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)

Holiday spending for people who don't celebrate Christmas

Dec 24, 2010
The National Retail Federation predicts sales this holiday shopping season will come in 3.3% higher than last year. But not everyone is celebrating this time of year. What's the season like for people who don't celebrate Christmas? Mitchell Hartman reports.

Expect a new 'normal' for the housing market

Dec 22, 2010
There's been a small bump in home sales this past quarter, but that's still below economist expectations. Mitchell Hartman looks into how different things might look if the housing market were normal right now.

Venture capitalists expected to back more startups in 2011

Dec 22, 2010
Promising startups in technology and research and development are expected to get more support next year.

What the census says about the U.S.

Dec 21, 2010
The official numbers from the 2010 U.S. Census were released today. Mitchell Hartman takes a look at what the results say about the U.S. as a whole.

HAMP is falling short of expectations

Dec 14, 2010
A report out today noted that the government's Home Affordable Modification Program -- HAMP -- isn't helping as many homeowners as was expected. Still, it doesn't mean the program should be scrapped entirely. Mitchell Hartman explains.

Fewer "underwater" homeowners, but housing outlook still murky

Dec 13, 2010
Fewer homeowners are "underwater" these days, meaning they don't owe more on their mortgages than their houses are worth. But that news isn't as good as one might hope. Mitchell Hartman reports.

Crashing the Wall Street parties, WikiLeaks-style

Dec 10, 2010
Is Wall Street back to the big celebratory bashes? With the help of something called "WallStreetWikiLeaks," a few actors, and a magic key to the party, Mitchell Hartman has the "story."

Get used to this high unemployment rate

Dec 3, 2010
The jobs report released today was a huge -- and surprising -- disappointment: the economy only added 39,000 jobs and unemployment rose to 9.8 percent. Economists had predicted better results. But as Mitchell Hartman reports, we may have to get used to these numbers for a while.

Jobs report: 9.8 percent unemployment, other disappointments

Dec 3, 2010
The Labor Department's November jobs report jobless rate defied analysts' predictions and revealed other economic problems. Mitchell Hartman offers an analysis.

Unemployment funding necessary to economy, say economists

Dec 1, 2010
As of today, the government is no longer supplying money for unemployment benefits. Not only will this affect the millions of long-term unemployed, but the rest of the economy too, say economists. Mitchell Hartman reports.