Make Me Smart
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Make Me Smart
Each weekday, Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams makes today make sense along with her Marketplace colleagues, breaking down happenings in tech, the economy, and culture. Because none of us is as smart as all of us.
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From "This Is Uncomfortable": "You'll never be ready to buy a home"
Hey smarties! Happy New Year. We’re taking a short break for the holidays. In the meantime, we’re sharing an episode from our friends over at “This Is...
Cheers to hosting better parties this holiday season (rerun)
Hey smarties! We’re on a break for the holidays and revisiting some of our top episodes from 2025. We can’t do this show without you and we still need...
"Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle" and anime's biggest year yet
Hey smarties! We’re taking a short break for the holidays. In the meantime, enjoy this bonus episode on one of Kimberly’s favorite topics: anime!
The music industry vs. AI (rerun)
Hey smarties! We’re taking a short break for the holidays. So today, we’re revisiting one of our favorite episodes from 2025. Enjoy!
Today we’re...
Your thoughts on the economy in 2025
On today’s show, we’re digging into the mailbag to hear our listeners’ thoughts on the economy in 2025. Spoiler: tariffs came up a lot. And, we’ll hea...
Feeding the Family
Hey Smarties! We’re dropping into your feeds today to share this special coverage from Marketplace.
For many people gathering around the table t...
How to start the caregiving conversation
Family caregivers in the United States are increasingly under mental and financial stress. Elizabeth Miller, founder of the caregiver resource platfor...
Can we fix America’s long-term care system?
Long-term care is expensive in the United States. With Medicaid spending cuts looming and the Trump administration’s deportation plans threatening the...
The "invisible workforce" of family caregivers
Roughly 1 in 4 Americans now identifies as a family caregiver. That share has risen dramatically over the past decade. With more people needing care a...
Floridians feel the impacts of climate change
Florida is a state that often feels tangible impacts of climate change, with strong storms and hurricanes making landfall in the state every hurricane...
Why the Fed cut interest rates
The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point Wednesday. And this decision comes as President Donald Trump continues to pu...
Deep-sea mining: The next frontier for critical minerals
Rare-earth elements help power our everyday electrical devices, and that’s because most batteries are made with minerals like lithium, nickel, cobalt...
Shopping through a K-shaped holiday season
As another holiday season kicked off on Black Friday, finding the perfect gift is top of mind for many. But how much will weary American consumers be...
Is the U.S. a gerontocracy?
The average age of Congress' members has gotten older compared to the Americans it represents. This 119th Congress is the third oldest since 1789. On...
The human story behind a digital time capsule
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 Ew...
From "Million Bazillion": What is Black Friday?
Each year on Black Friday, millions of Americans go out in search of the best holiday season shopping deals. But have you ever wondered about the orig...
From "How We Survive": The Dry Line
Hey Smarties! Happy Thanksgiving. Today we’re sharing an episode from the latest season of Marketplace’s climate podcast, “How We Survive,” that has t...
How prediction markets are transforming sports betting
Business has been booming for the online sports betting industry. Prediction markets threw a curveball. On today’s show, sports betting industry write...
Cheers to hosting better parties this holiday season
The holidays are just around the corner. And for many, it might mean being a guest at, or hosting, a friendsgiving get-together or other holiday party...
The COP without the U.S.
The United Nations’ climate summit, COP30, is underway in Brazil. But one country is notably absent: the United States. On today’s show, climate law e...
Are we on the cusp of another big health care debate?
For the Affordable Care Act, it’s been one battle after another. The ongoing fight over the ACA subsidies at the center of the government shutdown are...
What’s happening in Vegas?
The Latin Grammys threw a party in Las Vegas last night. But this year, the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown has had a chilling effect on...
An unbalancing of power
Congress may have ended the shutdown (finally), but it’s still entangled in a power struggle with the Executive Branch. Kai Ryssdal has thoughts. On t...
The rise of the "solo economy"
It’s Singles Day in China: a retail holiday that runs circles around Black Friday and Cyber Monday. By comparison, single Americans are an untapped ma...
How rising energy costs factored into Virginia's elections
On today’s edition of Economics on Tap, we’re heading to Virginia! The state held major elections this week, and affordability was top of mind for vot...
Quantum computing: What's all the hype about?
Quantum computing is still in an experimental phase, but tech companies say it could eventually have an enormous impact on the global economy. How lon...
Friends, foes and tariffs
President Donald Trump’s tariffs have rattled the global economy this year. That goes for both allies and adversaries of the United States. But the fu...
How to face your financial fears
On today’s show, we’re talking about facing your financial fears, because it’s a scary time for many in this economy! Reema Khrais, host of “This Is U...
How can we build a more resilient labor market?
As big companies announce waves of layoffs, lots of workers are worried about AI coming for their jobs. On today’s show, we tune in to part of Kimberl...
The shutdown continues
It’s Day 28 of the government shutdown, and lawmakers still aren’t budging on the budget. But Congress faces key deadlines this week: Funds for assist...
From "How We Survive": The Uncanny Valley of Meat
Hey Smarties! Today we’re sharing another episode from the latest season of “How We Survive,” Marketplace’s climate solutions podcast. Host Amy Scott...
Chicago vs. ICE
Chicago has been dealing with a lot these days. The city has been a battleground for the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown and efforts to d...
How can our food systems become more sustainable?
The climate crisis has a lot to do with what we eat. That’s what the latest season of Marketplace’s climate solutions podcast “How We Survive” is all...
From "How We Survive": Food Tour of the Future
Hey Smarties! Today we’re passing the mic to our friends over at “How We Survive.” This season, Marketplace’s climate solutions podcast is diving into...
Make Me Smart: St. Louis Edition
Today we’re taking a trip to Kimberly’s hometown: St. Louis, Missouri. St. Louis Public Radio’s politics correspondent Jason Rosenbaum joins Kimberly...
This labor market is ripe for job scams
In this rough labor market, job seekers are more vulnerable to scams. We’ve all seen those texts, right? The ones offering jobs with suspiciously high...
When the government shuts down, tribal communities get the shaft
The effects of government shutdowns are felt particularly deeply in tribal communities across the United States. That’s because the federal government...
Dealing with credit card or medical debt? Here's how to handle it.
On today’s show, Kimberly is joined by the host of NPR’s “Life Kit” podcast, Marielle Segarra, who’s recently been working on a four-week newsletter s...
An economic vocab lesson for the Trump era
Today we’re all getting smarter about some of the economic and political terms dominating the headlines these days. Terms like “authoritarianism” and...
The politicization of the National Guard
A growing list of U.S. cities are set to see National Guard troops in their communities as President Trump explores ways to deploy the military on Ame...