Make Me Smart

Every single day here at Marketplace, Kai Ryssdal “does the numbers,” talking about how the stock market fared at close. When they are up, we play the happy music. Same with monthly jobs numbers and the GDP. We’ve had a few listeners write in to ask: Why? Does the economy always need to get bigger, all the time, forever? Here to help us sort through this kind of existential question and maybe even figure out some better numbers to “do” is Josh Bivens with the Economic Policy Institute. By the way: We’re still looking for your 2020 predictions! Send them to [email protected], and we’ll play some on our last episode of the year.

Toys R Us, Payless, Brookstone, Sports Authority, Gymboree. Maybe you remember shopping at some of these stores. Maybe you remember reading elegies when they shut down. All of these stores were bought by private equity firms that claimed to see value in a fledgling brand. When that didn’t pan out, there were store closures, bankruptcy filings and a lot of layoffs. Many progressive politicians are now pointing to private equity as “exhibit A” in the case for more Wall Street regulation. Joining us to sort through it all is Marketplace reporter Marielle Segarra.

Meanwhile, we’re looking for your 2020 predictions for our annual predictions episode. Send your voice memos to [email protected].

Toys R Us, Payless, Brookstone, Sports Authority, Gymboree. Maybe you remember shopping at some of these stores. Maybe you remember reading elegies when they shut down. All of these stores were bought by private equity firms that claimed to see value in a fledgling brand. When that didn’t pan out, there were store closures, bankruptcy filings and a lot of layoffs. Many progressive politicians are now pointing to private equity as “exhibit A” in the case for more Wall Street regulation. Joining us to sort through it all is Marketplace reporter Marielle Segarra.

Meanwhile, we’re looking for your 2020 predictions for our annual predictions episode. Send your voice memos to [email protected].

It’s time for Kai and Molly to face the gauntlet again. Every six(ish) months or so we put them through an Explainathon, where they try to answer as many of your questions as they can with minimal prep in just 30 minutes! This time, you have all kinds of great questions like: What’s a “currency pact”? How does a fair tax work? Is 401(k) matching making inequality worse? And more. By the way, we’re preparing for a new predictions episode! Turn your crystal ball toward 2020 and tell us what you see coming at [email protected].

It’s time for Kai and Molly to face the gauntlet again. Every six(ish) months or so we put them through an Explainathon, where they try to answer as many of your questions as they can with minimal prep in just 30 minutes! This time, you have all kinds of great questions like: What’s a “currency pact”? How does a fair tax work? Is 401(k) matching making inequality worse? And more. By the way, we’re preparing for a new predictions episode! Turn your crystal ball toward 2020 and tell us what you see coming at [email protected].

About 1.3 billion people are in extreme poverty, living on less than $1.25 a day. Meanwhile, some of the most powerful people in wealthy countries, like the U.S., say they want to help alleviate some of that poverty. Every year, individuals, charities and governments pour billions of dollars into aid, development and a range of causes. But how do you know what’s actually working and what’s a waste of time? Our guest today, MIT economist Esther Duflo, just won a Nobel Prize for using a hard science approach to answer that question.

About 1.3 billion people are in extreme poverty, living on less than $1.25 a day. Meanwhile, some of the most powerful people in wealthy countries, like the U.S., say they want to help alleviate some of that poverty. Every year, individuals, charities and governments pour billions of dollars into aid, development and a range of causes. But how do you know what’s actually working and what’s a waste of time? Our guest today, MIT economist Esther Duflo, just won a Nobel Prize for using a hard science approach to answer that question.

The NCAA has been regulating college sports for more than a century, and its ban on student athletes making money from their playing, name and likeness has ostensibly kept the game more “pure.” But pressure has been mounting for years for the NCAA to share some of its billion-dollar business with the athletes that drive it, and a new California law is poised to challenge the old model of “amateurism” in college sports entirely. Today we’re joined by Katelyn Ohashi, a former UCLA gymnast who went viral this year with a floor routine and is now speaking out against the NCAA for preventing her from capitalizing on it.

The NCAA has been regulating college sports for more than a century, and its ban on student athletes making money from their playing, name and likeness has ostensibly kept the game more “pure.” But pressure has been mounting for years for the NCAA to share some of its billion-dollar business with the athletes that drive it, and a new California law is poised to challenge the old model of “amateurism” in college sports entirely. Today we’re joined by Katelyn Ohashi, a former UCLA gymnast who went viral this year with a floor routine and is now speaking out against the NCAA for preventing her from capitalizing on it.

Native Americans have the highest poverty and unemployment rates in the country. Technology, particularly new financial tech, offers an opportunity for this historically marginalized group to better access the strong economy. But getting online in largely rural, remote reservations is a challenge — to say nothing about access to capital and credit. Tribal sovereignty can also make access, taxes and generally doing business more complicated. To help talk us through the challenges and potential technology offers, we’re joined by Dante Desiderio, executive director of the Native American Finance Officers Association and a member of the Sappony Tribe.