# @planetmoney on YouTube

- **Type:** Video
- **Original URL:** https://youtube.com/watch?v=r2oo0u2Zpdw
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/70544983-planetmoney-youtube
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/ffcb6f3e9a.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-09-18T20:13:13.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Planet Money (@planetmoney) — https://gondola.cc/planetmoney

## Caption

Did a pizza restaurant’s humble status page change how we wait forever? 

When you order a Lyft or Uber, you get texts every few minutes about your car approaching and arriving. When you have a package coming, you get a notification when it’s shipped, when it’s en route, and when it’s out for delivery. Why do so many companies send these constant updates?

We have a theory: It’s because of Domino’s. In 2008, Domino’s launched the Pizza Tracker, a novel tool that delighted customers by allowing them to obsessively monitor their pizza’s progress from order to oven to delivery. The Pizza Tracker became a canonical model for other companies trying to improve their customers’ experiences of waiting for all kinds of products and services. And now? Pizza Trackers are everywhere. 

On today’s show: how the Domino’s Pizza Tracker shaped the internet, and how trackers went from transparently sharing information with consumers to — in some cases — actively deceiving us. 

Support:
— Planet Money+ (https://n.pr/3HlREPz) 

Read:
— Our book: Planet Money: A Guide to the Economic Forces That Shape Your Life (https://lnk.to/i3AukBdD) 
— Our weekly longform Planet Money newsletter (https://n.pr/3zrFvUB) 
— Our weekly Indicator round-up newsletter (https://www.npr.org/newsletter/indicator) 

Follow:
— Instagram (https://n.pr/3FqLuws) 
— TikTok (https://n.pr/3sGZdrq) 
— YouTube (https://lnk.to/iCVDaW3C) 
— Facebook (https://n.pr/3h92GwS) 

This episode was hosted by Nick Fountain and Alex Mayyasi. It was produced by Sam Yellowhorse Kesler, edited by Liza Yeager, fact-checked by Sierra Juarez and engineered by Cena Loffredo and Jimmy Keeley. Alex Goldmark is Planet Money’s executive producer.

Support public media with NPR+ and enjoy perks for over 25 podcasts like this one. This show’s perks include bonus episodes and sponsor-free listening. Learn more at plus.npr.org (http://plus.npr.org/) .

See pcm.adswizz.com (https://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 (https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy)

## Stats

- **Views:** 4,971
- **Likes:** 46
- **Shares:** 0
- **Comments:** 6

## Credits

| Name | Username | Profile | Role |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Planet Money | @planetmoney | https://gondola.cc/planetmoney | Podcast |

---
Copyright (c) Gondola