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Mitchell Hartman

Correspondent

SHORT BIO

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 Stories (1,997)

Sing a song of Walmart -- pro or con

Jan 8, 2013
A sonic tour of Walmart fans and foes as a judge moves a case against Walmart one step forward.

Walmart faces unprecedented lawsuit from contract workers

Jan 8, 2013
Walmart has been added to a class action suit by workers who don't actually work for Walmart.

BCS Championship tries end run around scalpers

Jan 7, 2013
College football fans paid a variable price for the right to buy a championship game ticket based on their team's chances to win a slot.

'Pot for profit' laws attract entrepreneurs

Jan 4, 2013
Colorado and Washington are magnets for new businesses, after voting to legalize recreational marijuana.

Pentagon prepares for cuts -- cliff or no cliff

Dec 31, 2012
Defense contractors are already cutting back as the war in Afghanistan winds down.

What could happen to jobs and labor in 2013

Dec 28, 2012
As we all patiently await the new year -- and the fiscal cliff -- what will happen to the labor force remains unclear. But there are some clues as to what we can expect.

The business of selling pot...legally

Dec 27, 2012
The growing use of medical marijuana and the legalization of recreational use in two states have created more opportunities for pot entrepreneurs.

Taxes on capital gains and dividends likely to rise

Dec 20, 2012
Top capital gains tax rates would increase to 20 percent, taxes on dividends would go as high as 39.6 percent.

Debt relief could be on the way for some students

Dec 17, 2012
A new student debt plan, known as 'Pay As You Earn', could make monthly payments smaller and some debts disappear altogether.

Niche daily dealer focuses on Jewish buyers

Dec 13, 2012
Jdeal is one of several daily deal sites targeting ethnic minorities, women of color, vegans and others.