Marketplace All-in-One

From the BBC World Service: As the COVID-19 pandemic enters its third year, the African continent is moving another step closer toward localized vaccine production to get more people inoculated against the virus. Plus: Water is a vital life source – now it’s becoming a critical tool in tracking down criminals.

When looking for new music, it’s easy to let a streaming service’s algorithm recommend songs similar to music you already like. Those types of algorithms are the focus of new book from NBC News tech Correspondent Jacob Ward. In today’s show, Ward argues that those algorithms may have us in a feedback loop that dulls our critical thinking abilities.

Marketplace is for public good, not for profit. We count on you, our listeners, to help cover the cost of the tech and business reporting you rely on. We’re going to remain free and accessible to everyone. That’s part of our mission. But if you’re in a position to donate, we’re counting on you. You can use this link to donate now.

Earlier today, California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced a “next phase” pandemic plan that includes easing restrictions and focusing on prevention and readiness for any future COVID-19 surges. Plus, a couple of shell-shaking climate updates and some auto-related Make Me Smiles to wrap up this Hollowed Out Shell Thursday.

Sign up for the Make Me Smart newsletter (or any other Marketplace newsletter) by February 28th and be entered to win a signed Vintage Kai T-shirt.

Here’s everything we talked about on the show today:

The economic gap between Americans with college degrees and those without has been growing for decades. That’s been driven in part by “degree inflation,” which puts millions with military, community college or on-the-job experience at a disadvantage, even in a tight labor market. Today, we hear from the nonprofits, companies and individuals trying to shrink that gap and prioritize skills over formal education. Plus: Permits point to a much-needed bump in home construction, the economy appears to be coping with COVID and a Brooklyn-based toymaker envisions the new Lego.

Construction started on nearly 2 million housing units across the U.S. in January, and more than 500,000 of those are units with lots of rentals, such as apartment buildings. Diane Swonk tells us in our economic discussion that while these numbers are welcome, there’s a flip side to all of it. The BBC’s Victoria Craig helps us look into the long-term effects of long COVID on the workforce in the United Kingdom. Google is planning a change in how apps track Android phone users.

Women have been more likely than men to quit their jobs, but that gap is biggest in states that have had the most COVID-related disruptions to school and child care, according to a new analysis from payroll processing company Gusto. One of the biggest contributors to the comeback of retail sales in January was home furnishing and furniture sales. BioNTech is hoping its new mobile vaccine factories make COVID vaccination more accessible to developing countries, but some are skeptical of the vaccine maker’s approach.

From the BBC World Service: Britain introduced this visa category to encourage wealthy individuals from outside the EU to invest in the U.K. While the government is already undertaking immigration reforms, Britain is under pressure to cut ties with Russia as the Ukraine crisis deepens. Plus, with much discussion about learning to live with long COVID, what kind of toll could it take on the labor market in the long term?

Recent court rulings in France and Austria are part of a larger push in the European Union to manage how American companies use European residents’ data. Back in July 2020, European courts severed a data privacy pact between the U.S. and the EU, saying the agreement didn’t provide enough protections from surveillance. Now, the pressure is on for companies and negotiators.

Marketplace is for public good, not for profit. We count on you, our listeners, to help cover the cost of the tech and business reporting you rely on. We’re going to remain free and accessible to everyone. That’s part of our mission. But if you’re in a position to donate, we’re counting on you. You can use this link to donate now.

On this Whaddya Wanna Know Wednesday, we’ve got a listener question about how effective U.S. economic sanctions are when cryptocurrency can be used to evade them. Then we look at what’s causing the nursing shortage — COVID-19 isn’t the only reason. Plus, Kai Ryssdal fields a question about his career in the foreign service.

Do you have a question you want us to answer? You can send us a voice memo or call us at 508-UB-SMART (508-827-6278). You can also email us at [email protected]!

Here’s everything we talked about on the show today:

January’s retail numbers show that Americans are buying a lot. They’re purchasing furniture to make themselves more comfortable at home and are switching up that business-casual wardrobe for something more “business comfortable.” Even when accounting for inflation, there’s a boom in spending and demand — something the Federal Reserve is likely making note of as it eyes interest rate hikes. We’ll also examine the tiff over U.S.-China flights and why more students aren’t filling out the federal financial aid application.