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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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.
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Because of sanctions imposed after the invasion of Ukraine, Russia is looking at its first foreign debt default since 1918. Moscow says it will take legal action if forced into default.
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Green energy, like wind or solar power, is one solution to fighting climate change. But sometimes it's environmental laws that get in the way of building the infrastructure to produce it.
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Ukraine has been receiving a stream of weapons from the United States and NATO for the past several weeks. Like the goods that come to your door, these weapons have to go through a supply chain.
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Earlier in the pandemic, a Massachusetts manufacturer rebuilt its supply chain to meet the demand for medical gowns. But with the market rush over, the head of the company is having second thoughts.