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)

Greenspan says we're in a 'pause' in recovery

Aug 2, 2010
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has weighed in on the state of the U.S. economy, and most of what he's expressed is worry.

Foreclosures continue to climb

Jul 15, 2010
Foreclosures continue to climb -- but this time it's due to unemployment or people who don't want to pay because they're underwater, not bad loans.

Outlook for banks improving over last year

Jul 15, 2010
Last year, the Treasury's stress tests found 10 of the 19 biggest U.S. banks likely couldn't weather a severe recession. Now, banks are expected to be in the black.

Tech stocks still doing well despite volatility

Jul 14, 2010
Even through a faltering economy, technology companies have performed consistently well. Mitchell Hartman explores why.

Fed: More lending to small businesses

Jul 12, 2010
Fed Chair Ben Bernanke wants banks to start lending again to small businesses after two years of very tight lending, but some critics say the economy hasn't recovered enough for businesses to risk taking out a loan.

Overqualified: An entry-level job beats having none

Jul 12, 2010
Stella Shaffer was a commercial radio news director in Iowa. Now she works at a Medicaid call center in Oregon. Like many professionals right now, she's overqualified for the job, but would still rather be working. Mitchell Hartman reports.

Glenn Beck can call it a 'university' for now

Jul 7, 2010
It may be far from the traditional use of the term, but right now there's nothing stopping Glenn Beck from calling his new online soapbox a "university".

People withhold donations for spill aid

Jul 5, 2010
Charitable donations to deal with the BP oil disaster have been meager. And they aren't likely to pick up any time soon. Mitchell Hartman reports.

Gov't workers are losing their pensions

Jul 2, 2010
Most workers today have 401(k) plans. Government employees, however, are an exception. The retirement guarantees they thought they had are vanishing because budget woes are forcing deep cuts in government workers' promised benefits. Marketplace's Mitchell Hartman reports.

What latest jobless rate figures mean

Jul 2, 2010
The unemployment rate dropped, but don't take that as a good sign yet. Reporter Mitchell Hartman explains how to understand the latest unemployment figures.