Bennett Purser

Latest Stories (185)

What postwar America can tell us about today's record unemployment

May 13, 2020
How will we will get millions of unemployed workers back in the labor force? World War Two war might have some advice.
Eloise J. Ellis worked as a senior supervisor at a Texas naval air station during World War II. Women were drawn into the war effort and joined the workforce in droves afterward.
Howard R. Hollem/Getty Images

In London's lockdown, a small honey retailer navigates online sales

Apr 29, 2020
Specialty honey isn't high on everyone's essential shopping list, but the "bit of money" coming in is helping.
From Field and Flower's honey products.
Janet Nguyen/Marketplace

How the pandemic is changing South Carolina manufacturing

Apr 15, 2020
Despite being home to many essential manufacturing, Spartanburg County, South Carolina has had to adapt.
Inside Assembly North at BMW's Spartanburg manufacturing facility, the biggest BMW factory in the world.
Bridget Bodnar/Marketplace

Feeling crazy working from home? Here's some advice

Apr 13, 2020
As the coronavirus pandemic forces many of us inside, a reporter based in Beijing shares ways to make life a little easier.
An empty street in Beijing after the lockdown order to stem the spread of COVID-19.
AFP via Getty Images

A public health strategy to reopen the economy

Apr 6, 2020
A new report sheds light on what it will take to end the pandemic and the economic crisis it created.
Medical professionals work at a drive-thru coronavirus testing site run by George Washington University Hospital in Washington, DC.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Shipping in the age of COVID-19

Apr 1, 2020
How a Mississippi barge business is navigating the coronavirus outbreak.
A tug pushes a barge down the Mississippi River through St. Paul, Minnesota.
Karen Bleier/AFP via Getty Images

The legacy of the crossword puzzle in times of crisis

Mar 24, 2020
Through wars, recessions and possibly even today’s pandemic, crossword puzzles serve as an escape from hard times.
KAREN BLEIER/AFP via Getty Images

Shopping in a pandemic: "Everything is gone but gluten-free pasta."

Mar 19, 2020
From empty shelves, to "help wanted" signs, listeners chime in about what they're seeing at the store.
"Shelves were totally empty," said Kelly Kaletsky, a Marketplace listener in Columbus, Ohio.
Amy Sussman/Getty Images

Running a mall, in a time of social distancing

Mar 13, 2020
After years of navigating a rocky retail landscape, a mall manager braces for COVID-19.
People walk through a Manhattan shopping mall on Jan. 30, 2020 in New York City.
(Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

How COVID-19 will shape economic stimulus

Mar 11, 2020
As the Trump administration plans to boost the economy, a look at how it will be different from the past.
Economic stimulus checks are prepared for printing at the Philadelphia Financial Center in 2008 in Philadelphia.
Jeff Fusco/Getty Images