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Episodes 2341 - 2350 of 5795

  • 12/25/2017: What incandescent light, an Alaskan wildlife refuge and pennies have in common
    Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

    They’re considered inefficient, under-utilized and useless, respectively, and all face uncertain futures. Incandescent light bulbs will no longer be available to purchase in California beginning in 2018; instead, Californians will buy compact florescent lights and LED bulbs, which have triple the energy efficiency. Alaska’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge could lose 1.5 million acres to energy developers, due to a mandate in the new tax bill. And even though you can’t buy anything for a penny anymore, the coin may stay in circulation despite calls to get rid of it once and for all. Plus, on this Christmas Day, we revisit the story of Santa’s little surveillance helper, the elf on the shelf.

  • Wireless internet at an extended stay FEMA hotel in Orlando is the main way the Hernandez's keep in touch with family still in Puerto Rico.
    Renata Sago/Marketplace

    Before Hurricane Maria hit, there was already an exodus underway from Puerto Rico to Florida, but the storm put it on fast forward. Since Maria’s devastation, nearly 200,000 people have fled the island for the state. We talk to Puerto Ricans in Florida about the difficulties they face staying in touch with home. Plus, if you’re still Christmas shopping, you’re pretty much limited to brick-and-mortar stores at this point. And this year, it may be tough to get the kind of in-store last-minute deals you used to. Anyone out there still looking for a Christmas tree? We catch up with a sidewalk Christmas tree seller in New York as his annual busy season winds down.

  • Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) outline why they believe the GOP tax bill will hurt Americans December 20, 2017 at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.
    Win McNamee/Getty Images

    The tax debate in Congress may be over for now, but the ad war to win over the public is just beginning. Learning from Democrats’ struggle to shape the narrative for Obamacare, tax ads from both sides of the aisle are being rolled out in anticipation of next year’s midterm elections. Plus, President Donald Trump outlined a national security plan earlier this week labeling China and Russia “rival powers” to the U.S. One area where that rivalry is prominent is in the race for the world’s fastest computer. And what’s it like to be a part of CamperForce, a seasonal swarm of mostly retired folks who live on campsites paid for by Amazon and pack and ship holiday orders at its fulfillment center in Kentucky.

  • U.S. President Donald Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell acknowledge Republican members of the House and Senate at the conclusion of an event celebrating the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on the South Lawn of the White House December 20, 2017 in Washington, DC. The tax bill is the first major legislative victory for the GOP-controlled Congress and Trump since he took office almost one year ago.
    Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

    Congress just passed the first major tax  bill since 1986 and did it in record time. It’s about to land on President Donald Trump’s desk, and it will take effect in a couple weeks. So now what? In this special episode, we talk to business owners, economists and families about how they see their futures under the new tax system, while Marketplace contributors answer listener questions along the way.

  • The 2018 Ford Expedition SUV goes through the assembly line at the Ford Kentucky Truck Plant October 27, 2017 in Louisville, Kentucky.
    Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

    In an effort to report on the sexual harassment blue-collar workers, specifically women of color, face in the workplace, Susan Chira of the New York Times wrote about what went on at Ford plants in Chicago, even after the company said it had dealt with the problem. And today a major legal action gets underway against oil giants Shell and Itay’s Eni. The two are accused of involvement in a corruption scandal in Nigeria. Plus, you probably share your Netflix passwords with a few people, right? Well, the practice may be on the way out as companies aim to crack down on password sharing.

  • 12/19/2017: Congress eyes the third rail
    Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

    “Third-rail programs,” or those you usually just don’t touch — benefits for low- and middle-income Americans like Medicare, disability benefits and Social Security — will be on the chopping block in 2018. With the tax plan all but passed, Congress will be faced with the question: cut programs or raise more money to pay for them? Plus, we take closer look at the president’s oeuvre of tweets and what they’ve led the world to believe about the American economy. And the world’s most polluting nation, China, is starting a carbon market to lower its emissions. It will be the largest program in the world to do so, but will it make a dent in carbon emissions for other nations?

  • Protesters demonstrate near the full Senate budget committee markup of the tax reform legislation on Capital Hill November 28, 2017 in Washington, DC.
    Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

    But instead of physics, we’re talking about tax policy. With the tax bill nearer to reality, states are starting to grapple with the fact that under the new policy, taxpayers won’t be able to deduct as much from their state and local taxes. That means lawmakers are looking to create loopholes by converting non-deductible taxes into deductible taxes. And those are just short-term fixes — we also discuss what the long-term debate might look like. Plus, the rise of “reverse commuting” in American cities, and reports from Puerto Rico, where companies like Bacardi are still recovering from Hurricane Maria, and Athens, where we look at the lingering effects of the European debt crisis.

  • 12/15/2017: Dancing like nobody’s watching
    Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

    While Republicans in Congress celebrate the final version of the tax bill, we’re asking: How are they going to pay for this thing? The Washington Post’s Catherine Rampell and Rachel Abrams from The New York Times weigh in on that and the week’s economic news. Yesterday’s big regulation rollback was net neutrality; today, Homeland Security said it will end an Obama-era regulation that allowed the spouses of H-1B visa holders to legally work in the U.S. Plus, ’90s kids came of age on AIM, AOL’s instant messaging service, and today it’s shutting down forever. Marketplace’s Reema Khrais tells AIM’s origin story and logs off one last time.   

  •  Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai drinks from a big coffee cup during a commission meeting December 14, 2017 in Washington, DC.
    Alex Wong/Getty Images

    The Federal Communications Commission rolled back Obama-era regulations today, ruling that internet providers are no longer required to treat all internet content equally. But what will that look like? And the holiday season is officially upon us, so we check in with the people keeping the $400 billion online shopping industry afloat: an item “picker” at a fulfillment warehouse and package deliverers struggling to meet deadlines with volume up 17 percent this year. Plus, we discuss what companies will do with the trillions of dollars in cash that will come rushing back when the corporate tax is cut to 21 percent, and director Errol Morris tells us about his new genre-defying film.

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Hosted by Kai Ryssdal, our leading business news radio program and podcast is about providing context on the economic news of the day. Through stories, conversations and newsworthy developments, we help listeners understand the economic world around them. Marketplace makes sense of the economy for everyone, no econ degree or finance background required. Marketplace doesn’t just report on the numbers, we take it deeper, adding context to what’s happening in the stock market and how macroeconomic policy can affect you and your business. Monday through Friday, our team speaks with a wide range of industry professionals — from small business owners to Fortune 500 CEOs, Marketplace breaks down complex topics related to business and the economy without industry jargon and over-complicated explanations.

Kai Ryssdal has led the program since 2005 and has hosted the program from China, the Middle East and dozens of cities across the United States. As a leading public media voice, Kai has been a trusted broadcaster for two decades and received an Emmy for investigative journalism on a PBS FRONTLINE documentary about money in politics called “Big Sky, Big Money.” He has appeared often on CNN, CNBC and CBS news. His written work has been featured in The New York Times and The Atlantic.

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