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A new Alabama law that restricts diversity, equity and inclusion curriculum in public institutions goes into effect Oct. 1. In response, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin is calling on Black athletes to boycott playing sports at Alabama colleges and universities in hopes that the potential economic loss will lead to the law’s repeal. We’ll examine. Plus, the Federal Trade Commission is challenging patents on 20 brand-name drugs.

From the BBC World Service: The European Commission is investigating how Meta handles political content, including a suspected Russian influence campaign. That issue is particularly important with so many elections coming up around the world. Also, WhatsApp is banned in some countries, yet WhatsApp’s boss says millions are using workarounds to access it. Then, what has stopped many international music artists from touring in India, and why are things changing?

In October, NASA will launch the Europa Clipper spacecraft, beginning a deep-space mission to one of Jupiter’s moons to determine if it’s capable of supporting life. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali recently visited NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, where the Clipper was built, to learn more about the mission and see the spacecraft before its shipped off to Cape Canaveral, Florida, later this month.

Today we’re talking about the trade deficit at the request of some of our curious listeners. Since the mid-’70s, the U.S. has persistently been importing more goods than it exports. Is that such a bad thing? We’ll hear from Eswar Prasad, professor of trade policy at Cornell University and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, about why the U.S. has a trade deficit, whether it’s a good or bad thing, and why a country’s overall trade deficit matters more than deficits with specific countries.



Then, we’ll get into how online political donations are fueling election campaigns this year. Plus, the malleable idea of “old age” and the wonders of happy sheep in a solar field.



Here’s everything we talked about today:







“Trade deficits aren’t good or bad, just weird” from Marketplace








“The U.S. Trade Deficit: How Much Does It Matter?” from the Council on Foreign Relations








Historical U.S. Trade Deficits from the St. Louis Fed








“Chinese Exports Are Threatening Biden’s Industrial Agenda” from The New York Times








“Trump promised to rebalance trade in North America. The US trade deficit keeps climbing.” from Politico








“How online donations are fueling the election” from Politico








Polling in 2024 from Reuters








Opinion | “What Departing Lawmakers Think About Congress” from The New York Times








“Young US adults reach key milestones later in life than in the past like marriage, full-time job, financial independence” from Pew Research Center







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Phoenix has been in the semiconductor business for a while now, but the Biden administration is taking it to another level by sending a major infusion of cash to tech companies in the desert city to expand chip-making capabilities. In this episode, “Marketplace” host Kai Ryssdal visits Phoenix with Washington Post columnist Heather Long. They dig into the challenges of rebuilding the country’s semiconductor industry.

Stocks fall; wage increases could be putting pressure on prices; consumer confidence declines; home prices rise.