Marketplace All-in-One

They say all politics is local, and targeted advertising makes it hyper-local. Campaigns have increasingly used troves of personal online data about voters to narrowly tailor political messages — sometimes in malicious ways. For example, providing false information about how to vote based on neighborhood, race or ethnicity. But this kind of microtargeting is getting trickier. Twitter and TikTok have banned political ads completely. And Facebook has added new limits on how and when political ads appear. Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino speaks with Samantha Lai, a research analyst at the Center for Technology Innovation at the Brookings Institution. Lai says the way social media platforms allow campaigns to microtarget users has evolved.

A union representing freight railroad workers rejected the most recent tentative contract with major railroads, meaning that a strike — and threat to the supply chain — is once again possible. Today, we’ll take a look at the concerns over working conditions and the costs of a strike. Plus, a sign of small business optimism, a drop in computer demand and discussion of financial reparations following a wrongful conviction.

Credit scores matter — a lot. They matter if you want to buy a car, a house and sometimes even if you want a job.

In a recent deep dive, we covered the history of credit scores, how they work and whether it’s time to rethink how we measure creditworthiness. But Kimberly still had questions.

So she and the “Marketplace Tech” team took an even closer look. Today, we’re bringing you an excerpt from their series “The Score.” Get ready to get smart (and take notes) on what the algorithms behind your credit scores get wrong, the difference between your FICO and your VantageScore and what happened when a financial planner tried to trick the system to boost her score.

If you have a question about credit scores or anything else, leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART or email us at [email protected].

First, small business owners are feeling better about the economy, but inflation is still top of mind. Jeffrey Cleveland helps us read what the markets are doing. A carbon dioxide shortage is weighing down the U.K. food and drink industries.

It’s the second part of our series on dark money in Arizona: We learn about Proposition 211, which would require disclosing names of original campaign donors. The Supreme Court deals with a case about pork that could have repercussions for other state laws.

From the BBC World Service: The Bank of England says the expansion of its bond-buying program, which was due to end Friday, is aimed at settling dysfunction in the market that could put the nation’s financial stability at risk. Plus, shares of Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturing giant TSMC fall to a 28-year low. And, growing unrest in Iran includes student groups, workers at industrial plants and even oil workers.

Layoffs. Hiring freezes. Falling valuations. The headlines coming out of the onetime land of the unicorns have been pretty unromantic lately. It’s a dramatic turn for an industry that has been all about growth. Over the last two decades, and especially the first couple of years of the pandemic, tech exploded as more of the world moved online. But that seems to be changing. Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino spoke with Kari Paul, a tech reporter for The Guardian, who recently wrote about whether Big Tech is past its prime. Paul said that with the economy in flux, the tech industry is not immune.

Today, we’ll provide an economic preview for the week ahead. First, we’ll take a look at Social Security’s anticipated cost-of-living adjustment and hear what the historic increase would mean for recipients being squeezed by inflation. Then, we’ll dive into what Wall Street will be listening for in this week’s corporate earnings calls and check out the hefty discounts shoppers can expect this holiday season.

For years, we’ve been asking experts, celebrities, authors and you our Make Me Smart question: What’s something you thought you knew but later found out you were wrong about?

From the power of poetry to the problem with perfectionism, we’ve heard lots of smart answers, and today we’re going to listen to some of the most memorable ones. Plus, Kai Ryssdal and Kimberly Adams share their top picks from two celebrity guests.

What’s something you’ve been wrong about? Leave us a voice message at 508-827-6278 or 508-U-B-SMART.

Among the three people who won is former Fed chair Ben Bernanke. To help explain some of the research, we consult with Chris Farrell. Also, Julia Coronado drops in to discuss today’s market activity. We look into the financial benefits of museums letting people in for free.