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Is the federal debt REALLY that bad?

Photograph courtesy of Darian Woods
Darian Woods
/
Darian Woods
Photograph courtesy of Darian Woods

Sandwiched between a burger joint and an oyster bar in New York City hangs a daunting image: The National Debt Clock. And that debt number? It just keeps ticking up.

How deep in the hole are we? Nearly a hundred percent of gross domestic product. And counting.

Today on the show, the federal debt. Is it time to freak out? Or is there nothing to see here?

Related Episodes:
The time the US paid off all its debt
Can YOU solve the debt crisis?

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

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Darian Woods is a reporter and producer for The Indicator from Planet Money. He blends economics, journalism, and an ear for audio to tell stories that explain the global economy. He's reported on the time the world got together and solved a climate crisis, vaccine intellectual property explained through cake baking, and how Kit Kat bars reveal hidden economic forces.
Wailin Wong
Wailin Wong is a long-time business and economics journalist who's reported from a Chilean mountaintop, an embalming fluid factory and lots of places in between. She is a host of The Indicator from Planet Money. Previously, she launched and co-hosted two branded podcasts for a software company and covered tech and startups for the Chicago Tribune. Wailin started her career as a correspondent for Dow Jones Newswires in Buenos Aires. In her spare time, she plays violin in one of the oldest community orchestras in the U.S.
Angel Carreras
Kate Concannon
Kate Concannon is the Supervising Senior Editor at The Indicator from Planet Money. She leads this small, collaborative team of hosts, reporters and producers in making sense of crucial, but often complex and confusing, economic news in just 10 minutes a day.