Marketplace All-in-One

Job numbers fall short of expectations

06 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The latest jobs report showed a loss of 92,000 jobs in February. After months of slightly easing, unemployment crept up too, to 4.4%. Even the health ...

The big money in the Texas primaries

06 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

This week’s Texas primary elections were heated — and historic in terms of campaign spending. On today’s show, Blaise Gainey, state politics rep...

A month of job losses

06 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The U.S. economy actually lost jobs last month. The number of people on U.S. payrolls fell by 92,000 in February, with big swings in education and hea...

Gasoline and diesel prices are spiking

06 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

War in the Middle East has caused oil prices to spike, and — right on cue — gasoline prices have risen quickly. They’re up 34 cents in a week, ...

Bytes: Week in Review — Prediction markets reel amid Iran conflict, defense contractors to drop Anthropic, and Meta's AI deal with News Corp

06 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Meta and News Corp reached a licensing deal this week. Plus, defense contractors untangle Claude from their workflows.But first, the online prediction...

Why manufacturing employment continues to fall

05 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The February jobs report isn’t out until Friday. Still, experts are all but certain the manufacturing sector will have lost jobs compared to last ye...

The Trump administration scrapped the endangerment finding. Now what?

05 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The endangerment finding paved the way for federal regulation of greenhouse gas emissions from cars, trucks, and power plants. Now that the Environmen...

Health care job growth continues to be on a tear

05 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In pretty much every jobs report of 2025 — and on into early 2026 — health care was the most reliable job-creating sector. Some 436,000 health ...

A big year for fans of maple syrup

05 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Parts of the Great Lakes region have seen their coldest winter in more than a decade, and maple syrup farmers are rejoicing. The cold snap has been pe...

Iran’s cyberwar on American banks

05 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

As the war in the Middle East intensifies, one risk facing American banks is the possibility of cyber attacks by hackers linked to Iran. There is som...

Steve Burns beyond “Blue’s Clues”

05 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Steve Burns didn’t set out to become a children’s TV icon. He moved to New York with only a duffle bag full of clothes, $300 in his pocket, and a ...

"The Pitt" is the ultimate workplace drama

04 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

R. Scott Gemmill swore he’d never make another medical drama after “ER.” Good news: We’d argue his hit HBO Max series “The Pitt” is really...

What you need to know about the Live Nation court case

04 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The Department of Justice and dozens of states are accusing Live Nation — the owner of Ticketmaster — of being a monopoly, shutting out competitio...

The link between conflict in Iran and mortgage rates

04 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Mortgage rates dipped below 6% last week. Now, they're back up. Sudden conflict and uncertainty almost always cause volatility in the mortgage market....

Brands are racing to show up in AI search

04 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

You've probably heard of search engine optimization, or SEO. That's what you need to do to get your shoe brand or your coffee shop or your public radi...

War sends cargo to the skies

03 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Military conflict, like the U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran, can wreck carefully planned cargo routes. While some ships were sent around the Horn of...

The U.S., Iran and the rise of drone warfare

03 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

As war in the Middle East widens, it’s become clear that drones now play a fundamental role in global conflict. They’ve changed the way wars are f...

What's going on with the bond market?

03 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

When the world gets scary, investors are usually very hungry for bonds because they're safer bets than the stock market. But with the war in Iran, bon...

The economic reverberations of war

03 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The war with Iran continues to disrupt oil production and shipping channels in the Middle East. Today, we're unpacking the ripple effects of the confl...

Digital archiving and the global memory shortage

03 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

As tech companies rush to build data centers to power their AI models, they're eating up power, money, and memory. Specifically, memory chips. The res...

Overnight, a wartime economy

02 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

It’s too early to know how long the U.S. and Israel war against Iran will last. One certainty? All-out war comes at a cost. Already, Qatar has cut n...

Global markets respond to the attack on Iran

02 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Oil prices are jumping around this morning, but you can bet they're up — around 6-7%. Gold, a safehaven for investors, is up about 2%. "We're in a ...

Iran's role in the global oil supply

02 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The U.S. and Israel's war with Iran means a disruption of global oil markets. Iran has closed navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, leaving hundred...

How government uses "surveillance as a service" to collect data

02 Mar 2026

Contributed by Lukas

We create digital breadcrumbs all the time — when we buy something online, when we post on social media, and even when we look up directions on the ...

Fast-casual meal deals are upon us

27 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

When you hear "meal deal" you probably think of fast-food chains, like McDonald’s. But as daily life grows more unaffordable, a new tier of chain re...

Make Me Smart: Vermont Edition

27 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On today’s show, we’re taking a trip to the Green Mountain State for an up close look at one of Vermont’s most pressing economic issues: housing...

Global jitters over private credit

27 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

MFS, a big lender based in London, has been making risky loans and is in the British equivalent of bankruptcy. Now, investors are buying up U.S. gover...

Paramount poised to acquire Warner Bros.

27 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Paramount Skydance appears to have won the bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery. Paramount raised its offer, and rival Netflix refused to match it, ...

"Live from the UK" one last time

27 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

From the BBC World Service: First up, British manufacturer Dyson settles a lawsuit filed against it by 24 migrant workers, and the Premier League says...

Bytes: Week in Review - Anthropic and the Pentagon face off, OpenAI teams up with consulting firms and Mac Mini moves to the U.S.

27 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

This week, OpenAI turns to consultants to get more companies to integrate AI coworkers.Plus, Apple will be making its Mac Mini in Texas.But first, U.S...

A private credit market boom

26 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The private credit market has grown fivefold since 2008 — it’s somewhere near the $2 trillion-mark globally. In this episode, we explain why polic...

Kai returns to unpack Trump's new tariff

26 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Things have felt pretty chaotic in this economy since the Supreme Court struck down President Trump’s signature tariffs last week. On today’s show...

What it costs to become an Olympian or Paralympian

26 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Now that the Winter Olympics have wrapped up, the Milan Cortina Paralympic Games kick off on March 6. Dozens of athletes will represent Team USA in sl...

What's behind the Anthropic-Pentagon feud?

26 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The AI company Anthropic is loosening some of its core safety principles. Anthropic unveiled a new policy on safeguards earlier this week, moving from...

U.S. grants Cuba access to some Venezuelan oil

26 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

From the BBC World Service: The United States says it will allow some small Venezuelan oil shipments to reach Cuba, providing a lifeline to the Caribb...

How do I cope with layoff anxiety?

26 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

With more layoffs in the news, a lot of workers are feeling spooked. It can be hard not to spiral into what ifs: What if the next paycheck is my last?...

Physical media's comeback

26 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Move over, streaming services. Physicial media is making a comback. A Consumer Reports survey finds that nearly half of people in the US are watching...

Expect and you shall recieve

25 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Consumer surveys show us Americans think inflation will climb in the coming years. That belief could be one reason inflation actually does climb. See,...

The ripple effects of AI splurging

25 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

First up, AI has driven a market moodiness as of late. Broader anxieties have sparked sell-offs, while bullish tech optimism has also boosted stock in...

The TL;DR of Trump's SOTU

25 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Last night, President Donald Trump strongly defended his tariffs in his State of the Union address. He made the case for future tariffs, despite the S...

Germany's chancellor goes to China to talk trade

25 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

From the BBC World Service: German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says there is a great opportunity to develop ties with China following a meeting with its...

AI meets the search for a BA

25 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

As teenagers decide whether to go college, and where, more of them are turning to artificial intelligence to help make that decision. According to a s...

"We're trying to control what we can control": A Fed president reflects

24 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Raphael Bostic, president of the Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank since 2017, will step down from his post this week. “Marketplace” host Kai Ryssdal s...

Sled hockey's Declan Farmer makes us smart about the Winter Paralympics

24 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Want more of the Winter Games? We have good news for you: The Winter Paralympics kick off in Milan next week. On today’s show, three-time Paralympic...

The link between immigration and longer life

24 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

A new working paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research spotlights how immigrants may be shaping the health and mortality rates of older Ame...

AI anxieties and market tumbles

24 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Wall Street is looking to recover after yesterday's big stock market drop. Part of it was due to tariff uncertainty, but part of it was also due to a ...

Tallying the cost of the Russia-Ukraine war, four years on

24 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

From the BBC World Service: Exactly four years ago, Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Hundreds of thousands of troops have been kill...

Here's how to prep for a job interview with AI

24 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Imagine you're getting ready for a job interview. What do you do to prepare? You may have your sibling do a mock interview. You might also panic-buy a...

Burning Questions: The EPA repealed the endangerment finding. Who are the economic winners and losers?

24 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Earlier this month the Trump administration revoked the endangerment finding, which gave the federal government a legal basis for regulating greenhous...

Let's talk about the new Trump tariff

23 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In response to the SCOTUS decision overturning most of President Trump’s tariffs, the White House announced a new, sweeping tariff of 15% worldwide ...

Trump dusts off obscure legal authority for new tariffs

23 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Following Friday’s Supreme Court decision striking down a number of President Trump’s tariffs, the administration is moving to impose a global 15%...

Fallout from the Supreme Court's tariff decision

23 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On Friday, the Supreme Court struck down President Trump’s sweeping “retaliatory” tariffs, ruling that he doesn’t have the authority to impose...

Trump's tariffs continue to confound

23 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

From the BBC World Service: Governments around the world are scrambling to react to President Trump’s decision to impose a sweeping 15% tariff on al...

AI makes it easier to code websites — including ones that scam consumers

23 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Thanks to AI coding agents, basically anyone can program their own software without much technical knowledge. But lowering the barrier to sophisticate...

Building Tomorrow: A Special Look at the Future of Housing

21 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

“Building Tomorrow” is a special collaboration between Marketplace and This Old House Radio Hour that asks a simple but urgent question: How do we...

How to dodge tariffs on Chinese goods

20 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The Supreme Court struck down many of President Trump’s tariffs today. We’ll discuss how the decision might affect businesses and consumers. Also ...

The view from cattle country

20 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On today’s edition of “Economics on Tap,” Kimberly is joined by Anna Pope, agriculture and rural affairs reporter for KOSU and Harvest Public Me...

Supreme Court strikes down Trump's tariffs

20 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The Supreme Court just ruled that the cornerstone of the president’s tariff policy is illegal. It says Donald Trump can’t impose tariffs under the...

Understanding the “cruel math of unemployment”

20 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Mainstream economics acknowledges that some joblessness helps to keep prices down. It’s one of the reasons most economists say unemployment at zero ...

Bytes: Week in Review — Google to make links more prominent, Palantir moves to Florida and Ring reportedly had plans to use "Search Party" for more than finding lost dogs

20 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

This week, Palantir announced on X it’s relocating its headquarters to Miami. Plus, we look at the controversy around Ring's Search Party feature.Bu...

The price is never right anymore

19 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Consumers have gotten worse at guessing how much goods cost, research shows. Call that literal sticker shock? Accelerated price growth might be to bla...

A dispatch from "Katyzuela"

19 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

More U.S. gasoline refiners are moving to buy crude oil directly from Venezuelan producers after the Trump administration eased licensing. Meanwhile, ...

Congress set aside $50 billion to transform rural health care. Will it work?

19 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

A $50 billion pot of money for rural health care made it into last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, President Trump’s hallmark tax and spending ...

When workers are profiled, bullied, and harassed

19 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In a conversation with the owner of a Portland-based construction firm, something disturbing was revealed: One reason he can't retain the workers he n...

India's role in the future of AI

19 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

From the BBC World Service: India is hosting an AI summit as part of the country's efforts to showcase itself as a major player in the artificial inte...

Meta's big bet on "superintelligence"

19 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Meta anticipates up to $135 billion worth of capital expenditures this year, nearly double the company’s outlay in 2025. One driver of that expendit...

First comes love, then comes the prenup

19 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Think that a prenup isn’t for you? Think again! Prenups are not just for rich people: they can protect you against debt and mitigate future issues l...

Immigration and job growth are linked, Fed says

18 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Areas that recently experienced the largest slowdowns in unauthorized immigration also saw the largest slowdowns in employment growth, according to da...

For prediction market regulation, it's states versus the feds

18 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

A major fight is brewing over who has the right to regulate prediction market platforms like Kalshi and Polymarket. In a brief in a Nevada court case,...

Where's the AI productivity jump?

18 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Though most companies are incorporating generative AI into their workflows, it doesn’t seem to be boosting output just yet. A survey of almost 6,000...

Japan posts strong export numbers

18 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

From the BBC World Service: Japan’s export figures were the strongest in three years, climbing 16.8% year over year in January. The data sharply bea...

Can software companies survive the AI boom?

18 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

As artificial intelligence companies roll out more sophisticated agents, many analysts and investors raised concerns that AI could replace traditiona...

Why would the Fed loosen mortgage regulations?

17 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

After the 2008 housing market crash, new rules required banks hold capital reserves proportional to the home loans they issued. In response, banks iss...

Medical providers grapple with Trump's attempts to end gender-affirming care for minors

17 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In December, the Department of Health and Human Services proposed a new rule that would ban hospitals from receiving any Medicare and Medicaid funding...

Why gas prices are on their way down

17 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Inflation is gradually moderating. For some consumer goods, like gasoline, prices are outright declining. Gas prices are down 7.5% since last January...

Do banks need less of a cushion in case of disaster?

17 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Regulators tightened banking rules after the Great Recession. At a conference yesterday, Federal Reserve Vice Chair Michelle Bowman said the Fed is lo...

Lunar New Year intersects with AI

17 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

From the BBC World Service: It's the start of the Lunar New Year — a major retail event. In China, AI has increasingly been merging with the shoppi...

Fewer students are enrolling in computer science classes and majors

17 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

According to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center, the number of students enrolling in computer and information science decreased this p...

What if Trump does roll back steel and aluminum tariffs?

16 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The White House may roll back steel and aluminum tariffs, according to the Financial Times. Sure, President Donald Trump has announced or enacted tari...

How AI is changing the advertising game

16 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Markets seesawed over the past few weeks over fears that artificial intelligence will soon disrupt several industries, including software and financia...

Heating bills are going up this winter

16 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

We learned on Friday that inflation dropped to 2.4% — the lowest it’s been in almost five years. But certain prices are still rising much faster t...

TikTok's parent company pledges AI safeguards

16 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

From the BBC World Service: The Chinese tech company ByteDance says it'll curb its AI video app, Seedance, which is being used to create viral life-li...

High-tech data centers get a powerful assist from a century-old company

16 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Caterpillar, which manufactures heavy duty equipment like asphalt pavers, diesel engine locomotives, and industrial gas turbines, has been around for ...

Inside the "biggest deregulatory action in U.S. history"

13 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On Thursday, Feb. 12, the Environmental Protection Agency announced the revocation of the “endangerment finding,” a federal determination that pla...

From "This Is Uncomfortable": In America, cultural education doesn't come cheap

13 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Hey Smarties! There won’t be a livestream for “Economics on Tap” today. But don’t worry! “Economics on Tap” will return soon on Feb. 20. F...

A look at who's footing the bill for all those tariffs

13 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

President Donald Trump has long insisted that foreign companies paid for the tariffs he’s levied on imports. But new research from the Federal Reser...

Remember to grab that Valentine's Day card?

13 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The clock's ticking! If you're in the greeting card business, Valentine's Day is more than just a holiday — it’s a big sales opportunity. This mo...

Cuban residents suffer daily power outages

13 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

From the BBC World Service: As the energy crisis in Cuba continues, the port of Havana has received two ships carrying humanitarian aid sent by Mexico...

Bytes: Week in Review — Alphabet takes on debt to pay for AI projects, the social network where humans aren't allowed, and Spotify reports record user growth

13 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

This week, we look at Spotify's stellar quarter. Plus, there's a new AI-only social network called Moltbook. But first, Alphabet, parent of Google, we...

More K-shaped spending

12 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

When high earners ramp up their spending while low earners pull back, that’s a symptom of a "k-shaped" economy. But what about middle-income househo...

Can AI bots help us find love?

12 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

With Valentine’s Day around the corner, in this episode we’re taking a look at what it’s like to be looking for love right now — and the techn...

Turns out, customers like when things are cheaper

12 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Who would’ve thought? Last month, PepsiCo cut snack prices. McDonald's has been cutting prices, too, and said it's paying off. Yesterday, the compan...

Who needs a financial advisor when you have AI?

12 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Jittery investors continue to punish stocks of companies that may (or may not) face major disruption from artificial intelligence. Last week, it was s...

Russia bans WhatsApp

12 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

From the BBC World Service: Russia has ordered a block on WhatsApp, the Kremlin confirmed. The app has more than 100 million users in Russia, who have...

Crypto’s big growth on the books and in the shadows

12 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Cryptocurrency is being used more frequently in illegal transactions — about $158 billion was used in illicit crypto activity last year. That’s an...

Help! My dad is dating a scammer!

12 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Reema is joined by Sam Sanders (host of KCRW’s “The Sam Sanders Show”) to answer your questions about money and dating. We’ve got questions ab...

Here's what we learned from the January jobs report

11 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The January jobs report came out Wednesday, and on the surface, it was better than expected. The economy added more jobs than it has in months and the...

Texas' energy grid, 5 years after Winter Storm Uri

11 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Five years ago, Winter Storm Uri took out the lights across the Lone Star State. Hundreds of people died, millions of Texans were left without heat, a...

What it takes to build a home that lasts

11 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The U.S. is facing a housing affordability crisis — one that's been exacerbated by natural disasters like Hurricane Helene in 2024 and last year in ...

Flights suspended as Cuba faces fuel crisis

11 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

From the BBC World Service: Cuba's tourism industry suffered a major blow after dozens of flights were cancelled because of a lack of aviation fuel; A...