Marketplace All-in-One

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...

Is the moon (and its resources) up for grabs?

11 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

NASA’s Artemis II mission, which will send humans around the moon for the first time in over five decades, could launch as early as March. This is p...

Holiday spending slowdown

10 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

New data show retail sales were flat in December, despite high expectations for the holiday season. So did shoppers spend less? Or did they just front...

The power of reading and writing as self-care

10 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Cliche or not, engaging with art is certainly one of the best ways to take a step back when the news cycle gets extra heavy. On the show today, Kimber...

A closer eye on employment costs

10 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The cost of employing people didn't go up as much as predicted. At one level, that's too bad since who doesn't want a bigger raise? But if you're worr...

The EPA's major climate policy rollback

10 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Reuters reports that the Environmental Protection Agency will roll back its "endangerment finding" determination, which had been at the core of its re...

A bridge at the center of trade tensions

10 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

From the BBC World Service: President Trump says he'll prevent a multibillion-dollar bridge linking Canada and the United States from opening unless C...

TPU? GPU? What's the difference between these two chips used for AI?

10 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Graphics processing units (GPUs) have become the most important commodity in the AI boom — and have made Nvidia a multi-trillion dollar company. But...

2026: the year of partial government shutdowns

09 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

We just had a partial government shutdown, and now we're edging closer to another. It would involve just one federal agency — the Department of Hom...

Thank you for (permission for) the music

09 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Twice now, figure skaters at the Winter Olympics were told the music they wanted to skate to — and had been practicing to — could not be used. Sp...

Tokyo's stocks soar after a landslide at the polls

09 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

From the BBC World Service: Japanese stocks jumped to record levels after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s landslide win in a snap general election a...

New study reveals a "smartphone penalty" that distorts survey results

09 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

According to surveys by the FINRA Foundation, our knowledge of personal finance here in the U.S. went down by 15% between 2009 and 2021. But what if i...

Consumer mood sours

06 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On the whole, consumers are feeling 20% worse about the economy than they were a year ago, according to the University of Michigan Surveys of Consume...

From "This Is Uncomfortabe": Help! My coworker wants a copy of my house key!

06 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...

What you need to know about TrumpRx

06 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The Trump administration has launched the new TrumpRx website, where people can shop for prescription drugs at discounted rates. The site, a hub that ...

AI comes for software companies

06 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Software companies are in trouble. Or at least their stocks are. Salesforce is down 25%, and Intuit is down 31%, after startup Anthropic released a ne...

Japan prepares to go to the polls

06 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

From the BBC World Service: Japanese voters will give their verdict on the government of Sanae Takaichi this weekend after Japan's first female prime ...

Bytes: Week in Review - SpaceX and xAI merge, Nvidia and OpenAI's funding relationship and U.S. TikTok's rough start

06 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

On this week’s “Marketplace Tech Bytes: Week in Review,” we take a look at Nvidia's changing investment relationship with OpenAI. Plus, a stormy...

There are more unemployed people than job openings right now

05 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The latest JOLTS report is bleaker than expected. There were 6.5 million job openings across the U.S. economy in December, down nearly 400,000 from th...

What do American families really care about right now?

05 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

As the 2026 midterm elections approach, pollsters and strategists from all over the world of politics are trying to get a pulse on American families. ...

Raised voices at a hearing starring the treasury secretary

05 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will be on Capitol Hill again today for another grilling. He’s scheduled to appear before the Senate Banking Commit...

The continuing struggles of the news biz

05 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

News Corp — the parent company of The Wall Street Journal, Barron's, MarketWatch, and Fox News — announces quarterly profits today. Meanwhile, The...

Care for a little treat?

05 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

From the BBC World Service: Little luxuries can become routine during tougher economic times. The newest iteration of the “lipstick effect,” the p...

Is it okay to keep money secrets in a relationship?

05 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

How much do you share with your partner about your finances? Sometimes, a little privacy starts to look a lot like a secret. And secrets (especially t...

Is social media addictive? And are social media companies liable?

05 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

A landmark lawsuit that accuses social media companies of intentionally designing their platforms to be addictive — and causing harm to children and...

Cargo theft ramps up

04 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

“Retail theft” often conjures Hollywood-esque heist scenes or sleight of hand at self-checkout. But 2025 was likely the biggest year on record for...

A change to small business loans for immigrants

04 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The Small Business Administration will no longer allow green card holders to apply for SBA loans. The new policy was announced on Monday and takes eff...

Even an econ degree does not insulate you from AI

04 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Is a degree in economics, long considered a path to stable employment, even worth it in the age of AI? Recent research suggests entry-level economics ...

A Novo Nordisk stock tumble

04 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

From the BBC World Service: Shares in the Danish pharmaceutical giant Novo Nordisk tumbled 17% on Wednesday after the weight-loss drug pioneer warned ...

What AI fitness apps can and can't do — for now

04 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

You can get a pretty good workout plan from a chatbot, but the tech is also being incorporated into all kinds of existing fitness apps, from Apple's W...

Heavy on celebrity, light on social commentary

03 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

It's a big week for major televised events: The Winter Olympics kick off Wednesday and Super Bowl Sunday is nigh. Brands used to save their biggest, s...

The political cloud hanging over the Fed

03 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Hey Smarties! We recorded today’s episode before the House passed a spending package that will end the partial government shutdown. We’re monitori...

WWKD?

03 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Of course, we mean "What would Kevin do?" — Kevin Warsh, that is, President Donald Trump's nominee for Federal Reserve chair. And it's a question ...

What's behind all the layoffs?

03 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Layoff announcements have been coming fast and furious: 16,000 at Amazon; up to 30,000 at UPS; more at Dow Chemical, Pinterest, T-Mobile, and more. Th...

The devil's in the details of the U.S.-India trade deal

03 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

From the BBC World Service: President Donald Trump announced tariff cuts on goods imported from India and said that, in return, India promised not to ...

Making AI work — for work

03 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In his new book, Wall Street Journal tech columnist Christopher Mims offers a guide for getting the most out of the technology. He's compiled two doze...

Why higher productivity doesn't equal wage growth

02 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Productivity — the rate at which companies make what they make, or do what they do — has been a reliably bright spot in this economy. But wage gro...

A commodities correction

02 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The precious metals market has been on a tear, but experienced a severe correction last week. Part of it has to do with the nomination of Kevin Warsh ...

The impact of restricting SNAP benefits

02 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In January, five states enacted laws restricting people who receive food aid from buying sugary beverages and snacks. About a dozen more will follow s...

What's behind gold's plunge?

02 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

From the BBC World Service: After a historic rally, gold has seen its biggest drop in more than a decade. Silver is also down after sharp swings in As...

Japan's prime minister promises to pump up the economy

02 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

From the BBC World Service: In her first major speech since being reelected as Japan's prime minister, Sanae Takaichi promised to make Japan "stronger...

Making the most of AI, without the hype

02 Feb 2026

Contributed by Lukas

With all the fanfare surrounding AI these days — the utopian dreams and dystopian nightmares — it can be hard to see the technology as simply a to...

How small businesses navigated the ICE strike

30 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Activists called for a nationwide shutdown of economic activity Friday, Jan. 30, following another killing by immigration officials. But in this unfor...

Make Me Smart about Olympic figure skating

30 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The Winter Olympics kick off next week in Milan, Italy. On today’s show, Kimberly is joined by Jackie Wong, self-described skate nerd and host of “...

Who is Trump's Fed chair pick?

30 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

This morning, President Donald Trump revealed his choice to lead the Federal Reserve: It's Kevin Warsh, a former Fed governor and more recent Fed crit...

How schools teach about capitalism is changing

30 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

An increasing number of states in the U.S. not only require high schools to teach financial literacy but also require them to incorporate the fundamen...

The fight over the Panama Canal rages on

30 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

From the BBC World Service: Panama’s Supreme Court has annulled a contract allowing for a Hong Kong company to operate two ports on the major shippi...

Bytes: Week in Review – Are we in an AI bubble?

30 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Is AI a bubble? It's the trillion-dollar question in the economy. So Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino decided to look to history for some answers...

Energy bill burdens grow

29 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Electricity prices have increased by approximately 40% since 2021, far outpacing inflation. Despite AI data centers making headlines as energy-sucker...

What does the end of TPS mean for Haitian workers in the U.S.?

29 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

In line with President Trump’s broader crackdown on immigration, the administration has moved to end the Temporary Protected Status program for cert...

What you need to know about those 'Trump Accounts'

29 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The Trump administration held a summit yesterday, all about Trump Accounts — those are investment accounts for babies born during his term. The gove...

The costs of banning gender-affirming care

29 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Last year, President Donald Trump issued an executive order aimed at ending gender-affirming care for transgender children and teenagers under 19. Sin...

Trade talks underway between the U.K. and China

29 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

From the BBC World Service: U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer is the latest political leader to visit China for trade talks. Chinese President Xi Jinpi...

A recycling startup joins the AI boom

29 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino takes a tour of Redwood Material’s new R&D Lab with CTO Colin Campbell. Redwood, an EV battery recycling s...

What it costs to pass down a language

29 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Author and journalist Aymann Ismail wants his kids to grow up with a real connection to their Egyptian roots, including speaking Arabic. For his famil...

Does the EU even want a strong euro?

28 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

We keep hearing how the U.S. dollar has been “weakening.” Put another way, the euro is getting stronger: It hit $1.20 earlier this week. But the l...

The messy, tricky, hairy task of economic forecasting

28 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

We’ve been deluged with the annual economic and market forecasts that traditionally mark the turn of a new year. Is it worth paying attention to the...

Could a shutdown over ICE be in the cards?

28 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

There's a chance that the federal government will shut down late this week over reform and funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which also...

Beware the AI boom, says Cisco boss

28 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

From the BBC World Service: One of the world’s leading technology bosses has warned there could be “carnage" if a bubble in AI share prices bursts...

Infrastructure lessons from the dot-com bubble

28 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino speaks with Paul Vixie, vice president at AWS Security and an early internet innovator, about the rapid buildout...

Let's tour the growing AI economy

27 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

Artificial intelligence companies raised enormous amounts of money in 2025, and made major investments in development and infrastructure. What’s nex...

Trump’s rift with Europe

27 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

The European Union is still reeling after President Trump’s Davos appearance, even after he walked back some of his Greenland threats. A big questio...

Will Trump's proposals improve housing affordability?

27 Jan 2026

Contributed by Lukas

President Donald Trump is rolling out plans to make housing more affordable. He's ordered Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to purchase $200 billion in mortg...