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David Brancaccio

"Future Effects" Senior Correspondent

David Brancaccio is Marketplace’s “future effects” senior correspondent. In this role, David aims to explore how short-term thinking can impact our personal finances, innovation, government policy, and more.

David worked as the host and senior editor of “Marketplace Morning Report” from 2013 to 2026, where he focused on the regulation of financial markets, the role of technology in labor markets, the history of innovation, digital privacy, sustainability, social enterprises, and financial vulnerability in older adults. David freelanced for Marketplace in 1989 before becoming the program’s European correspondent based in London in 1990.

David hosted the evening program from 1993-2003, then anchored the award-winning public television news program “Now” on PBS after a period co-hosting with journalist Bill Moyers. David has co-produced and appeared in several documentaries, including “Fixing the Future,” about alternative approaches to the economy, and “On Thin Ice,” about climate change and water security, with mountaineer Conrad Anker. David is the author of “Squandering Aimlessly,” a book about personal values and money. He enjoys moderating public policy discussions, including at the Aspen Ideas Festival, Chicago Ideas Week, and the Camden Conference in Maine.

David is from Waterville, Maine, and has degrees from Wesleyan and Stanford universities. Honors include the Peabody, Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University, Emmy, and Walter Cronkite awards. He is married to Mary Brancaccio, a poet and educator. They have three offspring, all adults. He likes making beer and building (and launching) pretty big rockets. Among his heroes are Edward R. Murrow and Wolfman Jack.

Latest from David Brancaccio

  • Are savers in Europe getting a raw deal?
    Be-Art/Getty Images

    From the BBC World Service: One of the primary ways to try and tackle rising inflation is for central banks to raise interest rates, but are savers getting a fair deal? Mohamed El Erian, chief economic advisor at the financial firm Allianz gives us his view after Europe’s biggest lender, HSBC doubled its profits. Plus the BBC’s Catherine Ellis reports on Colombia’s battle with inflation and an influx of immigrants from Venezuela. And finally, we hear from Frank Strang who bought a disused Royal Airforce radar station with his wife 15 years ago and turned it into a spaceport.

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  • A crucial trade route, disrupted by climate change
    Luis Acosta/AFP via Getty Images

    The lock system that moves ships through the Panama Canal requires huge amounts of water. Climate change-driven drought will complicate things. Plus, part one of “Barriers to Entry,” our series why people are leaving Latin America.

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  • Not your father’s Republicans
    Drew Angerer/Getty Images

    These Republicans have some unusual economic policy ideas. We’ll discuss why discharging student debt during bankruptcy is one of them. Plus, coal is still a big deal globally and Yellow, a trucking company, is shutting down operations.

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  • Immigration Special: From Latin America to the USA

    From the BBC World Service: Immigration will be one of the areas the 2024 Presidential election will be fought over, and figures show the number of Latin Americans migrants coming to the U.S. is hitting fresh highs. As of June, there were 1.7 million encounters with migrants on the southwest land border with Mexico. That is up a little on the same period last year, and already at the levels of 2021. Will Grant, the BBC’s Mexico, Central America and Cuba correspondent, has been taking a look at this as part of a week-long series.

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  • Jul 28, 2023

    A starchy panic

    LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - MARCH 19: A section of empty shelves is seen during special shopping hours only open to seniors and the disabled at Northgate Gonzalez Market, a Hispanic specialty supermarket, on March 19, 2020 in Los Angeles, California. The vast majority of shelves in the market were fully stocked. Northgate Gonzalez Market is opening all of its Southern California locations one hour early, from 7:00-8:00 a.m., exclusively for senior citizens and disabled customers, amidst panic buying in some stores during the COVID-19 pandemic.
    Mario Tama/Getty Images

    Why are some shoppers are stocking up on rice, and is hoarding in case of a shortage even worth it? Plus, a new law that could grow your retirement fund.

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  • Amy Finkelstein, the author of "We've Got You Covered," compares universal health care coverage to public school — it's an option for all if you want or need it.
    Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

    A new book puts forth ambitious solutions to redesigning and funding the American health care system.

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  • Pay off student loans, or save for retirement? Both.
    zimmytws/Getty Images

    A new law set to go into effect next year would allow you to double your money when you pay student loans.

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  • Jul 28, 2023

    The Bolt lives on

    The Bolt lives on
    Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

    GM is updating the Chevy Bolt, an affordable EV that they stopped producing back in April. Why the renewed interest? Plus, how universal health care coverage could work in the U.S.

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  • UN warns that the climate's at boiling point
    Getty Image

    From the BBC World Service: The U.N. has warned that it’s no longer enough to refer to global warming — we are now in an era of global boiling. The warning comes as Europe and swathes of the U.S. are experiencing prolonged periods of extreme heat. France recently became the first country in the world to ban some short-haul internal flights between cities which take less than two and a half hours to travel between by train. But the jury’s still on how effective the ban is.

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  • You can serve it, but you can’t drink it
    Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

    Some states have lowered the age requirement for serving alcohol. Could this mean more job options for teens, or does it put them in harms way? Plus, EV companies get a jolt of cash to build more charging stations.

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David Brancaccio