Author: Marketplace

In the wake of yesterday’s assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk, Regina Bateson, a political science professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, joins Kimberly to unpack the rise of targeted political violence in the United States and what it means for the health of our democracy. Then, one of our listeners shares how digitizing her great grandmother’s WWII diaries helped connect her with her family’s past.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• "A new dark normal of political violence still shocks the nation" Politico 
• "Tracking Attitudes About Elections and Political Violence Over Time" from States United Democracy Center
• "How Americans Justify Political Violence" from The New York Times Magazine 
• "Special Report: Key Political Violence and Resilience Trends From 2024" from the Bridging Divides Initiative 
• Check out Beth’s digitized diary project

Join us tomorrow for “Economics on Tap.” The YouTube livestream starts at 3:30 p.m. Pacific time, 6:30 p.m. Eastern.

Unionized Starbucks workers are still without a contract after more than a year of bargaining. Both the company and the union say it’s the other side holding up negotiations at the bargaining table. Today, we'll hear from a founding member of the union representing workers there. Plus, consumer inflation is moving the wrong way. The consumer price index released this morning showed prices up 2.9% annually in August. We'll discuss.

The Census Bureau finds that the gap between what women and men earned in 2024 widened. Typical wages for men increased 3.7%, but stayed flat for women. Also on this morning's program: An internal watchdog at the Labor Department has launched a probe into how the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics collects and reports economic data. Plus, new data found that foreclosure activity is up 18%. How worried should we be?

From the BBC World Service: Pharmaceutical giant Merck has scrapped plans worth more than $1 billion to expand its operations in the United Kingdom, blaming a lack of government support. It's the latest pharmaceutical company to curb investments there. Also, Mexico plans to slap tariffs of up to 50% on cars from China and other Asian countries. And, there's a warning from the World Health Organization that workers worldwide need better protection from extreme heat.

It’s challenging for parents to get access to their kids’ data to look out for online harms. In Congress, there's a bipartisan push to change that with a bill called Sammy's Law, named after a teen who died of fentanyl poisoning in 2021. He purchased drugs on social media.

Marketplace’s Nova Safo spoke with Will Oremus, tech news analysis writer at The Washington Post, who’s been monitoring the bill's progress.

Consumer prices have been overall slow to reflect the Trump administration’s new tariffs. So we called up some retailers to understand why they haven’t raised their prices, even though their costs are higher. It turns out, bumping up prices isn’t as easy as pushing a button — and can come with consequences. Also in this episode: Bond yields tell us where the economy’s headed, volatile categories can have an outsize impact on the PPI, and a new book investigates the “double tax” Black women face.

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Wealthier foreigners are driving up rental prices and driving out long-term residents in Mexico City. There have been demonstrations there this summer, with some protesters damaging shops and restaurants that cater to tourists. In the popular neighborhood of La Condesa, activists say that as many as one in five homes is now for shorter-term rentals. We'll hear how residents are feeling and learn how the government is responding. But first: good news on wholesale inflation.

A U.S. district court issued a preliminary injunction barring President Donald Trump from ousting Federal Reserve Board Governor Lisa Cook, which means she can stay in her job while she fights her dismissal. The central bank is largely supposed to be insulated from politicians. However, this is unlikely to be the final word on the matter. And later, consumers have choices for many services. Why is that not the case with electricity providers?

From the BBC World Service: President Donald Trump is calling on the European Union to hit China and India — two major buyers of Russian oil — with tariffs of up to 100%. Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, has been defending her trade agreement with the U.S. at a State of the Union address. Also, protesters in Mexico City have held several demonstrations recently over the growing issue of gentrification.

Fifteen years ago, then-CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad. His vision was for a lean-back device used mostly to consume content. Now, with the latest iPadOS 26, the device is evolving into something different — and perhaps something more useful. Craig Grannell got early access to iPadOS 26 and wrote about the system's laptop-like qualities in Wired magazine.