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David Brancaccio

Host and Senior Editor, Marketplace Morning Report

SHORT BIO

David Brancaccio is host and senior editor of “Marketplace Morning Report.” There is a money story under nearly everything, but David often focuses on regulation of financial markets, the role of technology in labor markets, the history of innovation, digital privacy, sustainability, social enterprises and financial vulnerability in older adults. David freelanced for Marketplace in 1989 before becoming the program’s European correspondent based in London in 1990.

David hosted the evening program from 1993-2003, then anchored the award-winning public television news program “Now” on PBS after a period co-hosting with journalist Bill Moyers. David has co-produced and appeared in several documentaries, including “Fixing the Future,” about alternative approaches to the economy, and “On Thin Ice,” about climate change and water security, with mountaineer Conrad Anker. David is author of “Squandering Aimlessly,” a book about personal values and money. He enjoys moderating public policy discussions, including at the Aspen Ideas Festival, Chicago Ideas Week and the Camden Conference in Maine.

David is from Waterville, Maine, and has degrees from Wesleyan and Stanford universities. Honors include the Peabody, Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University, Emmy and Walter Cronkite awards. He is married to Mary Brancaccio, a poet and educator. They have three offspring, all adults. He likes making beer and building (and launching) pretty big rockets. Among his heroes are Edward R. Murrow and Wolfman Jack.

Latest Stories (2,986)

Career coaching from rodeo clowns

The official title is "barrelman." And it's a job that's equal parts entertainment and safety.
Leon Coffee was Rodeo Houston's barrelman for 31 years. He's still entertaining crowds in Houston, but now he's doing it from the stadium seats instead of down on the dirt.
Courtesy Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo

Rodeo Houston's livestock auctions aren't your typical auctions

The auctions at Rodeo Houston are no normal auctions. They serve the dual functions of selling off livestock and raising money for Texas youth.
The livestock auctioned off at Rodeo Houston fetch massive sums of money, with much of it going to Texas youth and education.
Courtesy Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo

The Houston Livestock Show is full of future business leaders

Young business aces abound at the junior livestock show, including an agriculture podcast host and an aspiring loan officer.
Laura Cooper, a high school senior, wants to be come a loan officer for the agriculture business, to give others the same kind of credit opportunities she's had.
Alex Schroeder/Marketplace

Retail at the rodeo means hats, boots and a whole lot more

At the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo, shoppers can buy cow-handling hardware, pizza ovens, furniture — and of course boots and cowboy hats.
Joe Young of Heads or Tails Hats, right, teaches David Brancaccio what to look for in buying a cowboy hat.
Alex Schroeder/Marketplace

Feeding 2.5 million people over 3 weeks at Houston's rodeo

From massive burgers to turkey legs, chocolate-covered strawberries and a half a pineapple stuffed with fried shrimp and Fruity Pebbles.
Dominic Palmieri (left) goes by the "Midway Gourmet." He's responsible for all the carnival food at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.
Alex Schroeder/Marketplace

The ripple effects of Minnesota's racial covenants are still being felt

Racial covenants were used to prevent people of color from owning property, and can partially be blamed for lingering racial wealth gaps.
An aerial view of homes in Maplewood, Minnesota.
Ben Garvin

Why data on the economy doesn't match our feelings

Mar 10, 2025
Data doesn't always show a full picture. Example: Functional unemployment was 23.3% in January — very different than the 4% headline figure.
"[Net] wages haven't increased over the last 20 years" for middle- and low-income Americans, said Gene Ludwig. "For 60% of America, they've actually declined or been stagnant."
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

How colleges and universities are teaching students "to disagree better"

Mar 4, 2025
Being able to successfully navigate disagreement — including tricky political conversations — is an attractive skill to many employers.
Some colleges are teaching students how to 
have healthy discourse — a skill appealing to many employers.
Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

Many laid-off government workers aren't eligible for unemployment

Some workers impacted by government cuts are independent contractors who have canceled contracts with the U.S. Agency for International Development.
Demonstrators gather outside of the Office of Personnel Management on Feb. 7, to protest federal layoffs.
Bryan Dozier/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Is it time to rethink economics in a more human light?

Feb 24, 2025
The newly established Center for Heterodox Economics aims to reimagine how we measure economic progress using a more human-centered approach.
Jeenah Moon/Getty Images