Marketplace All-in-One

The Labor Department’s June jobs report came in with just 57,000 new jobs added. Economists expected double that, and while the unemployment rate ticked down, we consider why job growth may be middling. Also in this episode, we look at stagnant wage growth, a start-up that’s looking to de-extinct the woolly mammoth, the “lump of labor” fallacy, Saudi Aramco’s World Cup sponsorship, and a social wo...

This week marks one year since Congress passed the Republican tax and spending bill, also known as the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” Today, we'll delve into how individuals, small businesses, and corporations have taken advantage of tax cuts and what it all means for the revenue the federal government is bringing in. Also, we'll unpack the drop in unemployment. And, a July 1 deadline to renew the...

It's been nearly a year since President Donald Trump's big tax bill. The law makes it harder to qualify for programs like SNAP and includes new work requirements. Some states are already seeing sharp drops in SNAP enrollment as they implement the changes in the law. By some measures, participation in the program is down by nearly 10%. Then, we'll continue to examine the history of the U.S. economy...

This week, we’re sharing an episode of “ Proxy ,” a podcast about the emotional questions that make people feel alone — and the conversation that unfolds when you find someone who gets it. Sam is a progressive person who suddenly has more money than friends and family — and he doesn’t know how to feel about it. He wants to be generous. He wants to be responsible. He wants to stop feeling guilty an...

AI is the buzzy tech of the moment. It's made plenty of money not only for companies but the cities and states where investment is pouring in. Illinois and specifically Chicago are betting that quantum computing will be the next major tech breakthrough to transform the economy. And they're trying to get in on the ground floor. So they’ve turned a former steel mill site into a tech hub, called the...

It’s unclear what Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh will do regarding interest rates, but would a “Fed put” actually help promote stability in financial markets? Also in this episode, we look at why fewer teens are getting paid jobs, a decline in single-family homebuilding, prediction markets for natural disasters, traffic expanding way beyond rush hour, and the booming cowboy boot market. Every s...

Americans spend, on average, just over 8 minutes a day on financial management — things like budgeting or paying bills — according to a recent paper in the Journal of Behavioral and Experimental Finance. But those few minutes are among the most stressful and least enjoyable parts of the day. So how can we stop that painful procrastination? Reema Khrais, host of Marketplace's "This Is Uncomfortable...

The Supreme Court finished its session yesterday with major opinions on birthright citizenship, transgender athlete rights, and campaign finance. We're going to focus on that last one. In National Republican Senatorial Committee v. Federal Election Commission, the court struck down limits on how much political parties can spend in coordination with candidates. Without those caps, the way parties r...

This season, we explored large-scale climate interventions that could be our last hope. One intervention in particular, solar geoengineering, made a lot of listeners’ heads spin. (We’re right there with you.) This episode, we answer some of your most pressing questions about solar geoengineering. We get into whether solar sunshades could harm crops, what international efforts around solar geoengin...

Who is using AI? And what are they using it for? Anthropic, the AI company behind Claude, has been trying to answer these questions to better understand how AI is reshaping the economy. The firm’s latest Economic Index report offers new insights on how people are using Claude and how they feel about AI’s potential effects on the labor market. Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino spoke with Anthropi...

Fresh data on consumer confidence shows a lot of mixed signals — Americans are feeling better about the economy and where inflation is headed, but worse about job prospects and family finances. Also in this episode, we look at the widening gender wage gap, a small business owner dealing with tariffs, how remote work is giving families more options, and growing natural gas infrastructure. Every sto...

The Chinese government reported a slight increase in its June factory activity, driven mostly by exports and demand tied to AI. Today, we'll delve into what these latest numbers tell us about how China's economy is doing and discuss how the ebbs and flows of Chinese manufacturing affect consumers here in the United States. Then, yesterday, the Supreme Court allowed Fed Governor Lisa Cook to keep h...

About 3 million fewer people had Affordable Care Act insurance plans in February compared to last year. Much of the drop is likely due to the end of pandemic-era enhanced subsidies, which resulted in higher premiums. And ACA premiums are only likely to increase next year. Plus, starting tomorrow, Medicare will begin covering GLP-1 drugs for weight loss. And, as we prepare to mark the 250th anniver...

The resemblance to an actual dog is loose but the quadrupedal robot dogs known as “Spot” from Boston Dynamics do have four legs. They're often used to do reconnaissance in hazardous environments. And four of them are working security at the World Cup games in Dallas and New York. Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino spoke with Merry Frayne, at Boston Dynamics about Spot’s capabilities and why they...

The Supreme Court’s ruling Monday expanded presidential power over agencies that would traditionally be viewed as independent, with the Federal Reserve as an exception. What does that mean going forward? Also in this episode, we look at rising transportation costs, infrastructure projects, Comcast’s spinoff of NBCUniversal, and the business of estate sales in Los Angeles. Every story has an econom...

Major shifts to federal student aid kick in on July 1, including strict limits on how much graduate students can borrow from the federal government. The new loan caps raise questions about who can access graduate education in the U.S., who should pay for it, and whether the country’s workforce pipeline can keep pace with the growing demand for highly-skilled professionals. We'll also preview this...

More Americans are using GLP-1 drugs, like Ozempic and Wegovy, for weight loss, and that’s impacting their grocery shopping habits. A new survey finds that GLP-1 use could shave up to 2.7% off grocery store sales this year. So, how are food companies adapting? Also on the program: a preview of major Supreme Court decisions coming up and a frank conversation about the costs of being in a wedding pa...

There’s a longstanding nursing shortage in the U.S. that's only expected to get worse. Some hospitals have experimented with robotic nursing assistants to lighten the load, like a model known as Moxi that rolled out in 2019. They’re kind of R2D2-meets-Rosie-the-robots and were designed to handle non-patient-facing tasks like transporting lab samples. But many hospitals eventually pulled them from...

Economists are forecasting that AI is likely to cause prices to rise over the course of the next year. On Thursday, both Microsoft and Apple said they’re raising prices some of their flagship products thanks to skyrocketing memory and storage costs. But AI could end up making a whole lot of things cheaper — eventually. Also in this episode: how one union negotiated huge savings on healthcare price...

Congress’ historic housing bill still hasn’t been signed by President Donald Trump. There’s a lot in the bill, and changes may take years. Some of the provisions are meant to help rural America, where about a quarter of Americans live. We'll dig into some of the impacts. Then, language in the current U.S.-Iran peace deal could help Iran develop its own economy and become more integrated in the glo...

This morning, as part of our "What's that Like?" series , where we get firsthand accounts from people working unusual jobs, we hear from animal talent agent Dawn Wolfe. She's the owner of the agency Pawsitively Famous and has worked with dogs, cats, reptiles, and even tarantulas. But first, a week after a memorandum of understanding between the U.S. and Iran, are ships able to transit the Strait o...

SpaceX stock prices fell back to earth this week after they skyrocketed in the wake of the IPO a couple weeks ago. Plus, why a Google AI subsidiary is investing in the film studio A24. And why Meta might be getting into the prediction markets. The New York Times reported this week the social media giant was working on its own prediction market app, sort of like Kalshi and Polymarket, which have be...

Inflation was up 4.1% in May, according to the BEA’s personal consumption expenditures index. We know hot energy prices, resulting from the war in Iran, were part of that spike. But cut out energy and food, and inflation still hit a three-year high, at 3.4%. So what else is driving the increase? Also in this episode: Q1 GDP is revised up, Wyoming navigates the consequences of property tax cuts, an...

Core inflation rose to 3.4% in May, according to this morning's PCE report out from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. That's the highest since October 2023. Part of the rise is driven by service sector inflation, which should be more immune to shocks from tariffs and energy costs. We dig in. And later, now that Spirit Airlines has shut down, its bankruptcy estate is auctioning off its access to New...

According to the ACLU, state lawmakers have introduced more than 500 bills targeting LGBTQ people in the 2026 legislative session. Those policies have economic consequences. Today, we explore what's at stake for states with anti-LGBTQ laws and how companies are navigating a climate unfriendly to DEI policies. But first, the dollar's recent strength is not about investors fleeing to safety, and hot...