Chapter 1: What recent events have impacted the community in Altadena?
They say sock some money away in case of emergency, like the California fires one year ago. I'm David Brancaccio in Pasadena, California. This week I've been checking in with my neighbors on my burned street a year after the Hurricane Force firestorm destroyed so much of Altadena, California.
This along with the concurrent fire on the coast in and around Pacific Palisades were the costliest fires for property damage anywhere ever destroyed. Today, nurse Pauline, did her house burn or did her house stand in the smoke and the soot? In Pauline Gray's case, the answer is both at the same time. It's late fall of our fire year.
People from our block gather in a park on a Sunday for lemonade, iced tea, and burritos donated by Home State, a local eatery. Pauline Gray owns the property about five addresses from ours, same side of the street.
The carport burnt down and the fence, but the house is still standing.
Chapter 2: How did the fire affect local residents and their properties?
My neighbor across the street was instrumental in helping to save my house. And I just put on a new roof. So with the ventilation system, no smoke went in the house.
So what do you have to do there to make it habitable for somebody?
Well, we're in the process of testing to check the dust inside. And the house is going to be 100 years old next year. So I have two windows that I need to upgrade.
And that was, what, a rental property, or do you have family in it?
No, a rental property.
So where do you live then?
0.8 miles from my rental property.
So 0.8, not even a mile.
Not even a mile.
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Chapter 3: What is the current state of surveillance technology in grocery stores?
I'm ready to go.
So, I mean, how? Insurance or what?
Insurance and if I need to contribute. Yeah, I'm a planner.
Yeah, so maybe you saved.
I did, yeah.
All right, well, we're always doing on my program the importance of savings because you just don't know what life will throw your way.
Pay yourself first. I pay myself 20% of every check I earned.
What type of work do you do?
I'm a neonatal intensive care nurse.
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Chapter 4: How are retailers using biometric technology to track shoppers?
and Europe after President Trump yesterday called for a $1.5 trillion U.S. military budget versus $900 billion now. Northrop Grumman up 8.7 percent pre-market trading. Lockheed Martin up 8 percent now. European defense company stocks are also up with Trump talk about acquiring or taking Greenland from Denmark.
The supermarket chain Wegmans is using biometric tech to track shoppers movements in stores by identifying their faces. Marketplace's Kristen Schwab reports not just Wegmans.
Before businesses had cameras to keep an eye on shoplifters, they had notes. John Talbot is a lecturer of marketing at Indiana University.
And they had a book behind a cash register, and they knew who the people were that were high potential for stealing something from the store.
These days, cameras track eye movements, voice patterns, and gait. Talbot says the technology also helps offer new services to customers, like checkoutless checkout. Amazon uses palm-to-pay technology at some Amazon Go and Whole Foods stores.
You know, checkout is friction in the process.
Convenience, though, often comes with costs. Maybe in this case, actual monetary ones. Woodrow Hartsog is a law professor at Boston University.
Companies are going to try to make sure that they charge us the maximum amounts possible that we are willing to tolerate every single time we go to the cash register.
Retailers might learn this through data on, say, how long we linger in the cookie aisle, deciding between off-brand Oreos and the real thing.
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Chapter 5: What are the ethical concerns surrounding customer surveillance?
Because creepy personal data stuff aside, the technology can be flawed. Rite Aid has been temporarily banned from using AI facial recognition after its system falsely targeted women and people of color as shoplifters. Erin Martin, a data scientist at the University of Virginia, says there aren't a lot of ways shoppers can opt out.
Basically, you're forced to either not go to the supermarket where the stuff is on by default or give up your data, right? So I think, you know, the idea of a sort of meaningful choice is unrealistic.
There's currently no federal rule that requires retailers to disclose customer surveillance. Privacy laws vary by city and state. I'm Kristen Schwab for Marketplace. We're from APM, American Public Media.
Hey, everyone.
Chapter 6: What challenges do consumers face regarding privacy in retail?
You already listened to Marketplace Podcast, so you know that it's important to understand how economic forces shape our lives. And that feels especially important now as we're all trying to make sense of the latest headlines.
I'm Rima Grace, host of Marketplace's This is Uncomfortable, a show that explores how money bumps up against our relationships, our choices, and the parts of life we don't always say aloud. And starting January 15th, we are back every single week. New stories, new questions, and the kind of conversations that make you feel less alone in this quickly changing economy.
We're tackling questions like, should I turn my hobby into a money-making side hustle? How do I deal with layoff anxiety? Or what do we owe our parents financially? Don't miss an episode. Subscribe to This is Uncomfortable from Marketplace, wherever you get your podcasts.