Apr 26, 2022

Demand for mortgages slumps, but it may be a while before prices do the same

Also on today's program: Supply chain snarls are far from over and wildfire season comes early.

Segments From this episode

The mortgage business has "come to a screeching halt"

by Kai Ryssdal and Andie Corban

Apr 26, 2022

Vivian Gueler of Pacific Trust Group said rising rates are slowing the housing market, but it could be months before prices fall.

"The market was just too crazy," said mortgage broker Vivian Gueler. "The low rates drove up too much business, too much demand — and the prices, ultimately."

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

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A Warmer World

Coal, the dirtiest of the fossil fuels, is in high demand

by Lily Jamali

Apr 26, 2022

While coal is having a resurgence as a fuel source, the spike in its use may not last.

People line up for ice cream in Cheswick, Pennsylvania, near a coal-burning power station. Existing coal plants in the U.S. are being used more, though that’s likely only temporary.

Jeff Swenson/Getty Images

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Biden administration expands Pell Grant program for incarcerated students

by Stephanie Hughes

Apr 26, 2022

It's a shift from nearly three decades ago, when Congress banned incarcerated people from having access to Pell Grants.

“This gives students who are in prison an opportunity to actually pay tuition at these programs that are going to prepare them to return to life, to find a job and to move on,” says James Kvaal, undersecretary of the Department of Education, about the Second Chance Pell program. Above, inmates read in the library at the York Correctional Institution in Connecticut in 2016.

John Moore/Getty Images

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A Warmer World

Wildfires in April signal growing costs of climate change

by Savannah Maher

Apr 26, 2022

What to do when fuel for fires seems infinite, but resources to fight fires is decidedly finite?

As the risk for wildfires rises, small cities struggle to find the resources to combat them.

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This manufacturer sees little improvement in snarled global supply chains

by Kai Ryssdal and Maria Hollenhorst

Apr 26, 2022

“It’s the kind of stuff that keeps you awake at night,” said Teresa Asbury, a senior executive at the Legacy Cos.

Pandemic lockdowns in China are stacking more challenges onto overloaded shipping networks.

Sameer Al-Doumy/AFP via Getty Images

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What social media advertising tells us about inflation

by Kristin Schwab

Apr 26, 2022

Digital advertising suffers from supply chain and inflation issues too.

Social media companies' quarterly reports may fill us in on the supply chain and inflation issues the industry is dealing with.

Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

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Music from the episode

Slide (feat. Frank Ocean & Migos) Calvin Harris, Frank Ocean, Migos

Higher Noble Oak

Down for the Fifth Time Flamingosis

Redbone Childish Gambino

Lowrider Yussef Kamaal

All The Stars (with SZA) Kendrick Lamar, SZA

Rising Son Takuya Kuroda

The team

Nancy Farghalli Executive Producer

Daisy Palacios Senior Producer

Maria Hollenhorst Producer

Sean McHenry Associate Producer

Andie Corban Associate Producer

Richard Cunningham Associate Producer

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