Week of June 1st, 2015

Nude tourism is an industry worth hundreds of millions of dollars per year.

As the conversation about identity moves forward, small employers are catching up.

Bueller? Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?

Airing on Friday, June 5, 2015: The U.S. suspects Chinese hackers took the names, addresses, financial information and, possibly, Social Security numbers of more than 4 million people stored at the government’s Office of Personnel Management. We look at the potential cascading effect of the hack. Next in our series Behind the Blue Line: Sally Herships explores the growing number of private cops across the nation as we debate the effectiveness and training of police officers.

John Carney and Leigh Gallagher join Kai Ryssdal to recap the week in business and finance.

Thomas Middleditch, aka Richard Hendricks, talks about his programmer persona.

Sales were off more than 5 percent from last year at the fashion retailer.

Security guards outnumber government officers 3-to-2, but most have less training.

Experts warn that stolen federal HR records could be used years from now.

Can producing videos for niche audiences make money?

On this episode of Marketplace Weekend, Lizzie O’Leary speaks with Kai Ryssdal about his interview with President Obama. Drian Juarez of the Los Angeles LGBT Center’s Transgender Economic Empowerment Project discusses the changing employment landscape for trans people. Later, Lizzie heads to Baltimore to talk with a community organizer, and she discusses online communities of all stripes with Marketplace Tech’s Ben Johnson and USC Annenberg’s Karen North. Mark Haskell Smith speaks with Lizzie about his adventures in naked traveling (and the booming nude tourism industry), and Marketplace Weekend remembers musician Jean Richie. 

Conversations about communities sometimes happen only in crisis.

Jobs for May, OPEC's decision to keep the status quo, and the SCOTUS ruling on second mortgages.

Airing on Friday, June 5, 2015: OPEC is meeting today to indirectly talk about our household budgets. More on that. Plus, the prospects for young people trying to find jobs this summer have improved. We look at some of the economic factors behind this development. And Apple is expected to announce its much-anticipated streaming music service during its developers’ conference in San Francisco next week. We take a look at why Apple, a tech gadget maker, wants to get into the far less profitable streaming music business. 

Unemployment has fallen, but they still face competition for seasonal work.

Come Thanksgiving, consumers could be flocking to frozen poultry.

Prices soar 200 percent since April for bakeries, restaurants and manufacturers.

Airing on Friday, June 5, 2015: First up, we’ll talk to Marketplace Digital Producer Tony Wagner about why Apple’s late entry into streaming music might be an advantage for the tech giant. 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 Marketplace reporter Stan Alcorn.

Apple is set to launch a music streaming service. Here's what you need to know.

The tech giant is entering a crowded field and grappling with evolving trends.

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

Here are the numbers we're watching and reading for Friday.

The organization is crowdfunding to get a copy of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Dish Network and T-Mobile could be merging, and the demand for wireless streaming is behind it.

President Obama announced that the U.S. is in talks with China about participation in the trade deal.

Airing on Thursday, June 4, 2015: Marketplace’s Tim Fitzsimons charts the history of the U.S. relationship to the metric system. Though most Americans don’t use this form of measurement, metric is the preferred system for trade and commerce in the country. Next: the potential merger between Dish and T-Mobile has to do with the value of the wireless spectrum—the capacity to stream loads of content to customers. We look at what’s in it for the satellite provider and telecommunications company.     

We chart the history of the U.S. relationship with the metric system.

Lifetime pokes a little fun at itself in its upcoming "A Deadly Adoption."

The country is "putting out feelers," and the TPP without China is kind of weak.

Airing on Thursday, June 4, 2015: First up, we’ll speak with Chester Wisniewski, Senior Security Advisor at Sophos, about why a simple line of characters sent in a text message can crash your phone. We’ll also talk about how the women’s national teams are coming to the newest version of the FIFA franchise, ‘FIFA-16.’ We explain why this is a big development, and what it says about the importance of the women’s game in global soccer. We’ll also talk to technologist Jeff Myers about dog-walking drones in the movie Back to the Future: Part 2.

Smelling salts for the bond market, and a possible mega media merger.

A conversation on the future of international trade.

Airing on Thursday, June 4, 2015: Stocks tumble with the realization that inflation is not dead … especially in Europe. More on that. Plus, we talk about the implications of President Obama’s admission to Marketplace’s Kai Ryssdal that China has put out feelers about joining in on the big trade deal that’s currently under negotiation.

A PR success for FIFA in the virtual arena.

Here are the numbers we're reading and watching for Thursday.

The city's residents owe the water department about $47 million dollars.

Airing on Wednesday, June 3, 2015: Marketplace’s Kai Ryssdal meets with President Obama in the Oval Office to talk about free trade and the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Next: Williston, North Dakota, has undergone some oil booms and busts over the past several decades. Amid low oil prices, some are wondering whether the city is experiencing another bust or just a slowdown. 

Some developers are pushing ahead in Williston despite lower prices per barrel.

You can cut down your wait for a green card substantially, but it'll cost you.

Kai sits down with the POTUS to discuss TPP and the future of international trade.

Airing on Wednesday, June 3, 2015: First up, we’ll talk with Neema Singh Guliani, Legislative Council at the American Civil Liberties union, about the USA Freedom Act. We’ll also speak with Michelle Odlum, Research Scientist at the School of Nursing at Columbia University Medical Center, about mining data from early tweets during the Ebola outbreak. And freelance journalist Adrian Chen joins us to talk about The Agency, a pro-Russia Internet trolling organization based in St. Petersburg.

ADP numbers, Richard Fuld, and a "Jurassic" branding opportunity.

Airing on Wednesday, June 3, 2015: First up, with the prime minister of Greece is on his way to Brussels today, we’ll talk about attempts to persuade lenders to unlock more emergency money to try and keep the country solvent. Next, we hear frequently that many veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from mental illness. And many end up getting arrested for crimes such as domestic violence and assault. Since 2001, nearly 200 specialized courts have been developed around the country, designed to help veterans navigate the criminal justice system and taking into account their particular needs, such as traumatic brain injury and PTSD. We look at how these courts help veterans while saving jurisdictions the costs of incarcerating them.

Ex-soldiers with mental illness and addictions find help in alternative courts.

Natural history venues are looking for a boost from 'Jurassic World.'

Identifying the end of a dry period can be as hard as dating the beginning of one.

Here are the numbers we're reading and watching for Wednesday.

Chatting with Mark Vanhoenacker about his book "Skyfaring: A Journey With a Pilot"

The company is partnering with retailers like Macy's for the mobile app feature.

Airing on Tuesday, May 2, 2015: Are we surprised that health insurers want to raise rates? Before the Affordable Care Act, prices were all over the place. New rules aim to stabilize them, but it’s tricky for insurers, who have to balance costs with consumers who have more choices. We explore. Next: A little look now inside the economy of making music for a living. Specifically, those folks who play music on subway platforms. For those musicians, as with so many others, it all comes down to location, location, location.     

To keep prices even, businesses must be good at managing costs.

The finance firm joins the rest of us in modern day.

Support teams are doing so by helping with substance abuse.

Leg room costs extra on flights, whether you have two feet or four.

The economics behind making it big — and making a living — in the subway.

Much of the discussion circles back to the pros and cons of past deals.

A closer look at a recent ruling by the Supreme Court, and homelessness in Hollywood.

The social networking site is allowing users to send scrambled messages.

Airing on Tuesday, June 2, 2015: First up, more news that some big insurance companies that sell policies under the federal health law are pushing to raise premiums sharply next year. This returns us to the persistent question: how affordable is the Affordable Care Act? And figures on new auto sales are released Tuesday, and they’re expected to be good news for automakers. We take a closer look at what’s behind the positive numbers for the auto industry. Plus, California is considering fines to enforce mandatory water cutbacks, but a startup in Oakland has a different idea. It’s giving customers cash to use less water.  

That means consumers are shopping for quality, analyst says.

Airing on Tuesday, June 2, 2015: First up, we’ll talk to Zulfikar Ramzan, CTO at RSA Security, about the IRS hack. Plus, Facebook is now letting its members use encryption to scramble emails that the social network might send to a user; anything from changing a password, to notifications of textbook messages. The move is yet another salvo in the battle between tech companies that want more security, and law enforcement agencies, which fear losing tools to catch criminals. We’ll also speak with Cindy Cohn, Executive Director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, about the expiration of some provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act, and what happens next in Congress.  

Actors slept on the streets in the 1920s when landlords refused to rent to them.

MeterHero wants to pay you to conserve.

With homelessness on the rise, we take a look at the people behind the statistics.

Here are the numbers we're reading and watching for Tuesday.

Two words: Freedom socks

A trash moving company will save you the trouble of walking to your curb.

Wendy Molyneux crowd-funded the campaign to support children's cancer research.

Airing on Monday, June 1, 2015: The Ted Cruz store has iPhone covers and polo shirts. Hillary Clinton’s pantsuit T-shirt is a best-seller. Why turn a presidential candidate’s name into products? And does all this merchandise need to be profitable or does it just need to spread the brand? We explore. Next: the award goes to … Instagram. At the Council of Fashion Designers of America Fashion Awards Monday in NYC, Instagram founder Kevin Systrom will receive the Media Award, giving us a chance to look at how Instagram has become the repository for fashion advertising by companies and individuals alike.

It isn't as easy as clicking a mouse.

Constrained or confident? Campaign T-shirts and onsies can say a lot about that.

Who will keep the data now that the government cannot? Look to your telephone companies.

Fashion brands find advertising gold in the social network.

Uber poaches researching talent, and T-Mobile eyes prime spectrum.

Senior rights holder reins in water use by a quarter to avoid harsher cuts later

Airing on Monday, June 1, 2015: Congress is poised to make private companies get more involved in monitoring data and phone calls. More on that. Plus, a couple months back, we talked to a farmer in the Sacramento Delta with long-standing water rights. He was worried about the state curtailing his water because of California’s historic drought. Now he and other farmers with senior rights have given up 25 percent of their water this year to prevent further cutbacks. We catch up with him. And Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles has always been where homeless services are concentrated, but businesses and schools in the neighborhood say security and other problems are growing. We take a closer look as part of our series on the homeless.

T-Mobile could be fighting an uphill battle for a bigger piece of the pie.

Airing on Monday, June 1, 2015: First up, we’ll talk with Robin Feldman, Professor of Law at UC Hastings, about why it’s hard to know whether or not you can copyright a bit of software. Plus, the spectrum auction does not happen until 2016, but there’s already a lot of interest in what’s for sale. The reason? The spectrum that’s for sale is primo. And T-Mobile wants a big piece of it. We’ll also talk to Gretchen Harnick, Assistant Professor of Fashion Marketing at the New School, about Instagram’s influence in the fashion industry.

Services are concentrated on Skid Row, where firms say conditions have worsened.

Here are the numbers watching and stories we're reading Monday.