Marketplace All-in-One

In the aftermath of the Jan. 6 insurrection, public pressure forced social media companies to increase moderation of misinformation and hate speech. In the process, many users and groups were banned from mainstream sites. So those users, and some of their audience, are moving to alternative social media sites and apps. Jared Holt is a resident fellow at the Atlantic Council, a think tank based in Washington D.C. He says these alternative spaces have seen noticeable growth.

One year ago, supporters of Donald Trump stormed the U.S. Capitol in a violent and deadly attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election. Today, we revisit the economic ripples of the Jan. 6 insurrection and examine how political instability continues to hamper the economic recovery. We’ll also hear how utility infrastructure plays into wildfire prevention, what a festival cancellation means for surrounding businesses and why consumers have a gloomier outlook than the economy does.

Nearly two years into the COVID era, the landscape of work has changed. Managers and employers everywhere are scrambling to find ways to hold on to the workers they have in a tight labor market. We address the anniversary of the Jan. 6 insurrection on the U.S. Capitol building with Ian Bremmer of the Eurasia Group, who put out a list of the biggest challenges facing the global economy.

From the BBC World Service: As unrest continues in Kazakhstan, including in the main commercial city of Almaty, we examine the country’s economic links with neighboring Russia. Plus, French regulators crack down on Facebook and Google over the use of electronic cookies to track online users. And, Taiwan is setting up a $200 million investment fund to further bolster ties with Lithuania.

That’s one of the possibilities analysts have mentioned following the release of the minutes from the Fed’s December policy meeting. The minutes showed that inflation concerns are spreading through more of the economy. Omicron worries have heavily impacted CES, the massive tech show in Las Vegas. What’s happening there raises questions about the convention-going experience in the future. Corporate political giving essentially shut down following the Jan. 6 insurrection on the U.S. Capitol, but it appears to be making a comeback.

In the weeks after the Jan. 6 insurrection, law enforcement agencies and internet sleuths identified hundreds of people who stormed the U.S. Capitol. Many were later arrested or faced consequences at their jobs or in their communities. Authorities used a variety of technologies to speed up that process, which was needed because there were millions of images, messages, social media posts and bits of location data to parse. Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams speaks with Anjana Susarla, professor of responsible artificial intelligence and information systems at Michigan State University.

Though the United Kingdom formally ended its European Union membership at the start of 2020, last week marked the one-year anniversary of the U.K. severing remaining ties with the EU. Today, we hear about the hopes, frustrations and economic outlooks of five small U.K.-based companies 12 months on. Plus: hints of an easing supply chain, a growing industry to manage office downsizing and a high-tech tractor that could curb a shortage of agriculture workers.

President Biden could nominate Philip Jefferson for the seat on the Fed’s board of governors. If he makes it, Jefferson would just be the fourth Black governor in the history of the Federal Reserve. We take a short look at the how diversity has eluded the Fed for years. Susan Schmidt joins us for a markets discussion on a day when reportedly more than 800,000 jobs were added to private payrolls in December. The pandemic actually helped boost the sports collectibles market – is it poised for repeat business in 2022?

Update (1/5/21): The story about diversity at the U.S. central bank has been updated to correctly characterize leadership at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. For more information, check out the story on marketplace.org.

The omnipresent pandemic and the tense staring contest between the U.S. and China are just a couple of the things to watch as the global economy churns ahead into 2022. We spoke to Ian Bremmer, founder of the Eurasia Group, about its “Top Risks” report for the new year. For the first time in 90 years, General Motors has lost its spot at the top of the U.S. car sales mountain.

From the BBC World Service: That’s after authorities in oil-rich Kazakhstan lifted price caps on liquefied gas used for cars, causing prices to surge. An emergency has been declared in a number of cities and in the oil-producing western region of Mangistau. Plus, KFC apologizes to customers in Kenya after running out of fries. But, it’s more complicated than that. And, can London really compete with New York as a financial center?