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Marketplace

American Public Media

Hosted by Kai Ryssdal, our leading business news radio program and podcast is about providing context on the economic news of the day. Through stories, conversations and newsworthy developments, we help listeners understand the economic world around them. Marketplace makes sense of the economy for everyone, no econ degree or finance background required. Marketplace doesn’t just report on the numbers, we take it deeper, adding context to what’s happening in the stock market and how macroeconomic policy can affect you and your business. Monday through Friday, our team speaks with a wide range of industry professionals– from small business owners to Fortune 500 CEOs, Marketplace breaks down complex topics related to business and the economy without industry jargon and over complicated explanations.

Hosted by Kai Ryssdal, our leading business news radio program and podcast is about providing context on the economic news of the day. Through stories, conversations and newsworthy developments, we help listeners understand the economic world around them. Marketplace makes sense of the economy for everyone, no econ degree or finance background required. Marketplace doesn’t just report on the numbers, we take it deeper, adding context to what’s happening in the stock market and how macroeconomic policy can affect you and your business. Monday through Friday, our team speaks with a wide range of industry professionals– from small business owners to Fortune 500 CEOs, Marketplace breaks down complex topics related to business and the economy without industry jargon and over complicated explanations.

Location:

Los Angeles, CA

Description:

Hosted by Kai Ryssdal, our leading business news radio program and podcast is about providing context on the economic news of the day. Through stories, conversations and newsworthy developments, we help listeners understand the economic world around them. Marketplace makes sense of the economy for everyone, no econ degree or finance background required. Marketplace doesn’t just report on the numbers, we take it deeper, adding context to what’s happening in the stock market and how macroeconomic policy can affect you and your business. Monday through Friday, our team speaks with a wide range of industry professionals– from small business owners to Fortune 500 CEOs, Marketplace breaks down complex topics related to business and the economy without industry jargon and over complicated explanations.

Language:

English

Contact:

261 South Figueroa Street #200 Los Angeles, CA 90012 (213) 621-3500

Listen on a live station
Episodes

Ready to release some pent-up demand

2/25/2021
The unemployment rate is still high at 10%, and the economic recovery from COVID-19 is going to take a while. But as coronavirus cases begin to trend downward and vaccine distribution continues, people are getting ready for things to open up. On today’ show: Some economists think there will be a whole lot of pent-up demand let loose as things start to look up. Plus, New York’s plans for reopening, the challenges in winterizing Texas’ power grid and an update on how pandemic learning pods are...

Duration:00:28:05

The future of this country’s competitive edge

2/24/2021
President Joe Biden signed an executive order today designed to make U.S. supply chains more resilient and secure. The pandemic exposed problems with the current system, including shortages of personal protective equipment and semiconductors. But the order is about more than face masks and electronics; it’s about the future of U.S. competitiveness. Also on today’s show: what it might take to get back to full employment, the child tax credit proposal explained and a conversation with...

Duration:00:27:34

How new PPP eligibility requirements are hurting some small businesses

2/23/2021
The second round of the Paycheck Protection Program started about a month ago. It’s supposed to help small businesses survive the COVID-19 pandemic, but this round has stricter eligibility requirements, including that businesses can only apply if revenue dropped by at least 25%. On today’s show: Those restrictions are barring some small businesses that could really use the support. Plus, what the bond market is signaling about recovery, an update on the vaccine supply chain and how small...

Duration:00:27:54

How making federal jobless benefits automatic would work

2/22/2021
Lawmakers are taking up President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID relief plan this week, and this third round of support is expected to face hurdles. But what if additional federal unemployment benefits didn’t need congressional approval? On today’s show: Some policymakers want to make benefits an “automatic stabilizer,” meaning they would be tied to economic data, similar to how your tax rate is tied to your income. Plus, the impact of a $15 hourly minimum wage, mortgage rates creep up with...

Duration:00:27:58

Where did hazard pay go?

2/19/2021
At the beginning of the pandemic, essential workers like those in grocery and retail stores were receiving hazard pay for toiling under hazardous conditions, aka the pandemic. Since then, for many workers, it has quietly disappeared. Today, we’ll look at how efforts to grant or replace hazard pay have been going. Plus: inflation in energy, shelter and food, Chinese students are reconsidering coming to the U.S. for college and Joe Biden makes his first international appearance as U.S....

Duration:00:27:00

What you need to know about Biden’s immigration bill

2/18/2021
The Biden administration is unveiling a sweeping immigration bill, which includes a path to citizenship that could grant legal status to an estimated 11 million undocumented people. Today, we’ll look at what joining the formal labor force could mean for them and the economy. Plus: the proposed $350 billion aid package for state and local governments, mom and pop landlords facing a COVID crunch and why looks matter in economics.

Duration:00:25:47

How short selling works (and what it does to the economy)

2/17/2021
The House Financial Services Committee will meet Thursday about the market volatility caused by the short selling of stocks like GameStop. Today, we’ll catch you up on what you need to know. Plus, more fallout from the freeze in Texas, Puerto Rico’s coffee industry and the latest in our ongoing series “United States of Work.”

Duration:00:27:17

Why Texas’ power grids couldn’t meet demand

2/16/2021
Thousands of people in the South are without power as electric grids strain to keep up with heating needs. Today, we’ll look at why power grids weren’t up to the task and how it’s affecting people trying to work from home. Plus: Life in North Dakota’s oil fields, “Young Rock” and this thing we used to call “employment.”

Duration:00:28:13

Biden administration reopens ACA exchange

2/15/2021
The federally run Obamacare exchange reopened Monday for a three-month special enrollment period. President Joe Biden ordered the move to get more people signed up for health care during the pandemic, especially those who have lost jobs and health insurance. The administration is planning to spend $50 million on a marketing campaign to get more people to sign up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act. Plus, LGBTQ people are now protected under the Fair Housing Act and how...

Duration:00:27:39

The especially stressful tax season ahead

2/12/2021
Today is the delayed start of the tax-filing season, and it’s likely to be an especially stressful one for IRS employees and filers alike. Processing two rounds of COVID-19 relief has put a strain on the already short-staffed tax agency. And a lot of filers might not realize they have to pay taxes on unemployment benefits. On today’s show: how to manage the crazy tax season ahead. Plus, Maryland is set to become the first state to tax digital ad revenue, online alcohol sales are way up...

Duration:00:25:34

Making a career change in the middle of a pandemic

2/11/2021
Another 793,000 Americans filed for unemployment benefits last week, and more than 20 million are currently claiming unemployment benefits. A new Pew Research study shows that 66% of unemployed adults in the U.S. have seriously considered changing their occupation or field of work. On today’s show: We hear from people who are trying to make that switch. Plus, how COVID-19 is affecting Mardi Gras in New Orleans, new federal guidance on workers’ right to refuse work that isn’t safe and...

Duration:00:28:12

The plan to close the output gap

2/10/2021
This week’s big news is happening in the Senate, but the what-happens-next-with-this-economy? news is happening over in the House, where committees are hammering out details of President Joe Biden’s $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan. The goal is to close the gap between the current state of the economy and its condition if there hadn’t been a pandemic. On today’s show: Where the economy might be when the relief money starts getting out. Plus, how mothers are particularly penalized in the...

Duration:00:28:02

Why Biden’s economic team would rather go “too big” on COVID relief

2/9/2021
“The issue is that if you do too little, that means that people are going to go hungry,” Bharat Ramamurti, deputy director of the National Economic Council, told “Marketplace” today. We got him on the phone after President Joe Biden and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen met with top business executives to get support for Biden’s $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill. Also on today’s show: How the end of slavery led to two different minimum wages, a new study on fossil fuels causing premature...

Duration:00:28:13

How “pooled testing” can help keep schools open

2/8/2021
Several schools are currently trying out “pooled testing,” which occurs when multiple swabs are tested collectively. This approach lets schools monitor many students and teachers who may be asymptomatic carriers of the coronavirus while preserving scarce testing supplies. The economic argument for pooling is that it can keep schools open and enable more parents to get back to work. But there are drawbacks, too. On today’s show: how one school is implementing pooled testing. Plus, the risk of...

Duration:00:27:56

The most important 4-letter word in this economy: jobs

2/5/2021
Today’s show is all about jobs — or lack thereof. There are 10 million fewer jobs in the U.S. economy than there were a year ago, and people in the hardest-hit sectors are especially suffering. With 40% of unemployed Americans out of work for at least six months, long-term unemployment is a growing concern. Plus, what counts as a small business, unspent money from the last COVID-19 relief bill and one job counselor’s story of job hunting.

Duration:00:27:57

Even consumer confidence is partisan now

2/4/2021
Like most things these days, consumer sentiment is a partisan issue. The 2020 election, and the election-related disinformation and unrest that followed, have led to a stark reversal in consumer confidence by party affiliation. Democrats’ confidence has soared since the election, while Republicans’ formerly buoyant sentiment has plummeted, according to Morning Consult. On today’s show: Even the economy is becoming politically polarized. Plus, how Democrats plan to take on tech megafirms, Big...

Duration:00:28:11

What is an “executive chair,” and how is it different from a CEO?

2/3/2021
Jeff Bezos announced this week he’ll be stepping down from his role as CEO of Amazon. Andy Jassy, the head of Amazon’s cloud computing division, will take over later this year. But Bezos isn’t leaving Amazon. In fact, he’ll become executive chairman. On today’s show: What’s the difference? Plus, the U.S. isn’t as innovative as it used to be — according to a Bloomberg ranking — and how one florist is prepping for Valentine’s Day this year.

Duration:00:27:40

Getting back to the pre-pandemic economy

2/2/2021
A new report from the Congressional Budget Office predicts gross domestic product could return to pre-pandemic levels as early as mid-2021. But, as one expert puts it, “GDP growth does not translate into equal growth of earnings and employment.” And the labor market will take much longer to get back to the low unemployment rates we had before the pandemic. On today’s show: Even if the numbers return to where they were before COVID-19, the economy is probably going to look a lot different....

Duration:00:26:45

Caught in the unemployment benefits gap

2/1/2021
It’s been more than a month since Congress passed the second round of COVID-19 relief — which extended unemployment benefits for millions — but many Americans are still waiting for the money to arrive. That’s partly because most state unemployment computer systems are antiquated, and partly because the relief package changed some of the rules for federal unemployment programs. On today’s show: the Americans who fell into the unemployment benefits gap. Plus: Silver is not the next GameStop...

Duration:00:27:06

We’ve had a little bit of everything this week

1/29/2021
A lot happened this week. We had some Fed Chair Jerome Powell, a little bit of Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and, of course, the whole GameStop-Reddit-Wall-Street story. On today’s show: We’re looking back at the week and trying to make sense of it. Plus, unprecedented congestion at America’s ports and how the pandemic has changed bartending.

Duration:00:27:06

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