The US loses tech hires, sayonora to Sora, and Afroman's win

0:01Stacey Vanek Smith:NPR.

0:12This is The Indicator from Planet Money. I'm Waylon Wong.

0:15Stacey Vanek Smith:I'm Darian Woods. And back for more this week, Mary Childs. Hi, I'm here still. Can't get rid of me. Hi. You never left. You never left. I didn't. I won't do it. You have joined once again for our favorite day of the week. It is Indicators of the Week. Indicators of the Week. So this is the... Wait, who is that voice? This is the day of the week when we talk about our favorite numbers from the news. On today's episode, the U.S. loses its edge in the battle for European tech workers. Sora is Nomura. And Afro man saves the First Amendment. Support for NPR and the following message come from Edward Jones.

0:58Stacey Vanek Smith:What does it mean to live a rich life? It means brave first leaps, tearful goodbyes, and everything in between. With over 100 years of experience navigating the ups and downs of the market and of life, your Edward Jones financial advisor will be there to help you move ahead with confidence. Because with all you've done to find your rich, They'll do all they can to help you keep enjoying it. Edward Jones, member SIPC. This message comes from BetterHelp. International Women's Day is this March. Time to celebrate all women. The leaders, the caregivers, the hype friends, the how-do-you-do-it-all types.

1:36Stacey Vanek Smith:Women deserve to be reminded how much they matter, and that therapy offers a space to care for themselves. BetterHelp makes it simple by matching you with a qualified therapist based on your needs and preferences. Visit BetterHelp.com slash NPR for 10 % off. This message comes from Wix. Nothing beats seeing your ideas turn into cold, hard cash. Well, if you use Wix Harmony, you better get used to it. Wix Harmony makes it unbelievably easy to create a fancy new website that's built to sell. Get the perfect blend of AI and drag-and-drop tools that puts you in control of every detail, plus an AI agent to help you every step of the way.

2:17Stacey Vanek Smith:Try it for free at Wix.com slash Harmony.

2:24It's Indicators of the Week. Darian, you're up first.

2:27Stacey Vanek Smith:My indicator is 112, as in Europe gained a net new 112 tech workers from the U.S. in the first half of last year. Usually, Europe loses its tech workers to the U.S., but for the first six months of 2025, that situation was reversed. This is according to Revello Labs in collaboration with The Economist magazine. This is a sign of the times. Yeah, I mean, historically, Silicon Valley has been a huge drawcard for anybody working in tech. You've got 56 of the world's 100 most valuable tech companies in the U.S., whereas Europe has only six. Well, I mean, I guess the U.S. tech scene has benefited from being one big country compared to Europe, right?

3:09which is obviously a collection of all different countries, and each one has different languages and laws. And people also talk more about regulation in Europe being stricter around tech. So how much weight do you think the regulation argument holds?

3:22Stacey Vanek Smith:Yeah, so the European Union has notoriously strict tech laws like the General Data Protection Regulation. That's a big internet privacy law. Right, GDPR. Classic. We know and love it. All those accept cookies, notifications. So studies show that GDPR reduced innovation and investment in startups. There's also been tax rules that have made it harder for European startups to pay their employees in stock options like they do in California. OK, so that's why Europe has lagged in tech. But what's changed? So a few things. Some European countries have recently passed laws to make their tax rules around stock options much more favorable.

3:58Stacey Vanek Smith:That would have helped get a more Silicon Valley style compensation on the books. And then there's been a general recognition that in an era of Trump, I don't know, threatening to seize Greenland, things like that, Europe needs more local tech companies. Things like Utilsat, which competes with Starlink, that has galvanized European governments to be more supportive of their local tech industries. Also, as immigration has tightened up in the US, that has undoubtedly discouraged European tech workers from heading over the Atlantic. That was really interesting, Darian. Let's stay in the tech world, Waylon.

4:34My indicator is six months. That is the lifespan of the AI video app Sora. OpenAI publicly released Sora in September 2025. And then this week, the company said it's shutting down the app. It said on X, what you made with Sora mattered. And we know this news is disappointing.

4:53Stacey Vanek Smith:What did you make with Sora, Waylon? Not a darn thing. Did you make anything with Sora? I didn't. Mary? Mary? No. Also no? No, what I made with Sora was nothing. I mean, I never did it, but I know I'm definitely coming across a lot of AI-generated videos on my social media feeds. Maybe you guys are seeing the same. They seem kind of inescapable these days. Yes, I have seen the AI videos. Some more amusing than others. But it also seems like OpenAI is wanting to kind of focus on its core capabilities now and not getting too distracted with consumer apps. Is that right? Yeah, OpenAI told CNN that the Sora team is going to focus on technology that will, quote, help people solve real-world physical tasks.

5:37And the end of Sora is also looking like the end of a much-value-hood deal between OpenAI and Disney. In December, the two companies announced a three-year licensing agreement. Disney was going to let Sora use hundreds of its characters, including ones from Marvel and Star Wars, and it was going to stream some of these short-form videos on Disney+. Wow. So you're telling me I can't actually start my dream dove series of WandaVision, but where she starts a hedge fund with magic. That would have been so good. And then it would have been like, Agatha all along. Oh, my God. Right. She's an activist all along.

6:12Oh, my gosh. All right. Well, we'll just have to pitch Disney separately now that Sora is shut down. But Disney also made a$1 billion investment in OpenAI as part of this Sora deal. And it's not clear what is happening to that money. Disney told CNN that it respects OpenAI's decision to shift its priorities elsewhere, away from WandaVision the hedge fund.

6:36Stacey Vanek Smith:That is super interesting. Like, are we at this position where AI investment is stalling, or is this just a new chapter? I'm going to be keeping a close eye. And you've been keeping a close eye on a trial recently. Mary Charles. Yes. My indicator of this week is$3.9 million U.S. dollars. That is how much an iconic rapper will not have to pay. Is this about Afro Man? Yes, it is. Yes. This one's pretty easy. I did not have to go hunting to find this number. It really came to me. um afro man for context he in the early aughts like everyone had to be listening to afro man it was i think the law um specifically for the song because i got high do we all remember that song i have heard it it's been stuck in my head all day because of doing this but um i really appreciate that it's like i was gonna go to court but i got high but then he did go to court right I was going to pay my child support.

7:37Do you remember that? So anyway, I think, in my opinion, he's got to be among the most Napster or LimeWire downloaded artists of all time, at least in my social circles. You had to know all of the words to tenacious D and affirm man.

7:50Stacey Vanek Smith:Okay, so was he not paying his child support? That's not it. He had to go to court for a defamation case in Ohio. So the origins of this go back to 2022 when sheriff's deputies raided his house, guns drawn and all, on suspicion of drug trafficking and kidnapping. They found nothing and charged him with nothing. But he says they messed up his stuff, scared his kids, and stole some of his cash. So in 2023, he told NPR he came up with a plan. He would make some funny songs about the cops, and those songs would make money, and then he would use that money to pay for the damages. Poetic justice, you might call it.

8:26it's very tidy it's a tidy plan so it's exactly what he did he released an album called Lemon Pound Cake making fun of the cops and the music videos use footage from his own home security camera and his wife's cell phone so one of the sheriff's deputies who appeared to get distracted from actively raiding Afro Man's home he like gets distracted by a cake stand on Afro Man's kitchen counter that would also be me I love Pound Cake it totally would

8:53Stacey Vanek Smith:Officer Waylon focus here's the beautiful yield from that moment. The artistic yield. Of what? I gotta try this lemon pound cake. So that really hurt the cop's feelings. And so they sued him, including for defamation and invasion of privacy, asking for almost$4 million and to make him take the content down. Wait, so they busted into his house, but they are now saying that he violated their privacy with a song about cake? Am I getting the facts of this case right? When you put it that way, Waylon, they asserted that Afro Man's videos damaged their reputation and made it harder for them to do their job.

9:36And one of the cops, who is now retired, said that Afro Man calling him Officer Pound Cake stuck. And people started sending him pound cakes to his office. Hundreds of pound cakes. I would be delighted if people send me hundreds of pound cakes to my office. Should I start calling you Officer Pound Cake, though? I would eat them all, please. Some of the cops got really emotional talking about this. and videos of that also went viral. Oh no, they're doing themselves no favors.

10:01Stacey Vanek Smith:And so I'm guessing this is a First Amendment victory for Mr. Afro-Man? Well, yes, that's what he argued, and the jury sided with Afro-Man on all claims, and Afro-Man called it a victory for all Americans. This episode was produced by Angel Carreras with engineering by Jimmy Keely. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez and Corey Bridges. Peggy Cannon is our editor, and The Indicator is a production of NPR. Darian, what are you doing on April 6th? I'm going to be at the 92nd Y in New York City performing a Planet Money podcast with you. That's right. Do you guys happen to know what economist Emily Oster is doing on that day?

10:37So funny you should mention because she'll be there too. Get your tickets.

10:41Stacey Vanek Smith:This is a live show for the Planet Money book tour. Get the book and a tote bag and see us live. PlanetMoneyBook.com for details. Support for NPR and the following message come from Washington Wise. Decisions made in Washington can affect your portfolio every day. Washington Wise from Charles Schwab is an original podcast that unpacks the stories making news and how they may affect your finances and portfolio. Host Mike Townsend and his guests explore policy initiatives for retirement savings, taxes, trade, and more. Download the latest episode and follow at schwab.com slash Washington Wise or wherever you listen.

11:18This message comes from Mint Mobile. If you're tired of spending hundreds on big wireless bills, bogus fees, and free perks, Mint Mobile is for you. Shop plans at mintmobile.com slash switch. Taxes and fees extra. See Mint Mobile for details. Support for NPR and the following message come from ID Tech. ID Tech is where kids ages 7 to 17 find their people. The battle bots, game design, and more people. Go to IDTech.com and use code IDTech to save$150 this summer.