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Matt Levin

Senior Reporter

SHORT BIO

Matt covers AI for Marketplace, where he tries to be as polite as he can to every chatbot he meets … because, well, he’s seen sci-fi movies. Matt also covers some crypto and housing, with a taste for stories that make you say: "huh, that's kinda weird.”

Before joining Marketplace Matt was a data and housing reporter for CalMatters, focused on California politics and policy. Before that he was a statistics jockey for a think tank, focused on poverty and inequality. And long before that Matt was a really terrible teenage cashier for Toys R Us.

Matt’s previous honors include awards from the Online News Association and regional Edward R. Murrow Awards and SPJ awards.

Latest Stories (301)

The Fed wants to bring inflation down to 2%. But why not 3%? Or 5%?

by Matt Levin
Dec 15, 2022
There's not much evidence to suggest that 2% leads to economic magic.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Wednesday reiterated the importance of the central bank's 2% inflation target. Backing off that number now could send the wrong message, some economists believe.
Win McNamee/Getty Images
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Here's why mortgage rates have been falling

by Matt Levin
Dec 7, 2022
While the Fed has continued to hike interest rates, the average interest rate on a 30-year fixed rate mortgage has dropped from 7.16% to 6.4%.
When there’s a big surge in investor demand for mortgage bonds, "the price goes up, the rate goes down, and that trickles through to what the homeowners will see," said Jeana Curro at Bank of America.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
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Is anyone who lost their job blaming the Fed?

by Matt Levin
Dec 1, 2022
About 225,000 filed unemployment claims last week. The public soured on the Fed the last time it jacked up interest rates to quell inflation.
While the public hasn't soured on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell as much as it did on Paul Volcker in the '80s, a Gallup poll finds approval of the Fed slipping.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
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Sam Bankman-Fried Trial

As crypto chaos continues, the next generation of hires is having doubts

by Matt Levin
Nov 30, 2022
"Interest in the crypto space, generally speaking, tends to track the price of bitcoin," a UCLA professor says of his computer science students.
Soon-to-be hires are rethinking pursuing jobs at crypto companies.
Maddie Meyer/Getty Images
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Housing markets across the globe hit by rising rates

by Matt Levin
Nov 24, 2022
The U.S. isn't the only country with a central bank that's hiking rates. Here's how that's affecting housing markets around the world.
Apartments on the market in Berlin. Tightening monetary policy is cooling housing demand in Germany, but immigration may stimulate it.
David Gannon/AFP via Getty Images
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Aviation, telecom again at odds over 5G

by Matt Levin
Nov 24, 2022
Airlines and manufacturers say they need more time to retrofit planes to prevent the cell technology from interfering with altimeters.
An airplane flies over a cellular tower disguised as a palm tree as it prepares to land at Los Angeles International Airport.
Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images
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Are marshmallows candy? It's a sticky question for state sales taxes

by Matt Levin
Nov 22, 2022
Most states don't tax groceries. But the treat used in candied yams and s'mores tests the definition.
Marshmallows — the roastable, toastable sweet — are taxed differently depending on a state's definition of candy.
Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Best Events
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FTX debacle worsens crypto's trust issues

by Matt Levin
Nov 21, 2022
The industry is trying to distance itself from the collapsed exchange. Can it?
Crypto skeptics and enthusiasts agree that the failure of crypto exchange FTX is an inflection point for the industry.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
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Declining property tax collection may hit city budgets

by Matt Levin
Nov 15, 2022
Seattle recently had to redraw its budget after forecasting a $27 million drop in revenue from one real estate tax.
The San Francisco skyline. The city's chief economist Ted Egan said he's increasingly worried about a drop in property tax revenue.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
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When graduating into a recession actually makes you happier

by Matt Levin
Nov 11, 2022
Some research suggests the "scarring" experienced by young workers during a recession has a silver lining: happiness later in life.
While research suggests that graduating into a recession hampers future employment and wages, it can also bring about longer-term happiness.
Drew Angerer/Getty Images
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