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 (1,993)

Should unemployment benefits be extended?

Nov 26, 2010
Tess Vigeland talks to Marketplace's Mitchell Hartman about the choosing between cutting the deficit and extending unemployment benefits.

Some new IPOs lack stability

Nov 23, 2010
It's a very good time for IPOs -- GM and Booz Allen Hamilton just went public, HCA and Toys"R"Us are expected to follow soon. Many of the new IPOs come from companies that were taken private in deals with a lot of debt, and as Mitchell Hartman reports, they aren't being received well by investors.

Can start-ups help the economy?

Nov 22, 2010
Marketplace's Mitchell Hartman takes a look at whether start-ups can help add jobs to the economy, especially in the face of outsourcing.

Private-to-public IPOs threaten venture capitalism

Nov 19, 2010
The new GM enters the stock exchange today, but it's just one of many new IPOs coming from formerly private companies. As Mitchell Hartman reports, this may not be helping entrepreneurship or job creation.

Should Congress weigh in on the foreclosure crisis?

Nov 16, 2010
So far, state attorneys general have been taking the lead in investigating the current foreclosure paperwork crisis. But today, the Senate Banking Committee weighed in. The financial services industry is lobbying against more regulation of the mortgage business at the hands of Congress. Mitchell Hartman reports.

Entrepreneurship is changing the future of global business

Nov 15, 2010
As the U.S. faces ever-greater competition from abroad, the need for global entrepreneurship has never been greater. Mitchell Hartman explains.

Despite numbers, foreclosure crisis isn't better yet

Nov 12, 2010
RealtyTrac numbers out today report that there was a small decrease in the number of foreclosures in October. In reality, though, this may simply be reflective of the halt in foreclosures caused by faulty paperwork. Mitchell Hartman reports on other underlying problems.

Fed's quantitative easing doesn't help savers

Nov 6, 2010
The Fed is about to roll out another round of a process called quantitative easing. It's aimed to get interest rates down and make borrowing cheaper, as well as push Americans to spend more. But that's not a good thing for people who are trying to save. Mitchell Hartman reports.

The move toward hiring temps for permanent positions

Nov 5, 2010
Today's jobs report showed that hiring is rising in the private sector, and that job growth is growing moderately. Much of the hiring, though, has been for temporary positions. Will the temp-to-permanent job model work in this economy? Mitchell Hartman reports.

This year adults wear costumes with a deeper meaning

Nov 1, 2010
This Halloween weekend, Americans paid more money for halloween costumes than last year. And it's perhaps no surprise that there were plenty of economic and political get-ups. Mitchell Hartman has our story.