Author: Marketplace

Marketplace’s Alice Wilder has been waiting for a love letter from her boyfriend to arrive at her home since March. But it’s not just her — years of financial troubles and political turmoil mean that those still sending letters are experiencing longer delivery times. Today, Wilder explores how email has eaten into USPS’ letter traffic since 2008 and whether a romantic email could ever replace the intimacy of a handwritten letter.

The U.S. oil and natural gas industry is at a crossroads. As oil demand appears poised to plateau, natural gas demand is in a period of tremendous growth. The rub? Most U.S. natural gas is extracted as a byproduct of oil drilling. Can there be one without the other? Also in this episode: The Trump administration considers slapping tracking devices on semiconductors, Yum! Brands reports a spending slowdown, and new data shows a nearly frozen services sector.

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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.

The S&P 500 — a key guide to many savings plans — is up 22% in a year, more than twice the return it averages over time. There's a conviction all of this AI means profits, profits and more profits. Add to that a surge in speculation driven by internet chatter, and it raises the question: Should we worry the stock market is about to bubble over? We ask veteran investor Barry Ritholtz, chairman and chief investment officer at Ritholtz Wealth Management in New York. Plus, hundreds of thousands of refugees are returning to Syria after the fall of the country's dictator last year. And many of those returning are bringing their businesses back with them.

The Trump administration has vowed to roll back all sorts of federal regulations, from workplace safety standards to environmental protections. State and local governments have faced pressure from the White House to comply with this agenda. And it’s turned them into even more important battlegrounds in the regulatory wars. On the show today, Liane Jollon, executive director of Western Leaders Network, explains how local officials grapple with threats of funding cuts coming from the White House, and how you can get more involved in your state and local politics.

Later, listeners share some love for public libraries. And, Steve Pierson, co-host of “The Practivist Pod,” answers the Make Me Smart question. 

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• "States Ramping Up Regulations Amid Federal Pullback" from Forbes 
• "Trump administration moves to repeal climate ‘holy grail’" from Politico
• "Texas House issues arrest warrants for Democrats who left state to block congressional redistricting" from The Texas Tribune
• "Donald Trump wants states and cities to do as they are told" from The Economist
• "The Documenters Network" from City Bureau 

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

Last week, the new trade agreement was painted with a broad brush. But we're now getting some finer details, including a 15% cap on taxes for most European imports. Also on the program: Amazon is putting more money into AI and its cloud computing business, and major oil companies report mixed results in their latest earnings.

From the BBC World Service: Farmers in India are gearing up for protests over the country's trade relationship with the U.S. They're worried about the threat of higher tariffs, and the prospect of their market opening up to U.S. producers. Plus, as delegates from more than 170 countries meet in Geneva to agree to a legally binding agreement to curb plastics pollution, we hear from one social entrepreneur who is cleaning plastic from rivers and oceans.

A new national study from groups including Gallup and the non-profit Jobs for the Future found that relatively few employees have any influence over how new technology is adopted in the workplace.

Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino spoke with Molly Blankenship, director of strategy and impact at Jobs for the Future, about what that means for employers and employees as technology like generative AI becomes more common in the office.

As President Donald Trump puts political pressure on the Bureau of Labor Statistics, experts worry BLS data will become less trustworthy. Economists following China say they know the feeling. In this episode, what we can learn from them. Plus, we peek behind the scenes of a municipal bond sale, speak with some economists who aren’t too surprised by the revised jobs numbers, and break down what it means that Trump can nominate a new Fed governor.

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.

This week, we’re revisiting one of our favorite episodes, plus a new update and your surprising reactions.

While sorting through her father’s belongings after his death, Amanda Petteruti came across a collection of locked toolboxes. What she discovered inside made her rethink what she knew about her family’s finances and left her with unsettling questions about her dad: Why had he spent so much money on this secret hobby? Why was it now Amanda’s burden to handle? And how do you find closure with someone once they’re gone? 

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President Trump’s firing of the Bureau of Labor Statistics commissioner is not without international precedent. Other countries have gone down the path of meddling with economic data for political gain. We’ll get into lessons we can take from the rest of the world. And, can the U.S. continue to be a bastion of scientific research in the wake of deep federal funding cuts? Plus, we’ll celebrate one listener’s feat of digitizing years of her great grandmother’s diaries.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• "Every Scientific Empire Comes to an End" from The Atlantic 
• "Trump to Name New Fed Governor, Jobs Data Head in Coming Days" from Bloomberg
• "Trump Fired America’s Economic Data Collector. History Shows the Perils." from The New York Times

• Thread on X from Lulu Garcia Navarro

  
  

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