Week of October 27th, 2014

From coffee to croissants, pumpkin is everywhere.

A look at the upcoming 2014 midterm elections, plus what are you scared of?

More than 30 million U.S. homes lack high-speed internet.

As we've learned, there is an expert out there for absolutely everything.

As cod fish disappear, we look at how the fishing industry might adapt

Cigarettes, video games, pot…whatever your predilection, we want to know.

The sport returns to the Olympics in 2016.

What's the one thing you won't give up?

Companies are relying more on social media.

Americans pay more than people in other countries for slower internet service.

Drinking coffee just got lazier.

The U.S., Europe and now Japan are pouring money into their economies to stimulate them. How can they pour in so much money without creating inflation? Plus, a new report shows that Americans pay substantially more for their internet service than people in other countries. And the quality is lower. We examine the details.

Leigh Gallagher, an Assistant Managing Editor at Fortune magazine, and Cardiff Garcia, from the blog FT Alphaville join Kai to talk about the week in review. Listen to the full conversation using the audio player above.

Meet one of the people behind the political campaign curtain.

A moderate rate of inflation is evidence of a growing economy

American workers left some $52 billion in vacation time unused last year.

For this special Halloween post, here are the spookiest stories we're reading.

Incumbents of both parties have to defend their handling of the local economy.

This weekend, Barbara Bogaev sits in for Lizzie O’Leary and speaks with psychotherapist Nanette Karapetian, on why we indulge in financial guilty pleasures. Neil Irwin from The Upshot at the New York Times and FT’s Shannon Bond discuss the 2014 midterm elections and the future of the economy over brunch. Speaking of the election, a political campaign music composer talks about how he tries to connect with voters through music. Marketplace’s Tommy Andres brings over his ‘I’ve Always Wondered’ series and explains the weird history of butter. More than 30 million homes in the U.S. don’t have high-speed internet. How will the digital divide affect the economy? And why, oh why, have pumpkin spice products dominated the market?

Japan's surprise stimulus, movie theaters flail, and the possibilities of midterm elections.

A breathtaking surprise—without warning—Japan’s central bank dramatically increased its stimulus. The Bank of Japan will now buy another mountain of government bonds to pump cash into an economy that’s been drooping for decades. The key stock index in Tokyo, the Nikkei, went up four point 8 percent today. That’s a seven year high and is like the Dow going 825 points in a single day. More on that. And in honor of Marketplace’s 25th anniversary this year, we’re looking at some of the surprising ways prices have changed over the last quarter century. So naturally we looked at the cost of going to college. Tuition and fees at public universities have risen more than 185 percent adjusted for inflation since we first went on the air. But that’s just part of the story.

On today’s show, Kuang Chen, CEO of Captricity, talks about using machine learning tools to digitize campaign finance documents before election day. And how well have you kept up with the week in tech news? Host Ben Johnson takes on Andrea Silenzi, host of the WFMU podcast Why Oh Why?, for this week’s Silicon Tally.

An amenities arms race, including serving fancier food, helps drive up room and board at colleges.

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

Lower prices at least make refining more profitable

It was the worst summer since "Waterworld."

Why a maintaining of the status quo could mean more gridlock in Congress.

The Secretary of Education talks with Kai Ryssdal about new rules on 'gainful employment.'

Sometimes even when you win, you lose.

We have seen progress in the workforce, which is increasingly diverse, but not in the c-suite. We look into the disparity between diversity in the workforce and the corner office. Plus, the world’s third largest-smartphone maker is now the Chinese consumer electronics firm Xiaomi, according to new data from IDC. The company got there by focusing on China and southeast asia. We introduce the company and its strategy.    

"I'm proud to be gay" – Apple CEO Tim Cook writes. But where's the diversity in the C-suite?

Xiaomi is outselling Samsung and Apple in China.

HHS is paying for expedited drug research on Ebola.

A look at how Neiman Marcus is bringing a century-old company into the digital age

Five years after the Bold, Blackberry is going "Classic." Let's do the numbers.

Out-of-state political contributions are fueling what used to be low-energy politics

More top student-athletes are getting college degrees.

The changes will address rising debt among grads of for-profit vocational programs.

Despite conventional wisdom, a Republican majority might not signal budget cuts.

GDP growth, Tim Cook's announcement, and in-flight entertainment on your device.

Signing bonuses for new college grads nearly disappeared after the recession.

They’re probably not sad about it, but the overseas oil cartel says these low crude prices could really hurt America’s domestic oil production. More on that. Next, we head to the politics of mixing fizzy drinks at home. Sodastream, based in Isreal, today released its quarterly profits…and something else. Plus, imagine if you had a new boss every few years. That’s what’s happening in many of our schools. Half of new principals leave in their third year on the job. A new report looks at the cost of that turnover to schools and kids. And in five days, the polls will be open.  And with gains for republicans predicted but not assured, we check in with Stan Collender, who contributes to Forbes, and who tracks the future of the federal budget like a gearhead follows cars.   

On today’s show, Charlie Anderson, Vice President and Senior Research Analyst at Dougherty & Company, talks about Samsung’s mobile market share and its declining profits. Then, a look at why college admission officers keep a close eye on social media. Finally, we talk about the perils of Taco Bell’s new mobile ordering app. 

College admissions officers keep a close eye on social media.

BYOD: Bring your own device.

Half of new principals leave in their third year on the job.

Former tennis star Andre Agassi has spent the last few years building schools. Recently, he has stopped doing it out of pure generosity.

When it comes to political advertising, all that money needs to find a home.

Mark Zuckerberg says it's the benchmark for turning Facebook's products into meaningful businesses.

The discovery of oil doesn’t always make a country, or a state, rich. Ohio’s governor wants his state to get a proper slice. Plus, the explosion of a rocket bound for the International Space Station yesterday has shifted attention on NASA’s contracting out to private companies such as Orbital Sciences and Spacex. We look at the business of these shuttle companies. Finally, Mark Zuckerberg laid out his plans for the future of Facebook. He says its products like Whatsapp and Instagram are all on the way to a billion users. We look at what the word billion means for businesses.        

Some states tax oil production much more than other states

Companies like Orbital Sciences and SpaceX ferry cargo to the International Space Station for NASA. Many are wondering about the scale of this business.

Economic hard times of the past.

Hurricane Sandy was a "secret disaster" for the Red Cross. Let's do the numbers.

The end of stimulus, more jobs for new grads, and cars get smarter.

New college grads will find jobs more easily

The unmanned rocket that exploded soon after take off from Virginia last evening was built and launched not by NASA but a publicly traded private company called Orbital Sciences Corporation. There were no human casualties after the 14-story Antares rocket somehow failed and collapsed back onto the launchpad in a fireball. It was carrying more than five thousand pounds of cargo destined for the International Space Station. We take a look at the shift of the space program toward the private sector. And Southern California’s huge port has been making headlines amid congestion and shipping delays. But ports all over the world are also running into the challenge of megaships. Some container vessels are now three and a half football fields long, and they’re overwhelming ports. More on that. Plus, you’ve heard of so-called Super foods, but the beauty industry has its own stuff advertised as “super.” A hot seller now is Moroccan hair oil. $41 for 3.4 ounces. More on why it costs so much.  

On todays’s show, Nate Elliott, Vice President and Principal Analyst at Forrester Research, covers Facebook earnings. Then, Molly Wood, Technology columnist at the New York Times, talks with host Ben Johnson about Xiaomi’s plans to build a data center in India. Also, David Wagner jumps on the podcast to talk about cars getting smarter, but not necessarily smart cars.

Cars are becoming more and more like huge smartphones on wheels.

Those who graduated in down years don't benefit as much when the economy recovers.

Used to be we wanted to remove any trace of oil from our bodies. Not anymore.

Xiaomi, a Chinese electronics store, is looking for a place to keep the data safe.

The huge ships came into use far faster than ports expected.

As the ECB's latest "stress test" shows, not all are in the greatest of health.

More than one in five Americans plans to visit a spooky attraction this year.

Twenty-five years after "Liar's Poker," Wall Street is more secretive and less powerful

Twitter takes a hit because of slow growth in what counts to investors: users.

The Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee is meeting today and tomorrow and many are expecting it to announce an end to the bond-buying program of the past six years. Are reports of the end of stimulus misleading? Plus, Twitter is not growing users fast enough. How can the social network make itself essential to the masses and investors?

If you want to know who's ahead, just look up.

The Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee is meeting today and tomorrow and many are expecting it to announce an end to the bond-buying program of the past six years. What has been the effect of quantitative easing? And are reports of the end of stimulus misleading?

Quantitative easing has gone on much longer than expected, but it'll end soon.

Alex Shlaferman founded his multi-million-dollar company at the age of 16

The bottleneck could delay shipments with a strict yuletide deadline.

Paying for YouTube, paying for the NBA, and paying for knocking on doors.

One class of stocks that has had a bad month: oil companies. Today, London-based BP reported profits down by $3 billion. This in part because of western sanctions against Russia, but also because oil prices have been falling sharply. Though, it may not be time to take up a collection for oil companies like BP. More on that. Plus, the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee begins two days of meetings today, and if everything goes as expected, tomorrow it will announce an end to the stimulus known as “quantitative easing.” We take a look at what’s next. And some U.S. colleges have faced declining enrollment since the recession began. But changes to a federal loan program in 2011 have hit especially hard some historically black colleges and universities.       

Today on the show, Senior Tech writer for Slate, Will Oremus, on why it’s hard for Ello and other social networks to be the anti-Facebook. Also, host Ben Johnson talks with Barry Bolding, Vice President of Business Development for the supercomputer company Cray, about supercomputers and weather modeling.

Some schools have seen enrollments drop by more than 10 percent.

American farmers are older than they ever have been.

In Iowa, in addition to blizzards of TV ads, outside groups are knocking on doors.

The trickle-down effect of a cash infusion started even before the deal.

What does it look like and how is it changing the way we model climate change.

But it will still keep its foot on the gas.

Working while in school is more common abroad.

It's tough to detect or beat systems that show you "personalized" prices for products

The author and screenwriter shares a few of her numerical neuroses.

Today we look at why people put themselves in danger in West Africa to help fight Ebola — especially when they know they could be quarantined for 21 days when they return home. Plus, Apple’s mobile wallet, Apple Pay, was disabled from Rite Aid and CVS stores one week after its launch. What’s at stake? As the fallout continues, what will the impact of this failed deal be on Apple and the stores involved?

News of 'things you're way more likely to catch than Ebola.'

Apple's mobile wallet takes a hit in the battle for mobile payment dominance

How do groups recruit healthcare workers who are needed to contain the outbreak?

Wired reporter Adrian Chen talks about the push against violence and nude selfies.

Big name retailers are holding off – and competing with – Apple Pay.

Hundreds of ed-tech companies are competing for colleges’ business.

Apple Pay gets shut off, Twitter's push to make money, and saving food from the landfill.

Today on the show, we take a look at Twitter and what they need to do to keep growing. Also, host Ben Johnson talks with Jeff Maki, who works on tech-driven urban planning projects, about using technology to improve public transportation in New York City. And last but not least, Katrina Parrot, Founder of iDiversicons, talks about creating a set of diverse emoji characters.

Stock prices in Europe are generally down this morning, especially in Italy where the key index is down 2.1 percent. This after the European Central Bank Sunday released results of its so-called “stress tests”: simulations of what would happen to banks in another crisis. 25 banks failed, but some have bulked up on their reserves since the tests, leaving 13 banks that appear weak, including an Italian Bank called Monte dei Paschi. More on that. Plus, Treasury Secretary Jack Lew will be in Africa this week. On the agenda will be policies like President Obama’s Power Africa initiative, which seeks to bring an additional 30,000 megawatts of electricity to Africa. What do we hope will come of the trip? And ahead of the midterm elections next week, state and local candidates are using tools the presidential campaigns pioneered two years ago, and they’re testing out technology designed to get out the vote in 2016.  

Campaigns are polishing new social media tools in the mid-term elections.

New apps connect retailers and restaurants with food charities and composters.

If it doesn't turn a profit at some point, it'll get left behind.

CVS and Rite Aid have reportedly shut down Apple Pay in their stores.

Why did the Treasury Secretary cross the Atlantic? To do business.