Increasingly popular buy now, pay later services allow shoppers to split their purchases into smaller, recurring payments. We’ll get into why these loans are blurring economists’ understanding of today’s consumer debt landscape. We’ll also discuss President Joe Biden’s climate and infrastructure spending spree, and the knock-on effects of parents dying from drug overdoses. Plus, singer Tyla’s sandy Met Gala look, and forgotten 100-year-old love letters make us smile.
Here’s everything we talked about today:
We love to hear from you. Send your questions and comments to makemesmart@marketplace.org or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.
What summer heat waves mean for prisons
The good, the bad and the ugly of election polling
A shadow looms over the Fed
The long game of high interest rates
The growing troubles at OpenAI
A Trump-Musk bromance
How Big Food changed the way we eat
Biden doubling down on tariffs
How the Palestinian financial system is tied up in Israel
Private equity, endless shrimp and Red Lobster’s decline
Neoliberalism’s sleight of hand
Getting deep about deepfakes
The price tag on friendship
Whaddya wanna know about key inflation measures?
The great Bumble fumble
From “Million Bazillion”: What are labor unions?
The value of “third places”
What grocery aisle gossip can tell us about the economy
The lowdown on joint fundraising committees
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