Adrian Ma
Adrian Ma covers work, money and other "business-ish" for NPR's daily economics podcast The Indicator from Planet Money.
His reporting has garnered national honors including a National Edward R. Murrow Award, a Gracie Award and a Public Media Journalists Association Award. Before joining NPR in 2021, he covered the business beat for member stations WBUR in Boston and WCPN in Cleveland.
He's reported on what it's like to deliver groceries during an outbreak, captured the final hours of a tiny cafe, and traveled to China to unpack how the trade war crushed a growing market for U.S. cranberries. He's also covered protests for racial justice, explored what it's like to drive for Amazon, and documented the curious ritual that is 'speed dating for economists.'
His interest in journalism began while studying media law at the University of Maryland School of Law. Later, while working for a judge in Baltimore, he decided to "roll the dice" and change careers. After obtaining a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University, his first news job was as an assistant producer at WNYC in New York.
Some years ago, he worked as a prep cook in a ramen shop.
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GDP has declined for a second quarter in a row — a common definition of a recession. But a group of economists are asking, why rely on that single number to determine the health of the economy?
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The prices of base metals like copper rise and the prices fall for precious metals like gold when the economy is doing well. What happens when both copper and gold prices spiral down?
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The expanded child tax credit expired last year. Some economists say that's eroding progress made in reducing child poverty during the pandemic — leaving families vulnerable during high inflation.
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Ah, college — the classes, the parties, the debt. Is it still worth it? While most schools have seen enrollment declines during the pandemic, there's been a jump in applications at "elite" schools.
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The U.S. dollar is appreciating in value against other currencies — an increase that comes with some benefits, but can also potentially be a drag on the economy.
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In a brief to the Supreme Court, 154 economists wrote that access to legal abortion has led to women attaining higher levels of education and professional occupations and lower rates of child poverty.
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For all the pain it causes, inflation makes old debts easier to pay off. A silver-lining for countries burdened by pandemic debt? Maybe. But if history is any guide, that shine may be short-lived.
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Sri Lanka is in a deep economic and humanitarian crisis. A big contributing factor? Its central bank is running dangerously low on foreign currency reserves.
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Summer travel could be a boom for U.S. airlines, with consumer demand surging. But a pilot shortage, worsened by the pandemic, might get in the way of a return to profitability.
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China has enforced strict regulations on its tech platforms over the past year. But this crackdown has sparked such instability in financial markets that the government may be having second thoughts.