A little show about big ideas. From the people who make Planet Money, The Indicator helps you make sense of what's happening today. It's a quick hit of insight into work, business, the economy, and everything else. Listen weekday afternoons.Try Planet Money+! a new way to support the show you love, get a sponsor-free feed of the podcast, *and* get access to bonus content. You'll also get access to The Indicator and Planet Money Summer School, both without interruptions. sign up at plus.npr.org/planetmoney

A little show about big ideas. From the people who make Planet Money, The Indicator helps you make sense of what's happening today. It's a quick hit of insight into work, business, the economy, and everything else. Listen weekday afternoons. Try Planet Money+! a new way to support the show you love, get a sponsor-free feed of the podcast, *and* get access to bonus content. You'll also get access to The Indicator and Planet Money Summer School, both without interruptions. sign up at plus.npr.org/planetmoney

The Indicator from Planet Money

A recent survey found that nearly half of all Americans say they could not live without GPS in their car. The American economy couldn't live without GPS, either! Clocks on Wall Street, commercial fishermen, and of course, your Lyft driver, all rely on satellite navigation services.
An outage in those services, however, would cripple the U.S. economy. A study found that an outage could cost at least $1 billion a day ...  and we don't have a backup. 
Today on the show, we explain who owns GPS and why we don't have a Plan B if it fails.
Related Episodes:
The Military Industry ... It's Complex
Why the FTC is cracking down on location data brokers
For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. 
Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter. 
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy

Could you live without GPS? It's OK, the economy can't, either