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Extreme supporters of President Donald Trump gathered for protests at the U.S. Capitol Wednesday, which turned violent as hoards of people broke into the U.S. Capitol Building. Lawmakers, in session to certify the 2020 presidential election, were forced into hiding and tear gas was deployed in the Capitol Rotunda. On today’s show: What this unprecedented day means for the U.S. economy going forward. Plus, more PPP loans are on the way and colleges are slow to reopen.

As we enter the second calendar year of COVID-19 life, small businesses are taking stock and adjusting their pandemic plans. The economic crisis brought on by the pandemic has shuttered more than 160,000 small businesses. And a December survey found that 1 in 4 small business owners might have to close permanently in the next six months if economic conditions don’t improve. On today’s show: How the pandemic has altered small business owners’ plans — and lives. Plus, health care is a hard system to change, Biden’s plans for COVID testing and who gets to decide what feminism looks like?

Wages have been rising during the COVID-19 pandemic, but economists say it’s just a fluke. While most higher-paid professionals have been able to work from home, millions of lower-paid service workers lost their jobs and income. And the gap between the haves and have-nots will widen even further as the economy recovers. On today’s show: Economists predict wages are likely to stagnate for returning service workers. Plus, Google’s employees unionize, and we check in on small business owners after the holiday retail bump.

Relief is finally on the way in the form of $600 checks to Americans who qualify. But that might be too little, too late for those hurting the most during this economic crisis. On today’s show: A look at how more relief might play out with a new Congress and a new administration in the White House. Plus, Texas food banks say they could be short millions of pounds of food and Congress lets paid sick, family and medical leave mandate expire.

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2020 is finally coming to a close. This year has been historic: the COVID-19 pandemic, a summer of long overdue racial reckoning, the 2020 election and the ongoing economic crisis. We’ll begin the new year with millions of Americans out of work. The highly anticipated Jan. 5 runoffs in Georgia will decide control of the Senate. And, like always, the fate of the U.S. economy rests in consumers’ hands — and wallets. On today’s show: We look back at the year that was, and how the problems of 2020 will continue in 2021.

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The Treasury Department is starting to distribute the $600 relief checks Congress agreed to in the latest COVID-19 relief package, and the IRS said it began making direct deposits into bank accounts Tuesday. For those who don’t have an account on file with the agency, paper checks or prepaid debit cards will be sent out. On today’s show: Those prepaid cards have advantages and drawbacks. Plus, Congress finally bans surprise medical bills and how 2020 became the year of the hobby.

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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell blocked an effort Tuesday by Democrats to raise the next round of relief checks to $2,000. So Americans will be getting $600 checks this time around. In the spring, people spent only about a third of the relief money. But nine months into the pandemic, millions of Americans are still out of work and unemployment benefits are dwindling; it might not be so easy to hold on to the money now. On today’s show: Americans are likely to spend their stimulus on necessities right away. Plus, public transit is getting $14 billion in aid and the beef industry is still feeling the effects of COVID-19.

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President Donald Trump finally signed the COVID-19 relief bill Sunday, nearly a week after Congress passed the package. But two key federal unemployment programs lapsed during the delay, and that’s leading to some confusion around unemployment benefits. Now it’s unclear if people will end up receiving crucial unemployment benefit payments this week. Also, a look back at this year’s “she-cession,” what the relief package has to do with climate change and holiday sales were better than expected.

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With the COVID-19 relief bill still in limbo, we talk about how people working from home are attempting to take care of their mental health. It hasn’t been easy. Also, the travel industry is hurting, even during the holidays. Then we look at how a Black-owned puzzle company has managed to piece together success as a small business during the pandemic.

While Congress did finally pass a $900 billion COVID-19 relief package this week, President Donald Trump is refusing to sign it. Millions of Americans hold their breath as the programs keeping them afloat are about to expire; meanwhile, the president has gone to Florida. On today’s show: States are now fighting over which should receive workers’ income taxes as state and local budgets crumble due to the coronavirus. Plus, churches are filling gaps in the social safety net even more during the pandemic, and the shipping crunch is hurting small businesses.