We’re less than a year out from the 2024 presidential election. And former President Donald Trump is still leading the pack of Republican candidates, by a lot. This has us wondering: What would another Trump presidency mean for the economy? On the show today, William Howell, professor of American politics at the University of Chicago explains how Trump’s plans to weaken the federal bureaucracy could disrupt the economy, how the former president’s proposals on immigration and Obamacare could go over, and what voters see in his economic agenda. Plus, what this could all mean for our democracy. Then, we’ll get into a major data breach

The U.S. population is aging as Americans choose to have fewer children or none at all. We&#8217;ll get into the many reasons millennials hesitate to jump into motherhood and how to change the narrative around parenting. Plus, fewer children mean fewer people to take care of our aging population in a country already dealing with a senior care crisis. And, Patti LaBelle’s infamous performance of &#8220;This Christmas&#8221; at the 1996 National Christmas Tree Lighting makes us smile. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Aging America faces a senior care crisis&#8221; from Axios <!-- /wp:list-ite

The future of beer is here. &#8220;How We Survive&#8221; host Amy Scott is on the show today to help us taste test beer brewed from recycled water. And we&#8217;ll get into George Santos&#8217; expulsion from the House and why his lies and luxurious spending were particularly provoking. Then we&#8217;ll weigh in on Walmart&#8217;s creative spin on holiday romcoms and more in a game of Half Full / Half Empty. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: &#8220;Water, water, everywhere&#8221; from Marketplace <a href="https://apnew

It&#8217;s day one of COP28, the global climate conference, and countries have already agreed on details for a fund to aid developing countries affected by climate disasters. As wealthier nations begin paying for their contributions to the climate crisis, how long will their support last? Plus, we&#8217;ll hear a Fed Chair&#8217;s divisive turkey analogy for what happens when interest rates are too high for too long. And, why brands are extending those Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: &#8220;COP28 leader Sultan Al Jaber hits back at allegations he used climate talks to strike oil

General Motors is planning higher-octane cash returns for investors in an attempt to restore confidence in its main gig — making vehicles that are not electric. We&#8217;ll get into what this could signal for the broader EV industry. And, many of the Securities and Exchange Commission&#8217;s regulatory powers are on the line in a current Supreme Court case. We&#8217;ll examine what the case has to do with conservative justices&#8217; disdain for the administrative state. Plus, a National Spelling Bee champion&#8217;s secret to success. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: <a href="https://www.wsj.com/business/autos/gm-plans-10-billion-share-repurchase-in-bid-to-assuage-investors-35ec7075?st=xj4lp5kr381478o&amp;reflink=article_copyURL_share" target="_blan

Americans consume a lot of stuff and in turn produce a lot of waste. The average American generated 46 pounds of just e-waste in 2019. But what if there was a way to design an economy that&#8217;s less wasteful and more environmentally friendly? On the show today, Callie Babbitt, professor of sustainability at Rochester Institute of Technology, breaks down the circular economy, its role in fighting climate change and the challenges that lie ahead in public policy and manufacturing if we hope to achieve circularity. We&#8217;ll also hear from a listener with a smart hack for airport pickups during the holidays, and our beloved intern answers the Make Me Smart question. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: <!-- wp:list-it

After being banned from talking about artificial intelligence at Thanksgiving, guest host Matt Levin is eager to chime in on the ongoing Sam Altman controversy and news about a powerful artificial intelligence development at OpenAI. Plus, tech tycoons are behaving more and more like foreign dignitaries. And: Doritos&#8217; new crunch-cancellation technology. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: &#8220;Unpacking the hype around OpenAI’s rumored new Q* model&#8221; from MIT Technology Review </li

This month, at least 12 members of Congress have announced they won&#8217;t seek reelection at the end of their terms. We&#8217;ll get into the record number of retirements and why the job might not be worth the trouble. Then, we&#8217;ll discuss how OpenAI&#8217;s leadership turmoil might be a turning point for the artificial intelligence industry. Plus, a St. Louis football team’s failed attempt to become a Thanksgiving game day staple. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Larry Summers Is OpenAI’s Surprise Pick to Mend Fences&#8221; from The Wall Street Journal <p

The holiday shopping season kicks off this week with Black Friday, and American shoppers are expected to spend a record amount, particularly in online sales. Consumer spending keeps the U.S. economy humming, making up 70% of the country&#8217;s gross domestic product. But it wasn&#8217;t always this way. On the show today, Cornell economic historian Louis Hyman gives us a history lesson on how the American economy became dependent on the consumer, why that change has created serious environmental consequences, and whether there are alternatives to the consumer-driven economy we know today. Plus, what it all has to do with the Salem witch trials. Then, a

In this tight labor market, a growing number of companies are trying to discourage workers from quitting by charging them. Stay or pay clauses are becoming a thing in more workplaces. We&#8217;ll talk about who really bears the cost of calling it quits. Plus, how Federal Reserve economists are taking a page from journalists. And Snoop Dogg, the master marketer! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: &#8220;Federal Reserve Seeks Anecdotes Over Economic Data for Uncertain Outlook&#8221; from Bloomberg

Since Oct. 7, Palestinian and Jewish Americans have been navigating work while enduring anxiety and heartache as the Israel-Hamas War plays out. We&#8217;ll discuss the pressure to perform professionally as the conflict continues. And there&#8217;s some hopeful climate news out of Portugal: The country ran on 100% renewable energy for six days. Plus, we&#8217;re settling the debate on the least-liked Thanksgiving side dish in a round of Half Full/Half Empty. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: &#8220;If Gaza were in your city, how much would be destroyed? | Israel-Palestine conflict News&#8221; fr

It&#8217;s been a wild week on Capitol Hill. GOP Sen. Markwayne Mullin of Oklahoma and Teamsters union President Sean O’Brien almost came to blows in a Senate hearing. And Republicans averted a government shutdown, but only to push the deadline to next year. We&#8217;ll dig into the historically low congressional productivity amid a growing mountain of work. And we&#8217;ll hear President Joe Biden&#8217;s remarks about meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Plus, a look at YouTube&#8217;s AI musical experiment. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: &#8220;GOP senator challenges Teamsters president to fight during hearing&#8221; from The Hill <!-- /wp:list-item -

Elon Musk today disputed claims that an initial public offering is in the works for his satellite business Starlink, an offshoot of SpaceX. But hypothetically speaking, would more eyes on Starlink following an IPO change the way Elon Musk operates on the global stage? And, an influential liberal super PAC is ditching TV ads. We&#8217;ll get into what that tells us about political campaigning in the modern age. Plus, let the holiday party invites start flowing! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/aerospace-defense/spacex-discusses-spinning-off-starlink-via-ipo-soon-2024-bloomberg-news-2023-11-15/" target="_blank" rel=

Many of the world’s largest companies are setting net-zero climate goals, and they’re using carbon credits to get there. That means they can keep producing carbon emissions as long as they pay for emissions to be reduced elsewhere. But do carbon credits actually incentivize companies to reduce their emissions? On the show today, Pedro Martins Barata, associate vice president for carbon markets at the Environmental Defense Fund, explains what carbon credits are and the ethical concerns with companies relying on them to meet net-zero emissions goals. Plus, what future regulation of carbon markets could look like. Then, we&#8217;ll unpack the good an

Marvel Studios&#8217; latest movie, &#8220;The Marvels,&#8221; had the franchise&#8217;s worst opening weekend. We&#8217;ll dig into whether superhero movies are a thing of the past and if theaters can get by without them. Then, another government shutdown may be around the corner. This time it could interfere with Thanksgiving travel plans. Plus, news you can use about online payment apps, and what would be your state&#8217;s signature cocktail? Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: &#8220;‘The Marvels’ Disappoints at Box Office, Showcasing Disney’s Studio Challenge&#8221; from The Wall Street Journ

We&#8217;re discussing some heavy topics today, including threats to democracy from Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump, and traditional Republicans bowing out of reelection as the party heads further to the right. Then, we&#8217;ll reflect on how we should honor our veterans. Later, we&#8217;ll weigh in on an Elon Musk biopic and a global Starbuck expansion in a game of Half Full/Half Empty. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/donald-trump-weaponization-justice-department-political-opponents/

After 118 days, the SAG-AFTRA strike appears to have come to an end, marking a historic win for actors. We&#8217;ll hear from the union&#8217;s president, Fran Drescher, about her delight with the new deal. Also, what Fed chief Jay Powell&#8217;s recurring message on interest rates says about economic belief versus reality. Plus, it&#8217;s the beginning of the end for panda diplomacy, as D.C. bids farewell to its cuddly friends. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: &#8220;Powell Closes The F&#8212;&#8212; Door On Early Rate Cut Hopes: Stocks, Bonds Tumble While Dollar Rallies&#8221; from Business Insider

High interest rates are making our already enormous national debt more expensive, and many economists are worried. We&#8217;ll discuss what it may cost to get the national debt under control. Plus, a referendum to replace Maine&#8217;s two main power companies with a publicly owned alternative was shot down in yesterday&#8217;s election. And, the James Webb Space Telescope is revolutionizing the way we see the universe. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;What it would cost to stabilize the soaring national debt&#8221; from Axios <!-- wp:lis

Today we&#8217;re talking about another potential tool in the climate solutions toolbox: carbon capture. The 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law put $12 billion toward the tech, which promises to take carbon emissions straight from the air and store them underground. But there are concerns that supporting the fledgling industry could backfire. On the show today, Inside Climate News&#8217; Nicholas Kusnetz explains the ins and outs of carbon capture and the challenges of making it work on a scale big enough to be meaningful. Plus, how investin

SpaceX is on track to make record profits this year, particularly through its Starlink satellite program. With the reins of this powerful company in the hands of a celebrity entrepreneur, has that celebrity, Elon Musk, become invincible? We&#8217;ll also dig into the details of the U.S. birthrate. As it turns out, being an only child did not become the norm we expected it would be. And we&#8217;ll learn about the physicist who&#8217;s created over 1,000 Wikipedia bios for neglected female scientists. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: &#8220;Millennials aren’t having kids. Here are the reasons why&#8221; from The Washington Post </

A new United Nations report found that wealthy nations are scaling back funding for climate adaptation in developing countries, while the cost of mitigating the effects of climate change continue to grow. We&#8217;ll get into it. And, the Federal Trade Commission&#8217;s antitrust lawsuit against Amazon revealed a secret pricing algorithm used by the company, known as Project Nessie. We&#8217;ll unpack how the algorithm has amassed huge profits for Amazon while raising prices across the board. Then, we&#8217;ll play a round of Half Full / Half Empty with guest host Amy Scott. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: &#8220;Critics: Tu

Hey Smarties! We recorded today’s episode before the news of Sam Bankman-Fried’s conviction came out. We’ll continue to monitor the story. This week, President Joe Biden signed a sweeping executive order on the safety of artificial intelligence, and world leaders (plus Elon Musk) met to discuss the risks of the rapidly developing technology for the first time. We&#8217;ll get into what future AI regulation could look like as governments agree to cooperate. And, we&#8217;ll hear from Target&#8217;s CEO on trends in consumer spending. Plus, Sen. Tuberville&#8217;s block on military promotions is reaching a boiling point. Now, his own party is turning on him. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: <a href="https://www.marketplace.org/2023/10/

Two prominent Republican representatives announced they won&#8217;t seek reelection at the end of their terms in Congress. We&#8217;ll get into the future of the GOP, as former President Donald Trump continues to drive a wedge in the party&#8217;s identity. Also, how the verdict in a case involving the National Association of Realtors could upend the way we buy and sell homes. Plus, a breakthrough gene therapy treatment is allowing some deaf children to hear for the first time. And, coming clean about hotel showers. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: &#8220;House GOP’s Israel-IRS bill could add more than $26 billion to deficit: CBO&

When it comes to solutions to the climate crisis, we&#8217;re going to need a whole menu of options. One item on the menu: clean hydrogen. The Joe Biden administration recently invested $7 billion into developing clean hydrogen hubs across the country, with hopes the technology could help reduce carbon emissions in a variety of industries. &#8220;Many people call it a Swiss Army knife of decarbonization,&#8221; said Emily Pontecorvo, staff writer at Heatmap News. &#8220;But the problem of thinking of it that way is that it takes so much energy to make hydrogen that you really only want to use it in cases where you don&#8217;t really have any other options.&#8221; <!-- /wp:paragra

A $14.3 billion Israel aid package from the House GOP is in the works, and some Republican representatives are looking into unconventional ways to fund it. We&#8217;ll get into where U.S. military aid usually ends up and who stands to make a profit from global conflict. Plus, how the media coverage leading up to the 2024 election often makes false equivalencies between the speaking abilities of former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: <a href="https://www.politico.com/live-updates/2023/10/30/congress/house-unveils-israel-aid-package-00124

The National Labor Relations Board is redefining what it means to be an employer by changing the so-called joint-employer rule. We&#8217;ll explain how the change could impact the rights of contract and franchise workers across many industries, from tech to fast food. And, polling numbers on congressional approval are sinking lower and lower. Plus, are SEO-bait names and bloated movie runtimes the new norms? We&#8217;ll get into it in a round of Half Full / Half Empty. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: &#8220;New labor rule could be a big deal for millions of franchise and contract workers. Here&#8217;s why.&#8

There&#8217;s been a lot of talk about the ever-growing U.S. federal deficit lately. That discussion has largely revolved around spending cuts. But the flip side of the issue— that is, increasing revenue — is largely ignored. We&#8217;ll get into what increasing the government&#8217;s revenue could look like and how an approaching expiration date for some Trump-era tax cut provisions could impact taxpayers in the coming years. Also, we&#8217;ll hear from UAW President Shawn Fain about the union&#8217;s tentative deal with Ford and the outsized CEO salaries that made headlines this year. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: <a href="https://www.freep.com/story/money

After a three-week vacancy, House Republicans elected Rep. Mike Johnson of Louisiana speaker. We&#8217;ll give you the rundown on who Johnson is and what his far-right associations could mean for the challenging weeks ahead in Congress. And, on the other side of the Capitol rotunda, senators are working on new ways to end Sen. Tommy Tuberville&#8217;s military promotion blockade. Plus, a 14-year-old scientist&#8217;s cancer-fighting bar of soap. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: &#8220;5 things to know about Speaker Mike Johnson&#8221; from The Hill <ul

Hey Smarties! Today we&#8217;re bringing you a special episode of &#8220;Marketplace Morning Report&#8221; that dives into what the video game industry can teach us about the economy, from the socioeconomic hurdles that keep many young people from breaking into the field to the economics at work in many games. It&#8217;s part of the &#8220;Skin in the Game&#8221; series from David Brancaccio and the &#8220;Marketplace Morning Report&#8221; team, which explores how the massive industry can help us understand economics, business, money and careers. Do you have a question or comment about the video game industry? Call us at 508-U-B-SMART or email [email protected].

Without a speaker in the House of Representatives, Congress isn&#8217;t getting much work done. That includes progress on the farm bill, which is up for renewal this year. We&#8217;ll get into what potential cuts to the farm bill could mean and some of the bill&#8217;s past shortcomings. Plus, a new study found that the West Antarctic ice sheet will continue to melt faster despite serious action on climate change. Also, we say goodbye to a record holder who was a very good boy. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: &#8220;House Ag Dems fight farm bill cuts&#8221; from Politico <a href="https://www.marketplace

It&#8217;s been a disheartening time in the Middle East lately. Today&#8217;s guest host, Reema Khrais, shares how the recent conflict has affected her family in Gaza. We&#8217;ll also discuss how the ever-increasing U.S. deficit reached new heights in the past year. Plus, what have you splurged on lately? Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: &#8220;Gaza aid stalled at Egypt border amid wrangling at Rafah&#8221; from The Washington Post <a href="https://www.

New York Mayor Eric Adams doesn&#8217;t speak Mandarin. But with AI he can. Some New Yorkers may have received a robocall of the mayor speaking in their native tongue. Is this a golden opportunity or ethical dilemma? Plus, we&#8217;ll hear the latest on the Federal Reserve&#8217;s fight against inflation, and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen answers questions on financially supporting Israel and Ukraine. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: &#8220;Powell Says Strong Economic Data ‘Could Warrant’ Higher Rates&#8221; from The New York Times Climate protesters disrupt Jay Powell&#8217;s speech from Elis

COVID-19 drug Paxlovid will soon hit the commercial market, and it won&#8217;t be cheap. We&#8217;ll talk about what the change means for patients and the drug&#8217;s accessibility. Plus, drone drug delivery is coming to certain rural communities. Also, in one woman&#8217;s case, a new pet is just what the doctor ordered. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Introducing “How We Survive: The Worth of Water&#8221;&#8216; from Marketplace <a href="https://www.wsj.com/health/healthcare/pfizer-covid-drug-paxlovid-pricing-80f83785?mod=hp_

Despite a long period of relative stagnation, nuclear power has remained the quiet backbone of the United States&#8217; clean energy supply for decades. Now, the Joe Biden administration wants more from the sector as the country hustles to meet ambitious emissions goals. Jigar Shah, the director of the Energy Department&#8217;s Loan Programs Office, said nuclear energy will only become more critical as demand for electricity surges over the next 20 years. On the show today, Shah makes us smart about how much the country relies on nuclear energy. We&#8217;ll also discuss lessons learned from building the first nuclear reactor from scratch in decades, and how the industry plans to win over Americans who are concerned about safety and toxic waste. <!-- w

A class-action lawsuit is looking to end questionable practices by the National Association of Realtors. While antitrust concerns have surrounded Realtors&#8217; operations in the past, the association&#8217;s heavy lobbying may have prevented further investigation. We&#8217;ll talk about why this lawsuit might be different. Plus, we&#8217;ll do the numbers on the federal government&#8217;s ballooning interest bill. And, a lesson on laughter during trying times. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: &#8220;Realtors Face an Antitrust Reckoning&#8221; from The Wall Street Journ

The Food and Drug Administration has proposed a ban on chemicals in hair-relaxing products. We&#8217;ll explain how the passing of the rule could be a big win for Black women&#8217;s health. And the battle for the speaker of the House continues with a new nominee. Plus, we&#8217;ll play a special spooky edition of This or That, in recognition of Friday the 13th. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: &#8220;Exclusive: The F.D.A Is Taking Major Action To Protect Against Harmful Chemicals In Hair Products&#8221; from The Root <a href="https://pressley.house

After a swarm of misinformation and gruesome images took over X following Hamas&#8217; attack on Israel, Elon Musk is now under scrutiny by the European Commission to clean up the mess. We&#8217;ll also hear how climate change may be affecting our sense of fashion. And we hear this year&#8217;s Nobel Prize-winning economist on gender disparities in the workforce. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: &#8220;X&#8217;s misinformation woes get worse during the Israel-Hamas conflict&#8221; from Marketplace <!-- /wp:list-item

When Elon Musk turned Twitter, now X, on it&#8217;s head, some media outlets decided to call it quits. Six months later, an internal memo at NPR says traffic has dipped only modestly. We’ll get into why Twitter may not have been the bedrock of online engagement that many had believed. And Caroline Ellison, Sam Bankman-Fried&#8217;s former adviser and girlfriend, has been testifying at his fraud trial this week. It has us thinking about how choosing a romantic partner can come with consequences. Plus, an initiative pushing back against the &#8220;tampon tax.&#8221; Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: <a href="https://niemanreports.org/articles/npr-twitter-musk/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noop

Today we&#8217;re checking in on what happened after almost 200 high profile CEOs signed a statement in 2019 promising to serve stakeholders like employees and consumers along with their shareholders. Have those companies made any progress toward fulfilling those nonbinding pledges? That&#8217;s the question Molly Kinder, a fellow at the Metropolitan Policy program at The Brookings Institution, and her co-authors wanted to answer by analyzing the decis

The Biden administration sending aid to Israel after a surprise attack from Hamas. We&#8217;ll unpack how financial assistance for Israel can make or break aid for Ukraine, and how dysfunction in the House of Representatives might throw a wrench into all of it. And Tesla&#8217;s latest price cut brings fierce rivalry with gasoline cars. Plus, a real-life reenactment of &#8220;The Neverending Story&#8221; (with a happy ending this time). Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: &#8220;Biden Says Military Assistance Is on Its Way to Israel&#8221; from The New York Times <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/472070/democrats-sympathies-middle-east-shift-palestinians.as

Interest rates are high. Bonds yields are on the rise. And money is getting more expensive. We&#8217;ll explain what this means for consumers and fiscal policymaking. Plus, NASA has ambitious plans to send civilians to the moon (and make Kimberly&#8217;s dreams come true). Later, we&#8217;ll weigh in on self-checkout aisles and magnet less refrigerators during a round of Half Full/Half Empty. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: &#8220;Pharmacies begin dispensing abortion pills&#8221; from Politico <li

Another week, another strike. This time thousands of Kaiser Permanente workers have initiated the largest healthcare strike in the country. And while different sectors of the economy have been walking off the job this summer, the demands all seemingly sound the same. We&#8217;ll also hear one CEO&#8217;s take on how AI can add more leisure time to all of our lives. And Beyonce at the box office! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: &#8220;Kaiser strike: More than 75,000 health care workers walk off the job&#8221; from NPR <li style

Business in the U.S. House of Representatives has come to a standstill after Kevin McCarthy was removed as speaker Tuesday. Fallout has been messy, to say the least. We&#8217;ll get into what this historic moment could mean for the health of our democracy. Plus, some jobs are more at risk of being automated by AI than others. And NASA astronauts on the Artemis III mission will head to the moon in style, with a little help from Prada. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Playbook PM: Jordan and Scal

Hey smarties! We recorded today&#8217;s episode before historic news broke that the House of representatives voted to oust Kevin McCarthy as speaker. We&#8217;re monitoring the story as it develops and as the House figures out what comes next. IIt&#8217;s Day 1 of Sam Bankman-Fried&#8217;s trial. Last year, The founder of FTX was charged with counts of fraud and conspiracy after his crypto exchange went under and investigators found that $8 billion in customer funds had gone missing. Before his fall from grace, SBF had become one of the most powerful players in the industry. This has us wondering: Is crypto on trial along with Sam Bankman-Fried? On the show today, Bloomberg&#8217;s Zeke Faux, author of &#8220;Number Go Up: Inside Crypto&#8217;s Wild Rise and Staggering Fall,&#8221; explains how the trial c

We&#8217;re not in a government shutdown. Instead, we&#8217;re talking about consumers spending like it&#8217;s still hot girl summer. Concerts, travel and shopping sprees seem to remain a priority for many in this economy. We&#8217;ll discuss how this might be a sign of shifting attitudes around debt. Plus, there&#8217;s a market for everything — even candles for Washington, D.C., wonks! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: &#8220;Trump’s understan

It&#8217;s going to be a tense weekend on Capitol Hill. Congress not only has the government shutdown deadline to deal with, it also has deadlines that affect the Federal Aviation Administration and the farm bill. We&#8217;ll explain what&#8217;s going on. Plus, the hosts weigh in on the Taylor Swift effect and &#8220;The Golden Bachelor&#8221; in a fresh round of our favorite game: Half Full / Half Empty! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Airline passengers could feel the bite as Congress nears two missed deadlines&#8221; from Politico <a href="http

We&#8217;re in the final days before a potential government shutdown, and negotiations aren&#8217;t going well. At issue is the federal government&#8217;s $6 trillion budget. But with most of that money already spoken for, only a small sliver of spending is actually up for debate. We&#8217;ll explain. And have you heard of the paper ceiling? Plus, Kai and a famous Hollywood star share their dislike for pumpkin spice! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: &#8220;Biden makes history by joining striking autoworkers on the picket line&#8221; from NBC News <li st

Elon Musk’s business relationship with the Pentagon is going strong. SpaceX just scored its first defense contract from the U.S. Space Force, giving Musk more control over on-off switches (see: Ukraine). We&#8217;ll get into the potential consequences of having a single private citizen like Musk so entangled in geopolitics. Plus, welcome home, astronaut Frank Rubio, and bye-bye panda cams? Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Elon Musk Wins US Space Force Contract for Starshield&#8221; from Bloomberg <!-- /wp:list-it

We&#8217;re on the brink of yet another government shutdown. If Congress fails to pass legislation to keep the federal government fully up and running past Oct. 1, it would be the country&#8217;s fourth shutdown in the last decade. This has us wondering: Why does passing the federal budget often get so messy? On the show today, Molly Reynolds, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, explains how the federal budget process is supposed to work, why it often breaks down and why other countries don&#8217;t seem to have the same problem. Plus, how we can make the process smoother, given the Congress we&#8217;ve got. Then, we&#8217;ll get into why the FTC is suing Amazon and how it might shape wh

Some big Republican donors are in a bind. They&#8217;ve been hoping for an alternative presidential nominee to Donald Trump to write their checks to, but now they seem to be giving up on that idea and are keeping their money on the sidelines. We&#8217;ll discuss what that means for spending in the 2024 election. Plus, what&#8217;s happened to Greece since its debt crisis? And what Kimberly discovered about cocktails and ChatGPT when she walked into a bar. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: &#8220;Big GOP donors hoped for an alternative to Trump. Now some are giving up&

Across the political spectrum, corruption seems to be the big news of the day. Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez was indicted today for taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in bribes. Meanwhile, ProPublica reported that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas secretly attended Koch Network donor events that could be in violation of federal law. (And, let&#8217;s not forget the former president&#8217;s indictments.) We&#8217;ll discuss the role of the press and the Department of Justice in trying these cases. Then, we&#8217;ll play Half-Full/Half-Empty and debate whether shorts on the Senate floor should be the new norm. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: <a href="https://www.propublica.org/article/clarence

We are nine days away from another government shutdown if Congress can&#8217;t reach a spending deal. We&#8217;ll hear from Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on what a shutdown could do to our current economy. Plus, the facial recognition story that creeped out Kai. And, did you remember? We&#8217;re celebrating one of Earth, Wind &amp; Fire&#8217;s greatest hits. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: &#8220;&#8216;Absolutely no reason&#8217; for a government shutdown, says Treasury secretary&#8221; from MSNBC <!-- /wp:li

A new chatbot that uses artificial intelligence to mimic the leading candidates in the 2024 presidential race is fresh on the scene. Users can query a candidate&#8217;s avatar or conjure up a one-on-one debate. We’ll get into the potential impact of AI on future U.S. elections and what some politically engaged citizens are doing about it. Plus, we&#8217;ll explain why the wait for your morning latte at Starbucks might be getting out of hand. And Operation Santa is open for business. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattnovak/2023/09/19/conspiracy-theorists-go-viral-with-claim-sen-john-fetterman-actually-body-double/?s

President Biden is pitting his plan for the U.S. economy against so-called &#8216;MAGAnomics&#8217;, the economic ideas that defined the Trump era. Mark Blyth, political economist at Brown University, said the clash is all about who wins and who loses as the U.S. decarbonizes. On the show today, Blyth explains what Bidenomics actually means and why it&#8217;s not the easiest message to sell to voters. Plus, how the United States let go of its industrial base and what it will take to re-industrialize for a clean energy future. Then, strikes across the country are putting President Biden’s pro-union reputation to the test. And, we’ll get into what rising oil prices that could mean for the Fed and the American consumer. <p

Congress has a job to do. But lately, some of the work on the Hill seems to have come to a standstill. There&#8217;s been drama over the debt ceiling, a Republican senator is holding up key military promotions, and now a government shutdown is looming. We&#8217;ll tackle the question of who is really to blame for all the governmental dysfunction and unpack the challenges of framing these issues in the media. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: &#8220;Marines issue stand-down order amid search for missing F-35&#8221; from The Hill <l

Celebrities are starting to have eerily similar smiles — flawlessly straight and pearly white teeth. But what&#8217;s the cost behind those perfect smiles? We&#8217;ll talk about yet another unrealistic beauty standard and the rise of the cosmetic dentistry industry. And the Roman Empire might be a thing of the past, but it seems that many men are still fascinated by it. We&#8217;ll get into some reasons why the ancient world power is engrained in our minds. Then, we&#8217;ll play a round of Half Full/Half Empty to settle some fashion debates. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: Watch: Marketplace&#8217;s video series &#8220;<a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLyqnPeyY0m3W0e8qSjTE13b7vC5paBw

In the before times, some of America&#8217;s top corporations pledged to rebalance their priorities and serve all stakeholders instead of just shareholders. Today, workers still aren&#8217;t feeling the love. We&#8217;ll get into the disconnect between employees and CEOs and explain how that&#8217;s playing out in recent labor disputes. Plus, why patrons at a Milwaukee bar are feeling that Jets win extra-hard. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: &#8220;Detroit automakers and auto workers remain far from a deal as end-of-day strike deadline approaches&#8221; from AP News <!-- wp:list-item

What does air conditioning have to do with political dysfunction in Washington? Apparently, more than you&#8217;d imagine. We&#8217;ll get into the history behind AC in the halls of Congress and how that&#8217;s affected the way lawmakers do their jobs. Then, what drove Sen. Mitt Romney to call it quits? Plus, staging a career comeback isn&#8217;t easy. Naomi Osaka and Simone Biles are showing us how it&#8217;s done. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;What Mitt Romney Saw in the Senate&#8221; from The Atlantic <li styl

This year alone, lawmakers in more than two dozen states have introduced or passed legislation in favor of ranked choice voting systems, where voters rank candidates in order of preference on their ballot. Advocates sing the praises of ranked-choice elections, claiming it could be an antidote to the United States&#8217; extreme political polarization. Others say switching to a new voting system would be too complicated for voters. On the show today, Maresa Strano, deputy director of political reform at New America, unpacks ranked choice voting: what it does well, where it falls short, and what our voting systems have to do with the broader economy. Then, a new strategy fo

There&#8217;s been a lot of reporting lately about a rise in retail theft and a growing shoplifting problem. But a closer look at those claims and the relevant data seems to suggest something else is going on. We also revisit the attack on the World Trade Center and consider how American unity and perceptions have changed in the past 22 years. We end with some smiles about Mother Nature and a significant discovery that could be a big deal for the clean energy economy. &#8220;Is retail theft really rising?&#8221; from Marketplace <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/blame-capitalism-souring-on-the-system/id1346207297?i

We&#8217;re in the quadruple digits, y&#8217;all, and we&#8217;re celebrating! But first we&#8217;ll dive into the news with an exciting development on Mars — how NASA&#8217;s Perseverance space rover is generating oxygen on the Red Planet. And a new climate change report card shows that we&#8217;ve averted the worst-case scenarios, but there&#8217;s still a long way to go. Plus, we&#8217;re marking this special episode with a new game of Would You Rather featuring a special (and beloved) guest! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: &#8220;Perseverance Mars rover wraps up MOXIE oxygen-making experiment&#8221; from Space <!-- wp:list-it

In a speech today, former Vice President Mike Pence and republican presidential candidate said the GOP is at a crossroad between conservatism and populism. We&#8217;ll get into why we&#8217;re hearing a lot less about fiscal conservatism these days. Before that, Kai gives us the skinny on his interview with Chicago Fed President and whether the central bank should raise it&#8217;s inflation target. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: &#8220;Chicago Fed president on future rate hikes, likelihood of recession&#8221; from Marketplace <li style="list-style-typ

As birthrates fall and baby boomers grow older, the demographic makeup of the United States is set to drastically change in the next decade. We&#8217;ll talk about what that could mean for the modern economy. And we&#8217;ll discuss the logistics of the 14th Amendment and the budding idea that it could bar former President Donald Trump from participating in next year&#8217;s election. Plus, a step forward for women&#8217;s sports in Spain. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;I Can’t Keep Trump Off the Ballot&#8221;

We’re back from Labor Day weekend and talking about a group of laborers that’s in short supply these days: farmworkers. The people who pick the food we eat are considered the backbone of the agricultural industry. So why are they treated differently than other workers and often go without the same labor protections like overtime and the right to unionize? On the show today, Mary Hoopes, associate law professor at the Pepperdine Caruso School of Law, explains why agricultural workers were left out of the New Deal&#8217;s labor protections, what’s changed since then and the exploitative nature of temporary visa programs used to fill ongoing farm labor shortages. Where do Big Ag and American consumers fit in all of this? And will the massive 2023 Farm Bill help? Then, we&#8217;ll get into how a drop-off in funding for many federal aid programs could impact low-income families. And projections from Bloomberg Economics show that China will probably not surpass the U.S. as t

It&#8217;s college football season, and if you&#8217;re having a hard time keeping up with all the changes, you&#8217;re not alone. This week, the Atlantic Coast Conference decided to go bicoastal by adding schools really far from, well, the Atlantic Coast. We&#8217;ll explain what this is all about (spoiler: money). Plus, why a new Biden administration proposal to increase staffing at nursing homes could make a big difference. Then we&#8217;ll play a game of Half Full/Half Empty and discuss why finding love might be coming with a bigger price tag. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: <a href="https

Not sure how to feel about today&#8217;s economy? Perhaps putting it to music will help. Today we’re dedicating the entire show to the economic anthems of this moment. We&#8217;ll play a round of Name That Tune with songs our dear listeners submitted. Plus, Kai and Kimberly will share their song picks! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Is the current job market music to the Fed&#8217;s ears?&#8221; from Marketplace <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5osPtE7kXI" targ

The Biden administration proposed a new rule that would extend mandatory overtime pay to millions of American workers. We&#8217;ll get into the workers who stand to benefit and how the plan could give boost to Biden&#8217;s reelection campaign. Also, seismic wave research gives us a new understanding of the war in Ukraine. Plus, Kimberly is back from vacation and fills us in on her adventures in Bhutan and Thailand. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Earthquake Sensors Document Russian Bombings in Ukraine in New Detail&#8221; from

Plastic is just about everywhere, and there&#8217;s going to be a lot more of it. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development expects global plastic use to triple by 2060. So what are we to do with all the waste? Tossing empty iced coffee cups, peanut butter jars and blueberry containers into a recycling bin might seem like the obvious solution. But while the plastics industry has been working hard to promote recycling as a fix since the &#8217;70s, it turns out our recyc

For Americans with mortgages, homeowners insurance is a must. But for those who have paid off their homes, it&#8217;s optional. Now more and more Americans are choosing to forgo that insurance. We&#8217;ll explain what&#8217;s behind the trend and dig into the potential risks. Plus, bizarre happenings for fabled sea creatures are making us smile, including a live-action reenactment of Jonah and the Whale. And, Nessie, is that you? Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: &#8220;Americans Are Dropping Their Home Insurance, Claiming the Odds of Disaster Don’t Justify the Cost&#8221; from The Wall Street Journal</l

The Spanish women&#8217;s national team won it&#8217;s first World Cup! But the celebration has been bittersweet after Spain&#8217;s soccer chief kissed a player on the lips and is refusing to step down. We&#8217;ll discuss the fallout and what the team is doing to oust Luis Rubiales. Plus, we&#8217;ll play a game of Half Full / Half Empty with guest host Amy Scott weighing in on how LinkedIn is actually cool? But pumpkin spice lattes in August — maybe not so much. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: &#8220;Facebook settlement claims are due Aug. 25. How to apply for a payout&#8221; from The Washington Post <!-- wp:list

Consumer spending has been fairly resilient in the face of high inflation (see Taylor Swift, Beyoncé). But, the Federal Reserve&#8217;s interest rate hikes can pack a punch, and it&#8217;s showing up in Americans&#8217; credit card bills. We’ll hear a bit of Macy’s quarterly earnings call and unpack what it tells us about consumer habits. And, AI is being used to give people their voices back. And, we’ll play a round of Name That Tune, economic anthem-style. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Credit card delinquencies jump past pre-pandemic levels&#822

The computer chipmaker Nvidia doubled its revenue from a year ago due to a surge in demand for special chips used to run AI systems like ChatGPT. We&#8217;ll get into the geopolitical backdrop of the current chip boom. And, half of today&#8217;s homebuyers are first-time purchasers despite a historically unaffordable housing market. We&#8217;ll unpack that paradox. Plus, have you played Tradle yet? Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Nvidia Revenue Doubles on Demand for A.I. Chips, and Could Go Higher&#8221; from The New Yor

Robotaxi companies Cruise and Waymo recently scored a big win when California regulators allowed them to expand their services and begin charging fares in San Francisco. But now the companies are hitting some speedbumps. On the show today: Axios transportation reporter Joann Muller explains where we&#8217;re at with self-driving technology, why all eyes are on San Francisco, and who make the rules as robotaxi companies grow. Plus, the human-to-human connection that driverless cars are missing. Then, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimundo is the next cabinet member in line for a trip to China. We&#8217;ll get into why the visit might be a little tense. And, some Americans are finding creative avenues to homeownership in spite of an unfavorable housing market. Later, our listeners recomme

Inflation has been the hot topic for over a year now. And the Federal Reserve has been on a mission to lower inflation down to its 2% target. But should Chair Jay Powell and his team aim for a higher target instead? We&#8217;ll also talk about China and Japan&#8217;s diminishing interest in U.S. Treasurys and how it can affect American debt. And some good news about the carnivorous Venus flytrap. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: &#8220;Maui wildfire recovery: Hawaii governor insists fire-ravaged Lahaina community will be rebuilt as search efforts continue&#8221; from CNN <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-fed

Americans are watching a lot of television, but it&#8217;s not broadcast or cable TV. For the first time, linear TV made up less than half of all TV viewing last month. We&#8217;ll talk about how the rise of streaming and the ongoing Hollywood strikes may accelerate cord cutting. Plus, how the U.S. is still being represented in the Women’s World Cup final. And, we&#8217;ll play a round of Half Full/Half Empty with guest host and Economics on Tap first-timer Nova Safo, who enlightens us on why all radio show hosts should drink sherry. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: <!-- wp:list-i

The Inflation Reduction Act is the beating heart of the president&#8217;s new &#8220;Bidenomics&#8221; slogan. The trouble is, many Americans don&#8217;t know what&#8217;s in the gargantuan piece of legislation. We&#8217;ll hear what President Joe Biden had to say on the law&#8217;s one-year anniversary and explain why he is struggling to get credit for the strong economy. And, we&#8217;ll get into how the new culture of remote work is shifting the purpose of downtowns. Plus, we&#8217;ll play a round of Name That Tune, economic anthem-style. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: </p

Detroit has one of the nation&#8217;s highest poverty rates. Yet, it doesn&#8217;t have the same level of homelessness that Los Angeles has. So what gives? We’ll get into the almost-too-obvious reason: a lot more housing. Also, we’ll check in on one of Kai&#8217;s favorite topics — bonds — and explain what yields can tell us about today’s economy. And, a silver lining in the U.S. women&#8217;s national soccer team&#8217;s World Cup loss. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Fresno, California, leads in downtown recovery&#8221; from Marketplace <li style="list-sty

Hey Smarties! We&#8217;ve been having a lot of conversations about what advances in AI technology mean for our personal and professional lives. So, today we&#8217;re bringing you a special episode from &#8220;Marketplace Tech&#8221; about how AI is already transforming the workplace. In their new &#8220;AI on the Job&#8221; series, our tech team investigates the effects, from streamlining routine office tasks to drastically changing workflows.

California regulators gave the green light to two robotaxi companies to expand service in the city of San Francisco. But the debate over driverless vehicles is far from over. Guest host Matt Levin joins the pod to explain. Plus, Argentina&#8217;s primary elections highlight how inflation is playing out in domestic politics across the globe. And, some environmental good news to put a smile on your face. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: &#8220;Driverless taxis: What to know about Cruise, Waymo expansion&#8221; from The San Francisco Chronicle <li style="list-sty

Hey Smarties! Make Me Smart is taking a little summer vacation this week. We’ll be back in your feeds soon. But for now, enjoy a rerun of one of our favorite episodes of the year so far. To reach the Joe Biden administration’s goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, the country’s energy infrastructure needs a massive overhaul, and fast. But many communities are not on board with the idea of a massive wind or solar farm in their area. Some counties are banning renewable energy developments before the planning can even begi

First the U.S. Marines and now the Army. For the first time in American history, two members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff lack the blessing of the Senate, as Sen. Tommy Tuberville, an Alabama Republican, holds up hundreds of military promotions to protest the Pentagon&#8217;s new abortion policy. We&#8217;ll explain the implications of having interims filling these top military posts. And good news for the lungs of the planet: Deforestation is on a downward trend in the Amazon rainforest. Plus, we&#8217;ll play a game of Half Full / Half Empty with predictions about the &#8220;vibecession.&#8221; Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/04/americas/amazon-deforestation-brazil-climate-intl/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noope

The credit rating agency Fitch bumped the United States&#8217; credit rating down a notch this week despite the country&#8217;s strong economic performance. We&#8217;ll hear what Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen had to say about it and get into why political dysfunction is at the root of the downgrade. Plus, why a carbon-free future likely depends on nuclear energy. And what musical beat is the U.S. economy grooving to? Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: &#8220;New Georgia reactor shows benefits and costs of nuclear power&#8221; from Ma

Climate change is real and so is climate anxiety. We&#8217;ll get into the ways the climate crisis is changing the mental health profession as people turn to therapy for help with handling all the climate doom. And, is there a way to turn climate anxiety into action? Also, former President Donald Trump&#8217;s latest indictment is now available to the public. (Seriously, read it.) And, asteroids may be the next frontier for human space exploration. Plus, meows of agreement from Yuki the cat. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;United States of America vs. Donald J. Trump&#8221; (

Today we&#8217;re talking about the economics of higher education in the United States. Though the average cost of going to college nearly tripled from 1980 to 2021, the net cost of attending both public and private institutions has started to come down. Martin Kurzweil, vice president of educational transformation at the nonprofit Ithaka S+R, traces that back to a decline in enrollment. “Demographers will tell us that the generations of young people coming through after the baby boom, the cohort sizes, have decreased over time, and higher education

As Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis struggles to forge ahead in the race for the Republican presidential nomination, he&#8217;s hoping to win supporters through his newly unveiled economic plan. We&#8217;ll also talk about the spikey takedown of human devices by crows. Plus, a golden record aimed at aliens that captures the sounds of love and life on Earth. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: &#8220;How to Prepare Your House for a Hotter Future&#8221; from Heatmap News <li style="

India has banned nearly half of its rice exports. The news has sent many Americans scrambling to stock up. We&#8217;ll explain what the ban means for global food prices. Plus, what should come first, new electric vehicle charging stations or new power lines? And, the hosts weigh in on UFOs during a round of Half Full / Half Empty. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Sen. Duckworth’s Barbie moment&#8221; from Politico <a href="https://www.marketplace.org/2023/07/28/indias-ban-on

Federal student loan payments have been paused for over three years. Since then, borrowers have got used to the extra room in their budgets for dining, vacations, Beyoncé tickets and more. One listener called in to ask: What happens to the economy when payments start again this fall? We’ll get into it and answer more of your questions on President Joe Biden’s new student debt forgiveness plan and why it’s so hard to have student loans wiped out through bankruptcy. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;As Student Loan Borrowers Prepare to Resume Payments, Some Borrowers’ Abilities to Pay May Be Limited&#8221; from TransUnion <

Barbie and Taylor Swift are just about everywhere right now, they even got a mention at the Fed&#8217;s news conference today. Seriously! We&#8217;ll explain what these pop culture icons have to do with the today&#8217;s interest rate hike. Plus, how leaning on algorithms and AI for bureaucratic work could come with real costs for consumers. And, candid thoughts about climate change. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Cigna accused of using an algorithm to automatically reject patient claims&#8221; from CBS News <l

NASA recently celebrated one orbit around the Sun since the James Webb Space Telescope became operational. On the show today, Caitlin Casey, professor of astronomy at the University of Texas at Austin, is back to share some of the exciting discoveries her team has made in the first year of the $10 billion machine&#8217;s mission. She&#8217;ll also fill us in on the buzz over gravitational waves. Plus, why learning about the seemingly incomprehensible cosmos can keep us grounded. Later, we&#8217;ll discuss dueling op-eds that arrive at the same conclusion: Immigration is good for the economy. Then, a listener calls in with a cocktail recipe, and a tortoise with the hiccups inspires this week&#8217;s answer to the Make Me Smart question. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: <!-- /wp:paragrap

Congress averted a government debt default in June, but can it prevent a government shutdown this fall? Lawmakers are at odds again over spending bills to fund the government next year. Kai and Kimberly will also discuss tips for avoiding doomscrolling while maintaining healthy news consumption. And is Twitter&#8217;s new name, &#8220;X,&#8221; actually owned by Meta? Or maybe it&#8217;s Microsoft? Either way, lawyers may have some real lawyering to do. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;House Republicans start their funding rumble with shutdown looming&#8221; from Politico <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/intera

Record-breaking heat waves are becoming a serious job hazard for outdoor workers. Currently, there are no federal rules to protect workers from extreme heat. But that may be changing. We&#8217;ll also discuss New York City&#8217;s reversal in the way it treats asylum-seeking migrants. Plus, we&#8217;ll play a game of This or That with guest host Amy Scott. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Amid historic U.S. heat wave, workers have few protections&#8221; from Axios <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/ar

With the ongoing strikes in Hollywood, the upcoming fall TV season will likely survive on rations of reruns and unscripted content. Once viewers also run out of bingeable streaming series, the streamers might find themselves in a similar position. We&#8217;ll hear what Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos had to say about it and get into why the streamers may be better prepared — for now. Plus, we&#8217;ll unpack the Biden administration&#8217;s war on hidden fees. And, the Women&#8217;s World Cup is finally here! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: <

Record breaking heat waves and extreme weather events have us wondering: Is this summer an anomaly? We’ll discuss what it really means to adapt to global warming. And, recent climate talks between the U.S. and China were a bust. We&#8217;ll get into why China and other countries might not be eager to take instructions from a significant carbon emitter like the United States. Plus, the story of a rescued sailor and his loyal companion makes us smile. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;China&#8217;s Xi Rebuffs Kerry&#8217;s Call for Faster Climate Action&#8221; fr

The 2024 presidential campaign is already well underway, but today we&#8217;re going to take a step back and examine the connection between Barack Obama&#8217;s presidency and the rise of white racial violence. It&#8217;s what Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Wesley Lowery calls the &#8220;American Whitelash&#8221; (also the title of his new book), which to some extent is rooted in economic fear. On the show today: How the election of former President Obama spurred a white racist backlash, why economic fear is entangled with xenophobia and the media&#8217;s role in all of it. Plus, is the media ready to cover the 2024 elections? (Spoiler: It&#8217;s not). Later, we’ll explain how Russia’s decision to pull back from a wartime agreement on grain exports will hurt countries that suffer from food insecurity. And,

Hollywood&#8217;s double strike of writers and actors might just be the start of a hot labor summer. We&#8217;ll talk about the next group of workers who may soon join the picket lines and what&#8217;s at stake (inflation, anyone?). Plus, what the Federal Trade Commission has to do with Trump&#8217;s plans to expand presidential power. And, concrete, yes, concrete is making us smile as newly discovered secrets from ancient Roman times could help us build more environmentally friendly cities. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: &#8220;Annual Cost of SAG-AFTRA, DGA, WGA Contracts Estimated by Mo

It&#8217;s a wild show, y&#8217;all. About halfway through, an unwelcome surprise besieges Kimberly. But don’t worry, Kimberly (and Jasper) are all right. We’ll also touch on the latest in the Johnson &amp; Johnson talc powder saga, how the U.S. women&#8217;s national soccer team landed Taylor Swift in its 2023 squad announcement video, why cottage cheese is going viral and Barbenheimer! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Johnson &amp; Johnson sues researchers who linked talc to cancer&#8221; from Reuters &#8220;<a href="https://theathletic.c

Hollywood actors are joining writers on the picket lines after leaders of the SAG-AFTRA union voted to strike. We’ll hear what SAG-AFTRA President Fran Drescher had to say about it and get into what it might mean beyond the entertainment industry. Plus, why conservative amendments tacked onto an important defense spending bill are setting it up to fail. And, Kai reads between a Federal Reserve official&#8217;s lines. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Shutdown Looms as Actors Say Contract Talks Have Collapsed: Live Updates&#8221; from The New York Times &#822

Farmers Insurance is the latest to call it quits in Florida as more frequent hurricanes ramp up risk for insurance companies. We’ll get into what coastal states like Florida might do to prevent residents from moving to more insurable parts of the country. And, inflation has settled down to 3%, but don&#8217;t be too quick to celebrate. Plus, we&#8217;ll commemorate the first anniversary of the James Webb Space Telescope with some unbelievable new photos. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;‘Cascading impacts’ war

It’s time to air out some of fast fashion’s dirty laundry. Recently, fast-fashion retailer Shein was in the headlines over a paid influencer trip to one of its factories in China. It’s also facing allegations that range from labor rights abuses to high levels of carbon emissions. Sustainable-fashion writer Alden Wicker’s new book, “To Dye For: How Toxic Fashion Is Making Us Sick,” documents another gritty side of the industry: the toxic chemicals used to make the clothing many companies sell. As it turns out, there aren’t many laws in the U.S. to prevent those chemicals from ending up in our clothes. On the show today, Wicker explains why harmful chemicals are i

Kai Ryssdal breaks the fourth wall and shares highlights from his trip to China with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen (it was &#8220;amazeballs&#8221;). Plus, U.S. pandemic relief packages helped millions of businesses stay afloat in 2020. But cybersecurity holes paved the way for fraudulent claims. Can the federal government hold these scammers accountable? And how Morocco&#8217;s national women&#8217;s soccer team is making history. Here’s everything we talked about today: <a href="https://www.marketplace.org/2023/07/10/yellen-u-s-intends-to-be-transparent-about-

Meta&#8217;s new Threads became the most quickly downloaded app on Wednesday, its opening day. Twitter&#8217;s not thrilled about it. We&#8217;ll get into why folks may or may not gravitate toward the app and whether any of the &#8220;new Twitters&#8221; can become a true social media hub. And, could a scandal involving a celebrated behavioral science researcher impact the way we engage with pop science? Plus, guest host Reema Khrais leads us in a new game. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Twitter is threate

A new law in New York City requires employers who use artificial intelligence in their hiring process to have those systems audited for bias. We’ll get into how bias can be encoded into these AI hiring tools and why this law could serve as a model for future AI regulation. Then, is the labor market in a sweet spot? Guest host Amy Scott unpacks new jobs data that paints a picture of a remarkably strong labor market in spite of the Federal Reserve’s anti-inflation crusade. Plus, how some apps can help you make friends IRL. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Americans Have Quit Quitting Their Jobs&#8221; from

Meta is debuting Threads, its riff on Twitter, to rival the legacy social media platform. We&#8217;ll get into where the app might sit in today&#8217;s social media landscape and question why Meta would want a piece of Twitter&#8217;s notoriously unprofitable pie. And, how the U.S. workforce is changing as boomers retire. Plus, feral cats with 9-to-5s. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Meta Unveils ‘Threads’ App to Take on Twitter&#8221; from The New York Times<

The recent debt ceiling deal expanded work requirements for government welfare programs. Those rules have a long and complicated history. Today, we’re sharing another episode from our sister podcast, The Uncertain Hour, and getting smarter about how those rules came into being and what they mean for people looking for help. You can binge the full season of The Uncertain Hour here.

It was a big week for the Supreme Court. Among other far-reaching decisions, the justices stuck down President Joe Biden&#8217;s student loan forgiveness program and ruled race-conscious admissions programs unconstitutional. We&#8217;ll get into the ways these decisions might be felt throughout the economy and look at the likely next shoe to drop. Later, we&#8217;ll play a Fourth of July-themed game of This or That, complete with pyrotechnics! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Ending Affirmative Action May Be Just the Beginning&#8221; from Politico <!-- wp:list-item -

Yesterday, President Joe Biden dove into campaign season by debuting a new slogan: &#8220;Bidenomics.&#8221; In a speech, Biden explained it&#8217;s a counter-catchphrase to the familiar &#8220;Reaganomics.&#8221; We’ll roll the tape, and the hosts will give us their takes on the branding move. Plus, we&#8217;ll hear remarks from the Federal Reserve chair about the future of stablecoin regulation and thoughts from a young plaintiff in a groundbreaking Montana climate lawsuit. Plus, why calls for lower rent by New York City tenants echo through cities across the U.S. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8216;&#8221;Bidenomics,&#8221; explained&#

Some economists have been warning of an imminent recession in the United States for over a year now. But so far, it has yet to strike. We&#8217;ll get into the different ways economists are thinking about how a so-called recession might play out. Also, humans are having a profound, literally axis-shifting impact on Planet Earth. And, how company crackdowns on sharing memberships hurt single people. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Something Was Messing With Earth&#8217;s Axis. The Answer Has to Do With Us.&#8221; from The New York Times <li styl

Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell has made it clear that he&#8217;s laser-focused on bringing inflation back down to the central bank&#8217;s target rate of 2% annually. But why is reaching that specific number such a big deal? And where did the 2% target come from? On the show today, David Wilcox, economist at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and director of U.S. economic research at Bloomberg Economics, explains why it’s important for central banks to have a target inflation rate in the first place, how the Fed landed on 2% in particular and whether that target rate should be lifted in today’s economy. Plus, some monetary policy pro tips. In the news, the Supreme Court considered a legal theory that had gained traction with Republicans and kicked it to the curb. We&#8217;ll get into what that might mean for future elections. And, an EV company went the SPAC route, and it

Hey Smarties! Kai and Kimberly will be back in your podcast feed tomorrow for our weekly deep dive, but until then we&#8217;re bringing you a deep dive of a different kind. It&#8217;s an episode from Marketplace&#8217;s investigative podcast &#8220;The Uncertain Hour&#8221; which is all about obscure policies and forgotten histories. In the new season, Marketplace&#8217;s Krissy Clark and the team dig into the origins and evolution of America&#8217;s welfare-to-work system (which got lots of attention in the recent debt ceiling debate). Let us know what you think. And as Kai often says, history matters!

The median age in the United States, at just under 39, is the highest it&#8217;s ever been, and it&#8217;s been rising for decades. We’ll get into the economic implications of America&#8217;s aging population. Also, the Supreme Court has been getting comfy with ruling on technicalities rather than policy. We&#8217;ll explain how that played out in a recent immigration case. Plus, it&#8217;s Revenge of the Nerds: Billionaire Edition. And, we&#8217;ll play a round of Half Full/Half Empty! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Texas and Louisiana lack right to challenge Biden immigration policy, court rules&#8221; from Amylhowe.com <!-- /w

Since Roe v. Wade was overturned nearly a year ago, conservative-led states, including Texas, have passed a slew of bans on abortion and gender affirming health care. Now, many med students and doctors are choosing to work elsewhere. We’ll get into it. And, India has become a top customer for Russian oil. We&#8217;ll explain what that means for the global oil supply and regional geopolitics. Plus, a device that makes water out of thin air, and the head of Turkey&#8217;s central bank makes the hosts smile. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Bans on abortion and gender-affirming care are driving doctors from Texas&#8221

The missing sub of wealthy tourists lost on an excursion to view the wreckage of the Titanic has been dominating news feeds this week, while the story of a deadly migrant shipwreck off the coast of Greece has, for the most part, stayed in the periphery. We’ll get into the disparities in resources and media attention paid to the two disasters. Plus, we connect the dots on interest rates, home sales and new home construction. And, confirmed by the man himself, Fede Chair Jay Powell is a Deadhead. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;The Media Cares More About the

For Black workers in this economy, the last couple of years have brought gains in employment and wages. In April, the Black unemployment rate fell to a historically low 4.7%, and the racial wage gap has shrunk slightly over the last five years. But in terms of the economy as a whole, stark disparities still exist for Black Americans. “I&#8217;ve looked at the unemployment rates for the last 60 years,&#8221; said Algernon Austin, director for race and economic justice at the Center for Economic and Policy Research. &#8220;It&#8217;s important to remember that a historically low Black unemployment rate still tends to be a high unemployment rate if you&#8217;re

The Carrie Bradshaw lifestyle is unreachable for most recent college grads in today’s New York City, thanks to high housing costs. We’ll get into the lengths some younger newcomers are willing to go to make it work and dig into a related problem: a potential commercial real estate crisis. Plus, how should cities deal with cannabis smoke? Then we&#8217;ll play a round of This or That! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;NYC&#8217;s Rent Surge Defied by New Grads Pursuing a TikTok Li

Leaked documents lay out how the conservative American College of Pediatricians (not to be confused with the American Academy of Pediatrics) has influenced policy affecting the LGTBQ community. We&#8217;ll get into how this splinter group gained national attention and the problems it poses for medical misinformation. Also, we&#8217;ll discuss the aftermath of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott busing migrants to cities like Los Angeles. And a new Rubik&#8217;s Cube world record to smile about, followed by a Rubik&#8217;s Cube anecdote from Kai Ryssdal. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Documents show how conserva

This week, thousands of Reddit&#8217;s most popular communities went offline to protest the company&#8217;s move to start collecting fees for access to its API or application programming interface. One listener called in to ask what all the fuss is about. We’ll get into it and answer more of your questions about how we keep track of consumer debt and the relationship between the underground economy and GDP. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Why are Reddit communities going private?&#8221; from Marketplace <a href=

Today we’re sharing an excerpt from our live show at Town Hall Seattle featuring our special guest, writer and comedian Lindy West. The Seattleite talked with us about Former President Donald Trump’s indictment, the Hollywood writers&#8217; strike, being broke and what it means to be fat positive in the Ozempic era. Plus, she shares some smart facts about snakes, whales and the Canada goose. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: <a href="https://www.thestranger.com/comedy/2023/

China dominates the market for electric vehicle batteries, but it didn’t have to be that way. We&#8217;ll talk about a story of wasted potential: how a failed U.S. startup made headway on lithium battery tech a bit too early and got caught in the throes of American capitalism. Also, a declassified report shows how the U.S. government has been skirting the need for warrants by buying data about Americans. Plus, if you&#8217;ve noticed companies have been quieter about social and environmental issues, it&#8217;s not in your head. Mentions of diversity, equity and inclusion and other social initiatives in companies&#8217; earnings calls have fallen recently. We&#8217;ll talk about why that is. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today:

This special edition of Make Me Smart&#8217;s weekly happy hour is coming to you live from the stage at Seattle&#8217;s Town Hall. We&#8217;ll get to all of your &#8220;Economics on Tap&#8221; favorites: a little news, some drinks, plus an extended round of our Friday game Half Full/Half Empty! Today&#8217;s episode includes some adult language. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;More Startups Throw in the Towel, Unable to Raise Money for Their Ideas&#8221; from The Wall Street Journal <li style="l

Hey Smarties! We&#8217;re taping today&#8217;s episode of Make Me Smart live from Seattle. We&#8217;ll have the show in your feeds soon. But for now, enjoy a rerun of one of our favorite episodes of the year so far. With all the rage tweets about gas stoves, it may be hard to believe, but climate change wasn’t always so polarizing. Studies show that public opinion on the topic started to splinter in the 1990s, when governments and corporations had to reckon with the threat of a warming planet. “Prior to 1997, it was a conversation among a bunch of scient

Hey Smarties! We get a lot of questions about the stock market, and today we’re sharing an episode from “Financially Inclined,” Marketplace&#8217;s new podcast for teens, that might answer some of them. Host Yanely Espinal gets into how the stock market works, the difference between stocks and bonds and what to consider when opening a retirement account. If you’re a newbie investor or want to talk more about this with the young people in your life, this episode will make you smart! This podcast is presented in partnership with Greenlight: the money app for teens — with investing. For a limited time, our listeners can earn $10 when they sign up today for a Greenlight account at <a href="http

Ahead of their upcoming monthly meeting, Federal Reserve officials have hinted at possibly holding interest rates steady. And they’ve been using a few terms to describe the move — a &#8220;skip,&#8221; a &#8220;pause&#8221; and a &#8220;hold.&#8221; One listener called in to ask: What’s the difference? We’ll get into it and answer more of your questions, like why monetary policy tools are so blunt and the possibility of a common currency for BRICS countries. Plus, why your favorite radio program asks for money. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-05-18/fed-skip-sounds-like-the-new-pause-as-officials-weigh-policy#xj4y7vzkg" target="_blank" rel="

It’s that time of year when the Supreme Court issues a bunch of important decisions on high-profile cases before its summer recess. But it turns out there’s a whole other docket of decisions that usually fly under the radar. It’s called the emergency docket, or &#8220;shadow docket.&#8221; And the use of this lesser-known docket is changing the way the Supreme Court engages with wide-reaching, often divisive issues, and shaping law on the ground. “We&#8217;re seeing every big fight in contemporary American public policy getting to the Supreme Court faster through these emergency applications, and provoking the justices to take a position sooner because of these emergency applications,&#8221; said Stephen Vladeck, law professor at the University of Texas and author of the new book “The Shadow Docket: How the Supreme Court Uses Stealth Rulings to Amass Power and Undermine the Republic.” On the show today, Vladeck explains what the shad

Hiring data shows that Republican-leaning states have been consistently hiring faster than Democratic-leaning states, and it’s been that way since before the COVID-19 pandemic. We’ll unpack the trend and get into the relationship between hiring and job growth. Plus, an inclusive running club is making us smile. And, are we handing out five star reviews too freely? Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Why are red states hiring so much faster than blue states?&#8221; from The Washington Post <a href="http

After the 2020 election, YouTube started removing election denialism content. Now, the platform is having a change of heart, saying it will leave up misinformation related to previous U.S. presidential elections. We get into the changes to YouTube&#8217;s misinformation policy and what they might mean for the 2024 campaign. Plus, Kimberly and Kai do a little show and tell. Prepare for smoke and fire! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;YouTube reverses misinformation policy to allow U.S. election denialism&#8221; from Axios

The debt limit deal making its way through Congress comes with changes to work requirements for food stamps. We’ll get into why these changes may not be the cost-cutting solutions they’re cracked up to be. And Congress has blocked President Joe Biden’s student debt relief program. We’ll discuss what’s next in the battle over loan forgiveness. Plus, the heartwarming story of a bumblebee rescue. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Senate votes to overturn Biden’s student loan relief program&#8221; from NBC

Since the U.S. brushed up against its debt limit in January, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has been stretching the government’s money as far as possible using &#8220;extraordinary measures&#8221; to buy time for Congress. One listener thought to ask: How, exactly, does that work? And how long could they last? We’ll get into it and answer more of your questions about where the funds for military assistance to Ukraine come from and why the Federal Reserve’s strategy to bring down inflation may come with unwanted side effects. Plus, a little self-care talk. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;How ‘Extraordinary Me

Growing beef or chicken in a lab out of a few tiny animal cells may sound like something out of a sci-fi novel, but with nearly $3 billion invested in the lab-grown meat industry, that future may already be near. On the show today, we talk with food tech journalist Larissa Zimberoff about how meat is grown in a lab, why companies are banking on it as a potential climate change solution, and the challenges that lie ahead for the industry. Plus, is lab-grown food here to stay? In the News Fix: We have a deal on the debt ceiling. We&#8217;ll get into what it all means and why the negotiating might not be over. Later, a listener weighs in on retailer return policies, and our beloved intern gets creative with his answer to the Make Me Smart question. <!-- /wp:p

The debt limit is the big economic news story of the day, but yes, you *still need to keep an eye on inflation. The personal consumption expenditures price index, a measure of consumer spending, ticked up last month. That&#8217;s bad news if you were hoping interest rates, the tool the Federal Reserve uses to fight inflation, might come down soon. And, some musing on the nature of consequences: Three members of the far-right militia known as the Oath Keepers were recently sentenced to prison for their part in the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol. Plus, we&#8217;ll play a round of Half Full/Half Empty! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Sedition Sentence for Oath Keepers’ Stewart Rho

Everyone has bills to pay, and the Treasury Department is no exception. As we get closer to the debt ceiling &#8220;X date,&#8221; the Treasury finds itself with less and less money to pay for its existing obligations. We talk about how much cash Secretary Janet Yellen has to work with, and the government&#8217;s plan to prevent a potential default. And, Tina Turner&#8217;s legacy goes beyond rousing music. Plus, in the Make Me Smile department, a discussion on cruises, family vacations and space travel! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/retail-consumer/orders-surge-trans-designer-after-target-pulls-products-2023-0

It seems like people are using chatbots like ChatGPT for everything these days: writing cover letters, coming up with meal plans, you name it. One listener wondered: Are investors using AI to make stock market picks? We’ll get into it and answer more of your questions about why other countries use the U.S. dollar instead of their own currency and the origins of the phrase &#8220;knock-on effect.&#8221; Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;How people are using AI for stock market picks&#8221; from Marketplace <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/which-ai-chatbot-is-better-at-picking-stocks-bard-microsoft-74

The federal government has lifted the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, and many Americans are eager to move on from the pandemic entirely. But, COVID-19 is unfortunately still here — and so is the threat of a future pandemic. Ed Yong, a science journalist at The Atlantic who wrote about the risk of a deadly pandemic in 2018 and later won a Pulitzer Prize for his reporting on COVID-19, warns that neglecting the pande

There&#8217;s inflation, and then there&#8217;s hyperinflation. That&#8217;s what&#8217;s happening in Argentina, and it&#8217;s changing the way people do business and behave in the economy. We&#8217;ll talk about how Argentina is dealing with it and how it relates to the &#8220;sticky&#8221; inflation situation in the U.S. economy. Then, why reaching a compromise on the debt crisis may be harder than we thought. Plus, kids who love to read are making us smile. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;How a 12-year-old playbook is shaping the battle over the debt limit&#8221; from Politico

Just when it seemed like a deal was being teed up, negotiations over the debt ceiling broke off. Then went back on &#8230; for the moment, at least. So what happens if the U.S. government defaults? Nobody knows exactly, but we&#8217;ll go over potential scenarios, including the biggest bills the federal government may not be able to pay if the money runs out. Then, we look at the broadening field of Republican presidential candidates. Plus, we&#8217;ll play a game of Half Full Half Empty that includes an ode to condiments. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: <a href="https://apnews.com/article/tim-scott-2024-presidential-campai

Today, the Supreme Court ruled on a pair of cases involving a controversial internet law. Section 230 protects tech companies from being held liable for users&#8217; content, but it has been criticized for being out of step with technology. We&#8217;ll get into the court&#8217;s decision to leave Section 230 alone, and what it means for the future of the internet as AI becomes more popular. And, Disney and Florida&#8217;s game of cat and mouse continues. Plus, a doggy breakout makes us smile. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Supreme Court rules Twitter not liable for ISIS content&#8221; from Howe on

It&#8217;s Whaddya Wanna Know Wednesday, and lots of you wanna know what&#8217;s up with the debt ceiling drama. So, we&#8217;re dedicating today&#8217;s episode to answering your questions about what happens if Congress fails to raise the debt limit before the government runs out of money. We’ll get into how a debt default compares to a government shutdown, why prioritizing payments would be a tricky task for the Treasury and where&#8217;s Wall Street been? Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;What’s the difference between a government shutdown and a failure to raise the debt ce

For viewers, streaming has ushered in an era of Peak TV with a seemingly endless amount of shows to binge. But, writers on strike say they’re not experiencing the same golden age when it comes to compensation and job stability. And, some streaming companies are struggling to hang on to subscribers in an ultra-competitive market. This has us wondering: Has streaming broken TV? On the show today, Kate Fortmueller, professor of entertainment and media studies at the University of Georgia, explains how streaming has changed the way film and TV writers make a living, why studios’ priorities have shifted in the streaming age, and what might be ahead for the industry. Plus,

Tax season may be over, but we aren&#8217;t done talking about taxes. Will free tax filing ever become a reality? We&#8217;ll get into the upcoming fight over free filing along with what taxes have to do with the debt ceiling debate and an unusual political fundraising operation. Plus, the daring plan to rescue a &#8220;Great Observatory&#8221; in space makes us smile. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Tax Prep Company Intuit Ramps Up Lobbying Ahead Of Free File Fight&#8221; from Huffpost <a href="https://home.treasury.gov/system/files/136/Debt-Limit-L

As the Title 42 immigration policy ends at the border, a new immigration law that aims to crackdown on employers who hire undocumented workers has been signed in Florida. We get into the economic implications of Gov. Ron DeSantis&#8217; new immigration policy. Then, we haven&#8217;t hit the debt-ceiling deadline &#8230; yet. But we&#8217;re already feeling the pain. Plus, a round of Half-Full/Half-Empty, full of appreciation for mothers. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;South Fl

Pacific Western Bank reported a sharp loss of over 9% of its total deposits last week, trailing the failure of First Republic Bank. We’ll discuss what’s behind the lingering banking problems. And, over 3 million viewers tuned in to watch CNN’s town hall event with former President Donald Trump, proving he’s still a ratings magnet. We’ll get into the ethical dilemma of the network’s decision to put Trump on that stage and what it means for the presidential race ahead. Plus, Saildrones and other superstorm hunting gadgets are giving us a glimpse into uncharted territory. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;CNN tops 3 million viewers during Trump Town Hall&#8221;

Weeks of violence between the Sudanese army and a powerful paramilitary group in Sudan has triggered an urgent humanitarian crisis and devastated the country’s economy. One listener called to ask how the conflict might impact the global economy. We’ll get into it and answer more of your questions about the U.S. treasurer&#8217;s job and how Netflix might dispose of its enormous DVD inventory. Plus, why the end of the helium shortage is still up in the air. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;As Sudan&#8217;s conflict continues into its second week, here&#8217;s what to know&#8221; from NPR <!-- /wp:list-item -

Child poverty levels fell dramatically — nearly in half — in 2021 with the help of pandemic-era government programs and cash assistance. But with those programs gone, poverty in the United States looks pretty much the same as it has for the past 50 years, despite an overall increase in how much we’re spending on welfare. This has us wondering: Why is that? On the show today, sociologist Matthew Desmond, author of &#8220;Poverty, by America,&#8221; breaks down how the United States became a country with more poverty than other rich democracies, what’s wrong with our welfare system and what really works to reduce poverty. Plus, the role regular Americans play in all of it. <!-- /wp:

A new week, a new episode, a new report from the Federal Reserve. This time, the aptly named Senior Loan Officer Opinion Survey shows banks are pulling back on lending. We&#8217;ll break down the survey&#8217;s results and explain why some are getting credit crunch vibes. Plus, government workers are suing over the debt limit. And in the Make Me Smile department, we&#8217;re decoding emoji and imagining flinging rockets into space. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;California Panel Calls for Billions in Reparations for Black Residents&#8221; from The New York Times <!-- wp

It&#8217;s jobs report Friday, and it&#8217;s time to do the numbers. One data point that stands out: Women&#8217;s labor force participation, which is &#8220;at a rate never seen before.&#8221; We&#8217;ll get into what the latest jobs report tells us about this economy and what it might mean for the Federal Reserve&#8217;s pledge to help traditionally marginalized groups. Then: Could obesity become a marker of poverty? Plus, a round of Half-Full/Half-Empty about big hats and big ideas. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;U.S. Job Growth Retains Vigor De

The ethics scandals are piling up on the Supreme Court bench. ProPublica has new revelations on the financial ties between Justice Clarence Thomas and his Republican megadonor friend. We&#8217;ll discuss how judicial business is done in the U.S. and whether it&#8217;s time to change it up. Also, an addendum to our deep dive on child labor, and we check in on the state of the COVID-19 pandemic. Plus, 50 years after Secretariat&#8217;s glory days, a story about the horse’s daughter makes us smile. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Jury convicts Proud Boys members of seditious conspiracy in US

Like cryptocurrency mining, running an artificial intelligence system like ChatGPT requires an enormous amount of energy and natural resources. One listener asks: How do large language models and crypto compare? We’ll get into it and answer more of your questions about why we can’t just print more money to solve the debt limit dilemma and why the United Kingdom can block two U.S. companies from merging. Plus, a familiar Kai-ism explained. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;AI’s carbon footprint is growing. Is it worth it?&#8221; from Marketplace <li style="list-style-type: no

Here&#8217;s something we didn&#8217;t think we&#8217;d be talking about in 2023: child labor. But, here we are. Since 2018, there&#8217;s been a 69 percent increase in children working illegally, according to the Labor Department and hundreds of child labor cases are under investigation. Recent investigations show that many violations involve migrant children working dangerous jobs. At the same time, some states are rolling back child labor protections. On the show today, The New York Times&#8217; Hannah Dreier explains what child labor looks like today, the multiple forces driving illegal child labor in the United States, and why som

The Treasury Department announced today that the U.S. could default on its debt as early as June 1. For the past few months, House Republicans have used the debt limit as a bargaining chip to secure spending cuts. As the new deadline looms over us, we are wondering: Is there a way out? And, an unassuming Supreme Court case could change how a slew of laws are interpreted. Plus, video-chatting parrots make us smile. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;The Luring Test: AI and the engineering of consumer trust&#8221; from the Federal Trade Commission <!-- wp:list-it

As the United States edges closer to the deadline for a debt default, Wall Street speculators are hoping to capitalize on a crisis by trading credit-default swaps (shivers). We&#8217;ll talk about what they are and their role in the 2007-2009 Financial Crisis. Then, California passed a landmark zero-emission rule, but electrifying the state will come with some challenges. Plus, a round of Half-Full/Half-Empty that we hope gets us invited to Bluesky. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Bets Offering 2,40

Leaked documents show Russia could fund another year of war with Ukraine despite a whole lot of U.S. sanctions designed to throw a wrench in the Russian economy. Plus, diesel prices are half what they were a year ago. We’ll get into why gas prices are falling and what it signals about the direction of the economy. And, to keep or not to keep butter in the fridge? Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Russia can fund war in Ukraine for another year despite sanctions, leaked document says&#8221; from The Washington Post <li style="list-st

After Fox Corp. agreed to a jaw-dropping $787 million payout to settle a defamation case brought by Dominion Voting Systems, one listener thought to ask: Can insurance cover that? We’ll get into it and answer more of your questions about how the re-start of student loan payments might affect the economy and the complicated bond market. Plus, what&#8217;s up with all the matte, earth tone car colors? Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;How does on

Today we’re talking about the wave of anti-trans legislation that lawmakers are pushing through at virtually all levels of government. Over 500 bills targeting the LGBTQ+ community have been introduced this year alone — that’s a record number. On the show today, independent journalist and trans rights activist Erin Reed breaks down the swath of legislation seeking to restrict the rights of trans people, what gender-affirming care actually means and the political and economic implications of these bills. Plus, what gives Reed hope for the future of the trans community in the United States. In the News Fix: Guest host Amy Scott discusses the latest trends in the housing market, including what&#8217;s happening with home prices

Two popular TV anchors are out of a job. CNN&#8217;s Don Lemon and Fox News&#8217; Tucker Carlson were both ousted today as cable continues to lose viewers and advertisers to the ever-growing world of streaming. We&#8217;ll get into what the anchor departures could mean for the future of cable news. Then, what younger workers might be missing by WFH. And a Make Me Smile that might have more millennials saying, &#8220;Cheeeese.&#8221; Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;What Young Workers Miss Without the ‘Power of Proximity’

We weren&#8217;t planning to talk about Twitter today, but here we are! We&#8217;re rereading a story from late last year about the folks who helped Elon Musk buy Twitter and the ways that what&#8217;s happened to Twitter since then may align with the desires of those backers. And what will replace Twitter for building the influence of its users &#8230; like journalists? We&#8217;ll also talk about an alarming story from The Washington Post about a GOP lawyer&#8217;s ideas to limit voting in key battleground states like Wisconsin. And we look at indicators that life (and the economy) is returning to a pre-pandemic normal for some. Plus, a round of Half Full / Half Empty featuring ChatGPT&#8217;s &#8220;Seinfeld.&#8221; Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: <a href=

Kai Ryssdal shares a story about parking at the movies and brushing up against an unpleasant economic indicator: the repo man. It illustrates how more Americans are falling behind on their car payments, which can have ripple effects throughout the economy. Plus, Tennessee state Rep. Scotty Campbell resigned after an ethics investigation found he’d violated workplace discrimination and harassment policy. Campbell, a Republican, is one of the lawmakers who voted to oust two Black lawmakers from the chamber over their protests against gun violence. And, Kimberly Adams reminisces about cooking on her George Foreman Grill. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-04-19/inflation-high-car-prices-hurt-us-consumers-and-boost-repo-demand?sref=F8B

Earlier this month, the International Monetary Fund put out its weakest medium-term projection for global economic growth since 1990. This had one listener wondering: How accurate are the IMF’s predictions? We’ll get into it and answer more of your questions, like why the U.S. Postal Service still delivers six days a week and what is the carbon footprint of space travel. Plus, we’ll explain why the Federal Reserve is losing billions every week. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: <a href="https://qz.com/the-imfs-5-year-growth-forecast-is-its-weakest-since-19-1850319134" target="_blank" rel="noreferr

Today, we&#8217;re talking about two topics near and dear to our hearts: space and economics. Over the last several years, NASA&#8217;s Artemis program and the commercialization of space have given rise to a large and growing space economy estimated at $400 billion. We&#8217;ll talk with Namrata Goswami, co-author of  &#8220;Scramble for the Skies: The Great Power Competition to Control the Resources of Outer Space,&#8221; about the state and evolution of the space economy. In the News Fix: Are we seeing signs of a slowing economy? And bye-bye barcodes. Then, this week&#8217;s answer to the Make Me Smart question sent Kimberly down a rabbit hole. Note: Fox News reached a settlement in the defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems after this show was recorded. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: <a href="https:

The extensive use of the dollar around the world has helped to maintain a strong U.S. economy. But recent discussions about the dollar&#8217;s declining use has some people worried that another currency may take its place. We get into what it means for the dollar to be the world&#8217;s reserve currency and why the concern might be overblown. Plus, what the economy has to do with a shortage of volunteers. And, why small acts of kindness make us smile. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;The U.S. Dollar as an International Currency and Its Economic Effects&#8221; from the Congressional Budget Office <!-- w

It is estimated that at some point this year, India&#8217;s population will surpass that of China&#8217;s. This means that India will not only be the biggest democracy, but also the most populous country. We get into how this change could alter the economic and political balance of the world. And, could unexplained flying objects be aliens? A senior Pentagon official has a theory. Plus, a round of Half-Full/Half-Empty that has us thinking deeply about Tupperware. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Ghana is the first country to approve Oxford’s malaria vaccine&#8221; from Popular Science <!-- wp:l

After dozens of classified documents were uploaded to an online gaming chat group, the FBI has arrested a suspect in connection with the leak. We&#8217;ll get into some of the digital breadcrumbs the suspect left behind and why there may be no such thing as anonymity on the internet. Then, the plot thickens in the Clarence Thomas scandal. Plus, what do Queen Latifah, Daddy Yankee and Super Mario have in common? Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: Here’s what we know about the leader of the online group where secret documents were leaked from The New York Times </p

On this Whaddya Wanna Know Wednesday, we&#8217;re going to turning over the mics to our sister podcast Million Bazillion, the show that answers questions kids have about money. In today&#8217;s episode, hosts Ryan and Bridget are tackling a question about the gender wage gap. If you missed our recent deep dive on the topic, this kid friendly version will make you just as smart. It even includes a cameo from our Kimberly!

In the span of just a few months, tech companies have released a plethora of new artificial intelligence products that are already influencing our digital lives. It all seems to be happening really, really fast, and it has us wondering: Are we at an inflection point with AI? “I do think it rises to that level of the printing press or the internet, where it&#8217;s this tool that fundamentally shapes everything we do, how we think, how we interact with the world. So, I kind of see it influencing everything that happens going forward,” said Kyle Chayka, technology and culture writer at The New Yorker. On the show today: How some folks are starting to use AI tools in their day-to-day lives, what ChatGPT can and can’t do well (yet), and why toying around with chatbots or image generators might help us feel a little less afraid of AI technolog

A mass shooting in Louisville, Kentucky, reminds us of an unfortunate reality: They&#8217;re becoming routine. As we discussed in a recent deep dive, the AR-15, the most popular weapon in the consumer market, is often used in mass shootings and has fueled debates on what should be done. Then: Crypto mining presents a huge environmental problem, but there are alternatives. And: A unique solution to the Pythagorean theorem makes us smile. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Gunman Kills 4 Co-workers at Louisville, Ky., Bank on Livestream, Police Say<

Recently, the United States&#8217; economic policies have focused on America first. But those policies and the promise of bringing manufacturing back to the U.S. could jeopardize the very thing they seek: a stronger U.S. economy. We get into the ways American protectionism could backfire. And, expelling a member of a state legislature is a rare occurrence; Tennessee did it twice in a day. Plus, we double jump into a game of Half-Full/Half-Empty.Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: It is alcohol responsibility month! from Responsibility.org <!-- /

A ProPublica investigation found that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has secretly been taking luxury vacations on a billionaire Republican donor’s dime for more than two decades. We’ll explain why these undisclosed gifts could be a serious ethical breach. Plus, guest host Sabri Ben-Achour, our resident plant expert, shares news of a rare corpse flower bloom in New York City. And, a Lizzo cameo. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Clarence Thomas Secretly Accepted Luxury Trips From GOP Donor&#8221; from ProPublica <li style

Former President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign says it raised $7 million since his indictment. His campaign is pulling out all the stops to capitalize on his legal troubles — including T-shirts with a faux mug shot. One listener called in to ask if those donor funds can be used to pay his lawyers. We’ll get into it and answer more of your questions about the value of clean water and why banks have been slow to raise savings interest rates. Plus, what was all that i bond hype from last year about? Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today:

Today we’re talking about the weapon we seem to talk about after every mass shooting in the United States: the AR-15. The AR-15 is the most popular rifle on the consumer market. An estimated 1 in 20 American adults owns at least one. But, it wasn’t always this way. In fact, the AR-15’s rise in popularity is pretty recent, and when the gun first became available to consumers, it was something of a black sheep. On the show today, Washington Post reporter Todd Frankel walks us through how the AR-15 went from military weapon to consumer product, the marketing that boosted its appeal and what the AR-15 signifies to a country plagued by gun v

Donald Trump made headlines last week, when news broke out that he had been indicted. The news helped him fundraise over $4 million in just 24 hours. Now, politicians and parties are using the indictment to rake in big bucks. Even Meta is benefiting. And, ChatGPT could revolutionize the world, but Italy has some concerns. Plus, dinosaurs had what?! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;ChatGPT Banned in Italy Over Data-Privacy Concerns&#8221

Today’s News Fix comes with a side of cherry blossom-themed cocktails: New survey data shows that while most workers in the United States value paid time off, nearly half aren’t using all their vacation time. We&#8217;ll get into what the new research says about norms in the American workforce. And, it’s Trans Day of Visibility. We’ll explore how the LGBTQ+ community experiences the economy differently and how language shapes discussions of LGBTQ+ issues. Plus, we’ll play a round of Half Full / Half Empty! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;A guide to words related to gender identity and sexual orie

Donald Trump has become the first former president to be charged with a crime. A Manhattan grand jury indicted Trump after hearing evidence about payments given to adult-film actress Stormy Daniels during his 2016 election run. We&#8217;ll discuss the significance of the case and what may follow in the days and week&#8217;s ahead. Plus, an age-defying story that made us smile. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Trump indicted by N.Y. grand jury, first ex-president charged with crime&#8221; from The Washington Post <li style="list-style-type:

In times of financial turbulence, banks head to the Federal Reserve&#8217;s (virtual) discount window for short-term emergency loans. The week after SVB failed, U.S. banks borrowed over $150 billion from the central bank. One listener called in to ask: Why didn’t SVB do the same? We’ll get into SVB’s fruitless attempt to secure rescue funds and answer more of your questions about faux job openings and what really counts as consumer spending. Plus, what should you look for in a personal financial adviser? Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: <a href="

Today, women in the United States are paid 22% less than men on average. Twenty years ago, that number looked about the same, despite women’s many advancements in education and the workforce. The gender pay gap is stark, stubborn and often misunderstood in its intricacies. On the show today, Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, unpacks why the gender pay gap hasn’t really budged in the last two decades, what people get wrong about it and what needs to change to finally close it. <!-- wp:p

It was a tough news day. The school shooting in Nashville is the latest mass shooting in the United States. There have been 130 mass shootings this year alone. We&#8217;ll talk about what happened in Nashville and the role of the AR-15 in America&#8217;s gun violence history. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;3 children, 3 adults killed in shooting at Nashville private school&#8221; from PBS NewsHour <ul

Oops! How did nearly $2 million worth of nickel owned by JPMorgan Chase turn out to be just bags of rocks? We&#8217;ll give you the TL;DR on commodity trading and tell JPMorgan&#8217;s tale of woe. And, the House passed a piece of GOP-backed legislation that’s in line with many conservative politicians’ push to limit what can be taught and read in schools. While the bill won’t make it through a Democratic Senate, it could still be used as a political tool. Plus, a round of Half Full/Half Empty with a surprise guest host! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;JPMorgan’s My

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., which monitors foreign investments in this country, usually keeps its work secret. But during today&#8217;s congressional TikTok hearing, it released a statement saying that it takes data security seriously. The unusual comment, and how the federal government has been dealing with TikTok, has us wondering: What are we missing? Plus, we become nostalgic for Blockbuster and its catchy jingle. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;With no merger deal, failed SPAC faces lawsuit over legal fees&#8221; from Reuters <!-- /w

Following the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Congress the United States banking system is healthy — for now — but a debt limit breach would throw it back into chaos. One listener asked if the recent banking hubbub might get Congress to finally take action on the debt ceiling. We’ll get into it and answer more of your questions about what makes credit unions different from banks and why it’s so hard to turn office buildings into apartments. And, what’s in a Kai Ryssdal sandwich? Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Yellen: Debt limit breach would be &#8216;devast

Today we’re talking about the topic of the day, week, month, and maybe even year — banking. Silicon Valley Bank’s tech startup-centric clientele and remarkably high amount of uninsured deposits made it different from a lot of other banks. But there’s a regulatory landscape in the background of SVB’s downfall story. On the show today, Mehrsa Baradaran, a banking law professor at the University of California Irvine and author of the books “The Color of Money” and “How the Other Half Banks,&#8221; explains how regulatory changes made way back in the 80’s landed us where we are now, the psychological nature of bank runs, and what regulators can learn from this

The Federal Reserve will meet this week to discuss the possibility of increasing interest rates to fight inflation once more. But after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, some are concerned that the higher rates are putting too much pressure on the banking system. And, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has released its latest report. The conclusion? We have to do something now. Plus, Kimberly makes us smile with a story about the friendship between a girl and a very scary &#8220;monster.&#8221; Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Did SVB break the Fed? Officials mull risks of more

For years, using social media has been mostly free. But that&#8217;s slowly changing. Following in Twitter&#8217;s footsteps, Meta has launched a subscription service for its platforms. We&#8217;ll discuss what paying for social media might mean for our online culture. And, the latest news about SVB (of course) and the regulators that may have dropped the ball. Plus, a round of Half Full/Half Empty. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Why American whiskey is the real winner of St. Patrick’s Day&#8221; from CNN

A team of large banks are coming together to save First Republic from this week’s banking woes with a hefty $30 billion deposit. We’ll explain what their move could mean for regulators. Also, an investigation into nursing homes in the United States found that some Medicare policies are putting seniors into poverty. And Kimberly makes us smile with a story about how pet owners deal with clever cats that can open microwaves and steal wallets. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-03-16/us-pushes-first-republic-rescue-with-big-banks-after-stock-slump?cmpid=BBD031623_MONEYSTUFF&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_source=newsletter&amp;utm_term=230316&amp;utm_campaign=moneystuff&amp;sref=F8BwdiK2" target="_blank" rel="noref

This week’s Whaddya Wanna Know Wednesday comes with a bonus News Fix! We’ll get into the ripple effects of the Silicon Valley Bank collapse on the U.S. Treasury debt market and on international banks like Credit Suisse. Then, we’ll answer your questions about the FDIC insurance limit and the &#8220;moral hazard&#8221; risk involved in covering all SVB deposits. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Market Stress Snarls Trading in U.S. Treasurys&#8221; from The Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.co

Some members of Congress recently introduced legislation that would give President Biden the power to ban TikTok, despite the company’s best efforts to get on Congress’ good side. How did an app known for viral dance videos find itself in the middle of a national security debate? On the show today, Forbes tech reporter Emily Baker-White explains why some members of Congress see TikTok as a national security threat, how real that threat actually is, and what an all-out ban would even look like. Plus, how it felt to be spied on by TikTok. In the News Fix: How a viral parody tweet may have helped bring down insulin prices. Also, Kai Ryssdal explains

The dust hasn&#8217;t yet settled around Silicon Valley Bank&#8217;s collapse and people are trying to figure out who, or what, is to blame. We&#8217;ll unpack some of the finger pointing, explain what SVB represents 15 years after the 2008 financial crisis and look into what the bank&#8217;s failure means for the 2024 presidential race. Plus, the Oscar moments that made us smile! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Bank rules rollback contributed to SVB’s failure, critics say&#8221; from Marketplace <li style="list-style-ty

The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank is the second largest bank failure in U.S. history. Many of SVB&#8217;s clients were startups and tech investors putting hundreds of billions of dollars in assets at risk. We&#8217;ll explain some of the factors that led to SVB going under and what it has to do with &#8220;venture debt.&#8221; Plus, how a health data breach could be weaponized against Congress. Plus, a round of Half-Full/Half-Empty with a special guest host! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;How Silicon Valley Bank failed&#8221; from Marketplace <!--

The majority of women in the United States are single, and they’re becoming a big force in our economy. Single women now make up a significant share of the job market, homeowners and college graduates. But we&#8217;ll get into why that doesn’t necessarily amount to a boon for women’s wealth and wages. Also, business owners are coming clean about price-raising strategies, dubbed &#8220;excuseflation.&#8221; Plus, how mending your clothes became a hot fashion trend. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Crestfallen, veterans demand accountability for Afghan exit&#8217;s failures&#8221; from The Washington

This week, we got a call from a listener who said a serving of cold brew costs $1.30 more than a serving of hot coffee at his local Starbucks. That has him wondering, what makes the cold stuff so special? We’ll get into the economics of iced coffee. Plus, we&#8217;ll answer your questions about SNAP benefits and the beef between the state of California and Walgreens. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: A Quick Guide to SNAP Eligibility and Benefits from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities <li

What can Jell-O tell us about the United States during the Gilded Age? What about Spam during World War II? According to Anna Zeide, food historian and author of the new book “US History in 15 Foods,” they can tell us a lot about the evolution of American values, government — and of course, the American economy. On the show today, Zeide walks us through the history baked into food items from all-American whiskey to Korean tacos. And, why food is often much more than something we simply eat. In the News Fix, we remember Judy Heumann, an activist who championed crucial pieces of disability rights legislation. Also, eyes are on Walgreens after the company said it would stop dispensing abortion pills in some Republican-led states where abortion is still legal. Plus, we’ll get into why

This week, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell will head to Congress for two days of hearings as required under the Humphrey-Hawkins Act. Today, we’ll trace the little-known history behind this important piece of legislation and explain what it has to do with the civil rights movement and Coretta Scott King. Plus, make me smiles that have us reminiscing about family. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Republican Votes Helped Washington Pile Up Debt&#8221; from The New York Times <li style="list-style-type: n

Across the U.S., kids as young as 13 are being employed to do everything from packaging cereal to cleaning meatpacking plants. Many are migrants who came into the U.S. without their parents and were driven to work out of desperation. Now, lawmakers want to push for change. The story has us shaking our heads. Plus, is it OK to order the same dish as your spouse? Our hosts dive into a lively food debate. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Lawmakers Clamor for Action on Child Migrant Labor as Outrage Grows&#8221; from The New York Times <li sty

In the before times, when the Federal Reserve raised interest rates, the number of people filing for unemployment benefits would rise too. But we’re far from that today. U.S. weekly jobless claims are remarkably low. So where’s the recession we’ve been hearing so much about? Kai tells us what Janet Yellen had to say about this in his recent interview with the treasury secretary. Plus, the complicated task of creating a time zone for the moon. And guess who&#8217;s a Swiftie. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Trump can be sued by police over Jan. 6 riot, Justice Department says&#8221; from The Washington Post

Norfolk Southern, the train company involved in the recent derailment in Ohio, spent $1.8 million on lobbying last year. One listener called in to ask about what lobbying dollars actually pay for. We’ll explain and answer more of your questions about how menstrual symptoms can affect productivity and what it might take for climate NIMBYs to become climate YIMBYs. Plus, Kimberly and guest host Reema Khrais share financial advice they&#8217;d give their younger selves. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Lobbying Data S

To reach the Joe Biden administration’s goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050, the country&#8217;s energy infrastructure needs a massive overhaul, and fast. But many communities are not on board with the idea of a massive wind or solar farm in their area. Some counties are banning renewable energy developments before the planning can even begin. “All those wind turbines and solar panels, and then all the transmission lines that you need to build &#8230; it has a big footprint. And that creates lots of land use conflic

Drag show performances have become the new front in America&#8217;s culture wars. Lawmakers in more than a dozen states are considering legislation that would limit or ban drag shows. But after major corporations came out against anti-LGBTQ laws last year, we’re wondering: Where is corporate America now? Plus, big news on the ban on British sausages. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;To Tap Federal Funds, Chip Makers Will Need to Provide Child Care&#8221; from The New York Times <!-- /wp:li

During the early years of the pandemic, people throughout the country left major cities and never returned. But in New York City, it seemed people were coming back in droves. What else would explain the lower availability of apartments and the increasing rent prices? The real reason may not be that simple, and it may have to do with algorithms and something called &#8220;warehousing.&#8221; Also, the patent examiner who sought to demonstrate the ingenuity of Black Americans through their inventions is being honored. Plus, we play a round of Half Full / Half Empty! &#8220;New Yorkers Never Came ‘Flooding Back.’ Why Did Rents Go Up So Much?&#8221; from New York magazine <

There’s tons of research showing teenagers aren’t getting enough quality sleep. One big contributing factor: early school start times. So why aren&#8217;t more schools getting with the program? Also, we’ll get into the different narratives being created about the Joe Biden administration’s pick for the next leader of the World Bank. Plus, Wordle cheaters, we know who you are. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Let Teenagers Sleep&#8221; from Scientific American <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/23/us/politics

DALL-E, ChatGPT and now … Bing? It can be hard to keep up with all the new artificial intelligence systems hitting the scene. One listener called in to ask what makes the new AI-powered Bing different from ChatGPT. We’ll get into it and answer more of your questions about how a tax cut works versus a stimulus and the hidden costs of police misconduct. Plus, can journalists who cover business trade stocks? Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Bing (Yes, Bing) Just Made Search Interesting Again&#8221; from The New York Times <li s

The national COVID-19 public health emergency will be ending in May, but that doesn&#8217;t mean the pandemic is over. Hundreds of people are still dying from COVID in the U.S. every day and many more are getting sick. So then why is the emergency ending? On the show today: Dr. Céline Gounder, an epidemiologist and editor at large for public health at Kaiser Health News, walks us through the state of the pandemic right now, what will change when the public health emergency expires and what it could mean for the American health care system as a whole. In the News Fix, we&#8217;ll tell you about a case before the Supreme Court that may drastically change how the internet works. Also, Russia temporarily pulled out of a major nuclear arms treaty. We’ll get into what that means for the future of international arms control. <!-- /

Although climate change risks are well known, they are often unaccounted for in property values. New research shows that when flood risks are taken into account, property prices are overvalued by as much as $237 billion. So what does this all mean for the U.S. real estate market and a looming climate change housing bubble? We&#8217;ll also discuss the bombshell legal filing by Dominion Voting Systems and what it reveals about Fox News&#8217; business model. Plus, we play a round of Half Full/Half Empty! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/02/17/fox-news-dominion-lawsuit-takeaways/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noop

It’s common for people to relocate or downsize when they get older, but new research shows that age is not working in their favor when it comes to getting a mortgage. We’ll get into it. Also, Tesla workers in Buffalo launched a campaign to unionize last week. Now, some leaders of the drive  are getting fired. Plus, guest host Samantha Fields tells us why the early warm weather in the Northeast is sort of creeping her out. And, an owl who escaped from the Central Park Zoo takes on the big city! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;It can be harder for seniors to get mortgages, research shows&#8221; from

As the Kansas City Chiefs celebrated their Super Bowl victory Sunday, red, yellow and white confetti showered the field while the winners put on preprinted NFL Super Bowl LVII Champions gear, complete with the Chiefs’ logo. One listener called in to ask what happens to the stuff that’s premade for the team that ends up losing. We’ll get into it and answer more of your questions about the gamification of credit card spending and the benefits of being open with your co-workers about how much money you make. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: What happens to the Super Bowl 57 championshi

It’s Valentine’s Day, so we’re digging into the thing that’s at the heart of President Biden’s vision to reshape the American economy: industrial policy. After the U.S. ghosted industrial policy decades ago, it&#8217;s become a hot topic again. Biden championed the Inflation Reduction Act, ballyhooed the CHIPS and Science Act and announced rules requiring federal infrastructure projects to use only American-made materials — all with the goal of spurring the country&#8217;s manufacturing industries. But, is Biden&#8217;s vision for the U.S. economy a perfect match? On the show today: Derek Thompson, staff writer at The Atlantic and host of The Ringer’s “Plain English” podcast, makes us smart about the evolution of industrial p

Since the discovery of the Chinese balloon floating over Montana, it seems the U.S. is suddenly seeing more unidentified flying objects. We&#8217;ll get into why the U.S. had previously been missing all these strange crafts. Plus, a train derailment in eastern Ohio has residents worried about the long-term dangers of released chemicals. And, would you drink AI-generated beer? Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;US Has ‘No Indication’ Alien Activity Is Behind Objects Shot Down&#8221; from Bloomberg <!-- /wp:list-ite

Inflation has hit American consumers hard over the last couple of years. But we&#8217;re not the only ones feeling the pinch. The government is too. We&#8217;ll talk about the ways inflation is affecting the national debt. Then, there may be more to imposter syndrome than we initially thought. Plus, we play a Super Bowl-themed round of Half Full/Half Empty. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Fed’s Inflation Fight Pushes Up Cost of U.S. Debt&#8221; from The Wall Street Journal <li style="list-sty

In Twitter&#8217;s latest effort to up revenue, the company is shutting down free access to its API for many users. That means developers who rely on the Twitter API to run apps like TweetDelete will have to pay for access to its data. Also, Adidas&#8217; decision to split with Yeezy last year is turning out to be an expensive one. And, one man&#8217;s career behind the scenes on Broadway is more than just a nice story about a guy doing a job. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Twitter is shutting down its free API, here&#8217;s what&#8217;s going to break&#8221; from Engadget <!-- /wp:list-item --

Students are already using ChatGPT to cheat on assignments, and teachers want tools to spot it. One listener called in to ask what tech will become available for teachers to identify AI-written work. We’ll get into what’s out there right now and why these tools may not be a perfect solution just yet. Plus, we’ll answer more of your questions about how the recent California floods are affecting produce prices and the cost of solar panels. Plus, when did we start referring to jobs by collar color? Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;The advent of ChatGPT creates demand for software to detect its use&#8221; from Marketplace</l

This weekend&#8217;s Super Bowl is almost certain to be the most legally bet-on sports event in U.S. history. Since the Supreme Court struck down a federal ban on sports betting five years ago, the industry has seriously taken off, mostly thanks to online wagers. Goldman Sachs predicts that by 2033, the online sports betting business could rake in $39 billion in annual revenue. With online sports betting, you can bet from almost anywhere. And it turns out, you can bet on almost anything. </

The U.S. Constitution requires that presidents give Congress a report on the state of the union. It&#8217;s a way to hold the nation&#8217;s leader accountable. But critics say the tradition of delivering a speech in front of a joint session of Congress has become a political tool. We&#8217;ll debate the value of the SOTU and whether it&#8217;s time it goes away. Also, an earthquake in Turkey and Syria could become one of the deadliest this decade. Here’s everything we talked about today: Please, Biden, do us all a favor: Skip the State of the Union speech from The Washington Post <

Finding constant success in life may not always be a good thing. Some psychologists argue that the biggest obstacle to success may be success itself. How do we fix it? Changing an aspect of our lives every 10 years. Also, could states prevent CVS and Walgreens from selling abortion pills by mail? Kimberly Adams and Kai Ryssdal get into it. Plus, a round of Half-Full/Half-Empty filled with coupons and inflation chickens. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Chinese balloon high over US stirs unease far below&#8221; from Associated Press <!-- /wp:list-

We&#8217;ll get to the important news, but first— a Make Me Smile for the ages. In a series of tweets about the spiritual significance of each finger, Pope Francis said the middle finger means honesty. Of course, Twitter ran away with it. In other news, the United States will now have more access to bases in the Philippines, another sign of high tensions in the South China Sea. Plus, we&#8217;ll discuss the story of Marie Van Brittan Brown, the largely unknown Black woman behind a familiar invention. And, Harvard University is discontinuing a high-profile project dedicated to studying online misinformation. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/philippines-grants-us-greater-access-bases-amid-china-concerns-2023-02-02/" target=

The federal debt limit crisis was already looming when the Democrats lost their House majority in the midterm elections. Many of them called for the limit to be raised, suspended or eliminated during the lame duck period to avoid the political turmoil that&#8217;s going on now. One listener called in to ask why they didn’t raise the ceiling while they had the chance. We’ll get into it and answer more of your questions about a Plan B for Biden’s student debt relief, the Trump tax cuts and the rise of white-collar unions. Plus, did you catch the Kai Ryssdal reference on another popular public radio program? Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: <a href="https://www.crfb.org/papers/qa-everything-you-should-know-about-debt-ceiling#why" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer n

The new wave of generative artificial intelligence, like ChatGPT and DALL-E, has got the tech business in a frenzy. Venture capitalists are pouring money into new AI startups: Investments in generative AI have already exceeded $2 billion. But there&#8217;s lots of unknown unknowns about the innovation. There&#8217;s virtually no oversight from the government, and teachers, artists, researchers and others are raising concerns. &#8220;There&#8217;s so much happening under the hood that we don&#8217;t get access to &#8230; there needs to be much more transparency,&#8221; said Alex Hanna, director of research a

The U.S. has hit the debt limit 78 times since the 1960s, but for the first time in history, five women are responsible for shaping U.S. fiscal policy. Their experience and perspectives, could change how the country deals with the debt limit. And they might be able to do what other politicians cannot: get along. Plus, how did George Santos fund his campaign? Kimberly is back from vacation and joins Kai to talk all things Washington, and shares what made her smile while she was gone. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Mint the coin? Buy back bonds? 7 &#8216;gimmicks&#8217; for dodging the debt limit.&#8221; from The Washington

Higher mortgage rates have cooled off the once-hot housing market. But for the first time in seven months, pending home sales have improved, which means the market is seeing some movement. And China&#8217;s oil and gas use fell for the first time in decades! Kai is joined by guest host Amy Scott to discuss all this and play a round of Half Full / Half Empty. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: In light of Tyre Nichols video coming out, a roundup of police reforms in the years since George Floyd

The drought in California is by no means over, but the recent winter storms made a big difference. We&#8217;ll discuss what it all means for the state&#8217;s residents, reservoirs and wildflowers! Then we&#8217;ll unpack a sobering statistic about gun violence in the United States. And Kai Ryssdal geeks out over SpaceX&#8217;s new Starship rocket. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;California to get major boost in water supplies following January storms&#8221; from the Los Angeles Times <

As Kai Ryssdal puts it, the United States is like House Lannister from &#8220;Game of Thrones&#8221;: It always pays its debt. But if Congress isn&#8217;t able to increase the debt limit, the government won&#8217;t have enough money to pay all its bills later this year. A listener called in to ask how that would affect regular Americans. We&#8217;ll get into it and answer more of your questions about the economic consequences of exclusionary zoning, how tariffs work and how households of different income levels are affected by rising inflation. Plus, is Kai an electric vehicle convert? Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Secretary of the Treasury Janet

With all the rage tweets about gas stoves, it may be hard to believe, but climate change wasn&#8217;t always so polarizing. Studies show that public opinion on the topic started to splinter in the 1990s, when governments and corporations had to reckon with the threat of a warming planet. “Prior to 1997, it was a conversation among a bunch of scientists, but once the Kyoto treaty came, it became an issue that affected powerful political and economic interests,” said Andrew Hoffman, professor of sustainable enterprise at the University of Michigan and author of &#82

In case you haven&#8217;t heard, we&#8217;ve hit the debt limit. That means a whole lot of debate about how to avoid a debt default is likely ahead. One of the more creative solutions involves minting a trillion-dollar platinum coin. We&#8217;ll explain why that probably won&#8217;t fly. Also, we&#8217;ll have an update on the artificial intelligence wars in tech. And guest host Amy Scott makes us smiley and sporty with a story about soccer star Erling Haaland. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Janet Yellen Dismisses Minting $1 Trillion Coin to Avoid Default&#8221; from The Wall Street Journal</l

Google has been the most popular search engine in the world for over two decades, but the company is bringing in the big shots to help fight the company&#8217;s most significant threat since the iPhone came out: ChatGPT. To keep up with the rapid growth of artificial intelligence, Google said it&#8217;s making serious investments in the technology. Meanwhile, Google cut jobs in its AI unit amid widespread layoffs in the tech industry. Guest hosts Amy Scott and Matt Levin get into it. Plus, we’ll play a round of Half Full/Half Empty. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Google Calls In Larr

The guy who&#8217;s now running FTX, the imploded cryptocurrency exchange founded by now-indicted Sam Bankman-Fried, said he&#8217;s considering reopening shop. Too soon? Also, mortgage rates are coming down, but all the commotion about the debt ceiling could undo that. And, guest host Amy Scott makes us smile with a video of celebrities reenacting conversations on Nextdoor, the neighborhood social networking platform. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Mortgage Rates Fall as Services Sector Contracts&#8221; from Zillow Research <li style="

Disney is calling employees back to the office four days a week. One listener called in to ask about the advantages and disadvantages of hybrid work. We’ll talk about how businesses are making the choice. And guest hosts Amy Scott and Samantha Fields answer more of your questions about the death of starter homes and the stubbornly high price of diesel. Plus, are states ready to dole out unemployment benefits for the next recession? Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Disney will soon require workers to be in-office four days a week&#8221; from Marketplace <!-- /wp:list-it

Today we&#8217;re talking about a key player in international trade: the World Trade Organization. The WTO is responsible for setting and enforcing the rules of global trade between 164 member countries. While the United States once supported the idea of a rules-based system, lately the country hasn&#8217;t been a big fan of the rules. Among other things, the Trump administration&#8217;s decision to impose steel and aluminum taxes in violation of WTO policies sent the organization&#8217;s ability to govern into freefall. What would it take for the WTO to get back on its feet? &#8220;It&#8217;s clear that we ne

New research shows Exxon Mobil understood the dire consequences of burning fossil fuels decades ago — with scary accuracy. Yet, the company continued to mislead the public about the effects of climate change. We&#8217;ll discuss the billions in damages attributed to more frequent extreme weather events. And, a dungeon masters&#8217; revolt! Dungeons &amp; Dragons players united to preserve the spirit of the game. Plus, we&#8217;ll play a round of Half Full/Half Empty. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Assessing ExxonMobil’s global warming projections&#8221; from Science <

Today, the voice of American business had one message for Congress: Get it together! The U.S. Chamber of Commerce says political gridlock is making it harder for businesses to function. We&#8217;ll explain what&#8217;s ahead for the 118th Congress and why you&#8217;re about to hear a lot more about a big fight over the national debt. Plus, are you seeing bizarre flying objects in the sky? You&#8217;re not alone. And SBF is defending his innocence, again. This time on Substack? Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Sam Bankman-Fried R

Some Republican politicians are attacking environmental, social and governance investing strategies. One listener is wondering what the fight is really about. We&#8217;ll explain. Plus, are crypto losses tax deductible? And we&#8217;ll answer more of your questions about whether more immigration can help tame inflation, and developing vs. developed countries. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Crypto tax guide&#8221; from Fidelity <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/opi

A lot has happened since the attack on our Capitol two years ago. We&#8217;ve had congressional hearings, impeachments, investigations. And through it all the country has remained deeply polarized. In the past 40 years, the United States has polarized a lot faster than other wealthy democracies like Canada or Germany. Why is the U.S. so different? <!-- wp:paragr

Happy New Year! We’re back from our holiday break to discuss some of the biggest news stories of 2023 so far, including last week&#8217;s C-SPAN soap opera. New House Speaker Kevin McCarthy made some serious concessions to win that could spell out a future mess for debt limit and budget negotiations. Plus, why interest rates will likely stay up — for a while — and what that means for the economy. And, some good news about our planet: The ozone layer is healing! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Fed&#8217;s Raphael Bostic Favors Holding Rates Above 5% for ‘a Long Time’&#8221;

Hey smarties! We’re on a break for the holidays and revisiting some favorite episodes from 2021. We want to say a big thank-you for being part of the “Make Me Smart” family this year — every voicemail, question and donation made a huge difference. None of us is as smart as all of us, and we couldn’t do this show without you. There’s still time to help Marketplace reach its end-of-year fundraising goal. If you can, please donate here. Thanks, happy holidays and we’ll see you in the new year. Labor organizing looks a lot different today. The workplaces are different compared to decades ago. Think less industrial factories with thousands of workers and more Sta

Hey smarties! We’re on a break for the holidays and revisiting some favorite episodes from 2022. We want to say a big thank-you for being part of the “Make Me Smart” family this year — every voicemail, question and donation made a huge difference. None of us is as smart as all of us, and we couldn’t do this show without you. There’s still time to help Marketplace reach its end-of-year fundraising goal. If you can, please donate here. Thanks, happy holidays and we’ll see you in the new year. As the threat of climate change grows, expect to hear more about solar geoengineering. It came up during our recent episode with sci-fi author Neal Stephenson, and it involves spraying tiny particles into the stratosphere to deflect the sun’s rays awa

Hey smarties! We’re on a break for the holidays and revisiting some favorite episodes from 2022. We want to say a big thank-you for being part of the “Make Me Smart” family this year — every voicemail, question and donation made a huge difference. None of us is as smart as all of us, and we couldn’t do this show without you. There’s still time to help Marketplace reach its end-of-year fundraising goal. If you can, please donate here. Thanks, happy holidays and we’ll see you in the new year. On Make Me Smart, we often turn to economists, professors and policy wonks to make us smart about some big topics that need explaining. Today, we’re turning to a different kind of expert, sci-fi writer Neal Stephenson. His latest book, “Termination Sh

For our final episode of 2022, we&#8217;re throwing a holiday party with music, Santa hats, drinks and our favorite game, Half-Full/Half-Empty. But can&#8217;t forget about the News Fix. Today, we&#8217;re talking about a surge in COVID cases amid the holiday travel season. Also, the struggle to find housing in D.C. is real. We&#8217;ll explain what happened to a soon-to-be congressman when he went apartment hunting. Plus, we want to hear about your New Year&#8217;s resolutions! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;WTO says Trump&#8217;s steel tariffs violated global trade rules&#8221; from Politico </li

Today’s episode mentions heavy topics like substance use disorder and death, which some listeners might find distressing. Last year, 80,000 Americans died due to opioid overdoses. Kimberly opens up about losing a loved one to the epidemic and highlights new research on the impact of opioids on the labor market. Plus, political prisoner Brittney Griner is home. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Labor Market Consequences of the Opioid Tragedy&#8221; from American Action Forum <a

When the latest jobs report dropped, so did stock prices. A listener wrote in to ask why Wall Street isn’t a fan of the hot labor market. We’ll get into it and answer more of your questions about how post-merger SPACs are holding up and how switching to an electric vehicle can save you money. Also, we&#8217;ll hear from Kimberly&#8217;s mom about her early Christmas decorating! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Dow Down 300 Points After Strong Jobs Report — Here’s Why The Market’s Rooting For Higher Unemployment Right Now&#8221;

Today we’re talking about that thing we all sort of dread paying: insurance. It&#8217;s a big business and a critical part of the housing market and our economy. But in the era of climate change, this multitrillion-dollar industry is being disrupted in a major way. There&#8217;s data that shows insured losses from extreme weather disasters will exceed $100 billion for the second year in a row. And in one state in particular, the situation is, well, messy. On the show, Marketplace&#8217;s Amy Scott walks us through Florida&#8217;s complicated insurance marketplace and explains what&#8217;s at stake if the insurance industry doesn&#8217;t prepare for our changing climate. In the News Fix, there are signs the U.S. econ

There&#8217;s a new AI chatbot that&#8217;s going viral. Popular results shared on social media show just how scary accurate the chatbot can be. We&#8217;ll discuss what widespread use of artificial intelligence like this could mean for certain sectors of the economy and the spread of misinformation. Also, an update on the status of Iran&#8217;s morality police. And, Kimberly shares her encounter with a feisty camel. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;New AI chatbot is scary good&#8221; from Axios <li style="list-style-typ

Today, we&#8217;re doing the numbers on the latest national jobs report. Women got the majority of jobs gained in November. We&#8217;ll explain why this isn&#8217;t a total win. Plus, Iowa traditionally holds the first Democratic caucus, making the state superinfluential during election seasons. But that&#8217;s all about to change. And, we&#8217;ll play a round of Half Full/Half Empty! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;DNC moves forward with dramatic change to presidential primary calendar&#8221; from Politico <a href="https:/

idespread access to charging stations is key to getting drivers to go electric. But the businesses who can build those stations still aren&#8217;t sure how they&#8217;ll make money. Today, we&#8217;ll discuss the EV charging station dilemma. Plus, we&#8217;ll highlight an investigation into the failures of Florida&#8217;s foster care system. And, tell you about the women making history at the men&#8217;s World Cup. Then, Kimberly defends her status as a Midwesterner. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Why America Doesn’t Have Enough EV Charging Stations&#8221; from The Wall Street Journal <!-- /wp:list-item -

When the former cryptocurrency exchange FTX went under, billions of dollars in investments seemingly vanished. A listener asked us why FTX customers didn&#8217;t move money to a wallet. We’ll get into it and answer more of your questions about what happens when your company goes public and who benefits when you make a charitable donation at the grocery store checkout lane. Also, where do political campaign signs end up when the election’s over? Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;What Are The Risks Of Crypto Savings Accounts?&#8221; from Forbes <!-- /wp:list

Amazon. Meta. Twitter. A lot of tech companies are letting workers go. According to one estimate, nearly 140,000 have been laid off in the industry this year. And while that’s small compared to job losses during the dot-com bust, the vibes are not great. On the show today, Rucha Vankudre, a senior economist at labor analysis firm Lightcast, walks us through what’s driving the latest layoffs across the tech industry and what it all might mean for the U.S. economy. Is it a sign of things to come? (Fyi: We expect JOLTS numbers and the November jobs report this week.)

Chinese President Xi Jinping&#8217;s strict zero-COVID policies have kept the virus at bay, but public frustration with lockdowns and a stunted economy are coming to a boil. We&#8217;ll discuss what recent mass protests could mean for the Chinese economy. Plus, who gets to access public lands in the United States? A navigation app is revealing how much public land is blocked by privately owned land. And, how artificial intelligence could help us connect with our inner child. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Chinese Protests Put Xi Jinping in a Bind&#8221; from The Wall Street Jour

There’s lots of debate over globalization. Some experts believe globalization is dying. Others say it&#8217;s going through a reboot. And some think the free flow of goods across borders is evolving into something else. But what if we never really globalized to begin with? On the show today, Shannon O&#8217;Neil, author of &#8220;The Globalization Myth,&#8221; breaks down what we got wrong about globalization and what it means for the future of the U.S. economy.</

FTX customers fear they&#8217;ll never get their money back from the bankrupt cryptocurrency exchange. They&#8217;re not wrong to worry. Could this further erode consumers&#8217; trust in the financial system? Plus, mourners are grieving the victims of a deadly mass shooting at an LGBTQ nightclub in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Meanwhile, in Qatar, anti-LGBTQ rules are already being tested at the 2022 World Cup. Then, Kimberly makes us smile with a story about ice-skating and perseverance. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;FTX Crypto Customers Worry They Will Never See Their Money Ag

At the start of the year, a survey from the National Education Association revealed that more than 50% of teachers were thinking about leaving their jobs. And now teachers are quitting en masse. We&#8217;ll discuss what this could mean for classrooms nationwide. Also, the case of disgraced Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes is coming to a close. Plus, the moral quandary of World Cup 2022. And, we&#8217;ll play a round of Half Full/Half Empty! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Empty Classrooms, Abandoned Kids: Inside America&#8217;s Great Teacher Resignation&#8221; from The New York Times</l

FTX, the recently imploded cryptocurrency exchange, has filed for bankruptcy. The new CEO said he&#8217;s never seen corporate mismanagement quite like this. We&#8217;ll unpack new revelations about what went wrong from the company&#8217;s bankruptcy filings. Plus, we&#8217;ll look back on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi&#8217;s legacy. And, Kai and Kimberly stan Lizzo! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: Editorial: &#8220;Nancy Pelosi has been a trailblazer. The U.S. is better for her leadership&#8221; from The Los Angeles Times <li style="list-style-type:

Every election season, headlines speculate about which political polls got it right and how others got it so wrong. A listener called in to ask if they even matter. We’ll get into it and answer  questions about whether the 2017 tax cuts set us up for inflation and state lawmakers’ surprisingly low wages. Plus, how are individual shareholders affected when companies like Twitter go from public to private? Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;<a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/07/01/polling-methods-are-changing-but-reporting-the-views-of-asian-americans-remains-a-challenge/" data-rich-text-format-boundary="true

Since Elon Musk bought Twitter, over a million people (including Kai and Kimberly) have joined Mastodon, a decentralized social media network. On the show today, Robert Gehl, professor of communications and media studies at York University in Toronto, explains the ins and outs of Mastodon and decentralized social media and what it means for our public discourse. In the News Fix, we&#8217;ll talk about why mortgage rates are so darn high (it&#8217;s not all because of rising interest rates) and the future of self-driving cars — don&#8217;t plan to take your hands off the wheel anytime soon. Later, we&#8217;ll hear from a listener about what it takes to run for a local school board in Wisconsin. Plus, the eBay hack you didn&#8217;t know you needed. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: <!

For the first time since the start of the pandemic, the leaders of the two most powerful countries in the world met face to face, on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit today. We’ll talk about why this IRL meeting matters and what the future of U.S.-China relations could mean for the global economy. Plus, there are signs the Federal Reserve is getting ready to slow its roll on interest rate hikes. And, Kai Ryssdal and Kimberly Adams talk missions to the moon, past and present! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Biden and Xi clash over Taiwan in Bali but Cold War fears cool&#8221; from Reuters </ul

Rich countries, like the United States, are the biggest emitters of gases that drive climate change. Should they pay developing countries for climate damage? Kai and guest host Andy Uhler recap the COP27 summit and the debate over climate reparations. Plus, NASA thought it had collected all the artifacts from the 1986 space shuttle Challenger disaster, until now. And, we’ll play a round of Half Full/Half Empty! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;About Biden&#8217;s climate pit stop&#8221; from Politic

Earlier this week, we told you about two cryptocurrency giants joining forces. Well, that deal fell apart, and now a major crypto exchange is in big trouble. Kimberly and guest host Andy Uhler talk about the fallout from FTX&#8217;s collapse. Plus, we&#8217;ll check in on El Salvador&#8217;s bitcoin investments. Then, the hosts&#8217; attempt to make us smile fails, but they later redeem themselves. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: Opinion | Brittney Griner moves to a Russian penal colony. Biden has no good options from The Washington Post <!-- /wp:list-item

You can now pay to get verified on Twitter (without actually verifying your identity). What does this mean for misinformation on the app? We&#8217;ll discuss. Plus, Kai Ryssdal explains why he joined Mastodon, the Twitter alternative. And we&#8217;ll answer more of your questions about inflation, the future of sports broadcasting and California&#8217;s sky-high gas prices. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Why eBay Wins From Supply Chain Woes&#8221; from The Motley Fool

School board races have become some of the most contentious elections of the 2022 midterms. These used to be mostly local affairs, with candidates typically raising less than $1,000 from friends and family. But now it&#8217;s not uncommon for big national political action committees to sink tens of thousands into a single race. It&#8217;s a trend that goes back more than a decade and has been supercharged by culture war issues and the pandemic. Today, we talk with Rebecca Jacobsen, a professor of education policy at Michigan State University, about the implications of outside money in school board elections for education policy and local democracy. In the News Fix, we&#8217;ll discuss what&#8217;s being done to address voter intimida

Twitter is supposed to be the digital version of the public square. But what happens when the richest person in the world buys it and tells you how to vote? We&#8217;ll talk about why that&#8217;s troubling and whether Twitter is turning into the next Truth Social. Plus, young Latinas in Texas are using their quinceañeras to get their communities to the polls. And, after years of complaints, Airbnb is finally doing something about those pesky hidden fees. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: Tweet from @elonmusk about which party he thinks yo

If you&#8217;re looking for a job in the oil and gas industry, chances are it&#8217;s yours. The jobless rate for the U.S. oil industry is at a historic low, and producers are scrambling for workers. We&#8217;ll explain what this means for President Joe Biden&#8217;s plan to ramp production and bring down gasoline prices. Plus, new revelations about Russian atrocities in Ukraine. On a lighter note, we&#8217;ll also play a round of Half Full/Half Empty! And, guest host Andy Uhler&#8217;s dog makes a surprise appearance. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;How Russian soldiers r

Companies like Audi and General Mills are temporarily pulling their ads from Twitter. They&#8217;re not fans of Elon Musk&#8217;s ideas for more relaxed content moderation policies on the platform. We&#8217;ll talk about what that might mean for the future of the company. Plus, Kimberly Adams talks about the new social media sites she&#8217;s checking out in case Twitter goes off the rails. And, Daylight Saving or standard time? Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;U.S. Congress split on making daylight-saving time permanent&#8221; from Reuters <!--

Political candidates are always asking for money. A listener called in to ask if donating actually makes a difference so close to Election Day and what happens to donations that go unspent after Tuesday. We’ll get into it and answer more of your questions about the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and why fines might not keep Meta from breaking campaign finance laws. Plus, Kai and Kimberly fill us in on what they look for when they&#8217;re car (or motorcycle) shopping. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Did Money Win?&#8221; from OpenSecrets <a

Spoiler alert: We’re not in a recession. But maybe one is on the way. That debate reignited last week after the yield curve inverted, again. As we’ve talked about on the show, inverted yield curves can be a warning sign. &#8220;A lot of this is psychological. It&#8217;s a lot about what you think is going on, not necessarily what is going on,&#8221; said Todd Knoop, professor of economics at Cornell College and author of “Business Cycle Economics: Understanding Recessions and Depressions From Boom to Bust.&#8221; While the <a href="https://www.nber.org/research/business-cycle-dating" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopene

The Supreme Court is hearing two cases on affirmative action in higher education. We&#8217;ll talk about what it means for race and diversity across society, from college campuses to corporate America. Plus, can haunted houses ease stress and anxiety? And, Kimberly gets in the Halloween spirit by sharing a few jokes and last-minute costume ideas. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Highlights: Supreme Court Hears Affirmative Action Cases From Harvard and U.N.C.&#8221; from The New York Times &#8220;Why we like scary things: The science of recreational fea

You can bet in Vegas. At the racetrack. On sports. But what if you could place a bet on the midterm elections? A government commission is weighing a startup&#8217;s proposal. We&#8217;ll explain. Also, President Joe Biden reacts to Exxon&#8217;s record-breaking profits. Plus, a round of Half Full/Half Empty! And, find out what listeners think about political candidates on TikTok. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Biden Chides Exxon CEO Over Investor Payouts as Profits Surge&#8221; from Bloomberg Tweet from <a href="https://twi

The International Energy Agency says we&#8217;re experiencing the first global energy crisis. But the United Nations says we&#8217;re also falling way short of meeting our climate goals and need to do more to reduce our demand for fossil fuels. We&#8217;ll talk about a pair of reports and what they mean for the clean energy economy. Plus, will Twitter become a free-for-all hellscape? And guest host Andy Uhler and Kai make a bet. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: World Energy Outlook 2022 – Analysis from the International Energy Agency UN emissions report

After last week&#8217;s discussion about political advertising, a listener wrote in to ask how candidates get away with putting misleading info or even complete lies on the air. The answer is at the top of the Bill of Rights. We&#8217;ll get into it and answer more of your questions about the Kroger-Albertsons merger, &#8220;normal&#8221; recessions and dollar-slice pizza joints. Here are links to everything we talked about today: &#8220;Worried about an economic downturn? Here’s what you can expect in a typical recession, according to economists&#8221; from CNBC &#8220;<a href="https://www.marketplace.org/2020/06/09/who-decide

Today, we&#8217;re bringing you an episode from &#8220;How We Survive&#8221;, Marketplace&#8217;s podcast about solutions to climate change. Hosted by Marketplace senior correspondent (and occasional &#8220;Make Me Smart&#8221; host) Amy Scott, this season of &#8220;How We Survive&#8221; is all about how we will (or won&#8217;t) adapt to rising waters. The team headed to Miami, Florida, which is now considered one of the most vulnerable coastal cities in the world. But you’d never know that by looking at the local housing market. Florida’s economy is powered by real estate, and the state has no income tax. Local governments depend on revenue from

It&#8217;s a tough day to be reading the news. We&#8217;ll discuss the consequences of Kanye West&#8217;s antisemitic hate speech, including racist protests in Los Angeles and reactions from some of his corporate partners. We&#8217;ll also talk about a personal connection to today&#8217;s school shooting in St. Louis. Then, we&#8217;ll try to pivot to a Make Me Smile with a not-so-friendly neighborhood clown and a data dive into bugs on your windshield. And Kimberly reveals an unplanned answer to the Make Me Smart question (what is something you thought you knew and later found out you were wrong about?). Here’s everything we talked about today: “Kanye West Tests Adidas and His Other Corporate Partners” from Th

Elon Musk&#8217;s business dealings come with some pretty important international implications. And officials in the U.S. are wondering if those deals should be subject to review for national security concerns. We&#8217;ll discuss. Plus, a huge research gap in the medical field negatively impacts about half the world. We&#8217;ll talk about some of the repercussions of the lack of medical study on the clitoris. And, a round of Half Full/Half Empty! Here’s everything we talked about today: “Half the world has a clitoris. Why don’t doctors study it?” from the New York Times “Twitter tumbles as US weighs se

U.S. Rep. Katie Porter is pulling out her famous charts. This time it’s to argue that corporate greed is driving inflation. We’ll explain why this debate isn’t settled. Plus, Liz Truss&#8217; time as the United Kingdom&#8217;s prime minister comes to an abrupt end. And, why is lettuce all over our feeds? Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Katie Porter pulls out chart at hearing to show corporate greed is the “biggest driver of inflation” from Salon &#8220;<a href="https://www.epi.org/blog/corporate-profits-have-contributed-disproportionately-to-inflation-how-should-policymakers-respond/?c

By Election Day, campaigns and PACs will spend an estimated $9.7 billion on ads. One of our listeners wants to know: Does flooding the airwaves even move the needle? Where&#8217;s the saturation point? We&#8217;ll do our best to answer on this Whaddaya Wanna Know Wednesday. Plus, your questions about student loan forgiveness, the poverty line and regional Halloween traditions. Here are links to what we talked about today: &#8220;Social Security recipients to get their biggest cost-of-living raise in over 40 years&#8221; from Marketplace &#8220;How many people ar

Telemedicine exploded at the start of the pandemic, for all the obvious reasons. Doctor visits went virtual and lots of companies, including Walmart, started going all-in on telehealth. But usage has slowed and remained flat over the last year as some patients go back to in-person appointments. Some waivers that allowed physicians to practice across state lines have expired too. So is telehealth at a crossroads? Not exactly, said Dr. Aditi Joshi, who has been in the telehealth industry for more than a decade and is the chair of the telehealth committee for the American Col

There&#8217;s a lot that determines the cost of housing. And it goes beyond market forces like supply and demand. Kimberly Adams and guest host Janet Nguyen talk about the unexpected ingredients that are playing a role in housing prices and how they affect where people get to live. Plus, now that Fat Bear Week is over, meet the world&#8217;s chunkiest parrot! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;ProPublica investigation: Rent Going Up? One Company’s Algorithm Could Be Why.&#8221; from ProPublica &#8220;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/florida-coastal-living-reshaped-by-hurricane-housing-codes-11666019241?mod=hp_lead_pos10" target="_blank" rel="noreferr

One of the largest supermarket chains in the country wants to eat its competition. Today, Kroger announced a deal to buy Albertsons. Guest host Sabri Ben-Achour talks about what it might mean for your grocery bill and the food delivery industry. Plus, what we know about Germany&#8217;s decision to buy natural gas from Russia months before the invasion of Ukraine. And we&#8217;ll play a round of Half Full/Half Empty. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Germany Saw No Risk in Russian Gas, Declassified Report Reveals&#8221; from Bloomberg Tweet <a href="https://twitter.com/vermontgmg/stat

Despite the latest inflation numbers, the stock market had a great day today. We even got to play the happy, jazzy music on &#8220;Marketplace.&#8221; But that doesn&#8217;t mean we&#8217;re out of bear market territory. We&#8217;ll explain. Plus, guest host Samantha Fields talks about the big changes to a popular student loan program. (No, not President Biden&#8217;s student debt relief.) And, tastier beer? Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Dow closes 800 points higher after a historic one-day turnaround&#8221; from CNBC &#8220;<a href=

Galveston, Texas, was all but wiped out when a Category 4 storm hit the port city in 1900. Thousands died, surviving residents fled and Houston became the economic center of the region. One of our listeners wants to know: Could that be the future of other coastal cities? We&#8217;ll talk about it on this Whaddya Wanna Know Wednesday. Plus: What are i bonds, and where&#8217;d the arugula go? &#8220;What are i bonds and should you invest in them?&#8221; from Marketplace &#8220;Grocery Store Shortages Are Back. Here’s Why.&#8221; from Eater &#8220;&#8216;There&#8217;s just not enough water&#8217;: California drou

Credit scores matter — a lot. They matter if you want to buy a car, a house and sometimes even if you want a job. In a recent deep dive, we covered the history of credit scores, how they work and whether it&#8217;s time to rethink how we measure creditworthiness. But Kimberly still had questions. So she and the &#8220;Marketplace Tech&#8221; team took an even closer look. Today, we&#8217;re bringing you an excerpt from their series &#8220;The Score.&#8221; Get ready to get smart (and take notes) on what the algorithms behind you

For years, we&#8217;ve been asking experts, celebrities, authors and you our Make Me Smart question: What&#8217;s something you thought you knew but later found out you were wrong about? From the power of poetry to the problem with perfectionism, we&#8217;ve heard lots of smart answers, and today we&#8217;re going to listen to some of the most memorable ones. Plus, Kai Ryssdal and Kimberly Adams share their top picks from two celebrity guests. What&#8217;s something you&#8217;ve been wrong about? Leave us a voice message at 508-827-6278 or 508-U-B-SMART.

While the backlog of ships at West Coast ports has mostly cleared, there&#8217;s a new log jam along the Mississippi River. We&#8217;ll talk about the effects it could have on our supply chain, food prices and inflation. Then, a look at the history behind the Supreme Court&#8217;s group photos. Plus, the hosts weigh in on Kim Kardashian getting a crypto fine, Black Friday and extra large skeleton Halloween decorations during a round of Half Full/Half Empty. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;<a href="https://www.agweb.com/markets/pro-farmer-analysis/low-water-levels-mississippi-river-threatens-shipments" target="_blank"

What do oil and gas companies have to do with reproductive health care? Some of them are funneling donations to &#8220;pregnancy resource centers&#8221; that discourage abortion in exchange for a break on the energy producers&#8217; taxes. Kimberly and guest host Janet Nguyen dig into an analysis from the Gulf States Newsroom. We&#8217;ll also talk about President Biden overhauling the country&#8217;s policy on marijuana. Plus, Fat Bear Week is here. And an Oregon Trail musical? Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Biden overhauls U.S. policy on marijuana, pardons prior federal offenses&#8221; from Reuters &#8220;<a href="https://www.wwno.org/politics/2022-10-06/mississippis-latest-move-i

We&#8217;re a nation of student loan debtors. Wiping out up to $20,000 of that debt should boost each borrower&#8217;s score, right? On this Whaddya Wanna Know Wednesday, we have to let one listener down easy. Plus, Kai Ryssdal and Kimberly Adams answer more of your questions on the peso, the pandemic and pumpkin pie. Here’s everything we talked about today: Check out Kimberly&#8217;s interview with Ethan Dornhelm, who leads research and analytic development for FICO. &#8220;Here’s how up to $20,000 in student loan forgiveness could affect your credit score and abil

This is the third week of protests in Iran. Dozens have died and hundreds have been arrested in the demonstrations following the death of a young Iranian woman in police custody. And now the outrage seems to be spreading and tapping into a deep well of grievances. &#8220;This is really anger at the entire system for its 43 years of corruption and abuse of power,&#8221; said Jason Rezaian, opinion columnist for the Washington Post and author of “Prisoner: My 544 Days in an Iranian Prison.” On the show today, Rezaian explains what&#8217;s driving the latest protest movement in Iran, the role of the United States and what may come next. In the News Fix, the Supreme Court started a new term this week and it&#8217;s expected to be a doozy. We&#8217;ll expla

Climate change is making storms stronger and more destructive. In the aftermath of Hurricane Ian, some are wondering whether investing in rebuilding is really worth it. We&#8217;ll discuss. Plus, why the drama over Credit Suisse is not a Lehman Brothers moment. And, the parody news site The Onion filed an amicus brief, and it&#8217;s truly a chef&#8217;s kiss! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Should we rebuild in hurricane-prone areas?&#8221; from Poynter &#8220;Surviving Hurricane Ian in a Fort Myers Ap

After seven years in the host&#8217;s chair, Trevor Noah is leaving &#8220;The Daily Show&#8221; to do more stand-up and touring. We&#8217;ll talk about the evolution of the late-night TV business. Plus, a case before the Supreme Court could determine what&#8217;s considered the &#8220;waters of the U.S.&#8221; And, we play a round of Half Full/Half Empty with a surprise guest emcee! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Trevor Noah is leaving ‘The Daily Show’&#8221; from CNN <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2022/09/30/new-hhs-reports-illustrate-pot

Hurricane Ian left behind vast destruction in Florida. But what&#8217;s actually making the situation worse is the state&#8217;s insurance crisis. We&#8217;ll explain. Plus, some people who thought their student loans would be forgiven are learning they won&#8217;t eligible for President Biden&#8217;s relief program after all. And, if you like Fat Bear Week, you&#8217;ll love Fat Bear Junior. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: Hurricane Ian&#8217;s damage in Florida is part of a larger crisis from MSNBC &#8220;In a reversal, the Education Dept. is excluding many from student loan relief&#8221; fro

The United Kingdom&#8217;s economy is hurting. But the plan to get it under control — cutting taxes and raising interest rates — is a bit of a head scratcher. We&#8217;ll explain why we can&#8217;t make this one make sense (well, I guess we can, but the answer is not great). Plus, guest host Reema Khrais answers questions about boycotts and the multilevel marketing world. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Q&amp;A: Here’s when boycotts have worked — and when they haven’t&#8221; from the Los Angeles Times &#8220;1 in 4 Americans

By now, you&#8217;ve probably heard about the racist backlash against the live-action remake of &#8220;The Little Mermaid,&#8221; the GOT prequel &#8220;House of the Dragon&#8221; and &#8220;The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power&#8221; for casting Black actors. But hobbits and dragon riders aside, this is a story about so much more than casting decisions. <p id="block-1e07890d-de5b-4fb9-8797-ee4451399e21" class="block-editor-rich-text__editable block-editor-block-list__block

More seniors are aging at home, alone. Today, we&#8217;ll explain why the home care worker shortage just went from bad to worse and why we likely blew a chance to fix it. Then, how a 100-year-old law is getting in the way of Puerto Rico recovering from Hurricane Fiona. Plus, spooky airplane sounds. And what&#8217;s that really bright star in the sky? Grab your binoculars. You won&#8217;t want to miss this! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Seniors are stuck home alone as health aides flee for higher-paying jobs&#8221; from The Washington Post &#8220;<a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/storm-ravaged-puerto-rico-calls-washington-allow-ship-car

Central banks all over the world are on a interest-raising spree. We&#8217;ll explain why that raises the risk of a recession. Buckle up, folks! Plus, how a volcano eruption led to the discovery of a new island in the Pacific Ocean. And Kimberly Adams gives us a lesson in pawpaw fruit harvesting! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;A New Baby Island Has Just Been Born In The Pacific Ocean&#8221; from IFL Science &#8220;New 6-Acre Island in Pacific Ocean Has Been Seen From Space&#8221; from Newsweek Video: <a href="https://www.yout

Today we&#8217;re getting caught up on Russia&#8217;s war in Ukraine. Putin&#8217;s announced he&#8217;ll draft 300,000 Russian reservists to fight in that conflict. Is this the moment we look back on as the moment he overreached? Then, the Food and Drug Administration issued new guidance on some drugs used to reverse opioid overdoses that would make the life-saving drugs more accessible. Also, we got an update from listeners about our SodaStream/beer query! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;‘A Lot of Panic’: Russian Men, Fearing Ukraine Draft, Seek Refuge Abroad&#8221; from The New York Times <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-09-22/putin-s-call-up-brings-reality-o

The Federal Reserve continued its interest-rate-raising spree today to help curb inflation. The other thing the Fed has been working on is unwinding its &#8220;quantitative easing&#8221; program. One listener wants to know how that works. We&#8217;ll explain. Plus, why can members of Congress buy and sell stocks so freely? Isn&#8217;t that a conflict of interest? We&#8217;re wondering the same thing. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;To understand the Fed’s bond-buying dilemma, picture a lake&#8221; from &#8220;Marketplace&#8221; &#8220;Despite thei

For years, China has been forecast to overtake the U.S. as the world&#8217;s top economic superpower. But recently, the second-largest economy has been slowing under its zero-COVID policy. There&#8217;s also problems in its housing market, and its currency, the yuan, is falling. On the show, Jennifer Pak, Marketplace&#8217;s China correspondent, makes us smart about China&#8217;s standing in the global economy and whether it&#8217;s still on track to topple the U.S. from the top spot. In the News Fix: Supply chain problems aren&#8217;t over, and neither is th

Almost five years after Hurricane Maria, Puerto Rico is reeling (again) after Hurricane Fiona flooded large parts of the island and left it in the dark. We&#8217;ll talk about the big mess behind Puerto Rico&#8217;s energy problems. Plus, John Kerry: People who live in glass houses shouldn&#8217;t throw stones. And, is a beer shortage on the horizon? Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: Puerto Rico&#8217;s Power System Heads Toward Litigation for Debt Deal from Bloomberg &#8220;Hurricane Fiona Exposes Puer

It&#8217;s Friday, and we all wish we could be Ferris Bueller. Well, one reporter actually tried. Kimberly Adams and guest host Amy Scott discuss what happened when said reporter skipped work for a day of fun. Plus, could this be &#8220;Phantom of the Opera&#8217;s&#8221; last hoorah on Broadway? Then, our favorite game stumps the hosts (oops). Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Could &#8216;Ferris Bueller&#8217;s Day Off&#8217; really be done? We found out.&#8221; from The Washington Post &#8220;&#8216;Phantom of the Opera&#8217; to close after

A couple of Republican governors are paying to send migrants to Democratic strongholds, including Washington, D.C. and Martha&#8217;s Vineyard. We&#8217;ll talk about the history of using people to make political statements. Plus, Patagonia&#8217;s founder gave away his company, but the deal might not be what you&#8217;re thinking. And, congrats, Lizzo! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Fla. Gov. DeSantis sent migrant flights to Massachusetts, his office says&#8221; from NPR Tweet thread from the JFK Library &#8220;<a href

Inflation is still high (sigh), which means the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates again next week. One listener is wondering why the Fed has pursued incremental rate hikes as opposed to one jumbo increase. We&#8217;ve got answers! Plus, why is the Fed&#8217;s inflation target 2% anyway, and what does it have to do with New Zealand? Then, questions about the queen, the Commonwealth and currency! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about: &#8220;Why does the Federal Reserve aim for inflation of 2 percent over the longer run?&#8221; from The Federal Reserve <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/21/upshot/of-kiwis-and-currencies-how-a-2-inflation-target-became-global-economic-gospel.html" target="_blank" rel="norefe

High(er) interest rates are here and probably not going anywhere anytime soon. Today&#8217;s inflation numbers almost guarantee that the Federal Reserve will raise rates again by another three-quarters of a percentage point. But it&#8217;s been such a long time since the U.S. economy has been in a high-interest-rate environment that many of us are wondering exactly how to navigate our personal finances. On the show today, we&#8217;ll discuss what high interest rates mean for consumers and why they aren&#8217;t translating into higher savings rates. As always, consult your own personal finance expert before making financial decisions. Later, we&#8217;ll talk about the latest inflation report and whether child poverty really is getting better. We&#8217;ll do the numbers. Then

COVID-19 has been circulating for well over two years, and new research looks at what the disease has meant for the workforce. Kimberly and guest host Amy Scott dig into it. Plus, who&#8217;s in charge of investigating a crash in space? Then, is it too early to start talking about leaf peeping and Halloween? Welp, we&#8217;re going to do it anyway. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Covid-19 Illnesses Are Keeping at Least 500,000 Workers Out of U.S. Labor Force, Study Says&#8221; from The Wall Street Journal Our deep dive <a href="https://www.marketplace.org/shows/make-me-smart/is-our-economy-ready-for-long-co

We pick up today&#8217;s show where we left off yesterday, talking about global reaction to the death of Queen Elizabeth. Plus, we&#8217;ll discuss the role of social media in driving counternarratives to stories from mainstream media organizations. Then, we play a round of Half Full/Half Empty. And, corgis FTW! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: “Thank You, Black Twitter”: State Violence, Digital Counterpublics, and Pedagogies of Resistance&#8221; from Temple University&#8217;s Marc Lamont Hill &#8220;Meta dissolves team responsible for discovering &#8216;potential harms to society&#8217; in its own products&#8221; from Engadget &#8220;

From the death of Queen Elizabeth to lifesaving vaccines, we&#8217;re mostly talking about news from the other side of the pond today. Plus, we&#8217;ll discuss the economic power of royal fashion, and what&#8217;s Jerome Powell thinking? Kai&#8217;s got answers! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: Opinion | &#8220;Mourn the Queen, Not Her Empire&#8221; from The New York Times &#8220;Dark Truths About Britain’s Imperial Past&#8221; from The New York Times Tweet <a href="https://twitter.com/ProfMMurray/status/1567964080069312512" target="_

Let&#8217;s face it, it&#8217;s getting more expensive to eat out these days. One of our listeners noticed the price of his burrito went up by $2 and wonders if it&#8217;ll go back down now that inflation is a slowing a bit. Probably not. We&#8217;ll explain. Plus, we take your questions about student loan debt relief, electric vehicles and the military, and one of our listeners makes us smart about cherries! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Inflation is finally slowing down. Will things get cheaper?&#8221; from Vox <a href="https://www.msnbc.com/know-your-value/out-of-office/why-biden-s-10-000-student-loan-relief-will-impact-n1298374" t

Artificial intelligence. It&#8217;s a phrase that gets thrown around a lot. But what are we really talking about? &#8220;Artificial intelligence is not one thing. It&#8217;s not a single technology. It&#8217;s a term that is applied to all sorts of technologies that vaguely behave like the human brain, and in some cases, aren&#8217;t even close to behaving like the human brain,&#8221; said Cade Metz, a technology correspondent covering artificial intelligence at The New York Times and author of the book “Genius Makers: the Mavericks Who Brought AI to Google, Facebook and the World.” When the artificial intelligence field was created in the 1950s, the aim was to mimic human intelligence. Today, some researchers believe we&#8217;re already there or really close. But the thing is, there&#8217;s still lots about h

There&#8217;s another problem to add to the list of issues piling up in the UK right now: The pound sterling took a dive. We&#8217;ll discuss the economic situation there and how it compares to what&#8217;s happening on this side of the pond. Plus, could Alaska&#8217;s voting system help our polarized politics? Then, we play a round of Half Full/Half Empty. Here is everything we talked about: Pound Latest: Sterling Collapse to $1.15 Shows Level of Market Despair from Bloomberg &#8220;With Peltola’s Defeat of Palin, Alaska’s Ran

Hit the dark place sting, we&#8217;re discussing some news stories that got our shells feeling a little hollow. First, residents of Jackson, Mississippi, have no clean water. Though help may be finally on the way, we still have questions. Also, a new survey shows just how devastating the pandemic was for students in the classroom. But we&#8217;ve at least got a Make Me Smile, thanks to a listener email on the physics of dragons. Get ready to laugh cry. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;The Pandemic Erased Two Decades of Progress in Math and Reading&#8221; from The New York Times &#8220;Who Would Like to Explain

Student loan relief is here. But (and this is so awkward), so is inflation, still. One of our listeners wants to know whether the government&#8217;s plan to forgive up to $20,000 in student loan debt will make inflation worse. Plus, we&#8217;ll take your questions on electric cars, credit scores and LeVar Burton! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Will student loan forgiveness make inflation worse?&#8221; from Vox &#8220;Without a Gas Tax, How Will EVs Be Charged for Road Use?&#8221; from Consumer Reports <l

American workers are becoming less productive, which means we&#8217;re producing fewer widgets per hour worked. The data shows there&#8217;s been drops in productivity for two back-to-back quarters. But the recent slowdown isn&#8217;t anything new. While productivity did spike momentarily last year, it&#8217;s actually been slowing for more than a decade. On the show today, we get smart about the productivity slowdown, how the &#8220;quiet quitting&#8221; phenomenon factors into this trend and what it all means for our economy. Later, the Federal Reserve is manifesting lower inflation, and the markets are finally getting with the program. A birth contro

This isn&#8217;t your usual &#8220;Make Me Smart&#8221; episode. From the delayed Artemis space shuttle launch to the decline of crab populations and the weight of dragon eggs, we&#8217;re going down a big rabbit hole or, shall we say, into the dragon&#8217;s den. Get ready to get smart about the news you probably didn&#8217;t hear anywhere else. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;These recycled space shuttle parts are now powering Artemis I to space&#8221; from Tampa&#8217;s Fox 13 &#8220;‘At

Today, we&#8217;re going to get smart about two legal fights with big implications. First, we get into the weeds of the Mar-a-Lago affidavit. Then, we move to the world of pharmaceuticals, where a lawsuit could determine who owns the future of mRNA technology. And finally, we lighten up the mood with a round of our favorite game, Half Full/Half Empty. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Trump Mar–a-Lago affidavit reveals ‘handwritten notes,’ highly classified material led to warrant request&#8221; from Politico &#8220;Moderna files patent infringement lawsuits against Pfizer and BioNTech ov

Picture this: In the not-too-distant future, gas cars will be a thing of the past. This week, California moved to ban sales of new gasoline-powered cars by 2035. We&#8217;ll discuss what it means for our clean-er economic future. Plus, big ups to the person running the White House Twitter account. And, if you paid a fee for being tardy on your taxes, the IRS might be sending you a check. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;California bans sales of new gas-powered cars by 2035. Now the real work begins&#8221; from The Los Angeles Times Tweet <a href="https://twitter.com/RuncieDan/status/1562878528143900674?s=20&amp;t=_9aYP8p6DlQspJ5KvLVZxQ" target="_blank" r

It&#8217;s happening! After months of debate, President Joe Biden is forgiving up to $20,000 in student loan debt. One listener wants to know whether the bankruptcy system can offer an alternative solution to the student loan debt crisis. We&#8217;ll help break it down. Plus, more of your questions about how congressional staffers get paid, congestion at our ports and hard seltzer. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: Top economist Larry Summers echoes Sen. Elizabeth Warren about solving student debt problem from Fortune <a href="https://www.brookings.edu/blog/brow

Have you heard of Leonardo Leo? He&#8217;s basically a kingmaker in conservative big money politics, and he&#8217;s making it rain! His dark money group just received $1.6 billion, what&#8217;s believed to be the largest single donation to a political nonprofit, and it&#8217;s expected to have an immediate impact on the November midterms. On the show today, Sheila Krumholz, executive director at Open Secrets, discusses what voters need to know about money in politics before they head to the polls. She explains how political contributions have evolved and why the system is not expected to change anytime soon. In the News F

Ford announced it&#8217;s slashing 3,000 white-collar jobs as part of its transition to electric vehicles. We&#8217;ll discuss what the layoffs reveal about our changing economy. Plus, could a free tax filing system finally be in the works at the IRS? Then, want to hear what outer space sounds like? Listen till the end to find out. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Ford Will Cut 3,000 Jobs to Reduce Costs in the Transition to Electric Vehicles&#8221; from The New York Times &#8220;Inflation Reduction Act Will Require the IRS to Study Free Tax Filing Options&#8221; from ProPu

The housing market has slowed, and that&#8217;s caused some mortgage lenders to go out of business. Kai and Amy Scott explain why we&#8217;re not in 2008 territory and what to actually take away from this news. Then, in today&#8217;s Half Full/Half Empty, we discuss muscle cars, creative inflation compensation, store brands and automatic college admissions! Here’s everything we talked about today: &#8220;US Mortgage Lenders Are Starting to Go Broke&#8221; from Bloomberg &#8220;Survivor of White House Lightning Strike Embraces Third Chan

We&#8217;ve got a lot to talk about today! First, we&#8217;re still considering the ways in which the Inflation Reduction Act is going to change our economy. Speaking of change, in July, Americans for the first time spent more time streaming than watching cable. Pause for quick detour into what we&#8217;re streaming now. Then, a Make Me Smile for those looking for a solution for hair loss: There might be a pill for that. Here’s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Why Buying an Electric Car Just Became More Complicated&#8221; from The New York Times &#8220;<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/americans-spent-more-time-streaming-than-watching-cable-tv-in-julya-first-11660827184?mod=hp_lead_pos

We&#8217;re still getting your questions about the newly passed Inflation Reduction Act, and we&#8217;ll try to answer them! Like, why is it called the Inflation Reduction Act and what is it actually going to do about inflation? Kimberly and Kai share some insight on that and field a few more questions, like where are we going to get all the water needed to make more semiconductors in the United States? And how do you measure productivity in an economy that doesn&#8217;t make as many widgets as it used to? Here’s everything we talked about today: &#8220;What the Inflation Reduction Act does and doesn&#8217;t do about rising prices&#8221; from NPR &#8220;<a href="https://www.theverge.com/226

This year marks the 10-year anniversary of DACA, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program set up by the Obama administration. Under the program, hundreds of thousands of young undocumented immigrants have received protection from deportation and the opportunity to officially participate in the American economy. It&#8217;s estimated that DACA recipients contribute more than $9 billion in federal, state and local taxes annually. But DACA was supposed to be a temporary fix in lieu of comprehensive immigration reform. So a decade later, why is it still on shaky legal ground, and where&#8217;s t

Adam Neumann, the guy who built and then nearly drove WeWork into the ground (we&#8217;ve talked about it, a lot) just got a ginormous check for his new business venture. We&#8217;ll talk about how that&#8217;s even possible (see, WeWork?). Plus, gas prices are falling like a feather, and why is China cutting interest rates? Then, the only guide you need to really understand Kai&#8217;s favorite type of beer! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: WeWork Founder Adam Neumann’s New Start-Up Is Backed by Andreessen Hor

We couldn&#8217;t end the week without talking about the story we&#8217;ve (quietly) been avoiding: the FBI raid on former President Donald Trump&#8217;s Mar-a-Lago home in Florida. Kimberly and guest host Meghan McCarty Carino explain how the story went from an investigation about classified documents to espionage. Plus, is polio making a comeback? Then, the hosts weigh in on Serena Williams&#8217; retirement, Peloton getting pricier and splooting! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;FBI search warrant shows Trump under investigation for potential obstruction of justice, Espionage Act violations&#8221; from

Timing is everything. While Kimberly Adams is working from home with COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced new guidelines for quarantines, social distancing and testing. Does this mark a turning point in the pandemic? Kimberly joins guest host Meghan McCarty Carino to discuss. Then, private companies use consumer data often without permission, and the government wants to know how you feel about it. Plus, look up at the sky before you go to bed tonight. And, do spiders dream? Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;CDC loosens coronavirus guidance, signaling strategic shift&#8221; from The Washington Post &#8220;<a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/8/11/23301327/ftc-anpr-data-privacy-rule-re

We&#8217;re getting lots of question about the Inflation Reduction Act. We know, weird name for the major climate and tax legislation the Senate passed earlier this week. We&#8217;ll explain how Democrats plan to pay for it and what it means for prescription drug prices. Plus, the meaning behind the phrase &#8220;paycheck to paycheck.&#8221; Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;For Older Americans, Health Bill Will Bring Savings and &#8216;Peace of Mind&#8217;&#8221; from The New York Times &#8220;How the 15% US Minimum Corporate Tax Would Work&#82

Another virus, another public health emergency. Since monkeypox was first detected in the United States in mid-May, the number of confirmed cases has grown to more than 7,500. Is our public health infrastructure equipped to respond while we&#8217;re still dealing with the lingering COVID-19 pandemic? On the show today, Kimberly and guest host Meghan McCarty Carino speak with epidemiologist Celine Gounder, about monkeypox, why our public health system is unprepared to handle another crisis and what climate change has to do with this new normal. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;As Monkeypox Spreads, U.S. Declares a Health Emergency&#8221; from The New York Times &#8220;<a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2022/08

After a little summer hiatus, we&#8217;re back and digging into the Inflation Reduction Act — specifically the part that would offer thousands of dollars in tax credits to electric car buyers. But will the incentives actually make EVs more affordable and lead to mass adoption that leads to curbing climate-warming emissions? Kimberly and guest host Meghan McCarty Carino get into it. Plus, a major investigation into the real origins of the government&#8217;s family separation policy. Then, it&#8217;s a bird &#8230; it&#8217;s a plane &#8230; it&#8217;s a slice of salami? Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: <a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/07/29/climate-bill-electric-vehic

&#8220;Make Me Smart&#8221; is on summer break this week, but we&#8217;re thrilled to share an episode from our sister show &#8220;Million Bazillion,&#8221; which answers questions kids have about money. Today&#8217;s episode tackles a question many of our grown-up listeners have too: what is cryptocurrency? Join &#8220;Million Bazillion&#8221; hosts Ryan Perez and Bridget Bodnar as they dive into the complicated world of crypto (you&#8217;ll probably recognize some familiar Marketplace folks too). We&#8217;ll be back in your feeds on Monday, Aug. 8. Until then, keep sending your thoughts, comments and questions to makem[email protected] or leave us a voice message at 508-827-62

The largest U.S. oil companies reported record revenue for the second quarter. We&#8217;re talking a LOT of money here, folks. Guest host Andy Uhler explains. Plus, why this month&#8217;s stock market rally means we might expect the Federal Reserve to &#8220;drop the hammer&#8221; this fall. And we&#8217;ve got a round of Half Full/Half Empty! Our hosts weigh in on robotic dead spiders, the CHIPS Act, Choco Tacos, Beyonce&#8217;s new album and office parties! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about on the show today: “Exxon, Chevron post blowout earnings, oil majors bet on buybacks” from Reuters “<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-29/shock-july-stock-rally-was-a-monster-the-fe

Yes, we know, the GDP numbers are in. The United States reported today a 0.9% drop in gross domestic product in the second quarter. We&#8217;ll discuss. Also, Chinese officials expect to miss economic growth targets. On today&#8217;s show, Kai Ryssdal and guest host Matt Levin discuss the &#8220;squishy&#8221; situation China could find itself in. Plus, a bold move from the Federal Trade Commission could signal a new path to regulating Big Tech. Then we&#8217;ll wrap up the show with a &#8220;berry&#8221; delicious Make Me Smile from Down Under! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about on the show today: “Chinese Leaders Indicate Country Is Likely to Miss Economic Growth Targets” from The Wall Street J

Today Kai Ryssdal and guest host Samantha Fields answer questions from listeners about negative GDP growth and how the global helium shortage will affect the balloon market. Plus, how to *not* handle an inflation crisis, carnival revenue sharing and some big thoughts on whether the decreasing cost of oil is good news or bad news. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about on the show today: This definition of negative growth from Investopedia This graph from the WorldBank showing U.S. GDP since the 1960s “<a href="https://www.marketplace.org/2022/05/26/with-helium-in-short-supply-scientist

The Federal Reserve could put a quick end to inflation on its own, economist Claudia Sahm says, but be careful what you wish for. Remember that thing we were talking about yesterday? Sahm, formerly of the Fed and the White House, now the founder of Sahm Consulting, says the central bank can only do so much to tame prices without throwing the economy into recession. For this week&#8217;s deep dive, she tells us some ways Congress can pitch in. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about on the show today: &#8220;Don&#8217;t make the Fed go it alone on inflation&#8221; from Stay-At-Home Macro “Will the Fed Cause a Recession? Not Necessarily, if Biden’s White House Acts” from Barron’s &#82

Second-quarter reports on the economy are coming in this week, as well as corporate financial results. The expectation is that gross domestic product will take a dip for the second consecutive quarter. But don&#8217;t start in with the R-word. Kai and Marketplace&#8217;s Amy Scott discuss why this isn&#8217;t a recession (seriously). We&#8217;ll also discuss some energy news from overseas, including Russia&#8217;s decision to restrict its supply of natural gas to Europe. And Kai&#8217;s got an opinion on teasers that are &#8220;too teasy.&#8221; Here&#8217;s everything we talked about on the show today: Axios correspondent Neil Irwin shared this tweet regarding “recession” coverage &#8220;<a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/07/25/biden-recession-economy-gdp-

Get ready for some spicy hot takes. Andy Uhler joins Kai for Economics on Tap and to discuss the state of our food supply, from wheat to hard seltzer, and what low water levels at Lake Mead, near Las Vegas, have to do with high prices at the grocery store. Plus, Kai has something to say about a recent op-ed piece by retired generals. During Half Full/Half Empty, the hosts weigh in on Meta v. Meta and MLB v. the minor leagues, and Kai tells us how he really feels about crypto. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Hard Seltzer Fad Fizzles as Light Beer Makes a Comeback&#8221; from The Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/22/climate/

Hey everyone, we’re taking a short break today, but we’ll be back tomorrow with an all-new Make Me Smart. In the meantime, here’s a deep dive episode you may have missed, all about the James Webb Space Telescope. NASA released its first images earlier this month. For the first deep dive of 2022, we&#8217;re going to space! OK, not really. But we&#8217;re talking about the most powerful space telescope ever. The James Webb Space Telescope cost $10 billion, a lot of tech went into developing it and we can&#8217;t stop obsessing over it. Neither can our guest. &#8220;I cannot contain my excitement. It&#8217;s been a wild roller coaster getting to this point. And to have this telescope now launched in space, it&#8217;s just so thrilling for astronomers everywhere,&#8221; said Caitlin

Have you heard? Minivans are cool again, and one of our listeners wants to know why she can&#8217;t find a minivan for sale at reasonable price. Our minivan-driving host has answers. Plus, we&#8217;ll take your questions about ethanol, consumer spending here and abroad, along with how we&#8217;re all managing to still go to work amid everything happening around us. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: Consumer spending by country from CEIC Data &#8220;Chinese consumer spending is set to double by 2030, Morgan Stanley predicts&#8221; from CNBC &#8220;<a

From gasoline prices to decoupage, we&#8217;ve got a little bit of everything. First, let&#8217;s start with gas prices. Yes, they&#8217;ve been coming down a bit lately, but gas prices are on a roller coaster, and the ride isn&#8217;t likely to end anytime soon. &#8220;By participating in this global market for oil and gas, we have hitched our economy to a roller coaster ride that we don&#8217;t have any control over. We&#8217;re all part of one big market, and a policy change in Beijing or a war in Europe, those have the same effects on our prices as if something had happened here in the U.S.,&#8221; said Clark Williams-Derry, an analyst at the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis. But what if there&#8217;s a way off this ride? Is there another way to put our en

This is your Friday reminder that the COVID-19 pandemic is still here. Today, the World Health Organization warned about new viruses driving up cases, hospitalizations and deaths around the globe. We&#8217;ll discuss the latest wave. You know what else is here? Climate change. The United Kingdom is experiencing record-breaking temperatures. Plus, Kimberly Adams and Kai Ryssdal give us their hot takes on BMW&#8217;s heated seats, some frozen treats and more. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;WHO warns covid &#8216;nowhere near over&#8217; as variants spike in U.S., Europe&#8221; from The Washington Post &#8220;<a href="https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/23207257/covid-p

The Social Security Administration is debating how much to increase payments in 2023 due to inflation, and the boost could be the biggest since the &#8217;80s. We&#8217;ll explain the obscure measure it uses to calculate its annual cost-of-living increase. Plus, taking the ferry in New York City is about to get more affordable for some riders. And, Worldle meets board games! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Social Security checks could grow by about $175 a month as the cost of living continues to surge&#8221; from CNN &#8220;Wh

Amy Scott fills in for Kai today to answer listener questions with Kimberly. One listener has a followup question on a Marketplace story from last week about how little child care workers get paid. He wondered, then why is child care so expensive? Where does the money go? We&#8217;ll dig into the costs. We&#8217;ll also answer your questions about money in politics and what&#8217;s behind the baby formula shortage. Then, our hosts give a listener some drink recommendations. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Everything you need to know about Citizens United on its 10th anniversary&#8221; from the Center for Responsive Politics <a href="https://www.marketplace.org/2022/07/11/

Labor organizing looks a lot different today. The workplaces are different compared to decades ago. Think less industrial factories with thousands of workers and more Starbucks, REI and Trader Joe&#8217;s with bargaining units of a couple of dozen employees, all organizing one location at a time. &#8220;On one hand, it could be eas

If you&#8217;re planning a trip to Europe anytime soon, now is the time to exchange your dollars for euros. For the first time in 20 years, $1 is nearly equal to one euro. We&#8217;ll talk about what it means for the global economy. Plus, mini-explainers on carry trades and Sri Lankas&#8217;s economy. And the moment space geeks have been waiting for: The first image from the James Webb Space Telescope is here, and it&#8217;s a beauty! Finally, Kimberly has a 7/11 tradition, and we&#8217;re here for it! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Global population growth hits lowest rate since 1950&#8243; from The Financial Times &#8220;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-07-11/euro-p

Not to say, “We told you so,” but we did see this coming. Earlier Friday, Elon Musk announced he was backing out of the deal to purchase Twitter. Twitter’s board of directors has told Musk they’ll see him in court. We’ll discuss the possibility of the deal falling through. Then, some thoughts on a new AP report about election workers who are weighing the decision to return to their jobs at the polls this fall. And what’s a Friday show without a round of Half Full/Half Empty? Our hosts weigh in on state tax rebates, eerie green skies, grocery coupons and a possible Pokémon bubble. Here’s everything we talked about on the show: “Elon Musk tries to walk away from Twitter deal” from Axios “<a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/07/08/1110539504/twitter-elon

&#8220;Fake it till you make it&#8221; has long been a mantra in Silicon Valley. It&#8217;s a culture that often brings financial consequences but very rarely criminal ones. We&#8217;ll talk about the significance of the criminal case against the former chief operating officer of the Theranos medical tech company, Sunny Balwani. He and his former romantic partner, Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes, faced charges of defrauding investors and patients. Speaking of consequences, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin gets sentenced again, this time for violating George Floyd&#8217;s civil rights, and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announces his intention to resign. We have the &#8220;purr-fect&#8221; tweet on the BoJo saga. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about on the show today: “<a href="https://www.latimes.com/world-natio

It&#8217;s Wednesday, which means it&#8217;s time for us to answer questions from you! With &#8220;Minions: The Rise of Gru&#8221; becoming the latest movie to dominate grocery store advertising, one listener wonders how these massive cross promotions work. We&#8217;ve got the inside scoop. Plus, answers to your questions about employers offering to cover abortion costs, El Salvador&#8217;s efforts to make bitcoin a national currency, and big news in the world of beer! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: “Companies scramble to figure out abortion travel benefit, privacy protections” from Marketplace “<a href="https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-tech/el-salvador-first-country-bitc

Capitalism is often talked about as one of the big drivers behind climate change. The belief is that our obsessions with buying stuff and growing the economy have destroyed the planet. But what if capitalism isn’t the real problem? &#8220;Capitalism only goes in a direction that political choices steer it. And we&#8217;ve just made a couple of bad political choices that have caused polluting industries to overpollute,&#8221; said Shi-Ling Hsu, D’Alemberte professor at Florida State University College of Law and author of the new book “Capitalism and the Environment: A Proposal to Save the Planet.” Whether or not you believe capitalism is to blame for our climate crisis, Hsu says we could harness the power of capitalism to get us out of this mess. On today&#8217;s show, we&#8217;ll

U.S. officials called for the release of WNBA star Brittany Griner as her trial began in a Russian court Friday. Russia has been accused of wrongfully detaining the All-Star center for political purposes since her arrest in February, just one week before Russia&#8217;s invasion of Ukraine. And there are plenty of questions surrounding the U.S. effort to secure Griner&#8217;s return. We&#8217;ll look at some of those concerns. Plus, the story behind the annual celebration of a memeworthy contract in baseball. And we&#8217;ll send you off into the holiday with a game of Half Full/Half Empty! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about on the show today: “It&#8217;s Bobby Bonilla Day, When The Retired Mets Star Gets Paid $

Depending on which inflation numbers you look at, you either believe inflation is bad or really, really bad. So which is it? We&#8217;ll discuss the difference between the consumer price index and the personal consumption expenditures index, and why it matters. Plus, the Supreme Court delivers a major blow to environmental regulation. And, we get even smarter about the Mason jar-NASA connection. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Is inflation 8.6% or 6.5%? Yes&#8221; from Axios &#8220;What do different measures of inflation tell us?&#8221; from Marketplace</li

It&#8217;s listener question time! A few weeks ago, Kai Ryssdal said consumers who want to help slow our inflated economy should stop spending money. But now one of our listeners wants to know if there&#8217;s anything they can do with their disposable income that helps the economy but is also fun. We offer some advice. Plus, the hosts take more of your questions on what role the dark web might play in a post-Roe era, and more than one question about gas prices! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;What the end of Roe v. Wade means for access to abortion pills&#8221; from NBC News &#8220;<a href="https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-tech/with-roe-overturned-te

Following up on our recent deep dive into the housing crisis, today we&#8217;re taking a deeper look at affordable housing. There&#8217;s not enough of it in this economy, but getting more built is a hard nut to crack. But what exactly is affordable housing? And, what&#8217;s considered affordable these days? Experts say there are generally two large buckets. Big &#8220;A&#8221; affordable housing is publicly subsidized units that are intended for low-income households. Small &#8220;a&#8221; affordable housing is generally considered housing priced at no more than 30% of a household&#8217;s budget. Either way, there&#8217;s a shortage.

After last week&#8217;s Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade, we&#8217;re tracking the fallout from the business perspective. From CVS to Meta, companies are making changes that may impact reproductive health care. Plus, listen up, space geeks! We&#8217;ve got news about NASA&#8217;s return to the moon. And, what do Mason jars have to do with space exploration? We&#8217;ll make you smart. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Jan. 6 Panel Abruptly Sets Tuesday Hearing on &#8216;Recently Obtained Evidence&#8217;&#8221; from The New York Times The cover of the July 4 issue o

Between today’s Supreme Court ruling on abortion, its recent decision on guns and the Jan. 6 hearings, our democratic system is in a bit of shock. And it might not end anytime soon. On the show today, we&#8217;re talking about the Supreme Court&#8217;s abortion decision and what it could mean for rights we thought were protected, from contraception to same-sex marriage. Plus, we wrap the week with a round of Half Full/Half Empty! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: Dobbs v. Jackson Women&#8217;s Health Organization &#8220;<a hre

It&#8217;s not just you. Housing affordability is getting worse. Marketplace&#8217;s Amy Scott, who covers housing, is here for a news fix on the state of the market. Plus, the economy is giving us bad vibes, and so is the Supreme Court. Then, would you like to sleep in a giant windowless (fake) potato, or what about a submarine? Finally, why Airbnb listings are about to get wild. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol from the House of Representatives &#8220;Confidence in U.S. Supreme Court Sinks to Historic Low&#8221;

Recessions are on lots of people&#8217;s minds these days, including Jerome Powell&#8217;s. The Federal Reserve chief told Congress on Wednesday that a recession is a &#8220;possibility&#8221; as the Fed tries to tame inflation. So today, a listener wonders whether recessions are inevitable in our modern economy. We&#8217;ll break it down. Plus, we take more of your questions about the effectiveness of gas boycotts, why the Sunshine State — Florida — isn&#8217;t leading on solar energy and Kimberly&#8217;s favorite cocktail ingredient, bitters! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: FAQs <a href="https://www.nber.org/business-cycle-dating-procedure-fr

Inflation is the economic story of the day. And, even though it&#8217;s been percolating for over a year, last week the inflation story kicked into high gear with the Federal Reserve making big moves to get rising prices under control. So what changed, exactly? For starters, a combination of reports showing the worse of inflation isn&#8217;t over and that consumers expect inflation to keep rising. <!-- /wp:paragraph

Today we&#8217;re looking ahead to next week, when kids 6 months to 5 years old should finally get access to a COVID vaccine. It&#8217;s giving us spring 2021 flashbacks. Then we&#8217;ll touch on the latest in rising infla — HEY, PAY ATTENTION, THIS IS IMPORTANT! Plus, climate change and the significance of corporate America speaking out about the threats to our democracy. We&#8217;ll wrap up the week with a round of our favorite game, Half Full / Half Empty. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Why some parents are skeptical about covid vaccines for young children&#8221; from The Washington Post <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxmX6Jp5Mk0" target="_blan

During today&#8217;s Jan. 6 committee hearing, we learned about the role former Vice President Mike Pence played in responding to the insurrection at the Capitol. On the show, the hosts breakdown some of the key testimony and look to history as a guide for what they hope might come next in the hearings. Plus, we&#8217;ll introduce you another TikTokker with ridiculous geolocating skills. And good news for the ship that inspired the film &#8220;The Goonies&#8221;! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;The 16 most compelling lines from today&#8217;s January 6 committee hearing &#8220; from CNN &#8220;Trump&#8217;s Campaign to Influence Vice Pre

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates today by the largest amount since 1994 to try to get inflation under control. One of our listeners is wondering what the average consumer can do to keep inflation at bay. We&#8217;ll offer a potential solution. Plus, we tackle your questions about rent control, private equity and the costs of all those canceled flights. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Federal Reserve attacks inflation with its largest rate hike since 1994&#8221; from Marketplace &#8220;<a href="https://www.marketplace.org/2021/12/17/private-equity-will-buy-up-companies-to-the-tune-of-1-trillion-this-year/" target="_blank" rel="norefer

For days now, we&#8217;ve been talking about something that happened 17 months ago, the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Congressional hearings into the events of that day started last week. The details can feel removed from the day-to-day economic struggles of the average American, but they are crucial. The Jan. 6 committee wants Americans to &#8220;understand that not only what happened was bad, it&#8217;s ongoing. This is still a threat to the country, is still a threat to democracy. And that if you do care about the economy, you need to make sure that we have a functioning government to confront those problems in the future too,&#8221; said Kyle Cheney, senior legal affairs reporter at Politico. On the show today, we&#8217;re talking about the aftermath of Jan. 6, what may come after the hearings and why this is important f

It&#8217;s Day 2 of the Jan. 6 hearings, and we&#8217;re learning more about the money involved in perpetuating false election claims. On Monday, the panel said the Trump campaign raised $250 million from donors who believed their money was going to investigate potential voter fraud. &#8220;The big lie was also a big rip-off,&#8221; Democratic Rep. Zoe Lofgren of California said. We&#8217;ll explain where the money really went. Plus, the markets are getting clobbered. How should the Federal Reserve react? And a fun fact we learned that&#8217;ll impress your friends the next time you pop champagne. Cheers! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Jan. 6 panel makes case election fraud claims were Trump vs. &

Last night we tuned in to the prime-time airing of the Jan. 6 committee hearing (we&#8217;d love to hear your thoughts if you were too). And today we&#8217;re going to talk about it. We&#8217;ve also got updates on COVID testing for international flyers to the U.S. and a possible falling out between Meta and its chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg. Then during Half Full/Half Empty, Kai and Kimberly weigh in on financial literacy classes, the Novavax COVID vaccine, converting classic cars into electric vehicles, a new European Union tech rule and Taco Bell&#8217;s new drive-thru architecture. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about on the show today: “Ginni Thomas pressed 29 Ariz. lawmakers to help overturn Trump’s defeat, emai

This week, U.S. Sens. Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York introduced a bill to regulate cryptocurrencies. Then, they went on TV pumping up bitcoin. We&#8217;ll explain why that&#8217;s not cool, starting with the fact that, according to her financial disclosures, Lummis is a big-time crypto investor. Consult your own financial advisers, and think twice before investing in crypto via your retirement account. Plus, tonight&#8217;s Jan. 6 committee hearings are this generation&#8217;s Watergate moment. Will you be watching? And, are UFOs real? NASA wants to find out. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: Sens. Lummis and Gillibrand pumping up bitcoin on Twitter &#8220;<a href="https://www

A major stock index entered &#8220;bear&#8221; market territory recently. One of our listeners is wondering why we call it a &#8220;bear&#8221; or &#8220;bull&#8221; market and where those terms come from. We have some answers. Plus, more of your questions about gun manufacturing, the Federal Reserve and why the heck Mariah Carey is getting sued over her holiday hit &#8220;All I Want For Christmas Is You&#8221; almost 30 years after it was released? Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Why we use

This country had a problem with housing before the pandemic. But it got real bananapants in the midst of it. A large part of why we&#8217;re in this mess comes down to supply and demand. There&#8217;s just not enough homes to go around, which is driving up prices. Housing prices are up 20% from last year, and experts say we need up to 6.8 million units to meet demand. So if it&#8217;s a supply problem, why can&#8217;t we just build more homes? &#8220;Builders like to talk about the three

There&#8217;s a lot competing for our attention these days, from the Jan. 6 committee hearings that get underway this week to the aftermath of the massacre in Uvalde, Texas. On the show today, we discuss whether our ability to turn away from seeing horrific images and witnessing history has a price. Plus, the Elon Musk-Twitter saga continues. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Trump on Trial: A Guide to the January 6 Hearings and the Question of Criminality&#8221; from the Brookings Institution Opinion | &#8220;It&#8217;s Been 50 Years. I Am Not &#8216;Napalm Girl&#82

Move over, NRA. There&#8217;s a new gun rights group that&#8217;s spending more money on lobbying Congress. On the show today, we&#8217;re talking about the National Shooting Sports Foundation and its surprising connection to Kimberly&#8217;s neighborhood bar. Plus, more crypto scams, and a Texas teen wins the national spelling bee. C-o-n-g-r-a-t-u-l-a-t-i-o-n-s-! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Gun industry group in Connecticut outpaces NRA in lobbying, hopes to protect access to semi-automatic weapons&#8221; from WBUR &#8220;New Analysis

We&#8217;re not huge celebrity news watchers, but we just couldn&#8217;t avoid the coverage of the Johnny Depp-Amber Heard defamation trial. This week, a jury sided with Depp and awarded him $15 million in damages. Today, we&#8217;ll unpack how the case played out on social media platforms and what it could mean for the future of the #MeToo movement. Plus, the baby formula shortage is still really bad. And Ukraine might be headed to the World Cup. Gooooal! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Amber Heard-Johnny Depp Trial: Survivors &#8216;Sickened&#8217; by Verdict&#8221; from Rolling Stone &#8220;<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-ente

Regular listeners of this podcast might recall an episode we did a few years back on Modern Monetary Theory. MMT is the economic theory that basically says a country that controls its own currency can&#8217;t go broke because it can always print more money. But with inflation at 8.3%, one listener is wondering whether rising prices disproves MMT. We call the expert on MMT to find out. Plus, we take your questions about how canceling student loan debt might affect the wealth gap, using a single world currency and the economic consequences if part of Oregon really secede to Idaho. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: Our <a href="http://Maybe Modern Monetary Theory is an answe

After the massacre in Uvalde, Texas, it&#8217;s easy to feel discouraged about guns in America because we&#8217;ve been here before, and little has changed. But one person who remains hopeful in times like these is Dr. Garen Wintemute. He heads the Violence Prevention Research Program at the University of California, Davis, and has been studying gun violence for decades. &#8220;Violence is a health problem,&#8221; he said. &#8220;It kills more people than motor vehicle injuries. And, yes, I&#8217;m constitutionally hopeful. But my hope is born out of having done this for 40 years.&#8221; On the show today, Wintemute walks us through some of the policies that could make a real difference, from &#8220;red flag&#8221; laws to universal background checks, and discusses why this time could be different despite the gun control gridlock i

At the end of a long week, it&#8217;s Friday. We talk about what changed then-President Donald Trump&#8217;s mind following his call for gun control after a shooter killed 23 people at an El Paso, Texas, Walmart. Plus, baseball teams use their social media platforms to speak out about gun violence. Before we go, our hosts ponder sharks, farmyard pets and more in a game of This or That. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Update on a possible outburst of meteors&#8221; from Sky &amp; Telescope &#8220;After El Paso shooting, Trump pushed again on gun control. His

In today&#8217;s show, we&#8217;re talking about the aftermath of the massacre at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. As further details emerge, law enforcement&#8217;s response during the shooting is raising questions. We&#8217;ll be watching for more information about the timeline of events. Plus, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says he&#8217;s open to working with Democrats to address gun violence. But the Senate is adjourned for a week in observance of Memorial Day. Finally, we get a much-needed smile out of an interesting idiom. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Uvalde Shooter Fired Outside School for 12 Minutes Before Entering&#8221; from The Wall St

The country is reeling from yet another mass shooting. A gunman stormed an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, yesterday, killing 19 children and two adults. We&#8217;re shifting from our usual Wednesday show because all we can ask is: &#8220;How are we here again?&#8221; The answers are not satisfying. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;The Supreme Court Just Gutted Another Constitutional Right&#8221; from Slate &#8220;Supreme court guts lifeline for prisoners who claim wrongful convictions&#8

Remember the Supreme Court case we talked about last week, Federal Election Commission v. Ted Cruz for Senate? Yeah, we&#8217;re doing a deep dive on it today. At the heart of the case is an obscure campaign finance rule that limits the amount of post-election day contributions that can be used to recoup personal loans a candidate makes to their campaign. It was intended to crack down on corruption. But the court sided with Sen. Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, and said the law is unconstitutional on First Amendment grounds. On the show today, Weiner talks about what this means for the midterm elections, the future of campaign finance and this court&#8217;s approach to the First Amendment. Then, sales of new homes fell to the lowest level since the start of the pandemic. We&#8217;ll explain why this is exactly what we&#8217;d expect to be happening in the economy right now. Plus, if you&#8217;ve forgotten some of the faces you&#8217;ve met over Zoom during t

It&#8217;s Monday, and we&#8217;ve got a lot of news on our minds. We&#8217;ll talk about President Joe Biden&#8217;s comments about Taiwan and what Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank, has to say about crypto. Then we&#8217;re diving into some recent writing about the scale at which the United States funds its military, even as we&#8217;ve withdrawn from active conflict in Afghanistan. How that money is spent, and isn&#8217;t spent, says a lot. Plus, Texas lawmakers may target business that help employees get abortions. Finally, we&#8217;ll consider some pointedly phrased communications for our make me smiles. <p class="block-editor-rich-text__editable block-

It&#8217;s Friday, and the S&amp;P 500 is at risk of becoming what economists call a bear market — when stock prices fall for a prolonged time. But how bad is that, actually? We&#8217;ve got some context. Plus, the Law School Admissions Test may become optional, and our hosts share their thoughts on the strong dollar and a pizza musical. We end with a round of Half Full/Half Empty. <p id="block-21afaf46-54ac-4f87-83e3-d23c0b60a3e8" class="block-editor-rich-text__editable block-editor-block-list__block wp-block wp-block-paragraph rich-text" role="document" aria-label="Paragraph block" data-block="21afaf46-54ac-4f87-83e3-d23c0b60a3e8" data-type="core/paragraph" dat

This Thursday, we talk about the news that home sales slowed in April, though prices still set records. And, the Joe Biden administration tries to increase the supply of baby formula using the Defense Production Act. It&#8217;s a welcome help to parents, but how did we get here? Plus, more stories from Ukraine that show the toll of the war. We&#8217;ll see you tomorrow for Economics on Tap, but before then, we share what geopolitical alliances and beer have in common. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Biden invokes Defense Production Act to increase supply of U.S. infant formula&#8221; from Politico &#8220;<a href="https://www.w

It’s Whaddya Wanna Know Wednesday, and Kai Ryssdal and Kimberly Adams are answering your questions, including one from a listener who wonders what the Fed reducing its balance sheet means for mortgage rates. We also dig into what it takes to harness tidal power, and why it’s not a bigger source of renewable energy. Here’s everything we talked about on the show today: &#8220;To understand the Fed’s bond-buying dilemma, picture a lake&#8221; from Marketplace &#8220;Hamsterkauf! Coronazeit! There’s a German Word for Your Pandemic Experience&#8221; from Slate Do you h

Cryptocurrency has been having a rough couple of months lately. From bitcoin to ethereum and Coinbase, hundreds of billions of dollars have evaporated in crypto markets. But things got really bad last week, after a coin that&#8217;s supposed to be <a href="https://www.marketplace.org/shows/marketplace-tech/the-not-so-stable-stablecoin-economy/" data-type="URL" data-id="https://www.marketplace.org/

This Monday, we talk about the racist mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, over the weekend. It&#8217;s devastated the town&#8217;s predominantly Black community in multiple ways, including its central food supply. As the nation processes the tragedy, it&#8217;s critical to call it what is: a white supremacist act. We also discuss the baby formula shortage and the consequences of a Supreme Court ruling on campaign finance laws. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: Baby formula production is still several weeks out from Heather Long on Twitter One key chart on the baby formula shortage from Emily Peck on Twitter <

For today&#8217;s Economics on Tap, we talk about a sneaky way campaigns are communicating with super PACS. Coordination between these big-time political action committees and campaigns is illegal, but a new practice called redboxing seems like a loophole. We&#8217;ll talk about it. Plus, we discuss the debate about facial recognition technology and follow up on a conversation we had yesterday about the news on sudden infant death syndrome. Before we leave, we&#8217;ll play a round of Half Full/Half Empty, featuring a piece of portable music history. <p id="block-3d45a004-f365-47b4-b2ba-6e6b6fc9d087" class="block-editor-rich-text__editable block-editor-block-list

Today, instead of guessing what Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is thinking, we asked. Our hosts talk about the newsiest and funniest parts of Kai&#8217;s interview with the Fed chairman. Plus, a scientific revelation about sudden infant death syndrome may provide some peace for parents. And, speaking of incredible science, we marvel at mind-blowing new pictures of the black hole at the center of the Milky Way. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Fed Chair Jerome Powell: &#8216;Whether we can execute a soft landing or not, it may actually depend on factors that we don’t control.&#8217;&#8221; from Marketplace &#8220;<a href="https://www.biospace

It&#8217;s Wednesday again, and we&#8217;re answering your questions about the labor market — like why we don&#8217;t aim for 100% employment. We&#8217;ll also give some extra context around the idea of a &#8220;skills gap&#8221; in our economy. And Kai Ryssdal and Kimberly Adams dig into a bunch of questions from one listener related to the logistics of owning an electric vehicle. Here’s everything we talked about on the show today: &#8220;How the U.S. Health Insurance System Excludes Abortion&#8221; from the Center for American Progress The Guttmacher Institute&#8217;s tracker on state regulation of insurance coverage for abortion<

As we often say on the show, immigration is a labor market story. Since last month, when the Joe Biden administration announced plans to lift Title 42, it&#8217;s been the immigration story of the moment. On today&#8217;s show, Denise Gilman, director of the immigration clinic and law professor at the University of Texas at Austin, explains how Title 42 was used at the start of the pandemic and what&#8217;s next for it.

Today we talk about a potential win for privacy advocates, as facial recognition company Clearview AI reaches a settlement with the American Civil Liberties Union. But we still have questions. Another new story with a lot of questions? Crypto, of course. We&#8217;re still skeptical about the stability of cryptocurrency, but that hasn&#8217;t stopped investors and others from jumping right in. We&#8217;ll discuss what has us &#8230; a little nervous. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about on the show today: “Authorities find human remains in Lake Mead twice in one week” from NPR “<a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/cryptocurrenc

Today during Economics on Tap, we&#8217;re low-key celebrating this weekend&#8217;s Kentucky Derby and venting a little about the journalists and political figures who withheld critical information and news, only to finally reveal it in their books. For profit. Former Secretary of Defense Mark Esper revealed in his soon-to-be-released memoir that, two years ago, then-President Donald Trump considered launching missiles into Mexico. In surprisingly less scary news, &#8220;Little Shop of Horrors&#8221; is celebrating its Broadway revival with festivities. Before we head into Kentucky Derby weekend, we go Half Full/Half Empty on coin collecting, children at work and mor

We&#8217;ll start today&#8217;s show with a little pep talk about what you should and shouldn&#8217;t do if you caught a glance at the stock market today. Then we move on to one of the big business stories of the day, the news that Boeing is moving its headquarters from Chicago to the D.C. area. To understand why, you just gotta follow the money. Plus, the U.S. says it&#8217;ll give Sweden support as that country looks to join NATO. Finally, free child care and a beautiful canoe make us smile. To celebrate the upcoming Kentucky Derby, bring your mint juleps and fanciest hats to Economics on Tap tomorrow. <ul id="block-ce4adcc4-addc-4536-8ba4-8a745136be3f" class="

It&#8217;s the day we answer your questions and to start, one listener wants to know why Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell is still raising interest rates if inflation has peaked. We&#8217;ll also answer an urgent question about the blockchain and supply chains from a listener with a term paper deadline looming. Plus, a question about Airbnb and rents, and why doesn’t the U.S. electrify its railways? Finally, we end with a sci-fi recommendation on this Star Wars Day. May the fourth be with you. <p id="block-9cc2a8a1-a6dd-4093-811d-604793ab9120" class="block-editor-rich-text__editable block-editor-block-list__block wp-block wp-block-paragraph rich-text" role="docum

If you&#8217;re a regular listener to this program, you&#8217;ve probably heard of the Federal Reserve&#8217;s dual mandate: price stability and maximum employment. But in the summer of 2020, the Fed made a little tweak. It added the words &#8220;broad-based&#8221; and &#8220;inclusive&#8221; to the employment part of the mandate, acknowledging the benefits a strong economy brings to low- and moderate-income communities. This is significant because for decades the Black unemployment rate has been double the rate for white workers in this country. So, the Fed started &#8220;running the economy hot&#8221; longer to try to cl

In today&#8217;s show, we flag one economic benchmark investors are watching, then dive into some recent stories that highlight the unequal ways the U.S. grants immigrant and refugee status. Don&#8217;t forget, what happens at the border impacts our labor force. Speaking of work, employees nationwide are voting on unionization. Finally, a new study validates dog owners&#8217; premonitions about their special pups and makes us smile. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;10-Year Treasury Yield Hits 3% for First Time Since 2018&#8221; from The Wall Street Journal &#8220;Amazon Workers Reject Union in New York After Labor Victory at Separate Facilit

We&#8217;re keeping an eye on Tesla after Elon Musk reached a deal to buy Twitter earlier this week. Musk has sold roughly $8.5 billion worth of Tesla shares in the last couple of days. We&#8217;ll get a little into the weeds about the dynamics playing out as the Twitter deal closes. Plus, the fallout after the Jan. 6 insurrection continues — we&#8217;ll update you on what&#8217;s happening in the courts. And a COVID-19 vaccine for young kids may be on the way. Then, the hosts play a round of Half Full/Half Empty. Finally, a big thank you to producer Marque Greene for all his hard work as he wraps up his stint on &#8220;Make Me Smart.&#8221; But don&#8217;t worry, he&#8217;s not going far. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;<a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/04/29/second-oath-keeper-pleads-to-seditious-conspir

Some days the news can really throw you for a loop, and this Thursday is one of them. President Joe Biden has asked Congress for an additional $33 billion to help Ukraine. The call for more funds comes as reports that Russia&#8217;s revenue from energy sales has almost doubled since it launched the war on its neighbor. We&#8217;ll look at why Russia continues to benefit despite the numerous sanctions levied against it. There&#8217;s also a hard conversation about the measures climate activists have taken in hopes of speeding up our response to the global climate crisis. And we do our best to bring you back up as we end things with a couple of Make Me Smiles. If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, anxiety or depression, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline</a

This Whaddya Wanna Know Wednesday, Kai and Kimberly are tackling your questions about the supply chain — from how we could look at shortages and backlogs as pandemic indicators to why it seems like processed foods are less likely to sell out at the grocery store. And we&#8217;ll make you smart fast on Elon Musk’s plan to purchase Twitter. Here’s everything we talked about on the show today: &#8220;Twitter says mass deactivations after Musk news were ‘organic’&#8221; from NBC News &#8220;Materials and labor shortages continue to complicate construction industry&#8221; from Marketplace

If you drive around suburbia these days, you might come across entire communities of newly constructed homes with all the amenities of an apartment. But these aren&#8217;t your average tract homes. These are subdivisions made exclusively for renters instead of homeowners. It&#8217;s all part of the build-to-rent trend, one of the fastest growing sectors in the housing industry. On today&#8217;s show, we&#8217;ll talk about the build-to-rent trend and what it means for the housing market, homeownership and building generational wealth in this country. For today&#8217;s Newsfix, we&#8217;re sticking with the housing theme. Amy Scott, our housing correspondent, talks about her biggest takeaways from the latest S&amp;P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index. It&#8217;s

Plenty of things to make us go huh on this Monday edition of Make Me Smart. Of course, there&#8217;s the news surrounding billionaire Elon Musk, who&#8217;s very real offer to purchase Twitter was accepted by the company&#8217;s board of directors today. We&#8217;ll get to that after we talk about a dip in global oil demand following the wave of lockdowns across China as that country deals with new COVID-19 outbreaks. We&#8217;ll end the show with a couple of Make Me Smiles, including one about a small town jumping through hoops for recognition. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about on the show today: “China&#8217;s Oil Demand Is Tumbling the Most Since Wuhan Lockdown” from Bloomberg For a firsthand loo

Today on Economics on Tap, we&#8217;re talking about the Biden administration&#8217;s plan to make Paxlovid, Pfizer&#8217;s COVID-19 antiviral pill, available in pharmacies across the United States. It might be easier said than done. Plus, Iran has tolerated economic sanctions for decades. Will the same hold true for Russia? We&#8217;ll also discuss the speedy demise of CNN+ and Google&#8217;s time-lapsed images showing the effects of climate change. We end with a round of Half Full/Half Empty. Today&#8217;s categories: Netflix (with ads!), a slowed-down U.S. Postal Service, Earth Day, national parks reservation systems and the return of Taco Bell&#8217;s Mexican pizza. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about on the show today: “Earth Day 2022” from

Some publicly traded corporations reported strong earnings today, despite inflation and supply chain shortages. This left consumers to foot the bill for rising prices. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve is walking a fine line during a critical time. We talk about a key indicator we&#8217;ll be watching to gauge the economy&#8217;s health. We&#8217;ll leave you with some wicked humor from Capitalism herself and fictional pairings we&#8217;d like to see (Hamlet, meet the Ghost Busters). &#8220;Fed&#8217;s Powell, half-point hike in view, completes hawkish pivot&#8221; from Reuters &#8220;Fed’s Pow

It&#8217;s Whaddya Wanna Know Wednesday, that time of the week when our hosts answer your questions! We&#8217;ll start with a couple of questions about the Fed&#8217;s interest rate policy. One listener asks why a jump in mortgage rates doesn&#8217;t seem to be in line with the central bank&#8217;s single rate hike, and another wonders why banks and credit card companies don&#8217;t raise their own interest rates instead of waiting for the Fed. We&#8217;ll also follow up with yesterday&#8217;s guest for a question about refugee placement in the United States, and explain how Elon Musk made it to the top rank of the world&#8217;s richest people. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about on the show today: &#8220;What the Fed&#8217;s m

The U.S. has a long history of resettling refugees who are fleeing war and persecution. The current program goes back to the &#8217;80s, after the Vietnam War. Today, as the Joe Biden administration prepares to welcome 100,000 refugees from Ukraine, we&#8217;re wondering what happens to an economy when refugees become part of it. On the show today: the costs associated with refugee resettlement

Today is Tax Day, the deadline for filing taxes (or an extension, gulp). To mark the occasion, the Treasury Department called on Congress to relieve some of the pressure on an underfunded, understaffed and ill-equipped IRS. Tens of millions of Americans are waiting for their tax returns to be processed &#8230; from the last year. We&#8217;ll also discuss speculation about how big the Federal Reserve&#8217;s next interest rate hike might be. And a gentle reminder following a federal judge&#8217;s ruling striking down the CDC&#8217;s public transportation mask mandate: Don&#8217;t be a jerk. We wrap up with some Make Me Smiles about accessing banned books and a story about an interstellar visitor. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about on the show today: “<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-0

One side effect of the current labor market: Workers are less likely to get laid off. That might not be so great for those of us with toxic bosses and co-workers. Speaking of toxic, Twitter launched a &#8220;poison pill&#8221; strategy to fend off Elon Musk&#8217;s bid to buy the company. We also talk about filing taxes and four-day workweeks. We close out today&#8217;s Economics on Tap with a round of Half Full/Half Empty. <p id="block-4caf1ad6-e0c1-4dcc-9e60-ba7f42d917cb" class="block-editor-rich-text__editable block-editor-block-list__block wp-block wp-block-paragraph rich-text" role="document" aria-label="Paragraph block" data-block="4caf1ad6-e0c1-4dcc-9e60-b

The European Union is trying to end its dependence on Russian oil — but that may be costly and complicated. This Thursday, we talk about how Western countries are pressing Russia to terminate its war in Ukraine while minding their own energy supplies. Plus, China is watching. And earlier this week, we mused that Twitter-famous billionaire Elon Musk could probably just buy the company if he wanted to. He revealed today that he made an offer. Does Musk listen to &#8220;Make Me Smart&#8221;? Finally, we share signs of spring that made us smile. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: Europe starts drafting ban on Russian oil imports from The New York Times</l

The strength of Russia&#8217;s ruble even in the face of sanctions from the West has surprised some. This Whaddya Wanna Know Wednesday, we&#8217;ll get into some of the ways Russia&#8217;s worked to prop up its currency, and how long those actions might work. We&#8217;ll also tackle your questions about shift work and health, the worker shortage and taxes. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about on the show today: “Russia&#8217;s ruble rebound raises questions of sanctions&#8217; impact” from the Associated Press “How Russia rescued the ruble” from Planet Money “<a

Government leaders all over the world are taking a hard look at cryptocurrencies. El Salvador made bitcoin a national currency last year. Cryptocurrency investors continue to move to Puerto Rico for its tax incentives. And Miami and New York are in a race to become the nation&#8217;s crypto capital. Supporters believe crypto could be a way to drive economic growth and address income inequality and a host

A month after lifting its mask mandate, Philadelphia is reinstating indoor mask requirements beginning next week as COVID-19 cases there rise. It will be the first major U.S. city to bring back a mask mandate. Other cities might not be far behind. Then, Elon Musk won&#8217;t be joining Twitter&#8217;s board of directors after all. We&#8217;ll discuss what it means for him to stay on the outside of the the social media platform. Plus, a group of Etsy sellers are going on strike to protest a fee hike. It sparks a discussion about the struggles of being a small business owner. To wrap things up, we&#8217;ll take you under the sea for a couple of Make Me Smiles. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about on the show today: “Over 14,000

Alabama&#8217;s governor signed two bills into law on Friday: One criminalizes providing gender-affirming care for transgender youth, and the other requires students to use restrooms according to the gender on their birth certificate. We&#8217;ll discuss the business and economic consequences of new anti-transgender legislation across the nation. Plus, we catch up on the work behind the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 insurrection. Then we&#8217;ll send you off into the weekend with a round of This or That! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;Alabama passes bill criminalizing medical care for transgender youth&#8221; from The Guar

Yesterday a listener asked about the real estate market, and we&#8217;ve still got housing on our minds. We&#8217;ll talk about fresh data that shows homes are less affordable across the country. Plus, the devastation of one Ukrainian city shows the brutality of Russian forces. Then, Ketanji Brown Jackson became the first Black woman to sit on the Supreme Court today. Could this moment inspire change in the corporate world? Finally, some music news that made us smile. <p id="block-c873e05a-b846-4820-9046-6f2e03df7e9d" class="block-editor-rich-text__editable block-editor-block-list__block wp-block wp-block-paragraph rich-text" role="document" aria-label="Paragraph

With a dozen states considering sending payments to taxpayers to ease the sting of inflation, one listener is wondering whether more checks could actually have the opposite effect. We&#8217;ll break down the arguments on this Whaddya Wanna Know Wednesday. Plus, President Joe Biden announced this week that the pause on student loan payments would be extended to the end of August, but how would forgiving student loans altogether impact the nation&#8217;s economy? We&#8217;ve also got answers to your questions about bitcoin and the red-hot housing market. Here&#8217;s everything that we talked about today: “Stimulus checks for inflation: Here are the states planning to send money to resident

It’s been more than six months since Texas’ anti-abortion law went into effect. SB8 lets private citizens sue anyone who helped a pregnant person get an abortion after the six-week ban, which could come with a $10,000 payout. Idaho just passed similar legislation, and other states are considering copycat laws, too. Some experts refer to these kinds of measures as &#8220;bounty hunter&#8221; bills, and they say there are aspects of them that are similar to the Fugitive Slave laws that required civilians help capture enslaved people and led to the Civil War. &#8220;It&#8217;s not unconstitutional to create ways in which private citizens can enforce the law. What does start to offend the Constitution is when you are encouraging people to act as bounty hunters when

The Senate approved an agreement for a new round of COVID-related funding today. The $10 billion package includes money for COVID testing and treatment as well as vaccine distribution, but without additional funds for foreign aid. We&#8217;ll see what happens when the House gets its turn to vote on the deal. There&#8217;s also a new report from the United Nations&#8217; climate science agency suggesting that only drastic  emissions cuts will save us from some of the worst effects of climate change, and most countries lack the political will to do anything about it. Finally, we&#8217;ll end on a Make Me Smile that might count as good public relations for pop singer Rick Astley. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: “<a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/democratic-gop-senators-reach-10-billion-covid-agreement-removes-int

Happy Friday, Smarties! Workers at an Amazon warehouse in Staten Island, New York, elected to unionize today. That&#8217;s a historic win, and we&#8217;ll talk more about what the road to a contract could look like during Economics on Tap. There&#8217;s also plenty to discuss about the new jobs report, but one area to focus on is construction. Plus, a look at the impact the Biden administration&#8217;s immigration plans could have on the  midterm elections and the worker shortage. And we&#8217;ve got a round of our old favorite, Half Full/Half Empty! Our hosts weigh in on April Fools marketing, streaming wins at the Oscars, rounding up for charity, the House vote on legalizing marijuana and Dunkin&#8217; donuts makeup! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about on the show today: <a href="https://apnews.com/article/amazon-union-vote-staten-

As energy prices soar due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the U.S. is drawing on government petroleum reserves. But getting the oil flowing and to market isn&#8217;t easy. We&#8217;ll explain the realities of tapping the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Plus, an hourslong gap in former President Donald Trump&#8217;s phone log on Jan. 6, 2021, is drawing scrutiny from Democrats in Congress. In Texas, parents of transgender kids are weighing the costs of staying or leaving the state, given new anti-trans orders. And finally, some very clever basketball-loving law students in North Carolina made us smile. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-31/biden-s-oil-gambit-hinges-on-1970s-reserve-with-troubled-history?srnd=premium&amp;sref=F8BwdiK2" target="_blank" rel="norefer

This week on Whaddya Wanna Know Wednesday, we answer your questions about why everything is so expensive and who&#8217;s going to fix it. So first, does the Federal Reserve need help solving inflation? Can someone please explain why the Jones Act is still around? Plus, what the heck is crypto mining and when are we getting good public transportation? Finally, Kai Ryssdal and Kimberly Adams share their competing theories on headphone wearing. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;The Fed has ways to put the brakes on rising prices&#8221; from Marketplace &#8220;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/28/us/politics/biden-budget-inflation.html" target="_blank" rel="nor

At the start of the pandemic, there was an overwhelming sense that once there were vaccines, you&#8217;d be less likely to die from COVID-19 and the risk would all but go away. Then came long COVID. According to one estimate, between 7 million and 23 million people in the United States have developed long COVID. That means that weeks or even months after an initial infection, they&#8217;re still suffering from a wide range of debilitating symptoms including shortness of breath, brain fog and heart palpitations. And, in some cases, symptoms are so severe, people have left their jobs. So is our economy prepared? &#8220;If you think about the way that our country manages disability, probably no,&#8221; said Jessica Malaty Rivera, an epidemiologist and sen

An ice shelf in Antarctica the size of New York City collapsed after a warm spell in that part of the globe, in case you needed a reminder that climate change is still happening. The trend toward globalization could be on the decline, though, as the world continues to watch the war in Ukraine and understand its greater significance for the global economy. And some shocking news out of Washington, D.C. We&#8217;ll talk about that and more for this special edition of Economics on Tap. It&#8217;s also the first-ever Make Me Smart Cherry Blossom Party. Trust us, you&#8217;re going to love it. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about on the show today: &#8220;Ice shelf collapses in previously stable East Antarctica&#8221;

If you&#8217;re in New York City, don&#8217;t be surprised if the next time you request an Uber you get picked up in a yellow taxi — Uber has announced plans to team up with cab companies there. We&#8217;ll talk about what this might mean for the taxi industry. Plus, you know the housing market is red hot when a Federal Reserve governor is having trouble buying a home. And a staggering new report highlights the rise in alcohol abuse amid the pandemic. Finally, our hosts share some much-needed Make Me Smiles. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about today: &#8220;U.S. Housing Is So Hot Even a Fed Governor Can&#8217;t Buy a Home&#8221; from Bloomberg &#8220;<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/24/business/uber-new-york-taxis.html" target="_blank" rel="norefer

A week after the Federal Reserve raised interest rates, some of us still have questions. Like, why did the stock market respond so positively? And how is making money more expensive really going to slow inflation? Plus, non-fungible tokens and disinformation, and who really owns the data collected by smart vehicles? And thank you! We&#8217;ve already hit our goal of $100,000 for this fundraising drive. We couldn&#8217;t have done it without you! Your support means we&#8217;ll be able to continue the journalism we do every day. There&#8217;s still time to give if you haven&#8217;t already — and to get one of those Marketplace pen sets! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about on the show today: <a href="https://www.marketplace.org/2022/03/16

Potato chips. Razors. Air fresheners. These are just a few of the items some of the world&#8217;s biggest brands are still selling in Russia after they said they&#8217;d suspend sales of nonessential products. But what&#8217;s classified as &#8220;essential&#8221; seems to be in the eye of the beholder, and some of the companies say they&#8217;re sticking around to support their employees. On an abbreviated show today (scheduling snafus happen to the best of us), we talk over the decision some companies have made to keep doing business in Russia even though pressure to cut ties has been mounting since Russia&#8217;s invasion of Ukraine. Plus, are Democrats really considering moving on from Iowa? Help us keep independent journalism going strong! We&#8217;re $28,000 away from our $100,000 goal, and our deadline is Wednesday! <a

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo says the Biden administration is &#8220;prepared for the worst&#8221; when it comes to inflation and supply chain issues as global events continue to bring economic upheaval. We&#8217;ll also look at an eye-opening graphic that gives context to just how much the U.S. federal judiciary has been dominated by white men (we know we&#8217;re a podcast, but trust us, it&#8217;s worth your eyes). And we&#8217;ll talk about a harrowing story of Ukrainian journalists escaping the country as Russian forces closed in. That&#8217;s a lot of heavy news, but we&#8217;ll end with some Make Me Smiles. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about on the show today: See just how much White men have dominated the federal judiciary from The 19th</li

Today we&#8217;ll preview a story we think we&#8217;ll be talking about more soon, including on next week&#8217;s evening broadcast at &#8220;Marketplace.&#8221; There&#8217;s been increasing tumult in multiple commodity markets since Russia&#8217;s invasion of Ukraine. The markets for wheat, oil and various metals are being stretched to their limits as officials try to navigate both the war and prolonged supply chain issues. For Economics on Tap, our hosts discuss why getting things under control won&#8217;t be an easy fix. Then, the government is running out of the funding it uses to cover COVID costs, including tests, vaccines and treatments — the tools we need to bring life back to normal. And we&#8217;ll highlight another example of our totally skewed housing market and its implications. It&#8217;s a heavy news day, but we&#8217;ll finish things off with a round of Half Full/Half Empty! Here

Since the beginning of the year, lawmakers in over 20 states have proposed bills limiting access to abortion pills by mail. The Food and Drug Administration had, in December, nixed a rule requiring that patients pick up their pills in person. There&#8217;s also an update on the continued detention of basketball star Brittney Griner in Russia and an insider look at how the Senate&#8217;s daylight saving time vote came to pass. After we wrap up the news, our hosts share a couple of technological marvels as Make Me Smiles! Here&#8217;s everything we talked about on the show today: &#8220;WNBA star Brittney Griner&#8217;s detention in Russia extended to May 19&#8221; from ESPN <a href="https://www.pewtrusts.org/en/resea

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates today for the first time in three years, and for Whaddya Wanna Know Wednesday, we&#8217;re answering your questions about it. Plus, why gas prices are volatile, and how to avoid misinformation and disinformation coming out of Ukraine. Here&#8217;s everything we talked about on the show today: The Price of Gas: Why It Goes Up and Down from The Balance The truth about gas prices and oil production from The Washington Post Biden demands faster drop in gas prices as oil tumbles from CNN <