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The Trump administration has been clear about its desire for deep federal funding cuts to university research. So, some institutions of higher learning are looking to other sources of revenue, including backing startups spun off from research. Today, we'll examine the potential money-making idea. Plus, we’ll learn about a hiring pullback by smaller businesses, hear about smartphone surveillance attempts by India, and check on younger consumer optimism.
President Donald Trump plans to announce weaker fuel efficiency standards for cars and trucks at a White House event today. The move will likely reverse a Biden-era rule requiring automakers to reach an average of 50 miles per gallon for new vehicles by 2031. Plus, as part of our lunar economy series, we hear how one company is recycling space debris into more useful products for the space industry.
From the BBC World Service: European politicians have reached a provisional agreement to phase out imports of Russian gas by 2027. Exports of oil and gas have been crucial for Russia to fund its military campaign in Ukraine. Russia says Europe will be less competitive and that consumers will have to pay higher prices. Then, we'll check in on Japan's work-life balance and hear about a diamond-studded Faberge egg, which just sold at auction for $30 million.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman once speculated that we'll soon see the first billion-dollar company run by one person and an army of AI agents. Journalist Evan Ratliff decided to put the idea to the test in the newest season of his podcast, “Shell Game,” where Ratliff and his team of synthetic co-founders, executives and workers launched their startup, HurumoAI. His AI agents designed a logo, built a website and eventually released their own agentic AI service.
Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino spoke with Ratliff about what he learned from this whole experience.
The Federal Reserve’s quantitative approach to monetary policy decisions means its governors tend to reach consensus. But in the past few meetings, some FOMC members have disagreed on whether to prioritize jobs or inflation. In this episode, “Marketplace” host Kai Ryssdal and former FOMC member Daniel Tarullo discuss why the Fed is divided right now. Plus: Dollar stores weather an uncertain economy, companies use return-to-office policies as a workforce reduction mechanism, and electricity demand grows as data centers pop up nationwide.
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If you could send a message to yourself, 20 years into the future, what would you say? On today’s show, Scientific American’s editor-in-chief David Ewalt joins Kimberly to share how he built an e-mail time capsule two decades ago and how human relationships kept the project alive despite the challenges of a rapidly changing technology and media landscape.
Here’s the article we talked about today:
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