Week of May 1st, 2017

Harland Sanders is no ordinary sailor

Cardiff Garcia from FT Alphaville and Rachel Abrams from The New York Times join us to discuss the week’s business and economic news. This week they discuss the numbers from the recent jobs report and try to piece together President Trump’s tax reform plan. Just what challenges does his plan present? 

The president has our 'best interests at heart' Union City locals say.

Our tight labor market should be driving up pay. What gives?

The centrist, pro-European Union candidate has a strong lead in the polls.

We hear from an industry expert. Plus, listeners call and write in about their own experiences.

Hirway is also behind The West Wing Weekly. He dishes on music and podcasts.

The founder of "the Persian equivalent of Reddit" talks to us about doing business with Iran from afar.

It’s jobs day, and a strong showing for April wrapped up a pretty packed week for business and economic news. We’ll talk about health care, the Fed and unemployment all on the Weekly Wrap. Then, we’ll dig into why wage growth isn’t keeping pace with jobs and bring you the latest on the French election. Plus, the view on Trump’s first 100 days from a breakfast table in Erie, Pennsylvania, as part of our series The Big Promise

Did the blog platform kill the press release?

There’s a shortage of home healthcare workers in this country. This week, we hear from a home health aide on what her job is like, plus we talk to an industry expert about the systemic problems in home healthcare. Then, Marketplace’s Dan Gorenstein brings us the latest news on the health care bill and we check in with an Iranian businessman on what work is like during the elections in Iran. Plus, Song Exploder’s Hrishikesh Hirway takes the Marketplace Quiz.

The unemployment rate has dipped to its lowest point in a decade.

Cinemas are focusing on younger customers with rainbow-colored chairs, esports auditoriums and play gyms.

Horse racing’s Triple Crown kicks off Saturday with the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs. It’s been a good year for the racetrack’s parent company, whose stock has risen 30 percent, double last year’s gains in the S&P 500. These days though, Churchill Downs Inc. doesn’t really resemble a racetrack company. Click the audio player above […]

The two finalists offer markedly different policies on the European Union.

France is gearing up to choose its new president in just a couple of days. Among those that are watching: Facebook and Google, who hope that fake news will be less visible than it was in the run up to the U.S. presidential election last fall. Sarah Frier, a tech reporter for Bloomberg, details the different efforts both companies are making to combat the issue, which includes collaborations with fact-checking organizations and research investment. And finally, we’ll cap off today’s show by playing Silicon Tally with Quartz reporter Mike Murphy.

The House of Representatives has officially passed a health care measure that would replace Obamacare. We’ll give you a rundown of what the bill could mean for Americans, which may include higher premiums for those with pre-existing conditions and higher costs for older people. Afterwards, we’ll take a look at politics across the pond: France’s presidential election this weekend includes a runoff between the anti-EU, far-right candidate Marine Le Pen and the pro-right, centrist Emmanuel Macron. And finally, we’ll look at the evolution of Churchill Downs, a racetrack that’s hosting tomorrow’s Kentucky Derby.  

Douglas Elmendorf says the agency will build on the estimated economic impact for the original legislation.

California’s Sierra Nevada snowpack had been minimal during the historic drought. This winter dropped a frozen deluge.

Stores on the world's most expensive retail strip are fleeing high rents.

Victory would help her dampen domestic criticism. But the 27 EU countries look set for a showdown.

The House approved the bill 217-213.

Leon Chang created a 12-track album for "Bird World."

After several false starts and a few amendments, Republicans in the House finally passed their plan to repeal and replace Obamacare. The bill is on its way to the Senate and still without scoring from the Congressional Budget Office. That means we don’t really know what the bill could cost or who could lose coverage, and Congress doesn’t really know what they voted for. We talked with Doug Elmendorf, who was running the CBO when Obamacare was under debate, and he called the vote “a terrible mistake.” Then, we’ll talk about the latest from Brexit and Puerto Rico’s debt crisis. Plus: President Trump is heading back to New York for the first time since he took office, and his old neighborhood on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan might look a little different.

A new study shows a women and minorities are largely excluded, managing just 1.1 percent of total assets.

They're meant to help doctors identify potential problems early on. But what's the outcome?

Republicans are trying for a different health insurance model.

Despite its popularity, the Netflix drama “13 Reasons Why” has received criticism for its very graphic depiction of suicide. Dan Romer, a research director at the University of Pennsylvania, joined us to discuss the effect of media depictions of the act on audience members. Next, we’ll look at Facebook’s decision to hire 3,000 people over the next year to help address violence on its site, and then check out the soundtrack “Bird World” from composer Leon Chang, which he created by imagining a video game that doesn’t actually exist.

France’s presidential election is Sunday, featuring a runoff between right-wing Marine Le Pen and center-left Emmanuel Macron. The two are coming off a heated three-hour debate, which we’ll recap on today’s show. Next, we’ll look at new tool from Zillow that lets users add up all the expenses associated with owning a particular house or apartment, and then explore research that indicates Medicare’s free wellness visits aren’t quite as free as expected.

Cattlemen's trade group is lobbying hard to make sure the White House knows what's at stake.

The school district looked for quality in the food and the supply chain, and 'no one could meet their standards,' L.A. Times reporter says.

The president could appoint as many as five new interest-rate-setting governors.

The president has relied on the conservative think tank for guidance, but its ideas can be traced to health care and welfare reform.

There’s a lot of arm twisting and horse trading going on between the House and the White House this week, trying to push a new health care bill through. But there’s a fundamental economic reality going on here: Lawmakers are trying to change the health care market and ignoring market forces. Then: The news out of the Federal Reserve was no news, but looking ahead, you can expect a hike and President Trump to fill as many as five vacancies on the Board of Governors. We’ll talk about it. Plus: NAFTA’s effect on Texas cattle and reappearing chicken nuggets in Los Angeles schools. 

Almost half of the country's privately-owned businesses are owned by Baby Boomers. What happens when they retire?

Originally launched by Torrid, the brand targeted young plus-size women and teens.

Some educational tools Microsoft is betting on: OneNote. Word. And, yes, Minecraft. The tech giant is releasing a suite of products for the classroom, which include “Minecraft: Education Edition,” to get kids interested in the STEM fields. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella joined Marketplace’s Molly Wood to chat about these offerings, the company’s competition, and why ed tech can’t be a substitute for everything. Afterwards, we’ll look at New Orleans’ burgeoning tech scene by hearing from the CEO of a market research startup called Lucid.

President Trump said his health care overhaul would keep protections for people with preexisting conditions. But it turns out this new proposal would allow states to get a waiver for rules that guarantee that coverage. We’ll take a look at how Republicans are feeling about the plan. Afterwards, we’ll check out one scrappy couple’s strategy to keep their small business going, and then examine how big food companies are doing with consumers.

Anne Gorsuch's goal was to rein in the young agency during the anti-regulatory Reagan era.

Besides furloughed workers, there are consequences for the broader economy.

After more than three decades at architectural firms, Clark Yerrington decided it was time to go it alone.

Writer Rachel Monroe says it’s a phenomenon 'born out of the recent recession.'

Doctor says the treatment plan makes a 'massive difference' to those in critical care.

The company is making a renewed push into the classrooms.

The answer depends on what political party you belong to.

An interview with Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella on the company's new suite of software for students and teachers.

The current mantra with President Trump seems to be look at what he does and not what he says. But words (and facts) matter, and this morning the president tweeted that America needs “a good ‘shutdown’ in September to fix mess!” The mess being, it’s clear from the context, the trouble the White House is having getting its agenda through Congress. We can argue about how a shutdown might help or hurt the president’s agenda, but there’s no question it would be bad for the economy. Plus, we’ll talk about #vanlife and the string of bad earnings reports for American car companies (they aren’t related).

The most popular undergraduate major gets a makeover.

The National Urban League finds African-Americans are still well behind white Americans when it comes to equality.

The new season of “Orange is the New Black” has been released a little earlier than expected this year. A hacker (or group of hackers) named thedarkoverlord leaked the episodes online, and has threatened to post shows from other networks. Michael Smith of Carnegie Mellon and the author of “Streaming, Sharing, Stealing” stopped by to explain the cost of piracy and whether anti-piracy legislation has an effect on consumer behavior. Afterwards, we’ll discuss what the vast amount of venture capital money flowing in China right now could mean for its economy.

Turns out Apple may have more than a quarter of a trillion dollars in cash. With a stockpile that you can practically see from space, what does one do? We’ll discuss the exact powers that amount of money gives the electronics giant. Afterwards, we’ll look at why property insurers had the worst set of quarterly profits in more than 20 years, and then examine the National Urban League’s annual report on equality in America.

'We're not about … turning everything into a museum,' says Stephanie Meeks of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Artificial intelligence may not pick up on subtle language, which is important in a therapeutic relationship.

Here's where we talk about diminished unions and immigration.

Several nuclear plants are shutting down nationwide thanks to falling prices in the energy sector.

In our latest Marketplace-Edison Research Poll, we asked Americans how they felt about President Trump's border wall, and other stances on immigration.

Also, we want to hear from you: Do you or a family member need a home caregiver and can't find one? If you're a home caregiver, what's your industry like?

After we avoided a government shutdown Friday, this weekend congressional negotiators reached a trillion-dollar deal to keep things going till the end of the fiscal year, five months away. It’s not exactly a budget, it’s more catch-as-catch-can. We’ll explain how the process got so toxic and partisan on the show today. Then: Another executive is out at Fox News just as Bloomberg enters in a new deal with Twitter to get off TV entirely. Plus: Can you boost the economy with old buildings? We’ll talk with the CEO of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

Some of Trump's key proposals, like his call for a U.S.-Mexico border, will not receive funding.

Our Marketplace-Edison Research Poll shows strong support for rebuilding America.

A lot of people think bitcoin will play a part in the future of financial services, but what some have a bigger eye on is the currency’s underlying technology: blockchain. That includes financial behemoths like JP Morgan Chase. We spoke with one of the company’s directors, Amber Baldet, to find out what makes it so appealing. Afterwards, we’ll chat with journalist Sarah Jeong about her experience getting hacked — on purpose.   

After the looming possibility of a government shutdown, Congress has a new $1 trillion spending bill. We’ll examine who gets what, and how closely it aligns with President Trump’s priorities. Afterwards, we’ll look at a suggestion from the British Parliament that says U.S.-based social media companies should pay up when police investigate hateful content, threats or images of child abuse online. And finally, we’ll talk about a recent report that calculates automation will create about 15 million jobs in the next 10 years, while eliminating about 25 million in the process.