Marketplace All-in-One

People are still leaving jobs to find new ones at record level, and data shows that it’s generally working out for them. Speaking of records, the demand for vinyl remains high, so we talk to someone at a record-pressing plant to get a sense of how the industry is adapting to new challenges.

From the BBC World Service: Lee Jae-yong was convicted of embezzlement and bribery, but the Seoul government says he’s needed back in charge of the country’s biggest company to help the post-pandemic economic recovery. Plus, an armed man took hostages at a bank in Lebanon and demanded access to his frozen savings. And, the Swedish firm that’s developing a less environmentally intensive kind of steel.

Bruce Springsteen fans were appalled last month, when Ticketmaster sold some seats for his upcoming concert tour for as much as $5,000. The average price was actually around $262, according to Ticketmaster. But for a certain subset of tickets, when demand spiked, so did the prices. Ticketmaster uses “dynamic pricing algorithms,” which calculate the price of a seat based on real-time demand. Among other things, it’s an attempt to edge out ticket scalpers. There’s been backlash against this before. Ride-hailing apps like Uber use this kind of algorithm too; it’s called surge pricing. And it has kicked in during emergencies like a terrorist attack and a mass shooting — prices went through the roof as people were trying to flee. “Marketplace Tech’s” Marielle Segarra spoke with Vivek Farias, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management, about the concept behind dynamic pricing and how to potentially avoid letting an algorithm create situations like this.

Timing is everything. While Kimberly Adams is working from home with COVID-19, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced new guidelines for quarantines, social distancing and testing. Does this mark a turning point in the pandemic? Kimberly joins guest host Meghan McCarty Carino to discuss. Then, private companies use consumer data often without permission, and the government wants to know how you feel about it. Plus, look up at the sky before you go to bed tonight. And, do spiders dream?

Here’s everything we talked about today:

Join us tomorrow for Economics on Tap! We’ll be livestreaming on YouTube starting at 6:30 p.m. Easter time, 3:30 p.m. Pacific time.

The pandemic and skyrocketing housing costs are pushing more people onto the streets. As shelters struggle to keep up, more cities and states are making it illegal to sleep outside. But housing advocates say that criminalizing homelessness is not a fix and could make it harder for people to find permanent shelter. Plus, what the producer price index tells us about inflation and how schools are dealing with chronic absenteeism.

We talk cooling inflation and producer price index with Diane Swonk of KPMG, then we examine how the Nasdaq appears to have regained some of its footing and returned to a bull market. Grocery prices are rising faster than the cost of eating at a restaurant. The BBC reports on Gambia’s efforts to address the issue of people without addresses.

However, gas prices vary from one state to another … why is that? We try to explain. The BBC reports on basement apartments in South Korea in the wake of record rainfall and flooding. Art critic Blake Gopnik talks about a new exhibit that touches on industry and economics.

From the BBC World Service: Low water levels on the River Rhine mean vessels are having to limit the load they can carry. Following flooding in Seoul, South Korea, authorities are moving to ban basement apartments. Plus, we hear how disruption to China’s manufacturing hubs is impacting supply chains around the world.

Grand Theft Auto will be getting a female protagonist, according to a report from Bloomberg. At the time of this writing, Rockstar Games, which makes Grand Theft Auto, has not confirmed this and didn’t respond to Marketplace’s request for comment. But it would be a notable change — there are far fewer playable female characters than male ones in video games. And for a long time, women have been typecast as damsels in distress, like Princess Peach from Super Mario, or as sex objects depicted with little clothing and exaggerated proportions, like Lara Croft from the 1990s Tomb Raider games. She’s an archaeologist who explores old ruins in teeny, tiny shorts and a tank top. Research suggests those trends have changed in recent years — there are more playable female characters who are more nuanced and interesting.

We’re getting lots of question about the Inflation Reduction Act. We know, weird name for the major climate and tax legislation the Senate passed earlier this week. We’ll explain how Democrats plan to pay for it and what it means for prescription drug prices. Plus, the meaning behind the phrase “paycheck to paycheck.”

Here’s everything we talked about today:

If you have more questions about the Inflation Reduction Act, or anything else, send them our way. Our email is [email protected] or leave a voice message at 508-U-B-SMART.