Marketplace All-in-One

From the BBC World Service: With COVID-19 infection rates across Europe, Germany’s incoming coalition government has to deal with pandemic challenges as well as supply-chain kinks and fresh data showing slower economic growth than expected. And, it’s harder than usual for Americans abroad to find some of their favorite Thanksgiving food.

This episode originally aired Sept. 9, 2021.

Water infrastructure — it’s boring. Invisible. We only care about it when things go wrong, and things have been going wrong. Punishing storms have caused catastrophic flooding in New York, Texas, Louisiana and elsewhere. But water systems are expensive, time consuming and hard to fix. Technology may provide some relief. Marketplace’s Jed Kim talks to Paul Robinson, the executive director of RISE, a nonprofit accelerator in Norfolk, Virginia, that helps develop climate tech. Robinson says one of the companies they fund is StormSensor, which puts sensors in storm and sewer pipes.

We got a feast of economic figures the day before Thanksgiving: First-time unemployment claims are at a 52-year low. But a key index shows inflation is at a 31-year high. Consumer spending is up too, yet consumer sentiment is at its lowest point in a decade. What the heck is going on? On today’s show, we’ll tell you how the economic recovery can look anything but linear. We’ll also hear about the big number of small-scale labor actions, the infrastructure bill’s potential impact on holiday travel routes and a new initiative by the Department of Labor aimed at assisting home care workers.

When the first commercial typewriters were introduced in 1874, offices were men’s domain. But soon the majority of clerical workers were women, and that remains true today — and the typewriter is a crucial part of that revolution. We also look at President Biden’s nomination of Shalanda Young to head the Office of Management and Budget, who would be the first Black woman in the role permanently. Plus, what do today’s economic indicators tell us about the holiday shopping season?

For the first time, a jury has found major pharmacy chains liable for the opioid addiction crisis. Two Ohio counties sued CVS, Walgreens and Walmart over the epidemic of addictions that’s claimed half a million lives in this country. Plus, two days before Black Friday, we take a moment to consider the junk we can’t seem to get rid of.

From the BBC World Service: After plunging 15% on Monday, the lira has recovered some of its early losses. But there are reports supermarkets are beginning to ration flour and sugar and prices for goods and services are rising. Plus, Germany’s incoming government is set to unveil its coalition deal, giving an idea of the direction for Europe’s largest economy. And, how so-called ‘scambaiters’ are trying to get revenge against scammers.

Technology will help us avoid the worst outcomes of the climate crisis, and it’ll help us adapt to a warming planet. But technology alone can’t save us. Humans need to make profound changes. We need to change our behavior, our consumption, our policies and our mindsets.

In the final episode of the season, we talk to a climate psychologist about how our minds react to change and hear from a politician relying on Fergie and Megan Thee Stallion to get Americans excited about energy policy. We also visit an encampment in the desert where people are already adapting to a changing climate, living off-grid and generating their own renewable energy.

Many Americans hand over volumes of personal data to Amazon. The company knows what we buy, what we consider buying, even whom we might be buying things for. And according to a new investigation by Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting and Wired, many Amazon employees have exploited access to that customer data. Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams speaks with Will Evans, a senior reporter at Reveal, who has been covering this.

Gas prices are high ahead of holiday travel. To address oil costs, President Joe Biden announced Tuesday that he would tap into oil reserves and release 50 million barrels. But energy analysts say consumers likely won’t feel relief at the pump. Also on today’s show: Luxury stores keep malls afloat; how the shipping container came to be; and residents of Boquillas, Mexico, get creative to survive pandemic border closures.

By now, you’ve probably heard that Jerome Powell has been nominated to serve another four years as chair of the Federal Reserve, our nation’s central bank. As we talked about on the show Monday, the decision boiled down to a political calculus. But what does the Fed do anyway? And why do we need it?

“The main reason why the Fed itself was created was because in the lead-up to 1913, which is when it was created, there were a bunch of bank runs. It was sort of every bank for itself back then, where banks would issue their own money. There wasn’t a central source of money printing. And so, if one bank maybe ran into trouble, people would run and pull their money out,” said Victoria Guida, who covers the Federal Reserve for Politico.

So basically, the Fed is supposed to be there when things go wrong to maintain the health of our economy. But the Fed does a lot of other things, like control borrowing costs and regulate banks.

On the show today, Guida explains the evolution of the Fed and how it touches the life of every person in this economy and may be making wealth inequality worse.

In the News Fix, we stick with the theme of the day and highlight a story about why presidents shouldn’t mess with the independence of the central bank. Also, inflation is coming to a dollar store near you.

Later, we’ll hear from a listener who is changing up his holiday shopping habits this year and talk Thanksgiving turducken-inspired cocktails!

Here’s everything we talked about today:

Read the transcript here.

We will be off the rest of the week for the holiday break. We are so grateful for our listeners and wish you a happy Thanksgiving!