Marketplace All-in-One

The U.S. Census Bureau released poverty rates for 2020 today. While the official poverty rate went up slightly, the supplemental poverty rate — which experts say gives a more accurate picture — went down to its lowest in census measurement because of expanded pandemic relief for millions. But with many of those government programs expired or ending in a pandemic economy, the future of the American poverty rate looks uncertain. Also on today’s show: Small businesses look to up prices amid supply chain woes, a look back at the Occupy movement 10 years on and the creators of “South Park” hope to revive the wonderland-meets-restaurant, Casa Bonita.

Some numbers suggest that safety net programs have prevented many people from submerging into poverty. The Democrats want to keep some of those programs going, but at what cost? Jeffery Cleveland drops in to discuss the rise and fall of prices as well as what the Fed might be thinking about as inflation appears to slow down. We examine a bill that could alter how businesses like Amazon handle warehouse quotas.

Today is the first full day of witness testimony in the trial of Elizabeth Holmes, who was the CEO of blood-testing startup Theranos. Federal prosecutors say Holmes deceived investors about the company’s tech capabilities and harmed patients who received faulty blood tests. Adam Lashinsky, who’s covering the trial for Business Insider, catches us up on where the trial stands at the moment. Also today, Hurricane Nicholas made landfall early this morning along the Gulf coasts of Texas and Louisiana, and it has once again disrupted Gulf oil production.

From the BBC World Service: The Chinese conglomerate Evergrande has detailed the extent of its financial problems. Plus, we examine the future of Norway’s oil sector following the country’s general election. And assess the plight of Nigerians who live near the country’s toxic gas flares, which are a result of oil extraction in the country.

Apple’s streaming event from California happens today and many expect there’ll be an announcement of a new iPhone model. Speculation always abounds, because Apple is notoriously tight-lipped with these events. One thing that they have announced is a new feature in iOS that pays attention to how we walk, or our gait. The idea is that it’ll be able to tell if something’s changed about a senior citizen’s gait and that could give early warning of a fall. Marketplace’s Jed Kim speaks with Dominic Endicott, a partner and director at Northstar Ventures, which invests in “age tech.” Endicott says Apple has already introduced a feature in its watches that can tell if you’ve fallen, and it helps you call 911.

Apple’s security impermeability has been shattered to pieces. Today, Apple issued an emergency software update for its products after researchers discovered devices could be infected with the highly invasive Pegasus software without a single click. We’ll explain what that means for your security. Plus, “Shipageddon” will be with us until 2022, and we discuss a few science-related stories you might’ve missed, including one about baby cows being potty-trained. And finally, one of the fashion industry’s biggest parties is making us smile (#metgala).

Here’s everything we talked about today:

Read the transcript here.

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Indoor dining is closed in some places, restaurants are requesting federal aid and, for many businesses, fall 2021 is already looking a lot like fall 2020. On today’s show, we’ll look at where things stand. Plus: GDP growth, retail spending in China and the history behind power grid problems in Texas.

Companies like Amazon, Target and Walmart have instituted programs that offer college tuition for frontline workers in an effort to draw in and retain more people. Some numbers show that the strategy is working. Julia Coronado joins us for today’s economic discussion. The BBC reports on the struggle of female gamers to boost their earning potential in the competitive gaming world of esports.

China’s wealth inequality has been put in the spotlight recently, with Chinese president Xi Jinping pressuring the country’s 1% to pitch in and help everyone else. We talk with Marketplace’s China correspondent Jennifer Pak to get a picture of what this approach means for China’s middle class. Here in the U.S., we look at how employers are cooking up ways to draw in and retain workers in the middle of the nationwide labor shortage.

From the BBC World Service: Evergrande has operations in health care, autos, theme-park developments and even bottled-water production. It’s also China’s second-biggest property developer, though with massive debts, credit ratings agencies say time is running out for the company. Plus, while nearly half of the world’s professional online gamers are women and girls, they’re only taking a fraction of the competition prize money.