
It's not just you — food prices rose 2.4% last year
2026-1-13 | 25 mins.
The cost of food consumed at home was up 0.7% month-over-month in December, and 2.4% year-over-year. Go back five years, and grocery prices are up 25%. And like so many things in this economy, the rising cost hurts the poorest Americans most. Also in this episode: Americans carry credit card debt longer than they used to, two ultra-low-cost U.S. airlines make plans to merge, and we get an update from Kansas grain farmers.Every story has an economic angle. Want some in your inbox? Subscribe to our daily or weekly newsletter.Marketplace is more than a radio show. Check out our original reporting and financial literacy content at marketplace.org — and consider making an investment in our future.

Trump vs. the courts
2026-1-13 | 18 mins.
Seemingly infinite battles over President Donald Trump’s agenda have been playing out in the courts over the past year. But when all’s said and done, are these legal challenges actually working? Politico legal affairs reporter Kyle Cheney joins Kimberly to discuss. Plus, they’ll get into the Supreme Court’s impending decision on Trump’s tariffs and why even some GOP members are breaking rank to speak up about the Justice Department’s investigation into Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.Here’s everything we talked about today:"Jan. 6 — five years later" from Politico "Trump's push to politicize the Fed could cause further market "volatility'" from Marketplace Post by @kyledcheney.bsky.social "‘The courts are helpless’: Inside the Trump administration’s steady erosion of judicial power" from CNN Politics "Trump’s ‘Superstar’ Appellate Judges Have Voted 133 to 12 in His Favor" from The New York Times"Supreme Court blocks Trump effort to deploy National Guard troops to Illinois" from Politico "Supreme Court appears skeptical of Trump admin's tariff arguments" from Marketplace We love hearing from you. Leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART or email [email protected].

Inflation is stubbornly steady
2026-1-13 | 8 mins.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics released the final consumer price index reading for 2025 this morning. Spoiler alert: Inflation is still too high. Prices were up 2.7% from the year before and up 0.3% between November and December. This morning, we'll unpack. Plus, President Donald Trump wants to cap credit card rates at 10%. What consequences would there be for consumers and banks? And: inside a quantum computing site in Santa Barbara.

2026 has its first new tariff threat
2026-1-13 | 6 mins.
President Donald Trump said on social media that he is imposing a 25% tariff on goods from countries “doing business” with Iran in response to Iran's government imprisoning and killing protesters. The countries that buy Iranian oil include India, Turkey, and China. We'll also share predictions for December's consumer price index. Plus, could the biggest economic risk to the U.S. in the year ahead be the U.S. itself?

AI deepfakes could lead to fines and country-wide bans
2026-1-13 | 8 mins.
From the BBC World Service: There's mounting pressure on Grok — the AI chatbot that's part of Elon Musk's social media platform, X — over the generation of explicit images. The U.K. is rushing through a new law making it illegal to create nonconsensual intimate images; meanwhile, Indonesia and Malaysia have already blocked access to Grok. Then, the race is heating up to build the most powerful quantum computers. We visit one of the biggest players, Google's quantum lab in California



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