Michael Mann movie starring Russell Crow, Al Pacino. |
| 1:30.9 | You go public and 30 million people hear what you've got to say, nothing. I mean nothing, |
| 1:36.0 | will ever be the same again. It is about corporate whistleblowing. It's about big tobacco. |
| 1:40.8 | It's about journalism and the intersection of big corporate interest, politics, and media. |
| 1:46.7 | And it's a true story. It really happened in the 90s. The other movie I will throw in here is |
... |
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