It's ... Indicators of the Week! Our weekly look at some of the most fascinating numbers from the news. On today's episode, we examine three measures the Biden administration is squeezing in before the clock runs out. Those include student loan cancellations, a lawsuit against Capital One, and the banishment of a sweet, sweet artificial dye. Related Episodes: How a consumer watchdog's power became a liabilityWhy big banks aren't interested in your savings account 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

Lithium is one of the hot commodities of the 21st century: needed for electric vehicles, semiconductors needed for AI, and grid-scale batteries. While the U.S. was once a pioneer in lithium production, it's fallen off — with others, including China, taking the reins. On our third and final episode of our grid battery series, we look at the race to produce the key ingredient in most of these batteries. Related episodes:How batteries are already changing the grid (Apple / Spotify) How EV batteries tore apart Michigan (Update) (Apple / Spotify)The surprising leader in EVs (Apple / Spotify) How China became solar royalty (Apple / Spotify) For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter. Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices NPR Privacy Policy