Marketplace All-in-One

When the pandemic began, many working moms took a step back from their careers. Now, multitudes of women are still sidelined due to a lack of affordable, reliable child care. Today, how a worker shortage in the sector creates a barrier to women reentering the job market. Plus, potential food relief for Floridians reeling from Ian, a rural hospital’s reopening struggles and the battle over Iran’s internet censorship.

Tasha met Stewart soon after she finished high school and was working as a dance instructor in Las Vegas. He promised her the world — but instead gave her a life very different from her  romantic dream. Over the next two decades, he pressured Tasha into providing emotional and financial support while she and their six children lived in poverty and isolation. Meanwhile, Stewart’s political ambitions grew and grew — because Tasha’s husband is Stewart Rhodes, founder of the alt-right militia group the Oath Keepers. He’s currently on trial for inciting the Jan. 6 insurrection. 

This episode was reported and produced by Reema Khrais and Hannah Harris Green, edited by Karen Duffin and engineered by Drew Jostad.

Big banks initially agreed to loan Musk the funds, but now … not so much. On the eve of another Jobs Day, we chat with Diane Swonk of KPMG. We look in on the status of theaters as they still try to recover from the pandemic.

We examine at how the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) responds in the wake of disaster. A solid way to boost your book sales? Win the Nobel Prize in literature. We look back at the Wirecard scandal of 2020.

From the BBC World Service: A United Nations Development Programme report says it took less than a year to wipe out $5 billion of economic output in Afghanistan. Plus, a new club of nations called the European Political Community is meeting for the first time. And, what kind of impact could additional E.U. sanctions on Iran actually have?

It’s a drama fit for a social media platform that loves drama. First Elon Musk was joining the board, then buying the company, then backing out, then getting sued. Now, the billionaire CEO of Tesla and SpaceX appears to be back in, reviving his original offer to buy Twitter for $44 billion. It’s not clear yet what will happen to the court case over this whole deal, but for now it seems that Musk will be taking control of the social media platform after all. So, what might he do with it? And why the change of heart? Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino spoke with Kurt Wagner, a tech reporter for Bloomberg News who’s been following the saga.

We’re a nation of student loan debtors. Wiping out up to $20,000 of that debt should boost each borrower’s score, right? On this Whaddya Wanna Know Wednesday, we have to let one listener down easy. Plus, Kai Ryssdal and Kimberly Adams answer more of your questions on the peso, the pandemic and pumpkin pie.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

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Critics are worried that the Federal Reserve is raising interest rates too quickly and may tip the economy into a recession without taming inflation. So what else can the Fed do? Today, we dive into the policy, politics and power at Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s fingertips. Plus, a squeeze in warehouse space, a predicted slowdown in global trade and the people locked out of China by its zero-COVID policy.

Susan Schmidt of Exchange Capital Resources helps us clear up the job picture. Elon Musk’s deal with Twitter appears to be back on. We look at how climate change can factor into retirement planning.

But why? There are a few possible reasons for the billionaire’s change of heart. Florida’s flatness works against its post-Ian cleanup efforts. The state of the housing market carries opportunity for all-cash buyers.