Week of September 22nd, 2014

We want to talk about escape plans. How will you get out of debt?

We want to talk about escape plans. How will you get out of debt?

New York Times reporter Farhad Manjoo says Google knows diversifying is good biz.

U.S. Bank billed customers for identity theft services they never received.

Social media upstart Ello is positioning itself as the anti-Facebook.

The film review website Rotten Tomatoes makes a big push for television reviews.

Hundreds of flights were grounded in Chicago this morning after a fire at an air traffic control facility. O’Hare is the second busiest airport nation and home to hubs for both American and United airlines. How often do these types of shutdowns happen and what are the economic ripple effects across the country? And, social media upstart Ello made a lot of noise online this week by positioning itself as the anti-Facebook, promising no ads, no data mining, and to stop treating people as “a product that’s bought and sold.” Apparently, those are words many wanted to hear, as the site was welcoming 4,000 new users per hour midweek. But the question remains, how do you make any money if you aren’t selling advertising and scraping user data?

It's pumpkin-spice latte time.

Kai talked with Linette Lopez and Cardiff Garcia about the week that was.

We asked some television experts to make a prediction. Here's what they said.

Joe Weisenthal from Business Insider and FT’s Shannon Bond chat about the week’s news. Click play above to hear them break down the NFL in pop culture and the market effects of climate change.

Student loans can be scary and emotional, but key to getting an education.

This weekend, Lizzie O’Leary chats with Shannon Bond from FT and Joe Weisenthal from Business Insider about this week’s top stories. Can’t fit your new iPhone in your pocket? Marketplace’s Ariana Tobin explains the history of women’s pockets … which never have been big enough to carry phones. We speak to a financial aid advisor about ways to mitigate the growing student loan burden on students. Then, author and writer Jerry Stahl tells us a story about how to look out for yourself when you go from  sleeping in a park, to sailing on a yacht with celebrities. More big companies are buying back their own stock from the stock market. Good news or bad news? And, does the tech industry have a women problem? CEO Kathryn Minshew explains her experience launching a company.

U.K. airstrikes, auto loans and a Facebook killer? Here's what we're reading Friday.

How many deaths push regulators to act? Coal mining disasters provide one answer.

Bill Gross' big move, the FTC turns 100 and AC units cool down in price.

The FBI says companies are losing thousands, if not millions of dollars, in stolen trade secrets and other valuable data when disgruntled former employees hack behind company firewalls. One problem is the increased use of the so-called “cloud” in the form of Dropbox or Google docs. That’s making it relatively easy for folks to gain access to their former jobs. And as Marketplace celebrates its 25th birthday this year, we are looking at the surprising,  sometimes delightful and sometimes destructive ways that prices have changed during that quarter century. For example, a medium capacity window air conditioner, in 80’s style faux wood paneling could be had for $300.  Factor in inflation and that’s like $575 now.  An equivalent 8000 BTU window AC unit, again Kenmore, today goes for just $219. But although the price tag is way cheaper in real terms, here’s the concern when it comes to household budgets and climate change: when something like this gets so much cheaper, it changes our behavior. 

How well have you kept up with the week in tech news?

First up, Matthew Green, assistant professor at Johns Hopkins Information Security Institute, joins us to talk about the Shellshock security flaw. Then, Ted Sarandos, Chief Content Officer at Netflix, talks about how Netflix is trying to set itself apart from your cable package. And how well have you kept up with the week in tech news? It’s time for Silicon Tally! This week, host Ben Johnson takes on Joe Hanson, a science writer and host of the PBS digital series It’s Okay to be Smart.

Health care takes a page from the hospitality industry playbook.

The FBI says disgruntled employees hack their employers and cost them enormously.

The Federal Trade Commission was created 100 years ago today.

Inflation can also tell us how we're using energy differently.

The former Microsoft CEO is also taking note of which coaches use Windows.

Libraries and schools are flooded with requests every year to ban books

It may sound like a dream, but some employees aren't buying it.

As of Thursday, several production companies can use camera-equipped drones.

California has new standards for olive oil produced in the state.

The U.S. is bombing refineries so small, they could almost fit in a pickup truck.

Even while the industry and Atlantic City struggle, more casinos are in the works.

The mobile refineries the U.S. is bombing are so small they could almost fit in a pickup truck. We look at this microrefinery world and ask what the pros and cons are to blowing up ISIS’s oil-refining stuff. Richard Branson has told 170 employees at Virgin’s head offices to take as much vacation time as they’d like. We look at the behavioral angle — what are the forces at work when a boss tells his employees he trusts them implicitly with time off — and do people tend to take more or less leave? The Federal Aviation Administration is expected to announce today its approval of drones for Hollywood filmmaking.  A number of video-productions firms have applied for permits for the camera-equipped drones. How will the FAA’s decision affect the current provider of ariel shots in the industry — the more costly helicopters and airplanes?    

Experts warn the new Mac and Linux bug could be much worse than Heartbleed.

Schools collect loads of student data, but it's not always clear where it goes.

They’re more popular in some grades than others.

Eric Holder, Derek Jeter and Hollywood drones: Here's what we're reading Thursday.

A dive in merchandise orders, more Latinos are getting insurance and 19th-century America.

Where startup meets Schubert.

Air France pilots today won what analysts say is a major victory on this 11th day of a strike. Air France management has offered to scrap plans to expand its low-cost partner airline called Transavia that pilots regarded as a threat to their livelihoods. The pilots are now considering the offer. And in the US the Great Recession laid the consumer low. Over the last six years, Americans have been more careful about major purchases, although once their cars and trucks wore out, they had little choice but to go back to dealerships. They’ve been careful about buying houses, big appliances, shopped deep discount, and paid down debt. Now, Consumer Reports magazine has crunched the numbers and concluded that we are ready to spend again. Plus, in sports when a team goes to hire a manager, what’s the first and foremost metric?  Wins and losses. One would think the same’s true in politics when hiring a campaign manager or political consultant. But as we found out, it’s not so clear cut.

First up, Jeffrey Hammond, Vice President and Principal Analyst at Forrester, talks about why Apple’s iOS 8.0.1 update will affect so many people. Plus, Ashley Dale, from the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Bristol, stops by to talk about why we’re not ready for the next big solar storm. And Melanie Kohnen, a visiting assistant professor of Media, Culture, and Communication at New York University, chats with us about second screen apps.  

The number of young Latinos not covered by health insurance has fallen by half.

A new survey says Americans will increase their purchases of big-ticket items.

The difficulty politicians have evaluating managers and consultants.

The country on the label may just be the last stop on the assembly line

Parents can track their kids academic performance like never before. Should they?

Their new series, "Transparent," debuts all at once on Friday.

The U.S. launched at least 47 of them at militant strongholds in Syria on Monday.

The number of single Americans is at an all-time high.

Wal-Mart will now provide checking accounts with no minimum balance or fees.

Walmart is branching out into the banking industry. It’s partnering with the prepaid credit card provider Green Dot to offer checking accounts to anyone over 18 who passes an ID check. Walmart says the low cost service will not require a minimum balance and will not charge fees for overdrafts or bounced checks. So what’s in it for Walmart? Also, the U.S. launched at least 47 Tomahawk missiles targeting militant strongholds in Syria Monday night. These are the same missiles the Pentagon had wanted to phase out the purpose of over the next several years. What are the costs of these missiles? And how long will they be maintained during this campaign?

CEO John Donahoe says the line between e-commerce and retail is blurring.

Putting a price on carbon will create financial incentives to emit less.

For years, tech companies ignored Washington. Not anymore.

Early shopping season, interstate inversions, and Paul Deen's online network.

India is celebrating its Sputnik moment with news it successfully put an unmanned/unwomaned craft into Mars orbit. It was a mission accomplished on the cheap, quieting critics who thought there were better uses for this money. Plus, the west-coast grocery chain “Smart and Final” aims to raise $100 million selling a brand new stock today. The company plans to expand a line of stores that are something like small Costco without appliances or membership fees. And a day after the Obama administration moved to clamp down on the corporate tax-cutting maneuver known as the “inversion,” there are reports that at least two big U.S. companies are undeterred. More on the news that the big drugs company Pfizer is still interested in buying Actavis and that Burger King will move forward on buying Tim Horton’s of Canada. 

First up, Paula Deen has bought the rights to her Food Network produced content, which includes the final season of her show that never aired. The celebrity chef, whose career went into freefall after she admitted using racially charged language will air the content, is launching a new online TV network. We take a look at how Deen is attempting to rebuild her brand – and what her chances of success are. Plus, Nitasha Tiku, co-editor of the tech news site Valleywag, talks about Kickstarter’s updated rules that make it easier for backers to hold failed campaigns accountable for the promises they make. And Darby Stanchfield, an actress who plays Abby Whelan on the ABC drama Scandal, joins us to talk about the community of people who watch and tweet about the show.

A look at how Deen is attempting to rebuild her brand and her chances of success.

Teachers’ love of the first amendment doesn’t always extend to student evaluations.

The company wants to grab a piece of a business that's getting more competitive.

The popular television show has a huge audience…on twitter.

New Jersey crawls out of the great recession by luring businesses with tax breaks.

General Motors is moving the Cadillac global headquarters to New York.

How money for 'mice hotels' could improve medical care for women.

Washington wants to put the brakes on U.S. companies that skirt taxes by merging with foreign companies.

Washington wants to put the brakes on U.S. companies that skirt taxes by merging with foreign companies. In the money world, we call that inversion. But will Jack Lew’s newly announced policies really make a difference? Plus, the National Institutes of Health announced today that it will give $10.1 million in grants to more than 80 scientists to work on gender balanced clinical trials. At present, most researchers work exclusively with male lab animals. They say that the hormonal cycles of female animals could skew study results. How will this $10.1 million help reverse gender bias in science research? We investigate.

Colleges can game the system to hide their students’ problems with debt.

We talk with Larry Wilmore and Kenya Barris, who based the new show on his life.

The element that is behind lighting and writing.

The Tribune company is counting on online advertising to help its bottom line.

The field you choose can determine your chances of getting into school.

Wal-Mart is opening its own health clinics at some stores in the rural South.

World markets slump, a solution to inversions, and an odd couple in climate change.

First up, we have details of a new Obama Administration crackdown on the corporate tax reduction scheme known as the “inversion.” That’s the controversial maneuver where a U.S. company acquires a foreign firm, in part to lower its U.S. tax bill by taking a foreign street address. Now, the Treasury Department has taken a big step toward thwarting the practice. Plus, China’s online commerce giant Alibaba trades on the New York Stock Exchange as of Friday. But investors are awaiting another big new stock to hit the market. The price of the new shares of Citizens Financial Group are expected to be set later today in what could be the largest bank IPO since Goldman Sachs in 1999. But, it’s a stock offering born in adversity. And $4 might get you a fancy cup of coffee…maybe. But at a handful of Walmarts in the South, store employees can get a medical checkup for $4.The company just opened up two more primary care clinics in Macon, Georgia and Tyler, Texas.

First up, we’re joined by Dan Viederman, the CEO of Verite, a nonprofit organization that looks at global labor issues, to talk about a recent report showing that one in three immigrant workers in the Malaysian electronics industry are working under conditions of forced labor. Plus, Forrest Wickman, who writes for Slate’s Brow Beat blog, stops by to talk about texting on TV.

The Royal Bank of Scotland hopes to raise $3.5 billion.

A partnership to cut emissions of methane—a potent greenhouse gas—in drilling.

The company hopes the clinics will help save money on employee health care.

Stan Collender on repealing federal corporate income tax.

A story of inflation and car prices.

How can the once unbeatable network improve its ratings this season?

Despite the ongoing death watch, Blackberry is still launching products.

Like a stout, but the other way around?

Just a week after the launch of Apple’s iPhone 6, Blackberry is hoping to ride the smartphone wave with the introduction of its newest device, the Passport. Blackberry sales have been less than stellar in recent years, but it’s banking that this new phone, designed in a partnership with Porsche, will pull the Canadian-based company out of the financial doldrums by appealing to a niche smartphone market. Plus, it’s the start of the fall season and the once unbeatable television network FOX has taken a few hits of late since the audience decline of American Idol. Could the much anticipated show Gotham, which premieres tonight, help improve Fox’s ratings woes? We report. 

A Dutch entrepreneur is offering a one-way trip, and reality TV wants a piece too.

Colleges work to smooth town-gown relations when students move off-campus.

There's more to just environmental concerns to climate change policy.

Student loans can be a big burden on graduates. How would you re-create it?

Ten million phones bought, 56 million cards stolen and a lot of loan defaults.

Investing in infrastructure, OS encryption, and millennial spending habits.

A major grocery store chain based in Europe but with U.S. connections is grappling with a case of accounting irregularities. The apparent “Rob Peter to Pay Paul”-style accounting has surfaced at Tesco, the British grocery store company that started Fresh and Easy in the U.S. and has global sales that are often second only to Walmart. A Tesco whistleblower is helping authorities with the investigation. Plus, an estimated 310,000 people took to the streets in New York City on Sunday, calling for policy action on climate change. The demonstration aimed to draw the world’s attention to the issue, with United Nations Climate Change Summit kicking off tomorrow. And we have entered the autumn, and it’s later this fall when policymakers at the federal reserve are set to taper away  their stimulus. This is the extraordinary bond-buying designed to keep the U.S. economy flush with cash as we moved out of the financial crisis. As the special bond buying comes to an end, it’s is a useful moment to think about alternatives for next time. The next time a country needs emergency stimulus, instead of central bank bonds, how about if the government just hands out cash, right and left, willy nilly? 

Apple’s new iOS8 operating system and the one coming from Google both provide privacy from some surveillance. Which should make users happy and law enforcement authorities unhappy. What will the features actually do? Plus, we talk to Matt Zoller Seitz, TV critic for New York Magazine, about binge watching, why it feels so good, and why it’s driving people to make creative, experimental TV shows.

So how can marketers get them to purchase investments like houses and cars?

Hundreds of thousands march ahead of UN climate summit.

The security provisions make users happy and law enforcement authorities worried.

A new report looks at the “net price” of tuition at public universities.