Marketplace All-in-One

We are days away from the 20th anniversary of 9/11. Much has been said of the resilience and rebirth of downtown New York in the aftermath of the World Trade Center attacks, but what of Pennsylvania, where Flight 93 crashed in a field in Shanksville after passengers fought back against the hijackers on the plane? Marketplace’s Nova Safo joins us from Pittsburgh. The FDA is on the cusp of determining which e-cigarettes could remain on the market. Susan Schmidt is our guest today for markets and economy discussion.

From the BBC World Service: The semiconductor giant wants the chip-making supply chain to be spread across various regions of the world, so it’s planning to expand its manufacturing capacity in Ireland and elsewhere in Europe. Plus, as Lebanon struggles with major energy supply shortages, regional energy ministers meet in Jordan to examine how to alleviate the pressure.

The White House is looking for $24 billion to help with Hurricane Ida’s aftermath along with almost $6 and a half billion for the resettlement of evacuees from Afghanistan. Marketplace’s Andy Uhler joins us to talk about the details. The BBC reports on China’s regulatory sweep now hitting the education sector. Then, we take a trip to Pittsburgh to get a snapshot of the region’s economic outlook as we near the 20th anniversary of 9/11. 

When you’re sick, you can get treated with medicine or surgery. There’s a growing field, though, that looks at our own cells as treatment delivery systems. Many see it as the future of medicine, and that’s prompting a lot of investment in the field. This year, the industry is on track to raise more than $20 billion dollars, a record. That’s according to the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine, an advocacy group whose members include universities, foundations and major biopharma companies like Pfizer, Bayer and Johnson & Johnson. Marketplace’s Jed Kim talks to Janet Lambert, their CEO.

It might not be talked about much, but reproductive rights are an economic issue.

There’s a growing body of research suggesting a link between access to abortion and women’s economic stability.

“We have evidence that for women who delayed becoming mothers, because they had access to abortion, those women were much more likely to attend college, to graduate college, to obtain occupations that are kind of professional in nature. And they had higher wages by as much as about 10%. And they were about half as likely to live in poverty as adults,” said Caitlin Myers, an economics professor at Middlebury College who studies the effects of reproductive policies.

Myers also pointed to evidence that women who encounter obstacles to obtaining an abortion and are ultimately unable to have one are much more likely to face bankruptcy proceedings, see their credit status decline and suffer financial distress.

In the aftermath of Texas’ abortion ban, we’ll discuss reproductive rights as an issue of economic justice and why those rights are rarely seen through an economic lens.

In the news fix, we discuss Afghanistan’s new government and what it might mean for the country’s economy. Later, a listener shares his favorite Ikea hack, and the fart joke that keeps on giving.

When you’re done listening, tell your Echo device to “make me smart” for our daily explainers. This week, we’re explaining China’s massive tutoring business, how Hollywood stars get paid and hard seltzer. You can hear them all here. And don’t forget to subscribe to our newsletter! You can find the latest issue here.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

Read the transcript here.

Traveling nurses have always earned more than their full-time counterparts at hospitals. With high demand for nurses in intensive care units, especially in the undervaccinated South, traveling nurses can now earn more than $10,000 per week. Eyeing the higher pay, some regularly employed nurses are leaving their jobs to travel — which further exacerbates staffing challenges and pushes up costs. Also on today’s program: how eco-friendly products are causing aluminum prices to soar, retailers struggle to stock up for holiday shopping and how working women can apply Machiavelli’s teachings.

The White House had to navigate the challenges of the exit from Afghanistan and softening the impact of the delta variant for most of August. With September, President Biden hopes to shift his focus on to his economic agenda. Paul Christopher of Wells Fargo is today’s guest for our economy and markets discussion. The BBC reports on El Salvador making bitcoin an official currency there. It’s the first nation to do so, and that’s triggered some unrest.

Hurricane Ida’s march through the Gulf Coast and the northeast left behind destruction that’s still being calculated. Nancy Marshall-Genzer gives us an update on the post-Ida recovery process. Supply chain issues are still plaguing the construction industry, which is also losing jobs. We also get an economic postcard from Africa, where the tourist destination of Victoria Falls is seeing a decrease in visitors.

From the BBC World Service: The Latin American country will require businesses when possible to accept bitcoin from paying customers. It’s the first nation to have bitcoin as an official currency. But there have been protests and the World Bank and IMF have expressed concerns over the move. Plus, semiconductor shortages are on the agenda at a major motor industry trade show in Munich. And, how a coup in Guinea, one of the world’s biggest bauxite producers, sparked supply concerns, leading aluminum prices to surge to a 10-year high.

Starting today, bitcoin is an official national currency in El Salvador, along with U.S. dollars. To use the cryptocurrency, Salvadorans need to download an electronic wallet. If they use the government-sanctioned wallet, they’ll get $30 worth of bitcoin to use. Stores have to accept bitcoin, provided they have internet access and can do so. They’ll still take American dollars. In the past six months, the value of a bitcoin has fluctuated by as much as $30,000, so how it’ll go is anyone’s guess. Marketplace’s Jed Kim speaks with George Selgin, who directs the Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives at the Cato Institute.