Marketplace All-in-One

President Biden signed an executive order addressing policing on Wednesday, the two-year anniversary of the murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police. To help us dive into what the order means, we spoke with Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, who said the order is a step in the right direction but that police reform legislation is still needed. In the wake of the tragic school shooting in Texas, we look into how some companies have dotted-line connections to the firearms industry, which could surprise some investors.

Your donation powers the journalism you rely on. Give today to support Marketplace Morning Report.

From the BBC World Service: We look at the likelihood of Russia defaulting on billions of dollars of debt to foreign investors, and what the ramifications could be for Moscow if it’s not able to pay. Poland’s parliament has voted to scrap a contentious disciplinary body for judges which the European Union had said was undermining judicial independence, paving the way for the EU to release billions of dollars in COVID-19 recovery funding due to Warsaw. And we look at the allure of investing in cryptocurrencies for young people in Singapore, and what some of the potential risks involved are.

Amid the grief in response to the mass shootings in Texas, New York and California, there’s an ongoing search for solutions, especially ones that can push through the political deadlock over gun control reform. One potential solution has to do with the data and technology used in background checks — specifically, in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. Cassandra Crifasi, professor and deputy director at the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Violence Solutions speaks with Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams about how that database only works well if the information going into it is accurate and timely.

Your donation powers the journalism you rely on. Give today to support “Marketplace Tech.”

In today’s show, we’re talking about the aftermath of the massacre at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. As further details emerge, law enforcement’s response during the shooting is raising questions. We’ll be watching for more information about the timeline of events. Plus, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell says he’s open to working with Democrats to address gun violence. But the Senate is adjourned for a week in observance of Memorial Day. Finally, we get a much-needed smile out of an interesting idiom.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

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

School shootings have enduring effects on students who survive them. Today, we talk with an economist who’s studied the educational and economic impacts that persist months or years afterward. We also look at the shock of mortgage inflation, the factors behind wage growth and the industries disrupted by the helium shortage.

Rebecca Danigelis never planned to stop working. She was an executive housekeeper in Boston raising two kids as a single mom, and everything she earned went to making sure they got the best education she could afford. When her son Sian-Pierre was climbing the ranks as a journalist and entrepreneur, it seemed like all the overtime, frozen dinners and sacrifice were worth it. Just as his career was taking off, however, hers started to crumble.

If you like this episode, share it with a friend. And to get even more Uncomfortable, subscribe to our newsletter. Each Friday you’ll get a note from Reema and some recs from the Uncomfortable team. If you missed it, here’s the latest issue.

Following the tragic school shooting in Texas that left 19 children dead along with two adults, the debate about restrictions on guns has been rekindled. Over the past couple of decades, groups such as the NRA have amassed a big spending lead over their gun control advocate counterparts. However, groups in favor of new rules on firearms have other tools to use. Diane Swonk of Grant Thornton joins us in studio for our discussion about the day’s market activity. The BBC reports on news from Pfizer coming from Davos, which wraps up today. China correspondent Jennifer Pak checks in from Shanghai, which is in its eighth week of COVID lockdown.

Your donation powers the journalism you rely on. Give today to support Marketplace Morning Report.

Hazel Henderson was perhaps best known as an environmental activist, her work in evolutionary economics and her iconoclastic views of several pillars of traditional economics, such as seeing GDP as a gauge of prosperity. She passed away this week at the age of 89. Her friend and colleague Ralph Nader spoke to us about her legacy. We look into how people are buying less stuff, but more services. Twitter has agreed to pay $150 million to settle allegations that it deceived users about what it did with some of their private data.

Your donation powers the journalism you rely on. Give today to support Marketplace Morning Report.

From the BBC World Service: Russia says it’s open to allowing grain exports to leave Ukraine’s Black and Azov Sea ports on the condition that sanctions imposed on Moscow by western countries are removed. China’s foreign minister has begun a tour of Pacific island nations, hoping to sign them up to a security agreement, while Australia’s new prime minister says his country must guard against Beijing’s efforts to increase its influence in the region. And a special report from India, where extreme heat is forcing some farmers to tend to their crops in the middle of the night.

Your donation powers the journalism you rely on. Give today to support Marketplace Morning Report.

The question of who is allowed to use platforms like Twitter or Facebook — and who decides what users can say on those platforms — is increasingly becoming a legal issue. A Texas court decision handed down earlier this month gave the go-ahead to a law that gives users the right to sue social media platforms for removing content based on “viewpoint.” This week, however, another court found parts of a similar social media law in Florida unconstitutional. Issie Lapowsky, Protocol’s chief correspondent, joins Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams to discuss the latest.

Your donation powers the journalism you rely on. Give today to support “Marketplace Tech.”