In this uncertain economy, employers want to save where they can. That’s likely why Starbucks just joined a growing list of companies to shift from merit-based raises to a flat percentage raise. In this episode, why a flat raise structure tends to be cheaper and less time consuming than merit increases — even though everyone gets ‘em. Plus: China leans into trade with developing nations, President Trump wants to cut funding for flights to rural airports, and homebuilder sentiment stays low.
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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.
Over the last decade, we've charted Russian propaganda efforts to affect elections in the U.S. and overseas. Russian President Vladimir Putin is trying to portray himself and Russia as defenders of Christian and so-called "traditional" values. As special correspondent Simon Ostrovsky reports, those arguments have found an eager audience within certain sectors of American politics. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy
In the first major biography of James Baldwin in over three decades, Nicholas Boggs presents an intimate portrait shaped by the people who inspired him. Boggs traces four of Baldwin's transformative relationships that depict him not just as a fearless social critic, but as an emotional, vulnerable man shaped by love. Geoff Bennett spoke with Boggs about his book, "Baldwin: A Love Story." PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy
Harry Siegel joins to break down the chaotic New York mayoral race, where Zohran Mamdani looks like the presumptive next mayor but hasn’t been fully tested. Siegel warns that old tweets, rent-stabilized housing, and city-run grocery promises could become liabilities once federal pressure mounts. Plus, Trump’s trade war bets on an eight-to-eleven-year payoff, a timeline that outlasts his legal term limit and raises questions about intent.
California Democratic lawmakers are moving forward with a plan to redistrict the Golden State in a move to counter the Texas Republican redistricting effort.array(3) {
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Former County Judge and former San Antonio Mayor Nelson Wolff explains his support for Project Marvel. Wolff is encouraging the San Antonio City Council to move forward with an agreement with the Spurs organization.array(3) {
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Anna Corrigan grew up in Dublin, Ireland. She thought she was an only child, until she was in her 50s and discovered a family secret. Corrigan found documents showing her mother had spent time in one of Ireland’s so-called mother and baby homes — places where single women went to give birth. And that she had given birth to two sons there. Two brothers that Corrigan never knew she had.
It's part of a sad history in Ireland that is now being unearthed, literally. Scientists believe that nearly 800 babies and children are buried in a mass grave behind one former mother and baby home in Tuam, Ireland.
NPR’s Lauren Frayer reports on the work that forensic scientists are now doing to bring those remains to light.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Email us at considerthis@npr.org.
This episode was produced by Emma Klein and Michael Levitt. It was edited by William Troop and Nick Spicer. Our executive producer is Sami Yenigun.
AI therapy? Not if you’re in Illinois. The state has banned the use of artificial intelligence for mental health therapy. It is just the third state to put restrictions on the use of AI in the field, joining Nevada and Utah. While some therapists support the ban, others are opposed, arguing that AI allows them to be more present in their client meetings. Others also vouch for AI therapy as a cheaper mental health care option for those who cannot afford professional care.
Reset hears more about what the ban could mean for mental health care patients and providers in Illinois. Today’s panel: Aaron Weiner, PhD, licensed clinical psychologist and addiction specialist; Blase Ur, assistant professor of computer science, University of Chicago; Joel Rubin, executive director, National Association of Social Workers, Illinois chapter; Mario Treto Jr., Secretary of Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.
For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.
A day after Hamas accepts a new ceasefire proposal in Gaza, an Israeli government spokesman tells us Israel is not interested in a “partial deal. We ask what's changed since Israel backed a very similar proposal three months ago.
Also in the programme: the White House says work continues on hammering out security guarantees for Ukraine; and a cocoa connoisseur on new scientific insights into what makes great chocolate.
(IMAGE: Israeli tanks deployed along the Israel-Gaza border in southern Israel, 19 August 2025. / CREDIT: Photo by ATEF SAFADI/EPA/Shutterstock (15447793c))
Meanwhile, California faces skyrocketing gas and electricity prices, mass population flight, and crumbling infrastructure.
Victor Davis Hanson breaks down how Newsom’s redistricting strategy mirrors Texas in name only and targets Republican incumbents on today’s episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words.”
“What Gavin wants to do is he’s targeting Republican congresswomen and men. And he thinks that he can redraw the districts and put two Republican incumbents in the same district. And then, one will either drop out or they’ll have to run against each other and one will win, and they will be diminished by half. He doesn’t care about the 40% of his own state that won’t have any congressional representation. That’s not on his plan.”
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