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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

  • How many American workers are benefiting from employer retirement programs?
    Getty Images

    A new study sheds light on how just under half of American workers aren’t covered by employer health coverage.

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  • GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - JUNE 21: Staff are seen at Queen Street station on June 21, 2022 in Glasgow, Scotland. The biggest rail strikes in 30 years started on Monday night with trains cancelled across the UK for much of the week. The action is being taken by Network Rail employees plus onboard and station staff working for 13 train operators across England. Thousands of jobs are at risk in maintenance roles and ticket office closures were planned as well as pay freezes during the cost of living crisis, says the RMT union. (Photo by Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images)

    From the BBC World Service: Russia summons the EU ambassador after Lithuania’s blocks goods travelling by rail to Kaliningrad – a Russian exclave on the Baltic Sea. British train schedules are thrown into chaos this morning by the biggest strike of railways workers in three decades. And Thailand has recently legalized cannabis, sparking a boom in related businesses. 

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  • The number of applications for adjustable mortgages has increased 22% over the last year, per the Mortgage Bankers Association.
    Joe Raedle/Getty Images

    Released plans from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – the mortgage corporations backed by the government – target housing barriers in underserved communities. Julia Coronado drops in how the notion that crypto is a hedge against inflation has taken a hit. In the Netherlands, we take a look at how structures are being built with organic materials.

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  • Gold Bitcoins are seen in the window of a Bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchange office on October 19, 2021 in Istanbul, Turkey. The number of Bitcoin and cryptocurrency exchanges have increased across Istanbul as cryptocurrency investing continues to boom in Turkey. Many investors see cryptocurrency's growth as a shelter against inflation and the depreciating Lira. Turkey's Lira has lost 20% of it's value this year as Bitcoin approaches it's all time high on the back of today's historic debut of the first Bitcoin futures ETF on the NYSE.
    Chris McGrath/Getty Images

    Cryptocurrency has had a rough ride over the weekend. Bitcoin dropped below a benchmark level on Saturday, then bounced back Sunday. Other cryptocurrencies have dropped as well. Part of the selloff deals with recession fears, but we discuss what else could happen. The surge in interest seen in Black-owned bookstores since the uproar over George Floyd’s 2020 murder has started to dissipate. Diabetics are sharing medicine and other items with each other due to the high price of insulin.

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  • Supporters of Colombian left-wing presidential candidate Gustavo Petro celebrate in Medellin, Colombia, on June 19, 2022 after the presidential runoff election. - Ex-guerrilla Gustavo Petro was elected the first ever left-wing president of crisis-wracked Colombia on Sunday after beating millionaire businessman Rodolfo Hernandez in a tense and unpredictable runoff election. (Photo by JOAQUIN SARMIENTO / AFP) (Photo by JOAQUIN SARMIENTO/AFP via Getty Images)

    From the BBC World Service: Gustavo Petro, a former rebel fighter and now the president-elect of Colombia, has promised real economic change after winning 55% of the vote in Sunday’s election. A team from the International Monetary Fund has arrived in Sri Lanka and will begin talks today on the country’s dire economic crisis. In central Africa, there are fears that uncontrolled development is endangering one of the world’s largest peatlands – boggy territory that captures billions of tons of carbon dioxide.

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  • A ferry passes the Port of Los Angeles. Neighborhoods surrounding the port have suffered from pollution linked to transporting massive volumes of goods.
    Mario Tama via Getty Images

    As supply chain issues linger, ports on the West Coast are in the middle of renegotiating labor contracts with the union that represents dock workers. One major talking point: automation. It’s part of a length history of dock workers being wary of tech innovations that could threaten jobs. We look at how renewable energy is becoming more available in Texas, but faces an infrastructure in need of an update. 

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  • US national flag  waves on the building of the embassy of the United States of America (R) in Moscow on April 2, 2018. - Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov suggested that the poisoning of former double agent Sergei Skripal could benefit the British government by distracting attention from problems around Brexit.
    VASILY MAXIMOV/AFP via Getty Images

    The Russia-Ukraine conflict has caused billions in economic damage to Ukraine. Many Western leaders suggest that money from seized or frozen Russian assets should held rebuild the country, but as The Economist’s Matthieu Favas tells us, that’s much easier said than done. A wave of flight cancellations has burdened airlines once again. The BBC checks in regarding the World Trade Organization holding its first conference of ministers in five years.

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  • European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen speaks during a press conference on the EU membership applications by Ukraine, Moldova and Georgia at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels on June 17, 2022. - The European Commission will vote on June 17, 2022 on whether to grant Ukraine EU candidate status, but any green light will be subject to conditions and must be unanimously approved by the 27 member states before lengthy accession negotiations can begin. (Photo by Kenzo TRIBOUILLARD / AFP) (Photo by KENZO TRIBOUILLARD/AFP via Getty Images)

    From the BBC World Service: Senior EU officials are expected to give their recommendation today to grant Ukraine candidate status for membership, but several economic hurdles still stand in the country’s way. The World Trade Organization has held its first ministers’ conference in five years, reaching agreements on patent waivers for COVID vaccines and fishing. And as French voters return to the polls this weekend for the second round of parliamentary elections, we visit a struggling farmer who has staved off bankruptcy by opening a cabaret show in his barn.

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  • Interest rate hikes can come with a cost
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    Fresh off the Fed’s interest rate hike, we look at how the federal funds rate – which affects consumer debt – could impact monthly payments on things like car loans and mortgages. Bear markets are a harrowing time for everyone, but especially nonprofits. Michael Schumacher of Wells Fargo discusses market activity with us.

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  • LOUISVILLE, KY - JUNE 19: A young woman stands near a piece of art created during the Louisville Juneteenth Festival at the Big Four Lawn on June 19, 2021 in Louisville, Kentucky. Juneteenth, or Emancipation Day, commemorates the end of chattel slavery on June 19, 1865 in Galveston, Texas, in compliance with President Lincoln's 1863 Emancipation Proclamation. U.S. President Joe Biden signed legislation into law as Juneteenth National Independence Day on June 17th, 2021.
    Photo by Jon Cherry/Getty Images

    Juneteenth is a powerful day in history that marks the end of slavery in this country. However, big companies have been criticized for commercializing the holiday. We speak with Jeanine Poggi of Ad Age on how companies have missed the mark and what they should consider going forward. The Fed’s interest rate hike of three quarters of a percentage point raises questions of what’s next, not only for the Fed, but for the economy.

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