Marketplace All-in-One Marketplace

Prices have been rising for pretty much everything these days. And for some, it’s raising the cost of making friends as more folks turn to paid activities like art classes and happy hours to socialize. We’ll get into it. And, we’ll explain the latest scandal that’s left the Supreme Court in a bind. Plus, we’ll weigh in on Chuck E. Cheese animatronics and bridesmaid debt during a round of Half Full/Half Empty!



Here’s everything we talked about today:












“Supreme Court Justice Alito’s House Displayed a ‘Stop the Steal’ Flag After Jan. 6” from The New York Times


“Want to Make a New Friend? How Much Money Have You Got?” from The Wall Street Journal


“Watching the NFL This Season? You’ll Need at Least 5 Streaming Services” from How-To Geek


“Chuck E. Cheese saying goodbye to animatronic band” from CBS News


“The Bridesmaids Going Into Debt for Their Friends’ Weddings” from The Cut


“Mindy Kaling Shares Her Simple but Important Advice for The Office Spinoff’s New Cast: ‘I Was Not Professional'” from People


“The days of free refills may be over” from Marketplace


“It was a classic rap beef. Then Drake revived Tupac with AI and Congress got involved” from NPR













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The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 40,000 for the first time on Friday. As we say regularly on this show, the stock market is not the economy. But it can still be a good indicator of how some folks are feeling about the state of the economy. Also in this episode: Competition for small-business spending heats up, EV sales take a dip, and purchasing power for all income levels rises.

Marketplace is behind for this budget year — that means listeners like you can make a critical difference by investing in our journalism today.

Stocks close mixed; UAW’s unionization efforts have been mixed; Conference Board points to weak consumer outlooks, factory orders; index of current economy improved in April.

The Conference Board’s forward-looking index falls; Reddit reaches a deal with OpenAI; China puts out a housing market rescue plan; Chevy Bolt owners are in line for settlement money.

This week, media giants have been gathering in New York City for the upfronts, where networks and streaming platforms try to court ad buyers by previewing shows for the seasons ahead. We’ll take the pulse of ad spending as streaming continues to outshine traditional broadcast television. And we’ll also hear about China’s property sector prop-up and priorities for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau now that its future is no longer in jeopardy.

Marketplace is currently tracking behind target for this budget year — that means listeners like you can make a critical difference by investing in our journalism today.

Pro-Palestinian protests have disrupted campus life at colleges and universities in the United States in response to Israel’s intense bombardments on Gaza following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack. Similar demonstrations have taken place in Europe too, where protesters are demanding their schools divest from Israeli-linked companies. Plus, Americans are going into debt to pay for groceries, and results from an United Auto Workers’ union vote at an Alabama plant are expected today.

Marketplace is currently tracking behind target for this budget year — that means listeners like you can make a critical difference by investing in our journalism today.