Week of June 19th, 2017

It's a small part of Kentucky's economy, but it plays a big role in politics.

Rachel Abrams from The New York Times and Sheelah Kolhatkar from The New Yorker join us to discuss the week’s business and economic news. Now that Senate Republicans have unveiled their health care plan, a bill drafted in secret, we look at the potential impact it will have on low-income earners and how it could redistribute wealth to […]

Chinese smartphone makers can pump out phones at a much cheaper price than well-known U.S. competitors.

The online safety net may not be without its gaping holes.

Hardliners say Britain should quit Brexit talks and offer unilateral free trade.

One woman started it out of a garage and now they make 25,000 signs and markers a year

We thought we could go the whole day without talking about, um, that big bill the Senate unveiled this week. No dice. But we’re getting it out of the way right up top, discussing the Senate’s hurry-up-and-wait-outside approach to health care reform and what this bill is really designed to fix. Then: U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May is trying to negotiate a trade deal on her way out of the E.U., and some Brexit supporters are pushing the so-called “nuclear option.” Plus: We’re used to paying $700ish for an iPhone or Samsung Galaxy, but the Wall Street Journal was able to build one for a 10th of the price. What gives?

Some people may end up not seeking treatment.

Cheap imported panels hurt manufacturers but are key to other solar businesses.

The Trump White House is wrapping up its tech week. Over the past several days, the administration discussed everything from emerging technology (like 5G networks) to ways it could modernize the government’s workforce. Recode senior editor Tony Romm joined us to give his thoughts on whether the administration “gets” where tech is and knows how to move forward, and talked about a clash that went on between Apple CEO Tim Cook and Trump. Plus: To cap off the week, we’re playing Silicon Valley with Nadia Boujarwah, co-founder of Dia&Co., a clothing delivery site for sizes 14 and up. 

A draft of the Senate’s version of the Republican health care bill is finally here. We’ll talk about the changes it would make to Medicaid, and whether consumer behavior would change under the plan. Afterwards, we’ll look at the conflict brewing between U.S. solar panel makers and foreign ones. Two American manufacturers have asked for steep tariffs on foreign panels because of their cheap prices, which makes it hard to compete. 

Woof.

Happy first weekend of summer! We’re tackling all things energy this week, including coal, solar power and oil prices. Then, the latest on health care and unique take on Brexit. Plus it’s LGBTQ Pride Month, so we’re revisiting our segment about coming out at work. As always, we want to know what you think. Send us your stories, advice and questions at weekend@marketplace.org, hit us up on Facebook or tweet at us. We’re @MarketplaceWKND.

Here's what you need to do next.

It's part of City National's commitment to the Community Reinvestment Act.

'There's a huge amount of froth and churn that we're trying to navigate,' says Covered California's executive director.

The Upper Missouri River Breaks includes Native American sites, Old West settlements and tens of thousands of acres of privately owned land.

With the future of the Affordable Care Act uncertain, some states anticipate greater reductions by Congress.

We asked, you answered.

At long last, Senate Republicans have revealed their health care bill. It was hatched in secret, and they hope to vote on it in a week so let’s dig in. It’s similar to the plan passed by the House: Sharp and sweeping cuts to Medicaid, more power to states to decide what insurance plans have to cover, shrinking the Obamacare subsidies. Here’s what it won’t do: make health care cheaper. We’ll talk about why, then head to Arkansas, where a plan to roll back Medicaid expansion will put tens of thousands back on the exchanges, if they can afford it. Plus: An interview with the executive director of Covered California, the state’s Obamacare exchange.

Both are hugely important to President Trump and congressional Republicans' priorities, but they need a lot of context.

Nowadays, how good you are on the court is only one factor in your earning potential as a star athlete.

Polarization in the country might not be as simple as "liberals vs. conservatives."

Uber is looking to the future after investors pushed CEO Travis Kalanick to resign. But with old lawsuits still trailing the company, we’ll discuss whether Uber can truly move forward and if an IPO is in its near future. Afterwards, we’ll look at Tesla’s scramble to keep up in the self-driving car race, and then talk about the surge in cryptocurrency prices over the last few months.

In just a few hours, we should have a draft of the Senate’s health care overhaul. But even though it hasn’t been officially released, parts of the bill have been leaking. On today’s show, we’ll discuss some of the reforms the measure calls for, which will outline how much power states would have and how Medicaid could change. Afterwards, we’ll chat with Guardian reporter Chris Arnade about how divisions in America may not necessarily have to do with a liberal-conservative construct, but with those who left their hometowns vs. those who stayed. 

The company changed during the leadup to its IPO.

Correcting trade balances is good for business and the country, says catfish farmer Townsend Kyser.

Arnold Donald talks about politics and the business of cruising.

With about one in four U.S. malls estimated to shut down during the next five years, municipalities have a tax problem.

Would you spend hours watching someone play video games? NBC and Intel are betting that you would.

Arnold Donald says there are more people cruising than ever before.

Uber CEO Travis Kalanick is making his time away from the C-suite permanent amid investor pressure and a PR firestorm. Kalanick’s company changed transportation as we know it, and his aggressive attitude toward growth over everything got the company where it is today in every sense. We’ll talk about it. Then: As the GOP keeps hashing out its bill behind closed doors, insurers are deciding whether to stay on Obamacare exchanges. Some big players are dropping out, and that’s giving smaller companies an opportunity. Plus, it’s the first official day of summer, so we have a conversation with Carnival cruise line CEO Arnold Donald.

CEO Travis Kalanick's resignation, and the rest of the turmoil at Uber, have been building for years.

Starting in 2019 Ford will export small cars from China to the U.S.

Travis Kalanick may be out as the head of Uber, but he'll still be around.

Did we not learned anything in 2008?

Searing temperatures can melt productivity and profits for airlines.

President Trump has called for a “sweeping transformation of the federal government’s technology,” but is that achievable? Matt Cutts of the U.S. Digital Service — which works on modernizing tech, one crisis at a time — joined us to talk about what his team does and whether progress is possible. Afterwards, we’ll look at Amazon’s latest attempt at world domination: the launch of a clothes shopping service that will let you order clothes and return them for free if you don’t like them. And finally, we’ll chat with Louis Rosenberg, CEO of Unanimous AI, about “swarm intelligence,” which groups people together so that they can come up with the best solutions possible.

Under Kalanick, the company developed a reputation for aggressiveness.

A group of investors have pushed out Uber’s founder and CEO following a series of controversies, including allegations of sexual harassment. On today’s show, we’ll take a look about what’s in store for the ride-sharing company’s future and how much power Kalanick still has left within the company. Plus: A look at how technology is helping farmers determine the most efficient growing practices. 

'There's a lot of work to be done' in office culture to make it OK to take time off, the Travel and Leisure editor tells us.

In rural Erie County, 38 percent of people don’t have access to high-speed internet.

Trickle-down economics, the great Kansas tax experiment and why your brain craves what it already believes.

Restaurants and food companies can change the way you think their food tastes, and it has nothing to do with the recipe.

The company is now allowing tipping within its app.

SCOTUS says it is unconstitutional to reject trademarks because they use offensive terms like racial slurs.

For all its ocean docks, lakes, river and streams, the state has the fewest people who go fishing per capita.

We know about as much about Senate Republicans’ plan to repeal and replace Obamacare as we did yesterday — pretty much nothing, except that we might be able to see the secret bill Thursday. That’s a lot of uncertainty around a plan to rework 17 percent of the economy. So in the meantime let’s talk about that number. Where’d it come from? Then, as we continue on series “The Big Promise,” we’ll look at one problem facing rural Pennsylvanians President Trump hasn’t talked much about: the digital divide. The lack of high-speed internet means video rental stores still clean up and some business owners have to rely on expensive data plans to get connected. Plus, it’s a perennial question that pops up this time of year: Why aren’t Americans taking vacations?

We might soon get clarity from Senate Republicans on their plans to repeal Obamacare. On today’s show, we’ll take a look at what a bill from the group — which is looking pretty similar to the House’s  — could mean for the future of health care in America. And in other government-related news, we’ll talk about Ricky Perry’s plan for budget cuts to the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. Then, we’ll discuss the growing clout of Emmanuel Macron, France’s president, in the political sphere.     

When we talk about automating jobs, we often think it’s bad for workers. But in the garment industry, which can be known for tough hours and dangerous conditions, could it actually be a good thing if robots took over millions of jobs? Motherboard’s Ankita Rao joined us to talk about this tension, along with companies that are developing machinery in this space. Afterwards, we’ll chat with the chief marketing officer of GrubHub about whether the food-delivery space is becoming a little too crowded. 

Groups in and around the St. Cloud area are teaching locals about some of their newer neighbors.

The phone carrier is offering its users a 6-month free trial of the streaming service.

British Prime Minister Theresa May faces mounting pressure at home.

Rank-and-file House members have smaller staffs and fewer experts to turn to.

Environmentalists in Morro Bay focus on getting fishermen back in the water with more sustainable practices.

Do you have solar panels at home? Do your neighbors?

You’ve probably heard the Senate is working on a health care bill. So far there’s no public drafts, no hearing, no CBO score, no nothing. But it’s there, according to the small group of Senators who are trying to put it up for a vote before July 4. The whole situation is a conundrum for lobbyists and interest groups. Their whole business is legislation, but how can you get a seat at the table when there is no table? Then, speaking of Congress: rank-and-file members are facing shrinking staffs and an ambitious legislative agenda. What could go wrong? Plus, JAY-Z has a new album coming next week, but you can only hear it if you’re on Tidal… or Sprint?

Has the relationship soured as the president takes unpopular positions?

Penalties add up fast if you can't pay your ticket.

Negotiators are still trying to figure out just how the U.K. will exit the European Union. We’ll talk about some of the key issues surrounding the end of their relationship, which includes questions about what to do with Europeans living in the U.K. and British people living in the EU. Afterwards, we’ll discuss Oregon’s decision to let residents list “X” for their gender on their driver’s licenses or state IDs, and then look at a California proposal that would lower traffic fines for low-income drivers. 

In the world of open-space offices, we need to change how we talk about productivity.

Perhaps you’ve seen pics of Apple’s new campus in Cupertino. It’s futuristic, elegant and reportedly costs about $5 billion. Lord Norman Foster, one of the lead architects on the project, shared with us how the design came to be and how architecture can be “a force for good.” Afterwards, we’ll look at the link between workplace design and productivity. Ben Waber, CEO of Humanyze, explains why so many companies rely on big, open workspaces, and what he thinks a next-generation tech office space should look like.