Marketplace All-in-One

The Labor Department says the producer price index rose 9.6 % in November, compared to a year earlier. That’s more than forecast and could signal more price hikes for consumers. David Kelly of J.P. Morgan helps talk us through it in our markets discussion. Toyota wants to add an even bigger spark to its electrification efforts. We look at some of the best ways to ensure people use the hundreds of thousands of EV charging stations outlined in President Biden’s plans. How to nonprofit hospitals deal with gifts and donation in the form of cryptocurrency?

A report from the Belfer Center at Harvard says that’s possible if the U.S. doesn’t step up its investment in important technologies such as 5G and artificial intelligence. We spoke to Graham Allison, one of the report’s authors, about the implications of these findings. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the collapse of an Amazon warehouse in Illinois. The warehouse was hit by one of several tornadoes that ripped through several states on Friday.

From the BBC World Service: The U.K. government is under pressure over tighter coronavirus restrictions including mandatory mask-wearing and so-called vaccine passports. A group of friends from the beauty industry are looking to challenge colourism within the South Asian community. A study finds that you don’t need to be exceptionally clever to pursue careers in rocket science or brain surgery.

We’re rapidly coming up on two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. For many, working from home is mostly a plus. But your boss may still be looking over your shoulder. According to a survey, six out of 10 companies have begun monitoring their employees’ computer usage at home. Many claim it’s a way to stop time theft. Others say it’s an invasion of privacy when a job can see you or listen to you at home. Marketplace’s Jed Kim speaks with Dennis Consorte, a small business and startup consultant at Digital.com, which did the survey. Consorte says there are several ways a job can monitor what their employees do.

After devastating tornadoes swept through Kentucky last week, killing dozens and destroying thousands of homes, displaced residents are left wondering where to go. Kentucky already had a shortage of affordable housing, with 30% of the state’s renters at or below the poverty line. On today’s show, we hear from Adrienne Bush, executive director of the Homeless & Housing Coalition of Kentucky, about the need for investment and policy changes to ensure short- and long-term recoveries. We’ll also hear how American consumer demand is adding to supply chain disruptions, why holiday shipping is on a smoother track than last year and what a mistletoe auction in small-town Britain tells us about the U.K.’s economic recovery.

The currency of Turkey, the lira, has dropped to an all-time low in value. Its central bank is contemplating a cut in interest rates. But the impact has been most felt in the everyday lives of the Turkish people, who are left financially paralyzed as their money keeps tumbling. The BBC is reporting from Turkey, and we spoke to them about what they’ve seen so far. Julia Coronado joins us to discuss the markets, especially when it comes to what to expect from the Federal Reserve in the coming days.

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From the BBC World Service: Turkey’s central bank is selling U.S. dollars to try stabilize the lira currency as another rate decision looms, the U.K. government is hiring around 2,000 investigators to help reclaim billions of dollars lost to benefits fraud and criminal gangs. A meeting in Geneva this week seeks to regulate investments in autonomous weapons like killer robots.

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Data from the Brookings Institution shows that while the U.S. and Europe are both recovering relatively well from the initial damage of the pandemic, they are heading in nearly opposite directions when it comes to inflation and jobs. A new cybersecurity threat has companies scrambling to patch up holes in their networks. The USDA recently announced a food purchase program to address deficiencies in local and regional food economies.

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For decades, mental health professionals have been using toys and games to engage patients during psychotherapy. During the pandemic, that was a lot harder as therapy went remote. So some therapists are ditching analog games like Candy Land for world-building online games like Roblox or Minecraft. Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams speaks with Josué Cardona, the president of Geek Therapy, a nonprofit organization that advocates for video games being used in therapy.

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On the final show of the year, we’re talking cheese. Specifically, the supply and demand of cream cheese in America. Plus, one of the hosts gives us their hot take on formaggio. On a more serious note, we’ll review a congressional report card on prescription drug prices and end the show with a holiday-themed round of our favorite game, Half Full/Half Empty.

And hey, thank you for joining us for our last show of 2021. We’ll be back with a new episode on Jan. 10. In the meantime, look out for some of our favorite episodes of the year in your podcast feed. Happy holidays from the “Make Me Smart” team!

Here’s everything we talked about:

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