Mitchell Hartman

Correspondent

SHORT BIO

Mitchell’s most important job at Marketplace is to explain the economy in ways that non-expert, non-business people can understand. Michell thinks of his audience as anyone who works, whether for money or not, and lives in the economy . . . which is most people.

Mitchell wants to understand, and help people understand, how the economy works, who it helps, who it hurts and why. Mitchell gets to cover what he thinks are some of the most interesting aspects of the economy: wages and inflation, consumer psychology, wealth inequality, economic theory and how it measures up to economic reality.

Mitchell was a high school newspaper nerd and a college newspaper editor. He has worked for The Philadelphia Inquirer, WXPN-FM, WBAI-FM, KPFK-FM, Pacifica Radio, the CBC, the BBC, Monitor Radio, Cairo Today Magazine, The Jordan Times, The Middletown Press, The New Haven Register, Oregon Business Magazine, the Reed College Alumni Magazine, and Marketplace (twice — 1994-2001 & 2008-present).

Mitchell has gone on strike (Newspaper Guild vs. Knight Ridder, Philadelphia, 1985) and helped organize a union (with SAG-AFTRA at Marketplace, 2021-23). Mitchell once interviewed Marcel Marceau and got him to talk.

Latest Stories (2,010)

UAW to be put to the test this week in Alabama Mercedes-Benz union vote

May 13, 2024
Starting Monday, around 5,200 workers at a Mercedes-Benz assembly-and-battery complex near Tuscaloosa, Alabama, will begin voting on whether to join the UAW.
Above, people celebrate at a United Auto Workers vote watch party on April 19, in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images

Auto workers union drive heads south

May 7, 2024
The United Auto Workers are getting pushback from Southern Republicans, but gains in Detroit are driving interest in Alabama and elsewhere.
An office in a strip mall is headquarters for UAW organizing at the Mercedes-Benz complex in Vance, Alabama.
Mitchell Hartman/Marketplace

The fallout from a strong dollar

Apr 29, 2024
U.S. exports become more expensive overseas, but imported goods become cheaper here in the U.S.
A stronger dollar makes  imported goods cheaper, meaning American consumers can buy more stuff.
Matt Cardy/Getty Images

As consumer sentiment survey is released, differences emerge at different wealth levels

Apr 26, 2024
Inflation continues to be a key factor but richer folks have greater protection from its effects.
Wealthy and low-income households are not experiencing inflation the same way, says Kayla Bruun with Morning Consult.
David McNew/Getty Images

Feds establish new rules for health care staffing and pay

Apr 24, 2024
The changes aim to bolster pay for providers — many of them low-income immigrants — and require higher minimum staffing levels.
New standards from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services aim to upgrade the pay and services provided by home health aides.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

What to expect from Tesla ahead of quarterly results

Apr 23, 2024
The company reports after the bell on Tuesday.
Tesla once dominated the now-crowded EV market.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images

The "wealth effect" could affect consumer behavior — and U.S. politics

Apr 19, 2024
While sizable gains in the value of stocks and real estate has likely boosted spending, it's done less to improve sentiment.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Smaller banks reveal ripple effects of commercial real estate woes

Apr 18, 2024
Some types of CRE are hurting more than others. A steep downturn could cause pain to regional banks as well as property owners.
Small, local banks might have up to 50% of their portfolios in CRE, says Suri Sharma of  Morningstar. But some subsectors of the field, like industrial property, are strong.
Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images

What do bank earnings tell us about the economy?

Apr 11, 2024
Over the next week, six major banks will be reporting their earnings. Higher interest rates could affect both sides of their balance sheets.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Home prices have risen 423% in 40 years, fueling economic discontent

Apr 9, 2024
From 1984 to 2023, the median cost of a new home rose from $79,900 to $417,700, more than double the rate of overall price inflation.
This is not the first time America has dealt with rapid, destabilizing price increases, says Thomas Stapleford, economic historian at the University of Notre Dame.
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images