Tricks of the TradeTrump's Second TermMy EconomyI've Always Wondered ...

Loading...

0:00
0% played
Support the fact-based journalism you rely on with a donation to Marketplace today. Give Now!

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 (339)

Why drugstores could be on the list of troubled business models

by Matt Levin
Oct 15, 2024
Walgreens will close 1,200 stores over the next three years. Rite Aid filed for bankruptcy last year, and CVS is closing hundreds of stores.
When was the last time you went into a drugstore and thought, "This place is AWESOME! I want to spend MORE time here!"
Scott Olson/Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

These "discouraged" workers are left out of the unemployment rate

by Matt Levin
Oct 14, 2024
Some unemployed Americans who want to work are discouraged by the job market, so much so that they've paused looking.
About 445,000 Americans fit the federal definition of discouraged worker last month. But many more out-of-work people still feel discouraged.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

Exclusive: Authors Guild to offer "Human Authored" label on books to compete with AI

by Matt Levin
Oct 7, 2024
The Authors Guild will offer its 15,000 members a new certificate to place book covers: one that shows a book is written by humans and not artificial intelligence.
Coming soon to a bookstore near you? Labels that distinguish books written by humans.
Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

At issue in the longshoremen's strike: How much automation is appropriate at ports?

by Matt Levin
Oct 1, 2024
Automation at U.S. ports on the East and Gulf Coasts tends to lag behind that at the West Coast, Asian and European ports.
Around 80 longshoremen striking in the rain at the Port of Baltimore on Oct. 1. Baltimore is the farthest inland port on the east coast, and is known for importing cars, farm equipment, gypsum, and sugar.
Stephanie Hughes/Marketplace
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE
Skills Gap

Dame Judi Dench could be your next AI voice assistant

by Matt Levin
Sep 25, 2024
Dame Judi Dench and comedians Awkwafina and Keegan-Michael Key have signed deals with Meta to humanize chatbots.
Judi Dench is among the celebrities who have signed multimillion-dollar contracts with Meta to create AI assistants based on their voices.
Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images for BFI
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

The Fed cut rates, but the yield on the 10-year T-note is up

by Matt Levin
Sep 24, 2024
So far, the bond market seems to be doing the opposite of the Fed's plan. But the cut was anticipated, and recession fears have eased.
The Fed's interest rate moves don't translate directly or immediately to the Treasury bond market. Above, Chair Jerome Powell.
Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE
Skills Gap

Schools warm to AI

by Matt Levin
Sep 19, 2024
"They've kind of come around," says a school superintendent in Fargo, North Dakota.
More companies are seeing an opportunity to expand AI into schools.
Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

Fed chief Powell rates high on messaging

by Matt Levin
Sep 18, 2024
Experts give their 2 cents on how well the chairman communicates with the public about interest rate policy.
Jerome Powell discusses the central bank's interest rate cut with journalists Wednesday.
Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

What happened to Sierra Mist? The marketing of "cool" soda.

by Matt Levin
Sep 13, 2024
It's not just a matter of taste. Basketball and hip-hop have helped Sprite fend off contenders from PepsiCo for years.
PepsiCo has been trying to make its lemon-lime sodas viable competitors to Sprite for decades.
Mario Tama/Getty Images
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE

Latest Census data show an increase in childhood poverty

by Matt Levin
Sep 13, 2024
Despite wage gains, lower-income families have been hit hard by inflation and the expiration of pandemic-era benefits.
In 2021, largely because of a temporary expanded child tax credit, only about 5% of children lived in poverty. Now, nearly 14% of children do.
Larry French/Getty Images for SKDK
ListenLISTEN
HTML EMBED:
COPY
EMBED EMBED
Share Now on:
SHARE
Subscribe Using:
SUBSCRIBE SUBSCRIBE