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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

  • Austria's leader Karl Nehammer is calling for an EU-wide cap on electricity prices.
    GEORG HOCHMUTH / APA / AFP

    From the BBC World Service: That’s as countries across the European Union scramble to store enough energy for the winter, while the bloc cuts back on Russian supplies. Plus, Pakistan is launching a flash UN appeal for help as authorities struggle to cope with what’s being described as the worst flooding in the country’s history, with crops devastated. And, we hear how Brexit-related labor shortages are driving U.K. inflation.

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  • "If you only come back 4% this year [in growth for the world economy], you're not back to where you were, even at the end of 2021," World Bank President David Malpass said.
    Samuel Corum/Getty Images

    It’s Day 2 of the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium hosted by the Federal Reserve. We check in with World Bank President David Malpass, who’s on the ground in Wyoming, about monetary policy around the world. Also, we delve into the latest downbeat earnings report from Peloton, the exercise equipment and fitness company that boomed during the peak of the pandemic but has since fallen back to Earth — hard.

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  • Day laborers wait for offers of work outside the Don Bosco workers center in Port Chester, New York.
    Mitchell Hartman/Marketplace

    Many day laborers are having difficulties paying bills because of rising prices and fewer work opportunities.

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  • T-Mobile, SpaceX team up on bringing cell service through satellites
    Tim Peake/ESA/NASA via Getty Images

    T-Mobile and SpaceX are partnering to provide mobile service everywhere, using satellites to patch up coverage in areas where there are no cell towers. And, we take today’s “Economic Pulse” by speaking with Pedro, an immigrant day laborer who organizes other workers to prevent wage theft and poor working conditions.

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  • Anticipation is building that Chair Powell will double down on the Fed's commitment to crush inflation.
    MANDEL NGAN / AFP

    From the BBC World Service: As Fed Chair Jay Powell takes to the stage at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, anticipation is building that he’ll double down on the U.S. central bank’s commitment to stamp out inflation. Rising prices are a problem all around the world. But economist Dr. Mohamed El-Erian explains the factors driving it are different region to region. Plus, Russia appears to be burning natural gas it could have sent to Europe. And, the French government says energy giant TotalEnergies has questions to answer about reports it’s been indirectly involved in supplying fuel to Russia’s airforce.

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  • How foolishly can one act and still be entitled to some compensation in the event something goes wrong?
    HBO Max

    How much wiggle room does the law give us to make dumb decisions and still seek compensation?

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  • California could put gas cars in the rearview
    Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

    Officials in the Golden State are expected to approve a plan today that will ban the sale of new gasoline-powered cars by 2035. Auto regulations in California often influence other states to adopt similar rules. Also, we’ll preview the Federal Reserve’s big Jackson Hole Economic Symposium with economist Diane Swonk who will be in attendance. Plus, how China is aiming to boost the country’s economy with stimulus as it’s being hit by a strict zero-COVID policy, heat waves and more. Finally, a look at how your conduct matters when it comes to tort law and amusement parks. It’s some legal context for our “Econ Extra Credit” selection this month, “Class Action Park.”

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  • Student debt relief is coming, but college is still expensive
    Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

    The Biden administration has officially rolled out a plan to cancel some student debt for certain individual borrowers. But that doesn’t change the fact that the cost of college tuition is running at record-high levels. We look at why higher education is so expensive. Plus, get your Federal Reserve “bingo cards” ready for the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, which kicks off today. If you want to know what to watch for in Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s speech planned for tomorrow, we have you covered. And, welcome news for consumers: A handful of retailers have recently announced they’ll be marking down products to try to get them out the door and clear excess inventory they’ve accumulated during the pandemic.

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  • China throws billions at ailing economy
    Getty Images

    From the BBC World Service: Chinese officials are putting a total of $146 billion toward measures aimed at propping up an economy hit by severe drought, energy shortages and a strict zero-COVID strategy. Also, French President Macron is in Algeria for a trip aimed at repairing relations between the two nations. He will also likely focus on how the country can help Europe achieve energy security without Russia. And, the war in Ukraine hasn’t just disrupted daily life in that country. We hear how it’s wreaked havoc on the global food supply chain and those who work in it.

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  • Twitter whistleblower implications go beyond Musk
    Leon Neal/Getty Images

    The whistleblower complaint from a former Twitter security chief alleges that the social media platform doesn’t know exactly how many fake accounts there are. That sounds a lot like one of Elon Musk’s reasons for pulling out of a $44 billion deal to buy the company. But Erik Gordon, a professor at the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, says that’s just the start of the potential legal trouble Twitter could face now. Plus, housing sales might be down, but prices aren’t there yet. What does that mean for the fight against inflation? We ask Susan Schmidt, head of U.S. equities at Exchange Capital Resources. Also, how extreme weather caused by climate change is yet another force contributing to inflation, especially in commodities like cotton. And, an update on fundraising money for aid in Ukraine.

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