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.
-
No country can come close to the amount of money Americans spend at the box office… until China came along. The U.S. and Chinese film industries have a long history, with shifting power dynamics.
-
The Trump administration's crackdowns on immigrants is causing a profound change in the labor force right now. Today on the show: are immigrants still showing up for work?
-
For decades, the U.S. has welcomed the flow of foreign capital into the country. But two tax measures nestled into President Trump's spending package could change that.
-
At colleges across the U.S., football coaches are often among the highest paid people. NPR's Planet Money looks into what makes them so valuable.
-
People blame gun violence on different things depending on their political leanings. But Jens Ludwig, an economist at the University of Chicago, has found a different reason behind it. Today, we bring you a story on solutions to gun violence.
-
Brain drain happens to smaller countries all the time, with high performers finding opportunities overseas, often in the U.S. But the table may be turning as the NIH blocks grant applications.
-
The tone of voice and personality that brands use to market themselves to consumers has changed a lot in the past decade, with many brands communicating more frequently and in overly familiar ways.
-
A brief history of U.S. tariffs: How they came into fashion, fell out of fashion, are now back again and why economists aren't too happy about it.
-
The World Trade Organization has long served as the referee for global trade disputes. But recently, it has been sidelined by the U.S. and others. So who referees the trade wars now?
-
The World Trade Organization has long served as the referee for global trade disputes. But recently, it has been sidelined by the U.S. and others, which means there's no referee to mediate the trade wars.