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Marketplace

Marketplace Business News Podcast
Kai Ryssdal
Latest Episode

03/10/2017: What does (almost) full employment really feel like?

Mar 11, 2017

Episodes 2551 - 2560 of 5795

  • The Highway Trust Fund runs out of money this summer.
    Photo by David McNew/Getty Images

    If you’re listening to our show in your car, or on the train, or while looking at a dam, we probably don’t need to tell you: American infrastructure is not great. In fact, thanks to the American Society of Civil Engineers’ annual report card, we know it’s just this side of failing: D+ this year. President Donald Trump has promised to fix the country’s infrastructure in part with tax incentives and public-private partnerships. We’ll look at how that works. Then: We’ve learned more about how Trump plans to fund his big defense boost: by cutting about $6 billion from Housing and Urban Development. Plus, a commercial drone industry begets an anti-drone industry.

  • 03/08/17: ‘Big Candy’ is ethically sticky for Trump

    Yesterday we talked about how important but difficult it is for the government to figure out what the Republican’s health care reform bill will cost. Now the bill is getting amendments and rewrites, and the GOP is trying to fast-track that process. Plus, the future of a consumer watchdog under President Donald Trump, and the money his resort is getting from Big Candy.

  • U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price speaks during the White House daily press briefing March 7, 2017 at the White House in Washington, DC. Secretary Price answered questions on the new healthcare bill during the briefing. 
    Alex Wong/Getty Images

    All the punditry flying today about the Republican replacement for the Affordable Care Act boils down to a couple essential questions: How many people will it cover, and what will it cost? Figuring that out will fall to the Congressional Budget Office, which uses modeling to try and predict the bill’s effects. But when you’re messing with nearly a fifth of the American economy, that’s complex work. Plus, a look at America’s “dignity gap” and what happens when a family sitcom runs straight into the political moment.

  • President Donald Trump has said he would renegotiate trade deals to benefit U.S. workers.
    Ralph Freso/Getty Images

    You may have noticed the president of the United States tweeted this weekend. We’re not going to talk about those unsubstantiated claims today, except to note that when Donald Trump tweets, he’s usually trying to distract from less favorable news. News like the 1,100 or so Senate-approved jobs he has to fill, or the new executive order on travel restrictions for six countries (not seven, like the last ban that stalled out in federal court). We’ll cover both stories. Plus, we’ll answer the age-old question: Why are Carl’s Jr. and Hardee’s near-identical restaurants with two different names?

  • Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen testifies before the Joint Economic Committee of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. on Nov. 17.  In mid-November,  Yellen confirmed that a hike in federal interest rates was on its way soon.
    JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images

    Donald Trump and Janet Yellen both gave big speeches this week: one about the state of the economy and some detail-light plans for kickstarting it, and one about finally (finally) raising interest rates. We’ll pick apart both and talk about how markets are reacting on the Weekly Wrap. Then we’ll look at the theory vs. the reality of Republicans’ proposed border adjustment tax and the Obamacare replacement that’s inching forward. Plus, the fight in your supermarket over what qualifies as “milk” and McDonald’s foray into delivery.

  • 03/02/2017: From $24 billion to $33 billion in a Snap
    Drew Angerer/Getty Images

    Snap Inc. made a splash in its first day of trading today. Shares rose 44 percent from the initial offering, valuing Snapchat’s parent company at about $33 billion. The company’s young founders are billionaires, and many of its employees are now millionaires (on paper anyway). We’ll look at the effect all that young money is having on Venice, California, where the company is based. Plus, more than 300 companies have expressed interest in building President Donald Trump’s proposed border wall with Mexico. We’ll take a look at the bidding process and what these companies stand to make. Then, a visit to a Border Patrol job fair.

  • 03/01/2017: One Trump speech is not the economy
    Win McNamee/Getty Images

    Markets rallied after President Donald Trump’s largely detail-free speech before Congress last night. We’ll look at why and take a closer look at Trump’s claims about unemployment. Then, how can Travis Kalanick can right the ship at Uber after yet another PR hit? Plus, Kai talks with Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Expedia and an Iranian immigrant, about Trump’s travel ban.

  • President Donald Trump will outline his first budget proposal tonight.
    Alex Wong/Getty Images

    President Donald Trump will address a joint session of Congress tonight for his first don’t-call-it-a-State-of-the-Union. He’s expected to touch on a lot, including his budget. Crafting a federal budget isn’t a zero-sum game, and it’ll be a big test of Trump’s “run the country like a business” ethos. Plus, under the White House’s budget plan, the State Department is in the crosshairs. What happens when you cut funding for soft power? Plus, YouTube’s new TV service and the latest in our My Economy series.

  • President Donald Trump's administration is said to be considering changes to the way the trade deficit is calculated.
    Ron Sachs-Pool/Getty Images

    President Donald Trump will outline his approach to budgeting tomorrow in a speech to a joint session of Congress. It goes like this: a big boost to defense spending and no cuts to entitlements like Medicaid or Social Security. That means reductions for domestic programs. But Trump’s budget proposal really changes very little about the nation’s spending priorities. Later in the show, we’ll talk with Wisconsinites who are watching Trump’s promises very closely, and, of course, we’re talking about the Oscars.

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About the show

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.

Produced and distributed by American Public Media (APM) our popular business news podcasts are available worldwide on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and RSS Feeds and any place else where you get your podcasts.

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