Marketplace All-in-One

From the BBC World Service: The U.K. is experiencing a turkey shortage due to its biggest-ever outbreak of bird flu. That’s impacting U.S. expats this Thanksgiving, as well as many British families who would normally cook a turkey at Christmas. And the International Monetary Fund is calling on China to boost vaccinations and reconsider its zero-COVID strategy.

Earlier this month, the highly anticipated launch of the Orion spacecraft finally happened at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The lift-off of that unmanned rocket was the first of a series in the agency’s Artemis missions, which aim to eventually establish a long-term human presence on the moon’s surface begin building a lunar economy including extracting precious metals and minerals to send back to Earth. But before sending humans, the agency has to test complex rockets, heat shields and life-support systems. And speed is of the essence. The U.S. and China are in a new space race to get humans to the moon. On this Thanksgiving holiday, we’re revisiting a conversation with Peter Garretson, a Senior Fellow in Defense Studies at the American Foreign Policy Council. He spoke with Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams about how the stakes are different this time around.

Unemployment claims are at a three-month high, which isn’t a great sign for the economy. But orders for durable goods — like auto parts and manufacturing equipment — were higher than anticipated in October. We’ll try to make sense of the economy’s mixed signals in today’s episode. Plus, a price cap on Russian oil fuels disagreement, “wonky” produce gains traction in the U.K., and small businesses make themselves holiday-ready.

Attorneys representing the fallen crypto giant shared a tale of mismanagement and misplaced funds during a bankruptcy hearing. Susan Schmidt tells us investors won’t make any big market moves today. Chris Farrell joins us to discuss how an older workforce can still be a benefit to the economy.

The factory’s workers appear to be upset over restrictions, such as having to actually live at the workplace. Also, this year’s holiday shopping season could feel familiar. People in rural communities face unique challenges that can compromise their physical and economic health.

From the BBC World Service: Workers at the world’s largest iPhone factory in China have staged violent demonstrations to demand better conditions amid strict COVID regulations. Indonesia’s government has vowed to help with the cost to rebuild about 20,000 homes damaged by a devastating earthquake. The U.K.’s Supreme Court has ruled that the Scottish government does not have power to ask its voters whether the country should break away from the U.K.

You asked, we answered. Listeners wrote in wanting to know: “Who the hell loans these people money for mortgages” in risky coastal areas? Who ultimately owns the risk? Do certain investments, like REITs, drive gentrification (and what the heck is a REIT, anyway)? And finally, we tackle the age-old riddle: to rent or to buy? This episode is devoted to answering listener questions.

Artificial intelligence is commonly used in automated recruitment programs. It helps narrow down large pools of applicants using algorithms to match job seekers to open positions. But there are growing concerns that this technology is disproportionately excluding certain groups, like women, people of color or those who don’t have college degrees, even when they’re perfectly qualified.

There’s lots of debate over globalization. Some experts believe globalization is dying. Others say it’s going through a reboot. And some think the free flow of goods across borders is evolving into something else.

But what if we never really globalized to begin with?

On the show today, Shannon O’Neil, author of “The Globalization Myth,” breaks down what we got wrong about globalization and what it means for the future of the U.S. economy.

In the News Fix, how inflation is affecting the cost of a Thanksgiving meal. Plus, are rich people running a shell game with money and the global economy?

Then, we’ll hear from a teacher who left the profession and learn why talking about the weather isn’t so boring after all.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

“Make Me Smart” will be off the rest of the week for the Thanksgiving holiday. We’ll be back on Monday. In the meantime, keep sending your comments and questions to 508-U-B-SMART or email [email protected].

An unknown buyer, or buyers, has been purchasing a lot of gold recently. About 400 tons changed hands in the third quarter, worth more than $20 billion. Sure, countries can use it to pay for imports during a crisis or evade U.S. sanctions, but who would want to and why? Plus, borrowers fret over high interest rates, streaming services are in a bind and marshmallows pose a sticky question for tax policy.