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Matt Levin

Senior Reporter

SHORT BIO

Matt covers AI for Marketplace, where he tries to be as polite as he can to every chatbot he meets … because, well, he’s seen sci-fi movies. Matt also covers some crypto and housing, with a taste for stories that make you say: "huh, that's kinda weird.”

Before joining Marketplace Matt was a data and housing reporter for CalMatters, focused on California politics and policy. Before that he was a statistics jockey for a think tank, focused on poverty and inequality. And long before that Matt was a really terrible teenage cashier for Toys R Us.

Matt’s previous honors include awards from the Online News Association and regional Edward R. Murrow Awards and SPJ awards.

Latest Stories (301)

Parking headaches make a comeback

by Matt Levin
Jul 23, 2021
Traffic is back to pre-pandemic levels in many places, but there are a lot of tables for two where parking spaces used to be.
Cities may be happy to let expanded restaurant patios remain in place, frustrating drivers searching for parking spaces.
Andrej Ivanov/AFP via Getty Images
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Canadian businesses prepare for more U.S. visitors

by Matt Levin
Jul 16, 2021
It’s been a tough year and a half for Canadian border towns dependent on U.S. tourists.
The gates at an Ontario, Canada, crossing site are closed, but the border could reopen as soon as mid-August.
Lars Hagberg/AFP via Getty Images
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Mismatch in supply and demand sends coffee prices higher

by Matt Levin
Jul 12, 2021
Coffee commodity prices are hitting their highest levels in years. Will consumers keep paying more?
Global coffee consumption continues to rise.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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Consumers are gravitating back to plastic for spending splurges

by Matt Levin
Jul 8, 2021
The Federal Reserve said total consumer credit rose by 10% in May. And lenders issued roughly 6 million new credit cards in March, according to Equifax.
As the economy reopens, American consumers are falling back in love with plastic.
Oliver Douliery/AFP via Getty Images
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Weather Channel and Fox vie for streaming eyeballs

by Matt Levin
Jul 6, 2021
Two new weather-themed streaming services are in the forecast. Extreme weather events have made reports more compelling to viewers, one meteorologist says.
Jim Cantore, a meteorologist for The Weather Channel, reports on Hurricane Irene from Battery Park in New York City on Aug. 27, 2011.
Jonathan Saruk/The Weather Channel via Getty Images
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Back-to-school shopping makes a comeback

by Matt Levin
Jul 5, 2021
The expanded federal child tax credit could help many parents foot the bill for supplies.
Family shopping-for-school budgets are likely to get a boost from the recently expanded federal child tax credit.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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Chemical tax to clean up toxic sites gets new life as part of infrastructure deal

by Matt Levin
Jul 2, 2021
Environmental justice groups hope the deal will restore a funding source to clean up Superfund sites: an excise tax on chemicals.
Revenue from a new excise tax on chemicals like Benzene and Mercury would go into the Environmental Protection Agency’s Superfund to clean up hazardous sites.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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Don't want to pay sticker price for a new car? Good luck with that.

by Matt Levin
Jun 29, 2021
Low auto inventories are giving car dealers a lot more leverage.
Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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How office food staples are adapting to a hybrid workforce

by Matt Levin
Jun 25, 2021
Sweetgreen and Krispy Kreme are planning to go public, but that's not necessarily a sign everyone will be back in the office.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
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Even house flippers are being priced out of the market

by Matt Levin
Jun 23, 2021
Record-high housing prices are making life difficult for house flippers looking to make a quick buck.
With a hot housing market, some house flippers have switched to a flip-to-rent model instead of resale.
Spencer Platt via Getty Images
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