Host Molly Wood speaks with Adi Robertson, a senior reporter at The Verge, about how virtual reality is having its time right now. However, due to the global pandemic, VR headsets are on a shortage, which might make the product miss its spotlight. Robertson says we shouldn’t think of VR as a tool for online and homeschooling because it’s expensive and inaccessible for students, given the shortage — not to mention students who already have a hard time getting access to the internet and a decent computer.

When someone tests positive for COVID-19, one way to try to prevent its spread is for public health officials to track down all the people that person has been in contact with and then isolate them. This is called contact tracing, and the U.S. hasn’t done a great job of it so far. Now Big Tech wants to get involved. Apple and Google announced a program where they allow people who’ve tested positive for the virus to tell an app, which then alerts people nearby via Bluetooth technology. Will it work? “Marketplace Tech” host Molly Wood discusses that with Ross Anderson, a professor of security engineering at the University of Cambridge.

Host Molly Wood speaks with Jimmy Chen, founder and CEO of the startup Propel, which makes an app called Fresh EBT. The app helps recipients of SNAP, also known as food stamps, digitally check their balances. Now, Propel has partnered with GiveDirectly, a nonprofit, to give a one-time cash gift to users of the Fresh EBT app, beginning in areas hardest hit by COVID-19.

Host Molly Wood speaks with Sarah Frier, a social media reporter for Bloomberg News, about her new book “No Filter: The Inside Story of Instagram.” Originally, the incentive on Instagram was to get as many followers, likes and comments as possible on content posted, but during this pandemic, Frier says, influencers on the platform are sharing entertainment via live videos and stories — tools that were less popular pre-pandemic. She also predicts that Instagram won’t go back to mostly aspirational content posting — like photos of outfits, luxe dinners or exotic travel — right away.

Host Molly Wood speaks with Jay Koh, managing director of the private equity firm the Lightsmith Group, which focuses on climate adaptation technology. As the pandemic keeps people quarantined at home, the fight against climate change isn’t paused. And Koh says after the pandemic, people may reevaluate the way they travel, which could permanently lower our carbon footprint.

Host Molly Wood speaks with Joseph Steinberg, a cybersecurity consultant, about why some state and federal computing infrastructures are still running on the decades-old coding language COBOL. New Jersey’s recent surge of unemployment benefit claims overwhelmed the system. It might need to be replaced or at least scaled up, Steinberg says, and that can be expensive.

Host Molly Wood speaks with U.S. Rep. Ro Khanna of California, a Democrat whose 17th District includes Silicon Valley, about how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting business for tech companies. Many of these companies, he says, have been pitching various tech-based solutions, and many are still not being used. Right now he is also working with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and other legislators to help gig workers maintain their flow of income.

Host Molly Wood speaks with Aziz Gilani of venture capital firm Mercury Fund about why venture-backed startup companies are not included in the coronavirus relief bill, which allows small businesses to apply for loans. Congress did not intend to leave startups out, he says, but the oversight means his company is scrambling to find ways to support some 40 companies in Mercury’s portfolio.

Kimberly James, 46, of Rome, Georgia, is a gig worker who has delivered food and transported passengers. But she has health problems, and has had to stop working to minimize her exposure to COVID-19. But, as a gig worker, not an employee, she has way fewer options for how to keep herself afloat financially.

Host Kimberly Adams speaks with her sister, Nichole Adams-Flores, psychology supervisor for CHE Behavioral Health Services, about how telehealth has changed during the pandemic to allow her to continue offering mental health care to the elderly patients she works with. Now, Adams-Flores says, they are allowed to use popular apps like WhatsApp or FaceTime to stay in touch with loved ones and doctors. It does pose some patient privacy questions, and Adams-Flores says that’s been a big topic of conversation.