Everything’s more expensive!! Pet care!! Concert tickets!! (Two Indicators)
5 November 2025·18 min
People in the U.S. are feeling the financial squeeze, in part because of rising inflation, higher consumer prices and slowing job growth. The Indicator from…
Everything’s more expensive!! Pet care!! Concert tickets!! (Two Indicators)
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People in the U.S. are feeling the financial squeeze, in part because of rising inflation, higher consumer prices and slowing job growth. The Indicator from Planet Money is tackling a special series on the rising cost of living. Today, two stories from that series.
First, what’s making ticket prices go up? We look at the economics behind the ticket market and how “reseller bots” are wreaking all sorts of havoc. The industry is not a fan, and yet they do serve an economic function.
And… why pet care costs have surged. It comes down to unique skills, people’s love for their pets and something called the “Baumol effect.”
Related episodes:
- The Vet Clinic Chow Down
- What Do Private Equity Firms Actually Do?
- Kid Rock vs. The Scalpers
- Ticket scalpers: The real ticket masters
Subscribe to Planet Money+
Listen free: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the NPR app or anywhere you get podcasts.
Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter.
This episode is hosted by Darian Woods, Adrian Ma, and Wailin Wong. These episodes of The Indicator were originally produced by Angel Carreras. Cooper Katz McKim produced this episode. It was engineered by Robert Rodriguez and fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. Kate Concannon is The Indicator’s editor. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.
To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:
See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.
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First, what’s making ticket prices go up? We look at the economics behind the ticket market and how “reseller bots” are wreaking all sorts of havoc. The industry is not a fan, and yet they do serve an economic function.
And… why pet care costs have surged. It comes down to unique skills, people’s love for their pets and something called the “Baumol effect.”
Related episodes:
- The Vet Clinic Chow Down
- What Do Private Equity Firms Actually Do?
- Kid Rock vs. The Scalpers
- Ticket scalpers: The real ticket masters
Subscribe to Planet Money+
Listen free: Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the NPR app or anywhere you get podcasts.
Facebook / Instagram / TikTok / Our weekly Newsletter.
This episode is hosted by Darian Woods, Adrian Ma, and Wailin Wong. These episodes of The Indicator were originally produced by Angel Carreras. Cooper Katz McKim produced this episode. It was engineered by Robert Rodriguez and fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. Kate Concannon is The Indicator’s editor. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money's executive producer.
To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:
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
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