Marketplace All-in-One

First, the BBC checks in as Britain and the world reflect on the life of Queen Elizabeth II. Then, we speak to an author about the rise of “quiet quitting” and its place in workplace culture.

From the BBC World Service: The United Kingdom and the world is remembering the life of Queen Elizabeth II, who has died. Her reign of 70 years was the longest in British history and she witnessed enormous political changes, including the development of the Commonwealth. In the U.K., a period of royal mourning will be observed until seven days after the Queen’s funeral and many sports events and businesses are also changing their plans for the coming days.

Cryptocurrency mining is basically verification that transactions on the blockchain are legitimate. One method to do that is “proof of work.” But that takes a lot of electricity. So soon, blockchain platform ethereum will shift to a different method: “proof of stake.” Instead of multiple miners expending energy at the same time, one “validator” wins a lottery to verify the transaction. “Marketplace’s” Kimberly Adams speaks with Alex de Vries, founder of Digiconomist, about what the shift means.

From the death of Queen Elizabeth to lifesaving vaccines, we’re mostly talking about news from the other side of the pond today. Plus, we’ll discuss the economic power of royal fashion, and what’s Jerome Powell thinking? Kai’s got answers!

Here’s everything we talked about today:

We want to hear how you’re feeling about the death of Queen Elizabeth. Leave a voice message at 508-U-B-SMART or drop us a line at [email protected].

Queen Elizabeth II was a symbol of stability for many, and her death comes at a turbulent time for the United Kingdom. Marketplace’s London bureau chief tells us about the mood of the country amid decades-high inflation and a transfer of power at 10 Downing Street. Plus, the strong dollar weighs down foreign economies and the European Central Bank unleashes an aggressive rate hike.

The European Central Bank and the Federal Reserve are fighting the same battle against inflation. Diane Swonk of KPMG helps us explore the link between the Fed and global economy. In the U.S., the West is generally holding up against an onslaught of heat, but we look into how power grids can generally hold up against the effects of climate change. Schools have money and a chance to catch students up on learning lost during the pandemic, but is it enough?

We take a quick look into the reasons companies like Walmart and McDonald’s have been issuing billions in bonds. A reporter from The New Yorker stops by to discuss her story about how a nursing home’s quality of care went downhill after a private equity firm purchased the place.

From the BBC World Service: How high will the European Central Bank hike interest rates to tackle soaring prices? The Australian parliament in Canberra has passed the country’s first major climate bill in more than a decade, setting legally binding targets to further curb emissions. In Nigeria there’s concern that Lagos could become unlivable earlier than previously predicted. Climate change experts in the country’s economic hub say that’s due to rising sea levels and sinking land.

Organ donations and who gets those organs can be a morally fraught process. And that organ transplant network in the United States has been criticized for its outdated technology that has led to some deadly mistakes. But one part of that system could potentially serve as a model of success, according to David G. Robinson, author of the new book “Voices in the Code: A Story About People, Their Values, and the Algorithm They Made.” Since 1987, kidney recipients have been chosen by an algorithm. And Robinson says it could be an ethical “model” for other algorithms and potentially artificial intelligence. Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams recently spoke with Robinson about how this algorithm works and how a long process of input from nonexperts and people directly affected by kidney transplant decisions shaped it into what it is today.

Let’s face it, it’s getting more expensive to eat out these days. One of our listeners noticed the price of his burrito went up by $2 and wonders if it’ll go back down now that inflation is a slowing a bit. Probably not. We’ll explain. Plus, we take your questions about student loan debt relief, electric vehicles and the military, and one of our listeners makes us smart about cherries!

Here’s everything we talked about today:

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