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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

  • A man walks into the federal, IRS building in Washington, D.C.
    (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP)

    The Internal Revenue Service is already facing a mountain of challenges, and this year’s next wave of tax returns (and taxpayers seeking answers) could bog the agency down even further. Christopher Low shares his take on mortgage rates for today’s markets talk. The Biden administration is trying to make a clearer path to federal loans for Native American farmers.

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  • Big technology firms face new rules and regulations in the EU.
    Getty Images

    Could the Digital Markets Act set a global standard?

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  • Google is among the companies to announce return-to-office plans, then delay them because of the spread of coronavirus variants.
    Spencer Platt via Getty Images

    Earlier this week, the European Union unveiled sweeping antitrust legislation aimed at limiting the power of big tech companies. The long-awaited Digital Markets Act targets Big Tech’s “gatekeeper” companies, including Alphabet, Meta, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft. For more, we spoke to Jason Furman, a Harvard economist and senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. And, Uber and taxis will be forming an unlikely but seemingly necessary alliance in New York City.

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  • The US national flag (L) and the flag of the European Union are placed side-by-side during the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) meeting at the European Union Commission headquarter in Brussels, on July 13, 2015. AFP PHOTO / THIERRY CHARLIER        (Photo credit should read THIERRY CHARLIER/AFP via Getty Images)

    From the BBC World Service: Stronger cooperation on liquified natural gas has been announced between the U.S. and European Union. It’s a move the two sides say will bolster national security and move away from Russian energy dependence, but will not run counter to climate goals. While the environment remains a priority for wider U.S.-EU cooperation, in Poland the issue has been pushed to the back burner as that country works to reduce reliance on Moscow. Plus: Language has been finalized for new legislation aimed at reigning in global tech giants. And, we zero in on the nickel market, which has seen extreme volatility in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

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  • "The expanded child tax credit did not have a negative short-term employment effect that offset its documented reductions in poverty and hardship," said Chris Farrell, Marketplace senior economics contributor.
    Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for ParentsTogether

    A recent study looked at the effects of the expanded child tax credit on families. Marketplace’s senior economics contributor, Chris Farrell, spoke with us about the study’s findings. Diane Swonk joins us to measure today’s market activity. We look into the Biden administration’s plan to counter racial inequity when it comes to home appraisals. Airlines have asked the president to end COVID travel policies, such as masks on planes.

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  • "The expanded child tax credit did not have a negative short-term employment effect that offset its documented reductions in poverty and hardship," said Chris Farrell, Marketplace senior economics contributor.
    Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for ParentsTogether

    Early studies find that the enhanced credit reduced childhood poverty and food insufficiency.

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  • A tale of immigrant kids and family business, as told by a member of LA’s doughnut monarchy

    For this month’s Econ Extra Credit, we featured the 2020 documentary “The Donut King,” which helps illuminate the path that Cambodian-Americans have taken to doughnut-shop dominance in Los Angeles. One of the people featured in the film was Mayly Tao, who spoke to us about navigating the ties that bind immigrant children to their family business. President Biden is in Brussels today, holding talks with NATO and European leaders about how to reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian oil and gas exports.

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  • Russian ruble coins are seen in this illustration taken on March 11, 2022. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

    From the BBC World Service: Russia’s stock market has reopened after a month-long closure implemented after intense volatility following President Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine. But how open is “open”? Plus, people fleeing war in Ukraine to Poland are given registration numbers to access services and jobs. And, we discuss how inflation is fuelling widespread protests over gas prices in Spain. 

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  • Last year Mayly Tao's family sold DK's Donuts & Bakery in Santa Monica, California after 40 years.
    Courtesy Mayly Tao

    Mayly Tao’s story is one familiar to many children of immigrants who see opportunity beyond their parents’ storefronts.

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  • From the costs for weapons and tanks to food, the invasion of Ukraine is likely costing Russia more than it anticipated.
    AFP via Getty Images

    The longer Russia’s invasion of Ukraine drags on, the higher the actual cost — in rubles and kopecks — of keeping the assault going. While it’s hard to pin down the cost of the conflict, experts say it has to be much more than what was expected. Susan Schmidt offers up her take on today’s market activity. Water levels are historically low at Lake Powell, the Colorado River reservoir that provides hydropower to seven western states via the Glen Canyon Dam. That could eventually lead to an energy crisis.

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