Marketplace Morning Report

The U.S. national debt crossed $39 trillion last week, and it’s growing fast. Racking up the most recent $5 trillion of that total only took two years. Now, a new survey finds that Americans' fiscal confidence is the lowest it’s been in a couple of years. Also on this morning's show: Anthropic gets a (temporary) win in its fight with the Pentagon, and commuters reflect on two years without Baltimore's Francis Scott Key Bridge.

Lori Wallach, director of Rethink Trade and trade policy expert, breaks down what went wrong with the USMCA. She discusses why it failed to revive U.S. manufacturing and rising trade deficits. Topics include where negotiations stand, Mexico’s low wages, Canada’s EV policies, and political prospects for renegotiation.

Nara Sreetaran, research analyst at AidData who studies remittances, and Jane Foley, head of FX strategy at Rabobank offering market color. They explore a proposed 1% remittance levy and how it raises transfer costs and shifts behavior. They also dig into why the U.S. dollar is strengthening, safe-haven flows, liquidity, and where investors are parking cash.

Carla Javier, Marketplace reporter who covered the pawn shop economy on-site. Nancy Marshall-Genzer, Marketplace reporter who breaks down Census Bureau population estimates. They discuss slowing U.S. population growth, sharp metro declines along the U.S.-Mexico border, shifting domestic migration toward Sun Belt cities, and the surge in pawn shop activity as people borrow more.

Lisa Green-Lewis, CPA at TurboTax, offers quick tax tips and notes recent changes. Nancy Marshall-Genzer, Marketplace reporter, covers ICE agents showing up at airports and TSA workers’ confusion and pay struggles. They discuss prediction market rules, training differences at checkpoints, new deductions, and filing advice in short, lively segments.

Jason Bordoff, founding director of Columbia’s Center on Global Energy Policy and energy markets expert. He discusses how Middle East shocks could push electrification and renewables. He warns about geopolitical risks in clean-tech supply chains and urges diversification, domestic capacity, and strategic stockpiles. He considers short-term coal use versus long-term transition.

Nancy Marshall-Gensher, FCC reporter, explains the new ban on foreign-made consumer routers and its security exceptions. Justin Ho, markets reporter, breaks down how Treasury auctions and Middle East tensions reshape interest-rate and inflation expectations. Rima Hraes, commentator, explores whether turning a hobby into a side hustle helps or hurts personal motivation.

Kimberly Adams, Marketplace senior Washington correspondent, briefly explains the raised SALT cap and who stands to gain. Henry Epp, local transit reporter, covers city transit upgrades for World Cup crowds. Short, punchy scenes on finished light-rail links, rapid station overhauls, and temporary bus fleets handling postgame surges.

Abhishek Karnik, McAfee threat intelligence lead, explains tax scams and AI-enabled impersonation. Nancy Marshall-Genzer, Marketplace reporter, breaks down the San Francisco jury ruling on Elon Musk and Twitter. Julia Coronado, macro economist, examines why safe-haven assets are behaving oddly amid global uncertainty. Multiple short, engaging conversations cover spotting scams, reporting fraud, market reactions, and legal fallout.

Elizabeth Troval, a Marketplace reporter covering CERAWeek and industry reaction, walks through the 'Super Bowl' of energy and how Middle East disruptions are reshaping oil and gas conversations. Nate Soares, president of the Machine Intelligence Research Institute and author on AI risk, discusses calls to slow frontier AI development, international coordination, and why superhuman AI raises existential concerns.