# Hawaii’s worker shortage goes NUTS

An episode of [The Indicator from Planet Money](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1320118593), 29 Jan 2026, 8:44.

Audio: https://prfx.byspotify.com/e/play.podtrac.com/npr-510325/npr.simplecastaudio.com/0a4e8d3b-fe23-4948-9e39-20fcf16f9331/episodes/8c0060e4-7516-44f1-84ca-9cd1442c7d5b/audio/128/default.mp3?awCollectionId=0a4e8d3b-fe23-4948-9e39-20fcf16f9331&awEpisodeId=8c0060e4-7516-44f1-84ca-9cd1442c7d5b&t=podcast&e=nx-s1-5690296&p=510325&d=524&size=8386439

Macadamia nuts. Labor shortages. Volcanoes. All that might sound like econ Mad Libs, but they’re all connected to the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco’s entry into the Beige Book this month: labor shortages are hurting macadamia nut harvests in Hawaii. On today’s show, we take a vacation and talk to someone on the Big Island who runs a macadamia nut farm. He calls them “mac nuts.” Related episodes: Why beef prices are so high For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy

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