Week of October 24th, 2016

Hint: more things than we can control.

Kodak was once known as a titan of the manufacturing industry. A retired employee looks back.

Consolidating media outlets limits the type of information we consume.

It might seem like a big victory for privacy advocates, but the new rules won't stop companies like Comcast and AT&T from collecting data

Since Corinthian Colleges collapsed last year amid allegations of fraud, the Education Department has discharged $247 million in student loans.

Goldbrecht Systems USA makes over-sized windows and advanced sliding glass doors in Culver City, CA.

According to John Murdy, creative director and executive producer of Universal Studios Hollywood's haunted mazes.

On today’s show: new rules from the government on “predatory” colleges and big data. Plus, what would it actually take to “bring back” manufacturing? We talked with someone who did it. Finally, as always, we wrap up the week’s business and economic news.

Marketplace's Jed Kim and the NYT's Quentin Hardy play the long and short game.

This week, the New York Times’ Quentin Hardy and Marketplace’s Jed Kim play the Long and Short game, and debate sports and Christmas. Guest host Molly Wood talks with the University of North Carolina’s Zeynep Tufeckci about the big, messy world of media consolidation, plus we hear from a man whose job is to create haunted houses. Marketplace’s Andy Uhler fills us in on why there’s too much cheese, but not enough avocado. Finally, writer, chef, and world traveler Anthony Bourdain takes the Marketplace Quiz.

Just in time for Halloween’s candy splurge-fest, the Hershey Company is releasing its latest earnings report today. The company was in the news this summer after rival Mondelez attempted an ultimately unsuccessful $23 billion takeover bid. Hershey’s unusual structure, in which the majority of shares are held by a trust which oversees a local nonprofit […]

Bullying has been a big problem in schools for a long time. But teachers say the the ugliness of the election has made things worse. Today, Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton will outline a proposal to dole out $500 million in federal funding to states that agree to develop anti-bullying programs. The funds would pay […]

Both presidential candidates see a role for the private sector in infrastructure.

On today’s show, we’ll talk about the presidential candidates’ plans to improve the country’s infrastructure; Twitter’s decision to shut down Vine; and how Hershey’s corporate structure can fend off a takeover. 

On today’s show, we’ll talk about how the largest IPO of the year, ZTO Express, managed to raise $1.4 billion; look at why the chip-making giant Qualcomm decided to purchase the semiconductor company NXP; and play this week’s Silicon Tally with Recode senior editor Peter Kafka. 

Joe Gagliese used to manage Vine stars, now he manages Facebook, Instagram and YouTube stars. We asked him what's next.

Congress took eight months to approve allocating $1.1 billion to help fight the outbreak.

Don't worry, the government is having trouble keeping it straight too.

All candidates gather data, but Trump has people who've never donated to the GOP before.

At $39 billion, it's the biggest semiconductor deal ever.

But what's it actually have to offer?

Rubie’s Costume Company has a theory as to why they’re so popular.

Premiums for the federal insurance plan are estimated to go up 25 percent on average in 2017. What does that mean for you?

Surrogates often end up doing candidates’ dirty work.

The Bolshoi Theater has managed to stay vibrant and active through the Russian nation's colorful history.

On today’s show: Twitter layoffs, Zika funding and Donald Trump’s “priceless” voter database. Plus: what it’s like to be a political surrogate, one of the toughest campaign jobs that pays nothing.

Textile manufacturing defined Kannapolis for decades, but those days are gone.

Cars are getting smarter, but not yet smart enough to go through a car wash. Some new cars with semi-autonomous features, like obstacle-detecting sensors and automatic braking systems, are being activated by the brushes and curtains inside a car wash, immobilizing the vehicle or even causing it to veer off the rails and collide with […]

How should Clinton spend her campaign money, now that her own race for the presidency is looking strong? Some are urging her to use it to get out the African-American vote, with an eye on electing Democrats in down-ballot races. But what kind of money does it take to get out the black vote, and […]

On today’s show, we’ll talk about the latest hardware and software from Microsoft; the success of Facebook’s registration reminders; and the continuing battle between Airbnb and New York state. 

On today’s show, we’ll talk about the push for Clinton to get out the black vote in down-ballot races; how Kannapolis, North Carolina is trying to reinvent itself; and what analysts will be looking for in Alphabet’s upcoming earnings report. 

…And reminisces on the one burger that sent him into a spiral of self-hatred.

More of them are getting full time jobs, and they're earning more at those jobs. Here's why.

Wall Street has spent $1.4 billion on donations and lobbying this election, more than twice the contributions by any other industry, according to a new study by Americans for Financial reform. That works out to $2.3 million per day from January 2015 to September 2016. And it wasn’t banks that led the effort, despite the […]

Kai Ryssdal talks with Lucy Burningham about her new book, “My Beer Year”.

The Everything Store is on track to be the nation's largest clothing store next year.

Wall Street is spending big in this election, more employers are investing in liberal arts graduates and Amazon is trying to take on Macy’s. Plus: Part two in our series on how the immigration fight is shaping work in Washington.

We got a lot of questions while reporting on migrant labor from a hops field in Washington.

VW is offering consumers options following its emissions scandal.

The property, which was mired in business issues, finally opens its doors.

The lives of doctors — especially primary care doctors — are evolving in this post-Obamacare world.

The good news: a new report shows that Apple sold over a million smartwatches this summer. The bad news: sales are 71 percent down from the same period last year. Smartwatches were quick out of the gate, but sales have slowed, including Garmin’s and Samsung’s versions. What’s behind this drastic drop in sales?   

On today’s show, we’ll talk about a slip in iPhone sales for Apple; the danger of internet-connected devices; and the possibility of “social hacking” during this election.

LendingClub, the peer-to-peer loan company, is getting into the auto loan business. Americans borrow over $500 billion a year to help pay for their cars. But there’s a lot of room on the road for more business — only $40 billion a year is refinanced. Also, Lending Club says the company has already invested in its […]

On today’s show, we’ll talk about Apple’s slowdown in sales; a court’s approval of the $15 billion Volkswagen diesel settlement; and why the Saudi government has decided to borrow money from international investors. 

Easy for him to say.

Obamacare has had a rough time of it. How'd we get here?

Game 1 of the World Series is on Tuesday in Cleveland. It’s drawing even more national attention than usual, because the battle is between the Chicago Cubs and the Cleveland Indians — two teams that haven’t won a World Series decades.  Who will cash in on the much hyped event? Tony Wagner/Marketplace Correction (Oct. 26, […]

Renewable energy just overtook coal as the world’s largest source of electricity capacity, but the U.S. still lags. Why is that, and what will it take to bring the U.S. into line with the rest of the world? CORRECTION (Oct. 27, 2016): This story’s headline was updated to reflect that renewable energy is the largest source […]

Two things that are about to get more expensive: World Series tickets and Obamacare premiums, but there’s a little more to it than that. Plus: another installment of our election series “How the Deck is Stacked,” looking at the immigrants employed by agriculture and tech in Washington state.

They're demanding residual pay and safer conditions as games become more elaborate and lucrative.

Unemployment in the U.K. is lower than in France, and many of those in Calais also speak some English already.

What regions and industries rely the most on foreign-born workers?

A political action committee is trying to get the Amish to vote for Trump.

The National Basketball Association will, this season, become the first professional sports league to offer a regular schedule of live games delivered in virtual reality. At least one NBA League Pass game per week will be live-streamed in virtual reality. The move could be a big deal for the NBA and other sports. What is […]

A program hosted by U.S. Customs and Border Protection allows private companies and local governments to reimburse the federal government for additional services.

Ships are big polluters, and next week, maritime nations could require them to use fuel that generates less sulfur content. But that kind of fuel is expensive, and the shipping business is in a bit of a slump just now. So shipping companies are begging for more time.

On today’s show, we’ll talk about the NBA’s partnership with the company NextVR to broadcast games in virtual reality; a startup called Phone2Action, which aims to connect smartphone users to their lawmaker via app; and how we should look at AT&T as a company amid news it plans to purchase Time Warner. 

On today’s show, we’ll talk about news that premiums for Obamacare are set to go up dramatically next year; a possible requirement from the International Maritime Organization for ships to use low-sulfur fuel; and a super PAC that’s been calling on the Amish community to vote for Donald Trump.

CEO Susan Wojcicki talks about running YouTube and watching Palo Alto — her hometown and the city at the heart of Silicon Valley — grow.

Another reason to look forward to the end of 2016

Accountable Care Organizations find efficiencies in unexpected places.

Per the prize’s rules, the musician is required to deliver a lecture or a concert to receive the nearly $1 million purse.

Taylor Swift, the country-turned-pop-singer-megastar-phenom dropped her self-titled debut album on this day a decade ago. Ten years, multiple Grammys, four more albums and a bunch of number-one hits later, she took the top spot on Forbes Highest-Paid Celebrities list this year with a cool $170 million. Along the way, Taylor Swift has developed — and isn’t afraid […]

How did markets respond during the first presidential debate?

The $85.4 billion merger is in for a tough legal fight.

Retail broker TD Ameritrade has announced it’s buying competitor Scottrade in a $4 billion deal, hoping to shore up the low-cost stock trading industry as it deals with declining revenue and growth. Online brokerages helped popularize trading for the masses in the 90s, but now they’re under pressure as investors move to more passive investing […]

It’s a big day for mergers and acquisitions: We’re looking at whether the massive AT&T/Time Warner deal could get approval, plus TD Ameritrade’s $4 billion Scottrade deal. Plus: ten years of Taylor Swift and a conversation with the CEO of YouTube.

AT&T has plans to purchase Time Warner for $85.4 billion.

PayPal once steered users away from using Visa.

If you're trying to buy a TV ad in a swing state, you may need to wait a while.

On today’s show, we’ll look at how Americans feel about voting online; a Politico report that predicted the media could be vulnerable to cyber attacks on election night; and a new study that shows the share of women in tech is declining.