Adventures in HousingDecoding DemocracyI've Always Wondered ...My Economy

Loading...

0:00
0% played
🖤 Donations of all sizes power our public service journalism Give Now

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)

Franchises are big business, but they're adjusting to economic headwinds

by Matt Levin
Sep 22, 2023
Franchisees get help with marketing and branding, but the corporate parent can’t do much about high interest rates and labor costs.
McDonald's royalty fees will rise from 4% to 5% for some franchisees, according to a company email viewed by Marketplace.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

Why Yankee capital likes European football

by Matt Levin
Sep 22, 2023
The owner of Everton soccer club in England’s Premier League has agreed to sell the Liverpool-based team to a Miami-based investment group.
If Everton's sale to a Miami-based investment group goes through, Americans would own 10 of the 20 clubs in the world’s most lucrative soccer league.
Robbie Jay Barratt - AMA/Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

How to name your AI so humans will like it

by Matt Levin
Sep 20, 2023
A human name, like Anthropic's Claude? A helpful assistant, like Microsoft's Copilot? Nailing the right name for generative AI is a tricky branding exercise.
Ken Jennings, left, and Brad Rutter compete against IBM's AI computer, Watson, in a game of "Jeopardy." IBM's team also considered naming the computer Sherlock.
Ben Hider/Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

Immigration reform seen as key to U.S. AI leadership

by Matt Levin
Sep 15, 2023
If the U.S. fails to attract and retain foreign AI talent, the biggest winner could be Canada.
VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

An inverted yield curve usually signals recession. Is it wrong this time?

by Matt Levin
Sep 7, 2023
For well over a year, the interest paid by long-term Treasury bonds has been lower than that of shorter-term debt. But a recession hasn't happened yet.
When the yield curve inverts, it indicates that bond investors are betting on a coming recession.
Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

Sports gambling has been a win for the NFL

by Matt Levin
Sep 7, 2023
Sports gambling sites have transformed the NFL watching experience, experts say.
Above, the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVII last year. The Chiefs will play the Detroit Lions on Thursday night to kick off the 2023 NFL season.
Focus on Sport/Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

Autoworkers union pushes for 32 hour workweek

by Matt Levin
Aug 28, 2023
It may be a strategy to cope with the electric vehicle transition.
UAW President Shawn Fain speaks to members at an event in Warren, Michigan. The UAW's contract with the Big Three automakers is set to expire in just a few weeks.
Jeff Kowalski/AFP via Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

Remember the $5 footlong? The behavioral economics behind "reference prices"

by Matt Levin
Aug 25, 2023
Our gut instincts as consumers shape our perceptions of inflation.
A man looks at posters in a Subway shop in August 2003, home of the famously referential $5 footlong.
Stephen Chernin/Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

"Date the rate, marry the house": The lure of refinancing when buying a home

by Matt Levin
Aug 22, 2023
Mortgage rates are still high, but some real estate agents have been citing an old refrain: "You can always refinance." Except, others say, when you can't
Even if mortgages get cheaper, so might homes, which would complicate refinancing, said Sacramento real estate agent Erin Stumpf.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

What kind of signal does FOMC unanimity send to markets and others watching the economy?

by Matt Levin
Aug 16, 2023
Dissent on interest rate decisions might send mixed messages to Wall Street about where the economy is headed.
Under Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, the FOMC has not had a single dissenting vote on interest rates since June of last year, which former FOMC member Tom Hoenig wasn't surprised by.
Alex Wong/Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE