Aug 12, 2020

How problems at USPS could affect its workers

A Postal Service worker on the job in El Centro, California. Leadership changes could affect the workforce's options. Mario Tama/Getty Images

Plus: Bankruptcies are on the rise, apartment vacancies could lead to less affordable housing and a look at the perils of industrial farming and the risk to food.

Segments From this episode

COVID-19

Bankruptcies among larger businesses highest since just after Great Recession

by Mitchell Hartman

Aug 12, 2020

The situation for small and medium-sized businesses is probably even worse.

A shop closing down soon in Santa Monica, California. More businesses are going bankrupt this year in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.

Valerie Macon/AFP via Getty Images

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COVID-19

How missed rent payments could affect the affordable housing supply

by Amy Scott

Aug 12, 2020

When tenants can't pay, their landlords may be forced to sell or face foreclosure.

A banner at a rent-controlled building in Washington, D.C., illustrates the plight of many tenants and landlords during the pandemic.

Eric Baradat/AFP via Getty Images

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As clothing sales drop, zipper and button makers struggle

by Marielle Segarra

Aug 12, 2020

The pandemic has downstream effects all throughout the supply chain.

Employees at a textile and weaver factory in Eloyes, France, in June. The clothing industry has a global supply chain for fabrics, buttons and zippers.

Jean-Christophe Verhaegen/AFP via Getty Images

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How consumer spending is changing

We hear from several consumers across the country about price changes, and what they’ve been shopping for.

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Workplace Culture

Postal Service delays could move jobs to private competitors

by Meghan McCarty Carino

Aug 12, 2020

Recent problems at the USPS could lead to more businesses using private companies for shipping — and that could have consequences for workers.

A Postal Service worker on the job in El Centro, California. Leadership changes could affect the workforce's options.

Mario Tama/Getty Images

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COVID-19

China to count bloggers and gamers as "employed" during pandemic

by Jennifer Pak

Aug 12, 2020

The news has fueled a perception that officials are out to inflate employment figures for a record 8.7 million graduates potentially entering a worsening jobs market.

Students at a job fair in Shanghai. An estimated 8.7 million graduates could enter the workforce this year during the pandemic.

Charles Zhang/Marketplace

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Shelf Life

From California to the Midwest, examining the perils of industrial farming and the risk to food

by Tom Philpott

Aug 12, 2020

An excerpt from "Perilous Bounty: The Looming Collapse of American Farming and How We Can Prevent It."

A farmer plows a field in Centreville, Maryland. The primary sources of America's food supply face ecological calamity.

Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

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Music from the episode

Double Bass Gorillaz

What They Do The Roots

Lau's Lament Eric Lau

Stay a While The Cactus Channel

Perfect Circle Nujabes

I'm a Rock Jitwam

The team

Nancy Farghalli Executive Producer

Maria Hollenhorst Producer II

Sean McHenry Director & Associate Producer II

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