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 (2,024)

Chrysler nears deal to repay bailouts

May 19, 2011
The automaker plans to pay back the $6 billion in U.S. government loans by May 24 to strengthen the automaker's financial position.

Staples profit up 5% but short of estimates

May 18, 2011
The office-products retailer announced first-quarter earnings rose 5 percent this morning -- just shy of Wall Streets predictions.

U.S. companies rush to borrow

May 18, 2011
With interest rates set to rise once the Federal Reserve ends its easy monetary policy, companies are racing to borrow money in the corporate bond market.

U.S. Postal Service announces $2.2 billion in losses

May 17, 2011
The U.S.P.S. is warning that it will become insolvent unless Congress takes action. The institution has lost $20 billion since 2007.

New York probes bank's role in mortgage crisis

May 17, 2011
New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has opened an investigation into the packing of mortgage loans into securities. The inquiry targets Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs.

NASDAQ bows out of bid for NYSE, clearing way for Deutsche Boerse

May 16, 2011
Deutsche Boerse became the front runner to buy the New York Stock Exchange today after NASDAQ withdrew their bid, citing antitrust concerns.

Treasury strives to avoid U.S. debt default

May 16, 2011
As the default deadline looms ahead in early August, the U.S. Treasury is moving money around in federal accounts to keep paying bills.

Consumers willing to spend at higher-end retailers

May 13, 2011
Earnings at chains like Macy's and Nordstrom are up and markdowns aren't as steep as they used to be.

High gas prices start to hit the economy

May 12, 2011
Recent hikes in gas prices are taking their toll on the economy as hard-pressed American consumers start to curtail their spending.

U.S. exports jump, but trade gap widens

May 11, 2011
Oil imports, up nearly 20 percent because of price increases, erase best export mark in nearly 20 years.