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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

  • The rise of the “outdoorsy” real estate craze
    Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images

    Resort towns across the Western U.S. are seeing record-breaking prices for housing amid a wave of buying by ultra-rich people. The trend is fueling a housing crisis for local workers, who often find themselves being priced out of housing. New legislation in the Senate is looking to restrict senior members of the executive branch from trading stocks. And, retailers are saying that inflation-wary consumers are prioritizing value over luxury…and stores are shifting gears to accommodate. 

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  • China increases defense spending, citing “escalating” threats
    China Photos/Getty Images

    From the BBC World Service: BBC’s China Correspondent Stephen McDonnell reports from Beijing as China says it will increase military spending by more than 7% this year, while warning of “escalating” threats. South Korea tries to build bridges with Japan by picking up the cost of World War II reparations, plus, it’s one month to the day since the earthquakes devastated parts of Turkey and Syria, we hear from the BBC’s Correspondent Anna Foster on the ground.

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  • The quest to build a 90,000-square-foot home
    Courtesy Magnolia Pictures

    Econ Extra Credit newsletter #140

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  • For Biden, industrial policy is now in vogue
    Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

    Earlier this week, the Biden administration announced that companies could begin applying for funding under the CHIPS and Science Act, but only if they met certain conditions including limiting stock buybacks, providing childcare to workers, and others. According to Felicia Wong, CEO of the liberal-leaning Roosevelt Institute think tank, this could herald a new embrace of industrial policy by Biden to push forward his agenda. And, a look into a new report that details the growing extent of the racial disparity in home ownership in America. 

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  • The Biden administration has big goals when it comes to implementing the CHIPS Act. But the plan isn't without its hurdles.
    Josep Lago/AFP via Getty Images

    But will it work out as the President hopes?

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  • Republican-led states push against “woke” investing
    Spencer Platt/Getty Images

    Legislatures in various Republican-controlled states have passed or are mulling restricting banks from ESG investing, which considers environmental, social, and governance factors. We look at what’s behind the backlash to ESG and why some are assailing it as “woke investing.” The Biden Administration released its new Cybersecurity Strategy yesterday, which includes a call to companies to play a greater role in securing their own products. And, excerpts from Marketplace host Kai Ryssdal’s interview with Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, where they discussed the economics of the war in Ukraine. 

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  • Could privatization be behind the fatal train crash in Greece?
    Getty Images

    From the BBC World Service: The fallout from Tuesday’s deadly train crash has brought attention to the era of privatization that followed Greece’s financial crisis in 2015. We look at what role that could have played in the leadup to the disaster. A new report says Chinese scientists are leading their American counterparts in dozens of fields of technological research. And, could South Korean reality TV be the next big streaming sensation?

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  • Why racial inequality is often underestimated
    Mario Tama/Getty Images

    The disparity between how much wealth — on average — people of different racial groups hold has been well-documented through research. Yet according to one study, the size of that gap is frequently underappreciated. We talk to Ivy Oyeandor, a professor at Northwestern University and co-author of the study, about that misperception as part of our Econ Extra Credit series. And, KPMG Chief Economist Diane Swonk dissects the latest economic data, which indicates economic strength because of infrastructure spending but risks prolonging inflation. 

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  • Many Americans don't understand the true scale of economic inequality. That can lead to misperceptions of what needs to be done, says Ivy Onyeador, professor at Northwestern University.
    Getty Images

    Ivy Onyeador of Northwestern University discusses why Americans overestimate the progress we’ve made toward economic equality.

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  • Insulin prices get a haircut — for some people
    Frederick Florin/AFP via Getty Images

    Pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly announced it would cut the prices of some of its most-used insulin products by 70%, as well as cap out-of-pocket costs for consumers at $35. We look at what that could mean for patients, most of whom have been paying sky-high prices for the drug. Congress yesterday passed a bill to prohibit ESG — Economic, Social, and Governance — retirement investing, a measure likely to be vetoed by President Biden. And, as part of American Public Media’s “Call to Mind” campaign around mental health, we look at the effects of social media on loneliness. 

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