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Mitchell Hartman

Correspondent

Mitchell’s most important job at Marketplace is to explain the economy in ways that non-expert, non-business people can understand. Michell thinks of his audience as anyone who works, whether for money or not, and lives in the economy . . . which is most people.

Mitchell wants to understand, and help people understand, how the economy works, who it helps, who it hurts and why. Mitchell gets to cover what he thinks are some of the most interesting aspects of the economy: wages and inflation, consumer psychology, wealth inequality, economic theory and how it measures up to economic reality.

Mitchell was a high school newspaper nerd and a college newspaper editor. He has worked for The Philadelphia Inquirer, WXPN-FM, WBAI-FM, KPFK-FM, Pacifica Radio, the CBC, the BBC, Monitor Radio, Cairo Today Magazine, The Jordan Times, The Middletown Press, The New Haven Register, Oregon Business Magazine, the Reed College Alumni Magazine, and Marketplace (twice — 1994-2001 & 2008-present).

Mitchell has gone on strike (Newspaper Guild vs. Knight Ridder, Philadelphia, 1985) and helped organize a union (with SAG-AFTRA at Marketplace, 2021-23). Mitchell once interviewed Marcel Marceau and got him to talk.

Latest from Mitchell Hartman

  • State jobless programs are billions of dollars in debt, which could spell disaster for unemployment benefits. Mitchell Hartman talks with Tess Vigeland about whether states can turn their programs around.

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  • Typically, recessions hit less well-educated workers harder than people with higher degrees. Not this time around. Mitchell Hartman reports recession is broad-based and it's hitting all workers on all levels.

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  • Unemployment insurance is meant to be a safety net for laid-off workers. But so many people are claiming benefits that state unemployment trust funds are broke, or close to it. Mitchell Hartman reports in collaboration with the investigative newsroom Pro Publica.

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  • Automakers used to rely on drivers buying a new car every three years. But these days, upkeep is king, even for the most hardcore new-car enthusiasts. Mitchell Hartman reports.

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  • How much someone gets in an unemployment check — and even whether they're eligible at all — depends a lot on where they live. Mitchell Hartman reports.

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  • A new government bridge-loan program will help businesses pay off their mounting debts with interest-free loans. Mitchell Hartman reports.

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  • The Small Business Administration will start making more businesses eligible for government-guaranteed bank loans. The move will have a particularly rewarding impact on car dealers. Mitchell Hartman reports why.

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  • Specialty glassmaker Corning is asking some of its laid-off workers to come back to help it keep up with rising demand for its products. Is this a sign of things to come? Mitchell Hartman reports.

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  • Payday loan stores are seeing more people walk through their doors as credit becomes harder to come by. But without a steady job, many can't get the advance. Mitchell Hartman explores borrowers' increasingly limited options.

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  • While investment in biotech is down, health care information technology is holding its own. Investors are following the $20 billion in President Obama's stimulus plan to upgrade and modernize health records. Mitchell Hartman reports.

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Mitchell Hartman