Author: Marketplace

“Affordability” — it’s a hot-button issue across the political spectrum. But how does one define or quantify a subjective idea? We called up a linguist and a few economists to hear their thoughts. Plus: Flat wholesale inflation is a warning sign for higher overall inflation, September retail sales merely inched up, and the U.S. dollar is showing signs of recovery after a troubling first half of the year.

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Marketplace is more than a radio show. Check out our original reporting and financial literacy content at marketplace.org — and consider making an investment in our future.

Business has been booming for the online sports betting industry. Prediction markets threw a curveball. On today’s show, sports betting industry writer and analyst Dustin Gouker joins Kimberly to explain how prediction markets are disrupting sports betting and the legal questions surrounding it. Plus, we’ll get into what it means to live in a world where you can bet on anything, anytime from your phone.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• "Why are sports betting companies getting into the prediction market?" from Marketplace
• "FanDuel, DraftKings Leaving American Gaming Association" from The Closing Line
• "From Kalshi to Polymarket to FanDuel, America Is One Giant Casino" from Business Insider
• "What is Kalshi, the predictions market that’s attracted the NCAA’s attention?" from The Athletic
• "The Sports-Betting Disaster" from The New Yorker
• How to contact the National Problem Gambling Helpline

We love hearing from you. Leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART or email makemesmart@marketplace.org.

If not for Social Security, more than 37% of older adults would live below the official poverty line, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. But even with Social Security benefits, about 10% of older adults still live in poverty. Today, we hear from one North Carolinian living at that economic line. Also: a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau "humility pledge" and parsing today's (vintage) government economic reports.

Are the food prices for dishes on your Thanksgiving table going up, down, or staying the same? Well, it all depends on what's on the menu this year. Today, we'll discuss holiday food prices and the dueling narratives around how they’ll hit your budget. Plus, even people who haven't historically relied on tax credits for health insurance are seeing their premiums for ACA coverage go up next year. Why?

From the BBC World Service: The world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, Binance, and its founder, Changpeng Zhao, are being sued by victims and family members of victims in the October 2023 attack in Israel. They're accusing Binance of knowingly enabling terrorist groups like Hamas to move more than $1 billion through its platform. Also: a slowdown at Serbia's Russian-owned oil refinery, growing risks to European undersea cables, and rerouted flights after an Ethiopian volcano eruption.

In the Trump administration's efforts to shrink and realign the federal government, datasets on climate, health and demographics have disappeared. Some have been scrubbed from public view, others may not be collected anymore.

This data supported apps and interactive tools many researchers relied upon.

Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino spoke with Denice Ross, senior advisor with the Federation of American Scientists and former chief data scientist for the U.S., who recently wrote a tribute to the data that's been lost.

The delayed-by-the-shutdown September jobs report showed a stronger-than-expected monthly gain of 119,000 jobs, seasonally adjusted. But dig into the data, and signs point to many of those jobs being second or third jobs. In this episode, more people are working multiple gigs to get by. Plus: China’s got a different AI investment approach than the U.S., the housing market got a boost in October, and your online return probably ended up on the secondary market.

Every story has an economic angle. Want some in your inbox? Subscribe to our daily or weekly newsletter.

Marketplace is more than a radio show. Check out our original reporting and financial literacy content at marketplace.org — and consider making an investment in our future.

The U.S. economy is often buoyed by consumer spending. In China, however, consumer spending is a much smaller part of economic output. And while the government there tries to stimulate spending, young people there are grappling with high unemployment and stalling wage growth. Plus, we'll discuss expectations for inflation and economic growth, as well as consumer shopping figures for this upcoming Black Friday.

Americans don’t often have a direct say in how their tax dollars get spent; those decisions are generally left to elected officials. But some places have engaged in “participatory budgeting,” where residents propose projects, then vote on which ones get public funding. Today, we head to Nashville to learn how the process played out. But first: economics at the center of G20 discussions and what Thanksgiving travel plans are looking like.

From the BBC World Service: A gathering in South Africa of major economies has ended with a joint declaration committing to "multilateral cooperation." We'll hear more. Plus, India and Canada have agreed to resume discussions on a bilateral trade deal, a three-day national strike is getting underway in Belgium, and the Chinese government is urging young people to spend more to boost the economy — but that’s proving difficult at a time of record youth unemployment.