Planet Money & Indicator Internship - Fall/Winter 2025

Program Duration: October 6th, 2025 - April 17th, 2026

INTERN WILL LEARN AND BE EXPOSED TO:

Economics. Finance. Narrative storytelling. Audio production. News. Fact-checking. Delight.

Do you walk around wondering what moves wages? Or who most feels the impacts of inflation? Or how AI will change work? Are you a regular listener of Planet Money and The Indicator from Planet Money? Are you ready to hit the phones in search of the perfect character? To read the footnotes of BLS reports? To write the perfect Insta caption that celebrates (or questions) the yield curve? Do you read nerdy econ and business blogs for fun?

Planet Money's podcasts are two of the most listened-to and ambitious business reporting shows around. We reach millions of people each week and we take our obligation to inform, delight, and surprise our audience as our guiding mission. We're two tight-knight, highly collaborative, highly productive teams of deeply curious economics and business reporters, and we love telling stories and geeking out about ideas and how to spread the good ones. We have two podcasts, a TikTok channel, a newsletter, and more. You can help us with some of it, maybe even all of it if that's what excites you. We make five short weekly podcasts on the Indicator where every day is a dash to do the best we can, to find the smartest guests, the freshest insights, the most creative opening line. Planet Money makes two longer episodes a week and spends hours and hours in narrative editing mode honing the plot twists or perfecting the right audio mix to land a joke. Both shows take a lot of research, which we can always use help with. We love to teach, and we're looking for someone eager to learn by pitching in on the various projects we have.

The intern will split their time between the two podcasts as part of a rotation. They will spend the first part of the internship working on The Indicator and the second half of the internship working on Planet Money.

If this sounds like something you can throw yourself into, please apply!

Note: This is an NPR editorial role covered under the terms of the NPR Ethics Handbook. All editorial staff are bound by this guidance. Editorial staff are defined as staff members who play a role in shaping the journalistic or creative direction of NPR's content, including events.

Interns will have the opportunity to experience & support the work of the team in the following areas...

• Research, quickly and efficiently, into your ideas, and ours.
• Assist in episode audio production.
• Write copy for npr.org and social channels.
• Regularly assist in crafting posts to social media accounts.
• Jump in to fact-check episodes when needed.
• Book guests.
• Pitch great stories.
• Provide feedback at group edits.
• Monitor team inboxes and social media accounts for feedback from listeners for ideas to pitch, or feedback to heed.
• All work of the intern is to be performed under the close supervision of the host teams.

SHORT TERM PROJECTS AND GOALS

Depending on the intern's career aspirations, there are several concrete tasks we have in place that can help them reach their goals. These include:

• Production work: Cutting down and mixing past episodes for rebroadcast on Morning Edition and All Things Considered. Eventually, if competent, trying to mix longer pieces for publication.
• Writing and Editing: Taking on the responsibility of writing copy for episodes to be published on npr.org, and other channels. Contributing to regular episode group edit sessions and watching as senior staff discuss edit decisions. Assisting reporters in script writing.
• Reporting: The intern may have the opportunity to help book and pre-interview guests, or join reporters on some field reporting when logistically feasible.
• Social Media and audience growth strategy: The intern can work with our producers and editors to share responsibility for creating robust social media content and more effective strategies for reaching new audiences.
• All of the tasks above will be done under the close supervision of the Indicator and Planet Money teams.

A strong internship candidate for this role might have...

• Excellent writing, research, and analytical skills.
• Knowledge of, or at least a keen interest, in economics, finance and business.
• Professional phone presence for guest booking and representing the shows when booking.
• Ability to multitask. Seriously, you will be asked to do many things at once and must be able to allocate your time efficiently.
• Ability to work independently, quickly, and accurately, while under deadline pressure.
• Web skills including knowledge of basic web publishing software and social media strategy basics.
• Ability to remain calm and communicate clearly on tight deadlines.
• Experience with audio software (Pro Tools, Adobe Audition, etc) is a plus, but not required.
• Cultivate and support an inclusive and equitable workplace culture.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

To apply, submit a resume and cover letter.

In your letter, please include the following:

• Tell us why Planet Money and The Indicator. How will this internship serve your longer term career goals? If you don't know what those are yet, be honest, and tell us how this internship will help you generally.
• Show us your writing style. Take a recent episode and look at how we represented it on web/social media. Tell us how we could have done that better. What would you have written for socials?
• Give us a sense that you listen to the shows and tell us what you like about them and what you want to change about them. We deeply value constructive criticism. It's a part of the job. Let us have it as you would on the job, which is to say, with kindness, care and actionable directness.

Tip: Planet Money is a casual podcast team, your letter can be as casual as you are. We are looking for a sense of who you are where your curiosity might lead you. Formal letters get in the way. And do be sure to tell us if there's anything we might not know from your resume about your background or interests or skills that could help us do better work.

EDUCATION:

Must be a current student in an accredited degree program or a recent graduate of no more than 12 months from the month of the start of the internship.

WORK LOCATION

• Remote Permitted: This is a remote permitted role. This role is based out of our New York office but the employee may choose to work on a remote basis from a location that NPR approves.

JOB TYPE

• This is a temporary (28-week) full time internship.

COMPENSATION

• Hourly Rate: The U.S. based anticipated hourly rate for this opportunity is $20.00 per hour. The range displayed reflects the minimum and maximum hourly rate NPR expects to provide for internships across all US locations.
• Benefits: NPR provides interns with multiple benefits and amenities. Interns receive immediate eligibility to contribute electively to a Principal 403(b) retirement plan and access to the Transit Flexible Spending Account for commuter benefits. Interns working out of DC HQ enjoy free access to on-site Cigna medical providers, no cost fitness center access, as well as bike facilities and garage parking available onsite. Interns can access the Employee Assistance Program which provides confidential counseling services as well as Business Travel Accident coverage and Global Guardian membership and they also qualify for Signal Financial Federal Credit Union membership. NPR interns who work 30 or more hours per week are eligible for holiday pay. This includes pay for the company's 10 observed holidays plus one floating holiday per year. Interns automatically earn 3.08 hours of sick leave each pay period without any waiting time restrictions and can utilize paid administrative leave as necessary. Interns have access to professional development opportunities and can benefit from flexible work hours and telecommuting options.

SCHEDULE

• Monday through Friday, 40 hours per week. Typically, 10am / 10:30am - 6pm / 6:30pm ET.

Applications close on Monday, June 30th at 11:59 pm ET.

Does this sound like you? If so, we want to hear from you.

All applications must include a resume and cover letter to be considered.