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 (1,992)

Nickelodeon ratings plunge, hitting Viacom stocks

Dec 1, 2011
The children's channel has been on top for 16 years but has felt a sudden, unexpected drop in ratings in the last few months.

Mid-day Extra: The value of the laugh track

This season's fall TV lineup has seen a re-emergence of the laugh track. But do these sound effects really help ratings?

'Light at the end of the tunnel' for poor job market

Nov 30, 2011
Paul Ashworth of Capital Economics explains why the nation's current employment measures, while not stellar, are positive signs for the future.

Foreign aid recipients hurt by global economic concerns

Nov 30, 2011
In South Korea today, UN Secretary Ban Ki-moon warned rich countries not to shortchange their international aid programs as they cut their budgets.

Do-gooder had good timing on housing boom

Nov 23, 2011
Kim Carter used to be an addict and convict, but now she's created a foundation to help women get back on their feet. She took advantage of the housing bubble and avoided predatory lending, and thus has been able to provide housing for those in need.

Looking back at the housing boom and bust

Nov 22, 2011
A portrait of one of the places where the housing crash vaporized tens of thousands of jobs and millions in household wealth.

Some Californians turn to church in troubled times

Nov 22, 2011
In the Southern California town of Rialto, jobs and homes have been lost. And one evangelical church has stepped in to help.

American Dream fails in Inland Empire

Nov 21, 2011
California's Inland Empire was a magnet for cheap housing during the boom. Now, the bust has left many towns in this desert region with 15 percent unemployment and few prospects.

Economy adds 80,000 jobs in October

Nov 4, 2011
That number is below economists' expectations and a slowdown from September. But numbers in this range could be the new normal for a long time.