Sean McHenry

Associate Producer

Sean is based in Los Angeles, California.

He works on the flagship broadcast show “Marketplace,” where he produces host interviews, first-person stories via the “My Economy” series, and directs (he’s one of the people who picks the music you hear on the show).

Sean graduated from the University of Michigan and got his formal entry to radio as an intern on Michigan Radio’s daily newsmagazine “Stateside.” Before that, his notable jobs include writing teacher, barista, and he was briefly a janitor. He enjoys being a big nerd over coffee and TV, especially sci-fi and reality TV.

Latest from Sean McHenry

Jan 11, 2019
When it was supposed to be payday
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
Thousands of federal workers with high-stress jobs won’t get their paychecks Friday.
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Jan 10, 2019
How’d retailers do this holiday season?
Going into the holidays, consumer confidence was high and retail forecasts were looking rosy. Now, more than a week into the new year, it turns out the results are a bit of a mixed bag. We take a closer look at industry news out today. Then, government employees are feeling a lot of stress after 20 days of the partial government shutdown. How is that affecting their jobs? Also: A group of big finance companies is starting a new stock exchange, Members Exchange.
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Jan 10, 2019
All the business that’s not happening
With today’s talks falling through and federal workers about to miss a paycheck, this shutdown is on its way to becoming the longest-ever, and millions in missing income has ripple effects. We’re devoting much of today’s show to that, looking at how housing, food, taxes and more are impacted. Plus: Experts weigh in on trade negotiations between China and the U.S.
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Jan 8, 2019
What it means to miss a paycheck
Friday’s payday — or it should be. If the government shutdown continues through the week, federal workers will miss out. We talked with some out-of-work employees about how the shutdown is affecting their personal economies. Then: High economic growth in the U.S. has fueled carbon dioxide emissions despite technological advances aimed to reduce them. Plus: Why are airline tickets priced like that anyway?
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Jan 8, 2019
ER bills are expensive. And secretive.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
In some hospitals, you could pay thousands of dollars just to sit in the waiting room.
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Jan 7, 2019
You can’t manage what you can’t measure
With the government shutdown in its third week, the U.S. Census Bureau is still closed, leaving businesses and investors without valuable economic data. We’ll look at what they’re missing and talk with a hog farmer about how he’s affected by the impasse in Washington. Plus: What does a trip to the emergency room really cost?
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Jan 5, 2019
It’s been a weird week
Among the federal employees still working during the government shutdown are those at the Bureau of Labor Statistics. They put out this morning’s jobs report, and it’s better than anyone expected: 312,000 new jobs. We’ll talk about what that does (and doesn’t) tell us about the economy and recap a very volatile week for markets. Plus, is it just us or are movie credits getting longer?
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Jan 3, 2019
Would you let a resort lock your phone away?
We can feel it all the way from China. Apple’s revised forecast yesterday helped torpedo stocks today. But this might just be a leading indicator of the problems a lot of companies will have as the second-biggest economy in the world slows down. We look at what’s next for Apple and how American businesses are dealing with the slowdown. Also on the show: Professional sports teams are scoring more and more points each game. How is that helping the bottom line? Then: Be honest, are you guilty of going on vacation and staying glued to your phone? You’re not alone, but some businesses want to change that. We’ll talk about why a growing number of hotels are trying to persuade vacationers to take a break from their smartphones.
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Jan 3, 2019
A money coach for the wealthy
Courtesy of Jon Bauer
For Iris Brilliant, the first step is to ask clients to not get richer.
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Jan 2, 2019
Kai visits the dark web
When a company like Target or Yahoo gets hacked, where does the stolen personal information end up? A lot of times, it is up for sale on the dark web. Cybersecurity researcher Stephen Cobb gives Marketplace host Kai Ryssdal a tour of the dark web and shows us how stolen information is sold. Also on the show: China’s slowdown. A new survey reveals that Chinese manufacturing declined in 2018. We’ll talk about what’s behind the decline, what Chinese officials may do in response and how that is affecting American companies. And is Brexit still happening? Maybe. British Prime Minister Theresa May has until Jan. 14 to convince Parliament to approve her plan or face the possibility of a “no-deal” Brexit. What would that look like?
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