Category: 4-FrequentNewsStreams

As part of our "Buy Now, Pay Later" series — produced in partnership with Next Avenue, a nonprofit news platform for older adults produced by Twin Cities PBS — we'll hear firsthand from 70-year-old Loreli Taylor, a Social Security beneficiary who took out student loans decades ago and still has debt to pay down. She's not alone; the number of student loan borrowers 62 and older is up sharply. Also, borrowing rates are rising.

Today, to start a three-part series examining America's persistent racial wealth gap, we head to Tulsa, Oklahoma. There, in 1921, a violent white mob destroyed the thriving Greenwood neighborhood — then known as America's "Black Wall Street.” The event wiped out much of the prosperity experienced by the area’s Black residents and, along with it, the opportunity for intergenerational wealth-building. We'll learn about the history and attempts at restitution. But first: a downgrade of the nation's credit rating.

From the BBC World Service: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is expected to unveil the results of a reset in post-Brexit relations with the EU on defense, trade and fishing rights. We'll hear more. Then, Canada is home to 2 million Indigenous people, roughly half of whom say they struggle to afford basics, including food. Historically, Indigenous Canadians were limited from profiting from food production by law, but the government has now pledged to increase food security.

As JB Pritzker goes back and forth on a third gubernatorial term and former Mayor Rahm Emanuel makes his own media rounds, speculation intensifies about whether the two Illinois politicians have plans to run for president. Reset gets the latest from WBEZ state politics reporter Dave McKinney. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

Having a baby in the era of apps, influencers, subreddits and Facebook groups, has its ups and downs.

Journalist Amanda Hess thought she knew all about it as an internet culture writer for the New York Times, but found herself surprised when she was the one expecting.

She writes about how pregnancy magnified her relationship with technology in a new memoir, “Second Life: Having a Child in the Digital Age.”

It begins, actually before conception — with the period-tracking app, Flo Health.

As we celebrate Asian American Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we focus on the cuisine from the Hawaiian islands and where to find it in Chicago. Reset learns more from Ivan Lee, who opened Aloha Eats with his father in 2004. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

University retirement communities — where a college partners with a senior living community to provide residents access to classes, concerts, sporting events and more — are rising in the U.S. It's an attempt by some colleges to cater to the growing number of Americans over 65. We'll visit one just outside of Baltimore. Also: what a disconnect between hard data and soft data means for the Federal Reserve and how Chinese exporters are pivoting amid tariff uncertainty.

On today’s show, Kai makes a special annoucement! But first, Moody’s knocked the United States’ government’s credit rating down a peg below Triple-A. We’ll break down what that actually means and why it may not be as dire as it sounds but still matters a lot for the vibes. Plus, we’ll explain why, even with a majority, the House GOP hasn’t been able to pass its budget bill. And, we’ll play a round of Half Full/Half Empty and nerd out on “Star Wars” spin-off shows.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• "House budget panel rejects GOP megabill amid conservative opposition" from Politico 
• "Army to place large metal plates on DC streets to protect them from tanks during June parade" from WTOP News 
• "U.S. Loses Last Triple-A Credit Rating" from The Wall Street Journal 
• "Airbnb Is in Midlife Crisis Mode" from Wired
• "Why banks still have branches — and why some are motivated to add more" from Marketplace
• "Gen Z's 'conscious unbossing' should be a wake-up call for businesses" from Business Insider
• ​​"Is the Next Great American Novel Being Published on Substack?" from The New Yorker 
• "Warner’s Streaming Service Has New Name: Its Old One. Meet ‘HBO Max.’" from The Wall Street Journal  

Got a message for the hosts? Email makemesmart@marketplace.org or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.

Nearly a dozen South Side elementary students sickened after ingesting marijuana edibles. Mayor Johnson reaches the midpoint of his term. Congressional competitions heat up in the race to replace retiring Sen. Durbin and Rep. Schakowsky. Reset goes behind the headlines of those stories and much more in our Weekly News Recap with a panel of journalists. This week we have Block Club Chicago reporter Mack Liederman, WBEZ senior editor of government, politics and safety Angela Rzas O’Toole, and government finance and accountability reporter with the Illinois Answers Project at the Better Government Association Alex Nitkin. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

The Eurovision Song Contest was started in 1956 as an effort by a consortium of European broadcasters to use culture to unite the disparate countries of the emerging EU. Approaching 70 years of performances, 160 million could watch this year’s Eurovision, even in this age of streaming digital distractions. What's behind the staying power? But first, the WNBA season starts tonight after a breakout 2024, where attendance, viewership, and ad and merch sales all skyrocketed.