Marketplace All-in-One

On Monday, the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine received full approval from the Food and Drug Administration for anyone over the age of 18. It’s the second vaccine the FDA has approved for use by adults, but parents seeking official guidance for children under 5 are still left with plenty of questions and not many answers. Then we catch up on the news we missed over the weekend, including Spotify’s response to the Joe Rogan controversy, a racist smear campaign against a presidential nominee for the Federal Reserve Board and how fashion brands could be edging toward the end of consumer-friendly seasonal sales. Plus, we have serious fun with a couple of interactive projects and a musical Make Me Smile!

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

What’s making you smile this week? Let us know. Send a voice memo or give us a call at 508-82-SMART (508-827-6278)

The American Rescue Plan gave public schools $122 billion to update facilities and help students through the pandemic, but they’ll have to return whatever they don’t spend by September 2024. Today, we look into the pressures of working in a bureaucracy and why schools may need more time. Plus: Why our obsession with older homes might not be so charming and how economists are predicting Fed interest rate hikes will play out.

Hey Million Bazillionaires! We wanted to let you know about a new podcast from our friends at “Brains On.” It’s called “Moment of Um.”

It’s your daily answer to those questions that pop up out of nowhere and make you go … “ummmmmmm.”

With new episodes every weekday, “Moment of Um” is designed to give you that little boost of knowledge you didn’t even know you needed.

Here’s a list of just some of the questions you might hear answered:

Take a sneak peek right now, and follow the show wherever you listen to Million Bazillion!

We speak to Marketplace senior economics contributor Chris Farrell about a recent working paper that examined into where money from the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) landed for small business. Julia Coronado highlights consumer sentiment, raises and the specter of inflation during our markets discussion. Congress returns to session with a variety of economic items on the agenda.

From the BBC World Service: A snap election gives Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa’s party a new public mandate to oversee the country’s post-pandemic economic recovery. Plus, how a Chinese crackdown on capital outflows is hitting the world’s biggest gambling hub.

Despite several recent high-profile union campaigns, union membership remains quite low across the country. Union membership declined in 2021, returning to the record-low rate of 10.3% first set in 2019. The rate for private-sector employees dipped to just 6.1% — more than five times lower than in the public sector. We spoke to Charlotte Howard, the U.S. business editor for The Economist, about the obstacles workers still face when it comes to actual unionization. Spotify says it’s working to add content advisories before podcast episodes which discuss COVID-19. The move comes after Neil Young had his music pulled from the service over Joe Rogan’s podcast, which has been criticized for spreading COVID misinformation.

January was National Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Trafficking involves the use of force, fraud or coercion to compel someone into labor or commercial sex. Contrary to how it’s often portrayed on TV, most traffickers aren’t strangers; they know their victims. More and more, the recruitment and exploitation of those victims is happening online. Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams speaks with Alyssa Currier Wheeler, associate legal counsel at the Human Trafficking Institute, about the growth of recruitment on social media.

It’s Friday, which means it’s time for some Economics on Tap! Today we’re wondering if all the talk about supply chain problems six months ago changed our shopping habits and pondering the growing popularity of circus performers on TikTok. Plus, a round of our favorite game, Half Full/Half Empty!

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

Have thoughts on today’s show? Questions, comments, concerns? Send us an email at [email protected] or give us a call at 508-827-6278 (or 508-U-B-SMART) and leave a message!

Working from home has opened up where people choose to reside, and data shows that climate change is increasingly factoring in, too. Today, we take a trip to Duluth, Minnesota, to hear from a few climate migrants who moved to the city, in part because they felt it safer from the impacts of the climate crisis. Plus: Inflation is still rising and consumers are still bummed about it.

The start of 2022 has not been a smooth one when it comes to the markets. Both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq indexes are down more than 10% from recent highs, stuff that can send people running to re-evaluate their investments. We talked to Jason Zweig, writer of “The Intelligent Investor” column for the Wall Street Journal, for a little guidance. Sticking with the markets, Christopher Low joins us for discussion about consumer spending and the cost of employment index.