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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Businesses are scrambling for ways to minimize the impact of the Trump administration's global tariff policy. NPR's Planet Money team explores tricks and legal loopholes companies are using.
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NPR's Adrian Ma speaks to Jamie Butters, Detroit bureau chief for The Wall Street Journal, about how President Trump's tariffs are hitting the automotive market.
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Each year for the past 89, Galax, Va., has hosted what it proclaims is the world's oldest and largest fiddler's convention. People come from all around to keep alive a rich American musical tradition.
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NPR's Adrian Ma speaks to Sam Levine, former director of the FTC's Bureau of Consumer Protection, now at UC Berkeley, about the use online data to charge some customers more for products and services.
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"Chief of War" tells the story of the Hawaiian Islands' unification from a native Hawaiian perspective. NPR's Adrian Ma speaks with the show's co-creator, Thomas Pa'a Sibbett.
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As California plans to counter the redistricting attempt by the Texas GOP, NPR's Adrian Ma talks with Katie Fahey, Executive Director of The People, about independent redistricting commissions.
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We look at what's on the line for the Trump administration in the meeting between President Trump and Russia's President Putin, as well as what it means for the president to "federalize" Washington.
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NPR's Adrian Ma talks to Adam Aleksic about his new book, "Algospeak," which looks at how algorithms and online creators are affecting the way people speak offline.
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If it feels like there is an influx of political ads right now, it's because there are. We look at why the ads are everywhere and who is paying for them.
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NPR's Adrian Ma talks to UT-Austin economic historian Carola Binder about why the Federal Reserve is independent and why that matters.