Week of June 26th, 2017

Young women in Louisiana and Los Angeles talk about getting by in the bottom tax brackets.

The mid-point of the year is kind of an artificial time to reflect, but here we are.

Firework pharmacopeia for our furry friends.

It sounds like a thing of the future, but many cities and counties are trading in their diesel mass transit vehicles for electric ones.

Insurance companies are offering cyber polices for when your data is the hostage.

The economics of small hospitals are more complex than you'd think.

Journalist Amy Ettinger writes about the history of the frozen treat in her book 'Sweet Spot.'

Oregon is the first state to pass such a law.

Today was the deadline for an Trump-ordered national security investigation into steel and aluminum imports. The Commerce Department missed it, thanks to what the administration called “unanticipated complexities.” To paraphrase the president, who could have imagined running the world’s largest economy could be so complicated? Then: It’s the Friday before a holiday weekend, so what better time to revisit our series “Summer, Brought to You By” with an honest-to-god ice cream historian. Plus, Teslas, Volts, Leafs and the rest are almost commonplace on American roads now, so what’s the next frontier for electric vehicles? The bus lane. Correction (June 30, 2017): A previous version of this podcast description named the wrong president. We were just testing you.

Is federal minimum wage still a thing?

Our country’s birthday is coming up, so we’re checking on the vital signs of the body politic. First, our progress on health care, or lack thereof, with a look at Medicaid expansion in Ohio. We also visit the tiny “invisible” hospitals and long-term facilities people go to for care. Plus: what the minimum wage is all about, and what it’s like to try to live off it around the country. Finally, we spend some time talking hot dogs (sandwich or no?) and real dogs (how do you keep them from freaking out when the fireworks go off?).

The economic repercussions go beyond the metropolitan area.

At the epicenter of the opioid crisis, a Medicaid rollback could be terrible for Ohioans

The Senate’s last push of the first half of 2017 is toward passing the new health care bill. Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell expects a tight margin in the upcoming vote, so he’s trying to appeal to both sides — adding funding for opioid addiction treatment and low-income Americans, as well as higher tax deductions for health savings accounts. We discuss a newly released study that calculates the financial impact of unchecked climate change and talk to one of the study’s authors, who says that climate change’s impact will be much bigger in hotter regions. These areas tend to be poorer, meaning climate change has the potential to aggravate America’s inequality. And speaking of inequality, we play some of your responses to last week’s story on America’s divide between people who leave their hometowns and those who stay.

Hotter regions in the U.S. tend to be poorer, meaning the worst effects could spur increased economic inequality.

As this week’s massive cyber attack continues to play out in more than 70 countries, we’re looking at one area in which it could engender growth — the cyber liability insurance industry. Currently valued at 4 billion dollars annually, it’s expected to reach 20 billion in coming years. But what exactly does a cyber liability policy cover? We talk to Smita Bhargava,  vice president of programs and special risk for the insurance company Clements. They’re seeing an increase in inquiries about whether cyber liability policies would cover events like this week’s attack. Plus, quiz yourself on the latest tech news in this week’s installment of Silicon Tally featuring Katherine Gorman, co-host of artificial intelligence podcast The Talking Machines.

Decisions about who gets paid are 'life and death,' says the Illinois comptroller.

The recession of 2008 was prolonged and worsened by China's currency manipulation.

Shareholders have voted for transparency on climate risk.

Officials say they need the private operators because of budget cuts and increased spending on fighting wild fires.

No health care on the show today — and very little President Trump — just some good ol’ fashion corporate news up top. The office supply store Staples, has agreed to be acquired for nearly $7 billion. If the private equity deal goes through, it’ll be the biggest buyout of the year to date. But it’s also been a grim year for retail; sales and profits at Staples have been dropping for years. So who’s buying? And why? Then: We’re talking about a lot of stress tests today, not just on the nation’s big banks but on energy companies.  Investors at Occidental Petroleum and Exxon Mobil voted last month for more transparency around climate change, and how it’ll affect the bottom line. Plus: National Parkas and Forests make for popular camping spots over any summer, but that public campground might be privately run these days.

Toys and TV deals can bring in billions.

The cooking ingredient delivery service Blue Apron goes public today. They are listed as a startup tech company, but we discuss whether or not they really merit this status and the high value that comes with it. Plus, Nintendo re-releases more games from their coveted vault and we announce the winners from our audio quiz earlier this week on Atari 2600 game sounds.

All 34 big banks passed their Federal Reserve stress tests, which were implemented after the last financial crisis to test how these banks can withstand future disasters. Marketplace’s Marielle Segarra explains just how safe this should make us feel. And we explore the opposite end of the spectrum from America’s biggest banks — the world of those who are unbanked — with Lisa Servon, who worked as a check casher and payday lender to better understand the system.

The shoemaker is cutting its workforce and will sell in its own space.

Income volatility is increasingly driving low- and middle-income Americans to check cashers and payday lenders.

It started with a national wage cap during WWII.

This week's hack shows the potential for attacks targeting pipelines, oil rigs and transportation systems.

FIFA released a 2014 report looking at ethics violations in the World Cup host nation selection process for 2018 and 2022.

Investigations and turmoil have potential economic costs, experts say.

Parents living in the U.S. illegally are confronting the possibility they could be separated from their children.

If you can count on anything, it’s that you can’t count on Washington for anything right now. You’ve got inconsistent statements, intra-party squabbling, ambitious legislative goals with real policy differences and, oh yeah, a special prosecutor and a few congressional investigations. The potential economic costs really start to add up. Plus: We’re on Day Two of another high-profile ransomware attack that’s hit a bunch of shipping companies, law firms and other businesses. We’ll try to sort out what’s going on. Then: How’d so many of us end up getting health care from employers? You’ve always wondered.

Financially secure white millennials feel held back.

A ransomware attack hit servers around the world yesterday. The infected computers displayed a message in red type over a black screen that read, “Oops, your important files are encrypted,” demanding a $300 bitcoin ransom from users to recover the data. This comes just one month after the WannaCry ransomware attack that affected more than 150 countries in May. We talk to Chester Wisniewski of the cybersecurity firm Sophos about this attack. Also on today’s show: It’s been 10 years since the first iPhone shipped out. It’s been called the most unique and disruptive invention of all time, but just how original was it?

Chester Wisniewski, senior security researcher with Sophos, talks to us about the latest cyber breach.

Millennials are the largest and most diverse generation of Americans, with about 19 percent of them identifying as Latino or Hispanic, 13 percent as black or African-American and six percent as Asian-American. According to a new report called “Gen Forward,” African-Americans and Latino millennials are more likely to be economically vulnerable than their white and Asian-American counterparts. We talk to one of the study’s authors about these findings. Also, yesterday Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen said “asset valuations are somewhat rich,” which is Fed speak for “stock prices are high.” But does that mean we are heading for a bubble? 

Maquila owners say the current version makes it a harder to operate in Mexico compared to the U.S.

The city is making its way towards a $15-an-hour minimum wage, but are employers cutting hours to compensate?

Dozens of databases are hit in the cyber attack. The thing they all have in common? Vulnerable networks.

Kai and Molly spoke to Jennifer Romolini, chief content officer of Shondaland.com, about her new book, “Weird in a World That's Not: A Career Guide for Misfits, F*ckups, and Failures”

The first automatic teller was installed outside London 50 years ago. Here's how it's changed us.

Even the Wild West had gun control

Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell pumped the brakes on health care today, delaying the vote on the GOP’s Obamacare replacement until after the July Fourth holiday. Stocks took a little dive today amid all the uncertainty, in no small part because the health care bill is actually a tax bill. Something we’ll try to hash out today: This plan is all about making health care more affordable, but once you get past all the politicking, what’s that even mean? Then: the latest on ransomware attacks that are spreading across Europe today. Plus, looking back at the legacy of ATMs on their 50th anniversary.

Share your experience of living on minimum wage with Marketplace Weekend.

'The Wisdom of Finance' aims to discover the humanity at the heart of high finance.

Harry Campbell, Uber driver and blogger at The Rideshare Guy, talks about how Uber's CEO's departure has affected drivers.

Eye on the ball, people!

European regulators say Google is breaching antitrust rules.

Profile hackers are stealing the photos and other profile information from a high rate of female Facebook users in India. To combat this issue, Facebook has built a tool that makes it harder to download or screenshot a person’s profile picture. We talk to Ankita Rao from Motherboard who has been following this story. Plus: A check-in on rideshare drivers. After a lot of drama at Uber in the past couple of weeks and changes to the company’s tipping policy, we ask how drivers are feeling right now. 

Here’s a thought: What if a wider reading of the humanities can help you understand finance? We talk to Harvard Business School Professor and economist Mihir Desai who wrote a book about just that, called “The Wisdom of Finance: Discovering Humanity in the World of Risk and Return.” Also on today’s show: A record week for IPOs. Ten companies are expected to go public this week, making it the busiest week for IPOs in two years. 

Remote monitoring allows doctors to keep an eye on their patients with chronic conditions and intervene before a health crisis.

So what's next?

The obscure minerals are much more costly to mine in America.

The president has been met with levels of scrutiny that he probably wasn't ready for.

It was created by Walt Disney and fellow illustrator Herb Ryman in just one weekend to woo theme park investors in 1953.

One woman is holding off on growing her small business, even though the demand is there.

The Senate Republican health care bill was first shown to the public Thursday, with an eye on voting a week later. Today we got the Congressional Budget Office score. The headline numbers are 22 million people losing coverage and a $321 billion deficit reduction by 2026. We’ll talk through what it all means and what to keep an eye on as the bill hurtles toward a vote Thursday. Then: The president is a former CEO who wants to run the company like a business, so let’s tease out how the U.S. government is and isn’t like a public company. Plus, the first in a series of stories we’re doing on globalization.  

Senate Republicans are reportedly planning to put a penalty in the health care bill that would lock people out of the market for six months if they drop their coverage. Why are they doing this? Health care reporter Dan Gorenstein fills us in. Also, the most expensive bailout of failing banks in Italy’s history and what to expect from Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first meeting with President Trump. Lastly, the president has been a vocal critic of foreign trade, but states are making their own deals. We drop in on a big, three-day convention in Maryland, just outside Washington, to see how states, counties and U.S. territories are coming together with foreign investors.

Facing labor shortages, some farms are increasingly using automation to get work done.

Atari was born 45 years ago this week. Michael Z. Newman, the author of “Atari Age: The Emergence of Video Games in America,” says the gaming company didn’t just change video game history, it changed the way people thought of personal computing. Plus: we learn about how one company, BioCatch, is using biometrics to detect fraud. CEO Eyal Goldwerger says the company can use your online behavior to identify you, adding a layer of security. It tracks your physical attributes, including how fast you scroll on a page or how you hold you phone, to build your profile.