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Inflation may be cooling, but it certainly isn’t cold. Americans are still getting burned by rising prices. That’s one conclusion from a new Federal Reserve survey, which notes that parents in particular are struggling. Then, one report shows homes just how many homes are overvalued, especially in the South. Plus, we’ll hear how the Accion Digital Transformation Fund is trying to help people with no bank accounts get one.

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From the BBC World Service: Amid worsening inflation, a scarcity of basic goods and a decadeslong U.S. economic embargo, Cubans are enduring some of their bleakest economic times since the Cold War. We hear from the country’s sugar plantations, where production has hit an all-time low. Plus, a look at why a medical strike in Mozambique is having a deadly impact and how extreme heat is affecting India’s workers.

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The internet today is largely governed by 26 words in the Communications Decency Act, signed on Feb. 8, 1996, by then-President Bill Clinton. “Today, with the stroke of a pen, our laws will catch up with our future,” he proclaimed during the signing of the act. The web has changed a bit since then. But Section 230 of that law has not. Today, social media companies routinely use Section 230 to protect themselves from liability over what users post. Now, an internet scholar wants to change that. Will Oremus wrote about him for The Washington Post.

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Over the last 50 years, an ideology known as neoliberalism has transformed the American economy — for better or worse. The concept is often associated with Ronald Reagan, free markets and deregulation. But legal scholar Mehrsa Baradaran says there’s a lot we get wrong about the origins of neoliberalism and its true impact on society. On the show today, Baradaran, author of the new book “The Quiet Coup: Neoliberalism and the Looting of America,” explains what neoliberal ideology promised to do for the American economy, what it actually did and why she believes that looking to the free market might, ironically, be the only way forward.



Then, why actress Scarlett Johansson isn’t cool with OpenAI’s new chatbot. And we’ll hear the sounds of cicadas!



Here’s everything we talked about today:


“Opinion | The Neoliberal Looting of America” from The New York Times
“What is neoliberalism? A political scientist explains the use and evolution of the term” from The Conversation
“Opinion | Time is up for neoliberals” from The Washington Post
“Learning how to use AI could boost your pay by 25%, study finds” from CNN Business
“Scarlett Johansson says OpenAI chatbot voice ‘eerily similar’ to hers” from Reuters



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On Monday, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon hinted at retiring soon after running the banking powerhouse for 18 years. But finding replacements for veteran CEOs can be a tricky business. Also in this episode: New research finds that Native households are more financially stressed. Plus: Lowe’s invests in professional contractors, and Chicago vendors scramble after grocery stores shutter.

Our May fundraiser ends Friday, and we need your help to reach our goal. Give today and help fund public service journalism for all!

Stock markets close higher; Americans’ financial well-being remains steady; Layoffs at Pixar; Feds to sell off a gasoline stockpile in the Northeast.