Kimberly Adams

Correspondent

SHORT BIO

Kimberly Adams is Marketplace’s senior Washington correspondent and the co-host of the Marketplace podcast, “Make Me Smart.” She regularly hosts other Marketplace programs, and reports from the nation’s capital on the way politics, technology, and economics show up in our everyday lives. Her reporting focuses on empowering listeners with the tools they need to more deeply engage with society and our democracy.

Adams is also the host and editor of APM’s "Call to Mind", a series of programs airing on public radio stations nationwide aimed at changing the national conversation about mental health.

Previously, Kimberly was a foreign correspondent based in Cairo, Egypt, reporting on the political, social, and economic upheaval following the Arab Spring for news organizations around the world. She has received awards for her work from the National Press Club, the National Association of Black Journalists, the Religion Communicators Council, and the Association for Women in Communication.

Latest Stories (831)

05/29/2017: McDonald's goes mobile

May 29, 2017
After dealing with a series of E.coli outbreaks more than a year ago, Chipotle now has another controversy on its hands. Hackers have stolen customer payment data from most of its stores. We'll chat with experts about what the incident could do to brand loyalty, and what potentially affected customers should do to protect themselves. Afterwards, we'll discuss how mandatory 401(k) withdrawals will affect the financial services industry, and then look at McDonald's decision to roll out a new mobile app to make ordering easier.

Should the Treasury take charge of managing student loans?

May 26, 2017
The Department of Education isn’t your typical go-to for high drama in Washington, D.C. But this week hasn’t been typical. First, President Trump’s budget proposal called for drastic cuts to the department’s budget. Then, James Runcie, who oversaw the office that manages the federal government’s $1.3 trillion student loan portfolio, walked. In a rather critical […]

For advocacy groups, the federal budget is mainly a blueprint for battle

May 23, 2017
The federal budget released today is pretty much a fantasy document that will be dead on arrival when it gets to Congress, economists say. But even scaled back, proposed budget cuts to Medicaid, food assistance and other programs for the poor are likely to tear a hole in the safety net the likes of which […]

Do fewer regulations translate to more growth?

May 18, 2017
Treasury Secretary Mnuchin believes a GDP of 3 percent is achievable and cutting regulations is one way to get there.
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin testified at a Senate Banking Committee and International Policy hearing on Capitol Hill today, discussing economic growth.
Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

More Americans are writing their rental checks for single-family homes

May 12, 2017
Corporate landlords bought up properties during the housing crisis. It's worked out well for them.
During the housing crisis, investors with cash snapped up tens of thousands of distressed properties  and converted them to rentals.
Kimberly Adams/Marketplace

04/28/2017: Parts of South LA still bear scars from the '92 riots

Apr 28, 2017
First-quarter economic growth numbers are out this morning, indicating that GDP underwent the slowest pace of growth in three years. We'll explore what the data points reveal about consumer and business activity. Next, we'll look at the local South LA economy 25 years after the infamous LA riots, which followed the acquittal of several white police officers who were caught on video beating the unarmed black motorist Rodney King. Today, some residents are enjoying a housing boom, but for many, economic conditions haven't improved since 1992.

Trump administration hits Canada with new tariffs

Apr 25, 2017
The Commerce Department announced new tariffs of 3 percent to 24 percent on Canadian lumber companies, saying the Canadian government unfairly subsidizes the industry. Some American companies will have to pay the fee retroactively for orders delivered in the last 90 days. This debate has been ongoing for decades, and Canada denies it unfairly supports […]

04/20/2017: Many aren't feeling that great about the economy, according to the Fed

Apr 20, 2017
The Fed occasionally interviews people in each of the 12 regions it presides over to gauge how they're feeling about the economy. The results are in and people are feeling, well, uncertain. Diane Swonk, CEO of DS Economics, joined us to talk about why there may be a lack of widespread optimism. Afterwards, we'll look at the positive effects of attending college full time vs. part time, and then discuss how automation puts workers of color at risk.

04/14/2017: The billion-dollar auction over airwaves

Apr 14, 2017
The FCC has just wrapped up an auction over airspace, with T-Mobile, Dish Network and Comcast among the winners. Total amount spent for that airspace, or spectrum? Almost $20 billion. We'll take a look at why this airspace was so coveted and what'll happen to the the TV stations that are losing access to it. Afterwards, Marketplace's David Brancaccio wraps up his road trip across the Midwest in search of robot-proof jobs. The latest technology he's exploring on our show today: driverless cars, which may be the catalyst for propelling automation deeper into the American workplace.

What's causing the collapse of black-owned businesses?

Apr 14, 2017
There's been a decline over the past 30 years.
Dr. Martin Luther King addresses civil rights marchers in Selma, Alabama. Black-owned businesses helped finance aspects of the civil rights movement, like the Selma to Montgomery march.
Keystone/Getty Images