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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

  • Companies with clever ticker symbols outperformed the market from 2006 to 2018, a study showed. Bloomberg reporter Katie Greifeld tried to buy MEME.
    Andrew Burton/Getty Images

    Has inflation possibly started to peak? The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge slowed to a 0.2% increase last month, which is far less than in March. Helping us to decipher the meaning and discuss more markets-wise is Christopher Low of FHN Financial. The Memorial Day weekend traditionally kicks off the summer driving season, and high gas prices are not expected to slow drivers. We look into how a part of Biden’s infrastructure plan targets the replacement of lead pipes, which entered the national spotlight during the Flint, Michigan water crisis.

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  • President Joe Biden signs an executive order on police reform in the East Room of the White House on May 25, 2022 in Washington, DC.
    Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

    The National Urban League’s Marc Morial says the order is limited and not a replacement for legislation.

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  • WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 25: U.S. President Joe Biden listens as U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris gives remarks at an executive order signing event for police reform in the East Room of the White House on May 25, 2022 in Washington, DC. President Biden's executive order is intends to improve police accountability and direct federal agencies to revise use-of-force policies, such as banning tactics like chokeholds.  (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

    President Biden signed an executive order addressing policing on Wednesday, the two-year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. To help us dive into what the order means, we spoke with Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, who said the order is a step in the right direction but that police reform legislation is still needed. Still in the wake of the tragic school shooting in Texas, we look into how some companies have dotted-line connections to the firearms industry, which could surprise some investors.

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  • The Central Bank of Russia in Moscow; Credit: Natalia Kolesnikova / AFP
    Natalia Kolesnikova / AFP

    From the BBC World Service: We look at the likelihood of Russia defaulting on billions of dollars of debt to foreign investors, and what the ramifications could be for Moscow if it’s not able to pay. Poland’s parliament has voted to scrap a contentious disciplinary body for judges which the European Union had said was undermining judicial independence, paving the way for the EU to release billions of dollars in COVID-19 recovery funding due to Warsaw. And we look at the allure of investing in cryptocurrencies for young people in Singapore, and what some of the potential risks involved are.

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  • DENVER, CO - MARCH 28: Roz Heise holds a sign that reads Assault rifles only assault, at a gun reform rally at the Colorado State Capitol on March 28, 2021 in Denver, Colorado. Ten people, including a police officer, were killed in a shooting at a King Soopers grocery store in Boulder, Colorado on Monday.
    Photo by Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images

    Following the tragic school shooting in Texas that left 19 children dead along with two adults, the debate about restrictions on guns has been rekindled. Over the past couple of decades, groups such as the NRA have amassed a big spending lead over their gun control advocate counterparts. However, groups in favor of new rules on firearms have other tools to use. Diane Swonk of Grant Thornton joins us in studio for our discussion about the day’s market activity. The BBC reports on news from Pfizer coming from Davos, which wraps up today. China correspondent Jennifer Pak checks in from Shanghai, which is in its eighth week of COVID lockdown.

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  • In remembrance of Hazel Henderson, trailblazing environmental activist, author and futurist
    Getty Images

    Hazel Henderson was perhaps best known as an environmental activist, her work in evolutionary economics and her iconoclastic views of several pillars of traditional economics, such as seeing GDP as a gauge of prosperity. She passed away this week at the age of 89. Her friend and colleague Ralph Nader spoke to us about her legacy. We look into how people are buying less stuff, but more services. Twitter has agreed to pay $150 million to settle allegations that it deceived users about what it did with some of their private data.

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  • A photograph shows a barley field at a farm in southern Ukraines Odessa region on May 22, 2022, on the 88th day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Genya SAVILOV / AFP) (Photo by GENYA SAVILOV/AFP via Getty Images)

    From the BBC World Service: Russia says it’s open to allowing grain exports to leave Ukraine’s Black and Azov Sea ports on the condition that sanctions imposed on Moscow by western countries are removed. China’s foreign minister has begun a tour of Pacific island nations, hoping to sign them up to a security agreement, while Australia’s new prime minister says his country must guard against Beijing’s efforts to increase its influence in the region. And a special report from India, where extreme heat is forcing some farmers to tend to their crops in the middle of the night.

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  • Hazel Henderson was known for her contributions to the field of evolutionary economics including championing alternative measures of economic prosperity.
    Courtesy Ethical Markets Media

    Henderson was known for her work in evolutionary economics, including championing alternative measures of economic prosperity.

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  • People walk by the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on May 23, 2022 in New York City. After a week of steep losses, markets were up in Monday morning trading.
    Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images

    This hasn’t been exactly a landmark season for investing in stocks. We dive into the market’s latest behavior with Susan Schmidt of Aviva Investors, who touches on the tech slide, Target, and how consumers appear to be spending their money. Amazon shareholders are confronting the company’s executives on topics ranging from the pay of the incoming CEO to how lower-level employees get treated. In Los Angeles, we look into what some of the possible solutions are for the homeless population.

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  • Residents walk inside a retirement community in Pompano Beach, Florida.
    Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images

    We look into a new tool to help gauge the decision-making ability of older adults regarding a range of risks, from financial exploitation to self-neglect. Dr. Mark Lachs, who co-created the interview for decisional abilities, tells us more. The mass shooting at a Texas elementary school Tuesday claimed the lives of 19 children and two adults. In the aftermath, President Biden called for congressional action to impose new limits on gun sales, adding that Congress should stand up to the gun lobby. We take a look at the financial power of that lobby, as well its political opponents who advocate for gun control. 

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David Brancaccio