ICE raids, cooling on capitalism, and a Murdoch settlement

Summary

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The Indicator from Planet Money

Episode: ICE raids, cooling on capitalism, and a Murdoch settlement

Date: September 12, 2025

Hosts: Waylon Wong, Adrienne Ma, Mary Childs

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Overview

This episode explores three major stories through a signature “indicator” for each:

• Americans’ shifting attitudes on capitalism and socialism,
• The complexity behind a major ICE raid at a Hyundai plant in Georgia,
• The conclusion of the Murdoch family’s real-life succession drama with a multibillion-dollar settlement.

Each host presents an important number tied to these news events, unraveling their broader economic and social implications with insight, data, and trademark wit.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Cooling Sentiment on Capitalism (Gallup Poll)

Indicator: 54%
Segment: [02:08 - 04:46]

• Adrienne Ma introduces a new Gallup poll revealing that only 54% of Americans have a favorable view of capitalism, down from 61% in 2010.
  • "It's actually a 7 point decline from when Gallup first asked this question to people in 2010." (Adrienne Ma, 02:32)
• Notably, 39% expressed a favorable view of socialism, up slightly from 36% in 2010.
  • "Socialism kind of coming strong now..." (Adrienne Ma, 03:32)
• The poll asked respondents for positive or negative “images” of terms, without imposing strict definitions.
  • "You would get a hundred different answers." (Mary Childs, 03:54)
• Gallup analyst Jeffrey Jones attributes the decline to:
  • Rising populist sentiment,
  • Shifting views among younger Americans,
  • Even some younger Republicans are less hostile to socialism.
  • "Younger people in general seem less hostile to the idea of socialism than people from older generations. And that even goes for young Republicans." (Adrienne Ma, 04:40)
• Memorable reaction:
  • "Oh, socialist Republicans. I'm gonna have to sit with that one." (Mary Childs, 04:43)

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2. ICE Raid at Hyundai Plant in Georgia

Indicator: 475
Segment: [04:54 - 07:56]

• Mary Childs details an ICE raid that detained around 475 people at a Hyundai-LG battery plant, many of whom were South Korean nationals.
  • "That is about how many people were detained after a raid at a Hyundai plant in Georgia last week." (Mary Childs, 04:54)
• The incident underscores a policy paradox:
  • US government incentivizes foreign investment,
  • But doesn’t supply enough visas for specialized workers needed for large-scale projects.
  • "It's all because of this sort of absurd tension between two US policies." (Mary Childs, 05:37)
• Despite a low unemployment rate (4.3%), there aren’t enough American workers with the required skills for advanced manufacturing.
  • "We just haven't been doing manufacturing here. So our workforce does not have the experience or the expertise in these areas." (Mary Childs, 06:13)
• Companies bring in foreign workers using inappropriate visas (like B1, for business but not pay), often through contractors—an “open secret” until recent enforcement.
• Timing complicated US–South Korea relations, as both nations were finalizing a major trade deal with billions at stake.
  • "The raid just so happened right as the US and South Korea were nearing the finish line on a trade deal." (Mary Childs, 07:24)
• Latest: Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with South Korean officials; most detainees are returning home.
  • "Most of the South Korean national who were detained are flying home." (Mary Childs, 07:46)

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3. Murdoch Family Succession Settlement

Indicator: $3.3 billion
Segment: [08:08 - 10:13]

• Waylon Wong uses the lens of HBO’s “Succession” to discuss the real Murdoch family saga.
  • "I'm actually not talking about the finale that aired on HBO. I'm talking about the finale to the real life succession saga involving the Murdoch family..." (Waylon Wong, 08:15)
• Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch buy out three of Lachlan’s siblings (James, Prudence, Elizabeth) for $1.1 billion each, cementing Lachlan as heir to the media empire.
  • "They each get $1.1 billion." (Waylon Wong, 08:52)
• The trust structure, dating to 1999, intended equal control for four siblings post-Rupert; splits over ideology (Lachlan more conservative, closer to Rupert) drove legal battles.
• Rupert Murdoch argued that Lachlan’s sole leadership would maintain the company’s value—i.e., the conservative identity of their media outlets.
  • "The company's value would be best preserved if Lachlan could run things without his siblings trying to, you know, take the company in a more moderate direction." (Waylon Wong, 09:41)
• New trust: siblings are bought out and have no say in company operations.
  • "There's a new trust. Lachlan siblings will not get a say in how the company is run. But… we are each a billion dollars richer. I wonder how they feel about capitalism." (Waylon Wong, 10:13)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "54%...just over a majority of respondents said they have a favorable view of capitalism. And that is my indicator this week."
  • Adrienne Ma, 02:32
• "Oh, socialist Republicans. I'm gonna have to sit with that one."
  • Mary Childs, 04:43
• "We just haven't been doing manufacturing here. So our workforce does not have the experience or the expertise in these areas. So maybe domestic workers could get trained, but certainly not on the timelines that these projects mandate."
  • Mary Childs, 06:13
• "The raid just so happened right as the US and South Korea were nearing the finish line on a trade deal."
  • Mary Childs, 07:24
• "Rupert Murdoch sued the other three, right?"
  • Mary Childs, 09:39
• "But… we are each a billion dollars richer. I wonder how they feel about capitalism."
  • Waylon Wong, 10:13

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:08] Indicator 1: Declining Favorability of Capitalism (Gallup Poll)
• [04:54] Indicator 2: ICE Raid at Hyundai Plant and Policy Tensions
• [08:08] Indicator 3: Murdoch Family Succession Settlement

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Tone & Energy

Throughout, the hosts balance clarity, insightful economic context, and a conversational, playful tone. They use humor and relatable pop culture references (“Succession”) to make big economic and policy shifts feel accessible.

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Summary

This Indicator episode brings depth to three major economic stories—a retreat from pro-capitalist consensus, real-world immigration dilemmas complicating US industrial ambitions, and the billion-dollar conclusion of a trans-national media dynasty's family intrigue. With numbers as entry points and banter that clarifies the news, it delivers sharp, digestible analysis for listeners wanting to keep up with the ever-shifting economic and business landscape.

Transcript

[Mary Childs]

Npr.

[Waylon Wong]

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

[Adrienne Ma]

I'm Adrienne Ma.

[Waylon Wong]

And coming over to the Indicator side of the street this week, one merry child. Welcome. Hi.

[Mary Childs]

Hello. Thank you for having me.

[Adrienne Ma]

Do we have like crosswalks on Indicator Street?

[Waylon Wong]

Yes, it's very safe.

[Mary Childs]

I would never jaywalk.

[Adrienne Ma]

Safety first, Mary. It is awesome to have you here. And I don't have to tell you both. You know what time it is, right?

[Waylon Wong]

Indicators. Whee. That's right. We have looked at interesting numbers in the news this week and we are here to tell you all about them. So on today's episode, a lot of.

[Adrienne Ma]

Americans are not too hot on capitalism these days.

[Mary Childs]

The US Policies behind the Hyundai plant.

[Waylon Wong]

Ice raids and one long family succession saga comes to an end.

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[Waylon Wong]

Indicators of the week Adrian, what's your indicator?

[Adrienne Ma]

So my indicator comes from a Gallup poll released this week. In this poll, Gallup asked about 1100 people whether they had a favorable or unfavorable view of capitalism. Any guesses as to what percent of respondents say they have a favorable view of capitalism?

[Mary Childs]

Hmm, 32.

[Waylon Wong]

Okay, I'm gonna go a little high. I'm gonna go 47.

[Adrienne Ma]

Playing by the Price is Right rules, Whalen is the winner here because the actual answer is 54%. Just over a majority of respondents said they have a favorable view of capitalism. And that is my indicator this week. So a majority of respondents say, you know capitalism, I'm into it. But 54% is actually a 7 point decline from when Gallup first asked this question to people in 2010. And before we declare capitalism on the skids, the majority of people, the vast majority of people in this poll said they are in favor of small business and also free enterprise. But as capitalism has been losing its luster in recent years, it's. Interestingly, people's views of socialism has actually improved. And we have about 39% of people in this poll saying they have a favorable view of socialism.

[Mary Childs]

What does that compare to 2010?

[Adrienne Ma]

Okay, so that compares to 36% back in 2010. Okay, so it's like a slight increase. Socialism kind of coming strong now, where.

[Waylon Wong]

They just asked, like, capitalism, what do you think? Socialism, what do you think? Or were these terms more defined?

[Adrienne Ma]

So the question was phrased like this. Off the top of your head, would you say you have a positive or negative image of each of the following? And then they would put in the word capitalism or socialism.

[Mary Childs]

You would get a hundred different answers.

[Adrienne Ma]

Maybe a lot of people could interpret this question different ways. But one of the big takeaways, at least according to a Gallup analyst named Jeffrey Jones, is that overall, there is a decline in. In how warm people feel about capitalism and at least socialism kind of creeping up the ranks a little bit for Democrats, especially younger Democrats, thanks to politicians like aoc. But this analyst also says that what's going on here might also be a shift in rising populist sentiment among Americans, and that could be kind of dampening the capitalist fervor. And finally says just younger people in general seem less hostile to the idea of socialism than people from older generations. And that even goes for young Republicans.

[Mary Childs]

Oh, socialist Republicans. I'm gonna have to sit with that one.

[Adrienne Ma]

Yeah, that's my political economic indicator. Mary, you want to go next?

[Mary Childs]

My number is 475. That is about how many people were detained after a raid at a Hyundai plant in Georgia last week.

[Adrienne Ma]

I read about this.

[Mary Childs]

Y was big news. Many of those 475 were South Korean nationals. So the ICE raid on the plant targeted workers who were in the country without the correct papers, and many of them were there to build a battery manufacturing facility in a joint venture between Hyundai and lg. So obviously, we've heard a lot about ICE rates lately, of course, and we might be hearing more of this flavor because the FT and the Journal both reported that there are a lot of other Korean facilities here in the US with some similar visa issues. And it's all because of this sort of absurd tension between two US Policies. So on the one hand, the US Federal government is saying, we want international investment in this country, and we're coaxing other nations to pour resources onto our shores in exchange for, for example, lower tariff rates. But then, according to this reporting, the US Government is just not supplying enough visas for the workers required to enable the actual projects to succeed.

[Waylon Wong]

I feel like the question here is then, like, couldn't these companies hire Americans to fill these positions?

[Mary Childs]

You might think so, but no, not really, because there just aren't enough workers. I mean, the unemployment rate right now is 4.3%. But more importantly, there aren't enough workers with these technical skills. We just haven't been doing manufacturing here. So our workforce does not have the experience or the expertise in these areas. So maybe domestic workers could get trained, but certainly not on the timelines that these projects mandate.

[Adrienne Ma]

Are you saying that these projects have to get done really quickly?

[Mary Childs]

Yes.

[Waylon Wong]

A lot of the companies have gotten.

[Mary Childs]

Government grants which have mandatory deadlines, and if those deadlines are not met, they could lose out on that money. So in order to get their projects up and running fast enough, apparently they were just cutting corners on visas. So workers have been coming to the US to work on visas, like, for example, the B1 visa, which allows entry for business purposes, but doesn't allow working for pay while here. And apparently this has been an open secret for many years, but US Authorities just were not enforcing anything.

[Waylon Wong]

And some of the news coverage I read said that maybe contractors were involved in doing the hiring. Right. So it's a little bit like maybe the companies are saying, oh, we worked through this intermediary, and we don't know what they were doing.

[Adrienne Ma]

Yeah, this does seem to make things a little bit awkward between us and South Korea.

[Mary Childs]

Yes, the raid just so happened right as the US And South Korea were nearing the finish line on a trade deal. South Korea was going to create a $350 billion investment fund to spend in the US as part of the deal with the US and the US would set tariff rates at 15% down from 25%.

[Adrienne Ma]

This sounds like something that, I don't know, the administration might frame as like an art of the deal thing.

[Mary Childs]

The latest news on this is that the Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with South Korean officials and most of the South Korean national who were detained are flying home.

[Adrienne Ma]

Thank you, Mary. Super interesting to see how that is gonna play out. Last and the most.

[Waylon Wong]

Is that the phrase I'm always the most? Opposite of least.

[Adrienne Ma]

Bring it home.

[Waylon Wong]

All right, so did you two catch the succession series finale?

[Adrienne Ma]

Obviously.

[Mary Childs]

Also. It was two years ago.

[Waylon Wong]

Yes.

[Adrienne Ma]

Loved it.

[Waylon Wong]

No, I'm actually not talking about the finale that aired on hbo I'm talking about the finale to the real life succession saga involving the Murdoch family, which actually was the inspiration for the Roy in the TV series. You know, the Murdochs, the uber wealthy family that owns Fox News, the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, among others. My indicator is $3.3 billion. That is the size of a new deal announced this week that cements oldest son Lachlan Murdoch as the heir to the family empire.

[Adrienne Ma]

So I guess unlike the TV show with the Murdochs, it's actually the. The oldest son who gets the keys to the kingdom.

[Waylon Wong]

Exactly. He did prevail. Rupert and Lachlan Murdoch are essentially buying out three of Lachlan's siblings, James, Prudence, and Elizabeth. They each get $1.1 billion. And just to give you some background on this whole drama, under the terms of a trust created back in 1999, these four children were supposed to get joint control of the family business after the death of Rupert Murdoch, the patriarch. But the kids aren't all ideologically aligned, so there's been a lot of tension since then. Like, Lachlan is considered more conservative and closer to his father than the other three.

[Adrienne Ma]

Hmm.

[Mary Childs]

Do you think he watched succession and took notes? He's like, okay, don't do that. No big birthday party.

[Waylon Wong]

Didn't all bangers all the time on the birthday playlist?

[Mary Childs]

Rupert Murdoch sued the other three, right?

[Waylon Wong]

Yeah. I mean, talk about mess. Rupert asked a court to change the terms of this trust to give Laughlin sole control of the family business. And. And what's interesting is that the argument he used is that he basically said the company's value would be best preserved if Lachlan could run things without his siblings trying to, you know, take the company in a more moderate direction.

[Adrienne Ma]

Oh, interesting. Okay, so best for business means kind of maintaining Fox News conservative political stance.

[Waylon Wong]

Yeah. And Lachlan, you know, is the guy to do it. And so now there's a new trust. Lachlan siblings will not get a say in how the company is run. But you. You know what? We are each a billion dollars richer. I wonder how they feel about capitalism. This episode was produced by Angel Carreras with engineering by Kwesi Lee. It was fact checked by Sierra Juarez and edited by Paddy Hirsch. Kate Concannon is our show's editor, and the indicator is a production of npr.

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