Airing Thursday Dec. 11, 2014: Congressional leaders seem confident they can reach a deal keep the government funded before Thursday’s midnight deadline. But there’s growing opposition to one element in particular of their proposed trillion-dollar spending bill. And Disney is getting into the educational app business. It’s rolling out a series of math apps for preschoolers. Mickey, Minnie and other Disney characters will do the teaching. But smaller app developers may be the ones getting the real lesson in what happens when a marketing behemoth joins the class. Plus, our coverage about economic renewal in Congo continues this morning with a look at gold mining.  A lot of that happens in the shadow economy with gold smuggled out or controlled by armed groups there.  The Congolese government is trying to bring order to the industry by putting operations into the hands of multinationals in return for desperately needed tax revenue.  

First up, we’ll parse through the trillion dollar budget bill Congress has agreed to. Plus, UAW workers in American car factories are about to get year-end bonuses under the last year of the labor contract that changed everything about how auto workers get paid. And a staggering $700m is wasted each year when perfectly fine but unused drugs are destroyed. And that’s only the tally at long-term care facilities. We profile how one company is trying to divert that waste back to patients who struggle to pay for their medications.  

First up on today’s show, we’ll go beyond the current trend in oil and stock prices. Plus, there’s evidence the gap between the rich and poor in most of the world’s developed countries is the widest in thirty years. The Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development said today the wealthiest 10 percent of the population earns nine-and-a-half times the income of the poorest ten percent, compared to only seven times as much in the 1980s. We’ll also talk about steps toward renewal in Central Africa. Eastern Congo has borne horrors for decades. Now, the region has cautiously entering a period of peace and reconstruction. For all the reporting that the region’s descent into chaos attracted, we thought it was time to pay some attention to how it’s getting back on its feet. 

Airing Monday Dec. 8, 2014: It’s been the sharpest rise for Chinese stocks in five years, and many individual investors in China have been pouring in and some worry about a mania. Plus, we’re looking at signs of renewal in a place where war and its associated brutality claimed the lives of millions. One of my Marketplace colleague’s is just back from Eastern Congo and his first piece airs tomorrow morning. Today, a conversation with a man who’s spent a lot of time in that part of Africa and has been working to help. Ben Affleck, the actor, movie director and screenwriter, is a founder of an NGO called the Eastern Congo Initiative. We talk to him about the practical business side of the work there.

Aired on Friday Dec. 5, 2014: The November Jobs Report is released Friday. We look at what the figures tell us about the present state of unemployment and the the economy. Plus, the US Postal Service is out with a new stamp honoring Wilt Chamberlain. It’s another move toward the marketing of celebrity and popular culture stamps, as a way to boost sales. We examine that trend. And all this week, Our Wealth and Poverty Desk has been bringing us stories about gentrification. And as we find out, when old businesses get new landlords, that can lead to some very difficult conversations.  

On today’s show, more on Russia’s President state of the union address. Plus, what if the key to improving health and lowering cost is right in front of us? The Peterson Center on Healthcare thinks so. And more of the Marketplace Wealth and Poverty Desk’s exploration of the economic forces behind gentrification: the sudden influx of wealth in to a formerly low-income neighborhood. Some of the first signs of gentrification often appear when the cafes and trendy stores pop up. But as we find out, there can sometimes be more here than meets the eye.  

First, the Supreme Court hears arguments in a case about the rights pregnant workers have when it comes to being offered light-duty assignments. We look at the potential ripple effects for businesses. And the European economy is in the doldrums, its sails slack, the boat listing. The European Central Bank meets tomorrow and market players are anticipating word about a new stimulus, large scale purchasing of bonds, to bring down interest rates and prompt lending. More on that. Plus, today is the 30th anniversary of the world’s worst industrial disaster. On the morning of December 3rd 1984, lethal gas leaked from a fertilizer plant in Bhopal, India killing thousands in their sleep. The plant, then-owned by Union Carbide of the U.S., is now part of Dow Chemical. We look at what to do about the children of victims;  the lack of clean up and accountability even now, 30 years later; and the increasing attention of at least some institutional investors. 

First up on today’s show, we’re talking about Russia, where there’s news of recession. Plus, in the coming hours, we’ll hear from the car and truck companies about their sales last month. Many expect the holidays to come early for automakers, with the economy up and gas prices down. And yesterday, the gods (small “g”) proclaimed we were supposed to buy things on the internet for Cyber Monday. Today, Giving Tuesday, for charity. Picking up this theme, let’s turn to a leading light of online social media who argues that in the near future, companies will spend most of their advertising money on … philanthropy. We talk with Biz Stone, co-founder of Twitter and now CEO of Jelly.

The National Retail Federation calculates that only 133 million people shopped in stores and online over the four day Thanksgiving holiday; that’s down more than 5 percent from last year. Some retail analysts say the proliferation of special shopping days is causing the events to lose their significance and their power to bring in buyers.  More on that. And delegates from around the world are meeting in Peru’s capital, Lima, for two weeks of UN negotiations on climate change. The goal? Big cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, to be finalized in Paris next year. Plus, among the definitions of gentrification: when new people move into a working class neighborhood, often with more money at their disposal. This can transform a place for the better … and for the worse. This week, Marketplace’s Wealth & Poverty team is exploring some of the economic forces behind gentrification. We take a look at this long-term project that will continue from this year into next.