Marketplace All-in-One

It’s been about a year and a half since ChatGPT hit the scene and changed the world of education, leaving teachers scrambling to adjust lesson plans and grading policies. Currently, only a handful of states are providing guidance on how AI should be used in the classroom. Just five have official policies, with about a dozen more in the works. Bree Dusseault at the Center on Reinventing Public Education at Arizona State University has been following all this.

New data shows Black and Latino voters are shifting away from the Democratic Party and toward the GOP. But is this shift real? We’ll get into it and discuss the possible economic forces at play. Plus, what you really need to know about President Joe Biden’s budget proposal. And, the similarities between humans and bumblebees! Here’s everything we talked about today: “White House Forecasts Somewhat Higher Interest Rates” from The Wall Street Journal Survey on racial realignment in American politics from John Burn-Murdoch on X “Bees Reveal a Human-Like Collective Intelligence We Never Knew Existed” from ScienceAlert “Ancient Rome successfully fought against voter intimidation − a political story told on a coin that resonates today” from The Conversation 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.

The Federal Reserve decided that our inflation goal is 2% annually. It hasn’t hit that level, but prices are relatively stable and the economy’s going strong, with a hot labor market and a growing GDP. In this episode, is the landing we have soft enough? Plus, inventory stories: Retailers have recovered from that early COVID supply backlog and more vehicles on dealers’ lots mean a different sales pitch.

Stocks close mixed; people’s inflation expectations mostly unchanged; Reddit hoping to raise more than $750 million in IPO; inflation data due this week.

Commerce Secretary Raimondo is visiting the Indo-Pacific countries; Saudi Arabia’s Aramco reports $121 billion profit in 2023; Trump says he would continue to rely on tariffs if reelected; Justice Department launches probe of Alaska Airlines Max jet accident, WSJ reports.

The House of Representatives is expected to take up a bill this week that could effectively ban TikTok in the U.S. if the Chinese company that owns it, ByteDance, doesn’t sell off the social media platform. That effort has rare bipartisan support. We’ll unpack the latest. Later: what to make of some firmer-than-expected inflation readings and how the marching band at Prairie View A&M is helping students’ career prospects.

Consumer trust in Boeing is wearing thin since an airplane door ripped off a 737 Max 9 in January, which has been followed by a string of other recent Boeing safety incidents. So how much does faltering trust actually impact the business of air travel? Plus, President Joe Biden will unveil a new budget proposal today, and banks are still grappling with fallout of SVB’s failure one year on.

From the BBC World Service: China’s annual policy meeting has drawn to a close at a time when the country has mountains of debt, high youth unemployment and a property sector in crisis. So what is the government’s plan to boost confidence and steady the economy? Also on today’s program: Sweden officially joins NATO and an Australian politician unveils plans for the world’s largest chocolate fountain.

Almost one in five lawyers are using AI, according to an American Bar Association survey. But there are a growing number of legal horror stories involving tools like ChatGPT, because chatbots have a tendency to make stuff up — such as legal precedents from cases that never happened. Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino spoke with Daniel Ho at Stanford’s Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence about the group’s recent study on how frequently three of the most popular language models from ChatGPT, Meta and Google hallucinate when asked to weigh in or assist with legal cases.

Apple has abandoned its effort to make an autonomous electric vehicle. We’ll get into why the company’s venture flopped and what it says about the supply chain for electric vehicle parts. Then, we’ll explain how a Texas federal judge’s ruling is upending race-based aid for businesses. And, guest host Sabri Ben-Achour tells us how he created a flower. Plus, we’ll play a round of Half Full/Half Empty! Here’s everything we talked about today: “How Apple Sank About $1 Billion a Year Into a Car It Never Built” from Bloomberg “Federal judge in Texas rules that minority-business aid must be offered to all races” from The Houston Chronicle “Federal judge in Texas says agency created to help minority-owned businesses must provide assistance to all races” from CNN Politics “Retailers take on Amazon Prime with new subscription services” from Marketplace “The IRS pilots its free tax-filing program” from Marketplace “Oscar Watch Parties” from LAist “Skijoring brings cowboys and skiers to Western towns, but warm weather leaves the sport in flux” from Marketplace “Bill that could ban TikTok in the U.S. gains momentum in Congress” from NBC News 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.

When supply chains were backed up early in the pandemic, some businesses bulked up on warehouse space. Now that inventory is no longer a problem, what to do with the excess? And in the art world, some nonprofits are trying to buy real estate, which comes with benefits and financial hurdles. Also in this episode: COVID habits shape restaurant hiring and a bakery deals with rising costs.

Stocks fall; unemployment rate ticks up; average pay continues to outpace inflation; Costco sales rise.

The Labor Department reports the unemployment rate last month spiked up to 3.9%; New York Fed President John Williams says the “neutral interest rate”is still quite low; President Biden cites job creation and the low unemployment rate in his State of the Union speech; The Gap turns profitable.

India has banned nearly half of its rice exports. The news has sent many Americans scrambling to stock up. We’ll explain what the ban means for global food prices. Plus, what should come first, new electric vehicle charging stations or new power lines? And, the hosts weigh in on UFOs during a round of Half Full / Half Empty. Here’s everything we talked about today: “Sen. Duckworth’s Barbie moment” from Politico “India’s ban on certain rice exports sends some U.S. consumers scrambling to find it on store shelves” from Marketplace “From Rice Ban to War and Heat, Food Inflation Risks Are Back” from Bloomberg “Biden Administration Poses Strict Targets for Vehicle Fuel Economy” from The Wall Street Journal “The advantages —and drawbacks — of decentralized social networks” from Marketplace “NASA Plus is the latest streaming competitor” from The Verge “U.S. recovered non-human ‘biologics’ from UFO crash sites, former intel official says” from NPR “Could electric planes tempt Americans to fly short distances instead of driving?” from Marketplace We want to hear your answer to the Make Me Smart question. Leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART and you might be featured in a future episode.

It’s the final tour of Dead & Company, the Grateful Dead’s offshoot band. But what’s to come of the vendors and Deadheads who’ve followed the band for decades? Today, we hear about what a long, strange trip it’s been and what happens now that the show’s over. We’ll also examine the double-edged sword of consumer spending and unpack whether inflation might threaten brand loyalty.