These days, when a show gets canceled on TV, there’s still one last shred of hope: streaming services. It’s possible that Netflix, Amazon or Hulu will ride in to save the day and pick up the show after a social media hash tag campaign. Recently, Amazon was that hero when the cable network SyFy canceled its space drama “The Expanse.” But what goes into the decision to rescue a show? Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood spoke with Todd VanDerWerff, critic at large for Vox, about the business rationale behind these decisions. (07/02/2018)

Facebook announced tools yesterday that show who bought ads, where they’re running and that give more information about branded pages to help people determine if they’re real. That’s on top of tools from April for tracking political and issue ads. But is it enough? The tracking tools don’t let you see who’s being targeted by ads, and advertisers themselves are worried that the tools will let their competitors see what they’re running and respond in real time. It’s our topic for Quality Assurance, where we take a second look at a big tech news story of the week. Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood talks with Tom Merritt, the host of the podcast Daily Tech News Show. 

The Trump administration this week decided against the hard trade restrictions it had been considering against China, but it’s still planning on new tariffs on Chinese goods. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin made it clear the government would aggressively protect the U.S. tech industry. Meanwhile, China is working on building up its own advanced tech economy, one that doesn’t rely on the United States or anyone else. Marketplace’s Molly Wood talks with our China correspondent Jennifer Pak about the Chinese government’s tech initiative called Made in China 2025. (06/28/2018)

U.S. trade tensions with China are very much about technology. The Trump administration is set to roll out new restrictions this week on Chinese tech investments in the United States and possibly more tariffs in areas like robotics, aerospace and green tech. That’s on top of the new 25 percent tariff, set to take effect on July 6, on other Chinese imports, many of them tech related. The United States says the taxes are punishment for intellectual property theft and forced technology transfer — the idea being that American companies must share tech secrets with Chinese companies in order to do business there. Jennifer Pak is Marketplace’s China correspondent based in Shanghai, and she recently attended a consumer electronics show there. She told Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood what Chinese manufacturers were saying about the tariffs. (06/27/2018)

President Donald Trump has directed the Pentagon to create a sixth branch of the military called the Space Force. It was proposed last year as part of the budget for the Department of Defense. A DOD report to Congress in March said that “space has become a warfighting domain.” Right now, for example, the military has its eyes on Russian or Chinese missiles and whether they could cripple telecommunications satellites. The Air Force has lobbied against a Space Force, and Congress hasn’t authorized it. Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood talked with Kimberly Adams, our resident space expert, about what exactly Trump’s directive means. (06/26/2018)

VidCon has been around since 2010 and if you haven’t heard of it, ask a teenager. The conference for online video creators and their fans was held this month in Anaheim, California. It’s the first major event since Viacom bought the conference last year. That purchase made the “creator economy” officially mainstream. And with that status comes a more Hollywood-style vibe. TV execs, talent scouts and advertisers were all over the show. And there’s a big conversation about how creators can move past the biggest game in town —YouTube. Jim Louderback, the general manager of VidCon, spoke with Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood about how the event has changed since it started eight years ago. (06/25/2018) Correction (June 25, 2018): A previous version of this podcast description misstated Jim Louderback’s title. The text has been corrected.

YouTube has had a bad year. One of its biggest stars, Logan Paul, filmed the body of a suicide victim. Advertisers boycotted over inappropriate content, and parents panicked over violent and sexual videos showing up in the site’s kids’ channel. Competition is also growing. Facebook is building a system to connect influencers with brands. And Instagram launched new video tools on Wednesday. So on Thursday, YouTube’s chief product officer, Neal Mohan, announced new ways for YouTube creators to make money. Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood asked Mohan if this was a response to creators being unhappy with their options lately. (06/22/2018)

Venture capitalists have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in scooters — electric scooters, specifically. On a sunny day in San Francisco, they’re clogging every sidewalk. Lime and Bird are the two best-known options. They also operate in Santa Monica, California; Washington, D.C.; Austin, Texas; and Atlanta. You use an app to check out a scooter, GPS tracks your location and you just drop it anywhere when you’re done with it. There’s speculation that Uber or Lyft will buy one of the bigger companies since both have invested in electric bikes. Paul Kedrosky, with SK Ventures, spoke with Marketplace Tech host Molly Wood about how the scooter investment craze goes back to Segway. (06/21/2018)