Game of 'roids, trader Trump, and searching for Shakira's tax residence

Summary

Episode Summary: "Game of 'roids, trader Trump, and searching for Shakira's tax residence"

Podcast: The Indicator from Planet Money
Date: May 22, 2026
Hosts: Waylon Wong, Darian Woods, Nick Fountain

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Overview

In this bite-sized, engaging episode, the Indicator team dives into three quirky but illuminating economic stories behind the headlines. Each host brings a favorite numerical "indicator of the week" that reveals something strange or meaningful about business, politics, and global celebrity. Topics include President Trump's suspicious stock trades, the wild world of the "Enhanced Games" where athletes are encouraged to dope, and Shakira’s years-long legal battle over Spanish tax residency.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. President Trump's Active Stock Trading (02:08)

• Indicator: 3,642 trades
• Discussion:
  • President Trump disclosed a staggering 3,642 trades in just the first three months of the year, buying shares of major companies like Uber, Chipotle, Tesla, Verizon, and Disney.
  • While most trades are made by his financial advisor and managed by third parties, hundreds were marked "unsolicited," implying these were Trump's own decisions.
  • Memorable Moment: "Purchasing somewhere between 1 to 5 million dollars worth of Microsoft shares on March 19. Even though his advisor didn't bring it up." (Darian Woods, 02:42)
  • This trade closely coincided with the release of a major national AI policy framework that would benefit Microsoft, as the company is a key backer of OpenAI. The timing raises questions about conflicts of interest and potential insider trading.
  • Quote:

    "Microsoft, we should remind everybody, is OpenAI's big backer. And the next day, the White House released its National AI Policy Framework... This framework also told Congress that it shouldn't create a new federal body to regulate AI." (Darian Woods, 03:05)

  • Other trades noted as closely following positive mentions by Trump or favorable policy moments for major companies.

2. The Enhanced Games: Doping as a Feature, Not a Bug (04:45)

• Indicator: $25 million prize pool
• Discussion:
  • The upcoming Enhanced Games in Las Vegas break with traditional athletics by encouraging performance-enhancing drug use. The organizers themselves sell products like testosterone injections and peptides.
  • Memorable Moment: "CNN described the Enhanced Games as a 'doping free for all.'" (Waylon Wong, 05:21)
  • The games tout themselves as an alternative to the Olympics for "enhanced athletes," including competitors like the actor who played The Mountain in Game of Thrones.
  • Explains peptides in simple terms, noting FDA-approved versus non-approved uses, and the overlap with popular anti-aging or muscle-building substances.
  • The ethics and risks are heavily debated, with the US Anti-Doping Agency calling the event a "dangerous clown show."
  • Quote:

    "He thought the Enhanced Games were a dangerous clown show." (Waylon Wong, 06:52)

3. Shakira's Globe-Trotting Tax Battle (07:16)

• Indicator: 55 million euros
• Discussion:
  • Spain's tax authority has been ordered to pay Shakira back 55 million euros after a court found they could not prove she was a tax resident in 2011.
  • The crux: Spanish residency law taxes those spending 183 days or more in-country. Shakira claims just 143 days in Spain, the rest spent traveling for work and living in tax-haven locations.
  • The court sided with Shakira, but Spain may appeal, suggesting that spending the most days somewhere—even if under the threshold—should trigger tax liability.
  • Quote:

    "'What if you are such a globetrotter that you don't spend a majority of the year in any country? ... Does the country you spent the most time have a claim on your income?'" (Darian Woods, 09:16)

  • The hosts riff on Shakira's hits to tie in her peripatetic lifestyle with legal strategies:

    "So they're essentially saying, wherever, whenever, Shakira should pay her taxes." (Waylon Wong, 09:46)

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• On Presidential Trading:
  "You would think that, you know, to avoid even the whiff of a perception of insider trading or anything fishy, you would just only invest in something boring like the S&P 500."
  — Waylon Wong (04:19)

• On the Enhanced Games:
  "Peptides are these small chains of amino acids. If you put them together, you get protein. ... One that you've almost certainly heard of is GLP-1s like Ozempic and Wegovy and those are FDA approved. A lot of the peptide injection products you might be hearing about from influencers or on social media are not FDA approved."
  — Waylon Wong (05:41)

• On Celebrity Tax Status:
  "'What if you are such a globetrotter that you don't spend a majority of the year in any country? ... Does the country you spent the most time have a claim on your income?'"
  — Darian Woods (09:16)

• Punning on Shakira:
  "So they're essentially saying, wherever, whenever, Shakira should pay her taxes."
  — Waylon Wong (09:46)

  "She's essentially saying, trips don't lie. I was on the road. I'm giving up there."
  — Nick Fountain (09:51)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [02:08] — Trump’s 3,642 financial trades and the questions they raise
• [03:01] — Microsoft trade and AI policy nexus
• [04:45] — Introduction to the Enhanced Games and their pro-doping stance
• [05:32] — Explaining peptides and regulatory gaps
• [06:38] — "The Mountain" and athlete lineup
• [06:52] — US Anti-Doping Agency’s “clown show” reaction
• [07:16] — Shakira’s €55 million tax refund
• [08:21] — Spanish residency law (183 days) explained
• [09:16] — What happens when no country is “home” for a pop star?

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Final Thoughts

This episode typifies The Indicator’s playful but sharp approach to financial journalism, mixing curious headlines with policy insight and witty banter among knowledgeable hosts. Whether you're interested in presidential ethics, unorthodox athletic competitions, or the strange intricacies of celebrity tax law, this episode covers it all in ten lively minutes.

Transcript

[A]

Npr. This is the Indicator from Planet Money. I'm Waylon Wong.

[B]

And I'm Darian Woods.

[C]

And I'm Nick Fountain. Hi.

[A]

And Nick, it is awesome to have you back in the indicator sandbox because today is Indicators.

[B]

So it's that day of the week when we talk about our favorite numbers from the news. And on today's episode, we're talking about the savvy stock trades that President Trump's

[A]

been doing, a high stakes athletic competition that dare asks what if all the athletes were doping?

[C]

And pop star Shakira's Spanish tax drama.

[B]

All of that after the break.

[D]

This message comes from ixl. IXL is an award winning online learning platform that helps kids truly understand what they're learning. This is the time of year when kids benefit from reviewing key learning concepts to end the year on a high note. One subscription covers everything pre K through 12th grade for all the kids in your home. Make an impact on your child's learning. Get IXL now. Receive an exclusive 20% off IXL membership when signing up [e-mail] NPR this message comes from Dell.

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Dell PCs with Intel inside are built for the moments that matter. Like a big project that can't be interrupted by an update with long lasting battery life. You can stay focused on what matters built for you. Dell.comdellpcs this message comes from LinkedIn. Owning a small business comes with a lot of challenges and means juggling multiple things at once. It's even harder to do it efficiently, but with LinkedIn, you get all the tools you need to grow in one place. With LinkedIn, simplify your sales, marketing and hiring so that you can actually run your small business. Learn [e-mail] Indicators show it's indicators of the Week.

[A]

Darian woods, you're up first.

[B]

My indicator is 3642 and that's how many financial trades President Trump disclosed he made in the first three months of this year. He bought the shares of companies like Uber, Chipotle, Tesla, Verizon, Disney. The list goes on.

[C]

And when you say President Trump, is this him making these trades or is it someone else?

[B]

It's mostly his financial advisor. And the White House has said in response to this disclosure that the president's accounts are managed by independent third party institutions. That said there were hundreds of trades marked unsolicited. These are trades that aren't Trump's financial advisors recommendations. So it implies that hundreds were Trump trades, like purchasing somewhere between 1 to 5 million dollars worth of Microsoft shares on March 19. Even though his advisor didn't bring it up.

[A]

Was there anything policy related happening on March 19?

[B]

A lot was happening. So Microsoft, we should remind everybody, is OpenAI's big backer. And the next day, the White House released its National AI Policy Framework. It was a document imploring lawmakers to, quote, lead the world in AI by removing barriers to innov and quote, accelerating deployment of AI applications across sectors. This framework also told Congress that it shouldn't create a new federal body to regulate AI.

[C]

That definitely does sound like it would benefit Microsoft. And by the way, we should mention Microsoft is a financial supporter of npr.

[B]

But was this just a coincidence? It could be, but journalist Judd Legham, he was the founder of the progressive website ThinkProgress. He found some examples that do seem much more than a coincidence. Like in a call with Fox News the day after the President bought Micron stocks, President Trump said it's one of the hottest companies. He also bought stock in the medical supplies company Thermo Fisher the month before he visited its factory, Dell, Nvidia, amd. These companies were also implicated in trades suspiciously close to major publicity or policy.

[A]

You know, I understand that it is legal for the President to make trades, but you would think that, you know, to avoid even the whiff of a perception of insider trading or anything fishy, you would just only invest in something boring like the S&P 500.

[C]

Speaking of not caring about perception, Waylon, I think you have something related to that.

[A]

I do. My indicator is $25 million. That is the amount of prize money potentially at stake in the first ever Enhanced Games. This is an athletic competition that's taking place in Las Vegas next week.

[C]

And enhanced. I think I'm picking up what you're putting down, but explain it.

[A]

Yeah. So the athletes in this competition can take performance enhancing drugs and in fact they are encouraged to. The company behind Enhanced Games makes products like testosterone injections and peptides.

[B]

So these athletes could all be doping.

[A]

Yeah, and actually CNN described the Enhanced Games as a doping free for all. The organizers say they are offering an alternative to the Olympics which they say vilify enhanced athletes.

[C]

All right, so the organizers sell peptides. I feel like I've heard that word many, many times in the last month, but still don't really know what it, you know, means. What's a peptide?

[A]

Yes, so just to do a little peptide 101. Peptides are these small chains of amino acids. If you put them together, you get protein. And there are thousands of different kinds of peptides out there. One that you've almost Certainly heard of is GLP1s like Ozempic and WeGovy and those are FDA approved. A lot of the peptide injection products you might be hearing about from influencers or on social media are not FDA approved. They are being marketed as ways to build muscle or promote anti aging. And a big fan of peptides is Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. You

[B]

reckon he might compete in the Enhanced Games?

[A]

I did not see him on the roster of athletes on the website, but there's about like 40 plus athletes from around the world who are set to be competing in weightlifting and swimming and tracking. One of those athletes is actually that Icelandic guy who played the mountain on Game of Thrones.

[C]

Oh yeah, huge guy.

[A]

He's huge. He's going to be trying to deadlift some record breaking amount of weight which I will not be doing that over Memorial Day weekend. But

[C]

sounds like quite the spectacle.

[A]

Yeah. The head of the US Anti Doping Agency told CNN he thought the Enhanced Games were a dangerous clown show. You can tune in.

[C]

He wouldn't say that.

[A]

He would say that.

[C]

He would say that though, wouldn't he?

[A]

It goes against everything.

[B]

His whole life's work.

[A]

Whole life's work ruined. But you know what, you can tune in next weekend and decide for yourself.

[B]

All right, last but not least, Nick, what's going on in your neighborhood?

[C]

Yeah, My indicator is 55 million. That's the number of euros that Spain's tax authority has been ordered to pay pop star Shakira.

[A]

I have been reading headlines about Shakira and her tax troubles for but it feels like literally years. So what's, what is happening?

[C]

Right, this has been a saga, as you mentioned. It all has to do with what counts as being a resident for tax purposes. So the Spanish authorities have been in this long battle with Shakira for multiple calendar years that they say she avoided Spanish income taxes for some of those years she settled, but for the year 2011 she did not. She's been fighting back because while the Spanish tax authorities said she was a resident of Spain that year, she said no, actually I only spent 143 days in Spain that year. And pop quiz, you too. What do you think is the legal threshold for residency according to Spanish law?

[A]

So she said 143. Is it like 145?

[B]

No, I mean it's six months in most places. Right. So what's that? 182.

[C]

182.5 is exactly half of 182.5. They go with 183. And since Spain's tax Authorities could not prove that Shakira was in Spain for that many days in 2011. A court ordered that they pay her back for the various fines she paid them, plus interest. I will say there is an interesting question behind this. Like, Shakira says she was a resident of the Bahamas that year. Conveniently, they do not have an income tax. It's unclear if she actually even spent any time there that year. What we do know is that she spent a bunch of time on the road that year touring. This was the year after she released that earworm. That was the official song of the 2010 World Cup. This time for Africa. You remember that?

[A]

Cause this is Africa. Oh, I do know this song.

[C]

Pretty good one.

[A]

Yeah. Yeah, that's a good one.

[B]

So the question is, like, what if you are such a globetrotter that you don't spend a majority of the year in any country? I mean, does the country you spent the most time have a claim on your income?

[C]

Yeah. According to some reporting I read in the Spanish newspaper El Pais, the government might try to appeal this decision to the Spanish Supreme Court, saying essentially that. That, sure, Shakira didn't spend 183 days in Spain, but she spent more time there than anywhere else, so she should pay taxes there.

[A]

So they're essentially saying, wherever, whenever. Shakira should pay her taxes.

[C]

Yes, exactly. And she's essentially saying, trips don't lie. I was on the road. I'm giving up there.

[B]

This episode was produced by Corey Bridges and engineered by Kwesi Lee. It was fact checked by Angel Carreras and Julia Ritchie. Kate Kankaden edits the show and the indicator is a production of npr.

[E]

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