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 (2,023)

Big hole to fill in the labor market

Oct 2, 2009
The latest jobs report tells us that employers cut 263,000 jobs in September and the unemployment rate increased to the highest it's been in 26 years. Mitchell Hartman reports it may be awhile before it's all over.

Entrepreneurs optimistic on Inc list

Sep 25, 2009
This week, Inc magazine is celebrating entrepreneurial companies that have continued to expand in spite of the recession. After all, 75 percent of new U.S. jobs are created by small businesses. Mitchell Hartman reports.

Franchisees sour on Dunkin' Donuts

Sep 23, 2009
Dunkin' Donuts franchisees are accusing the company of using lawsuits and huge fees to push stores out and get new ones into the chain. Mitchell Hartman reports.

Palm Springs eyes art for vacant stores

Sep 18, 2009
Palm Springs, Calif., will be the latest city in the nation to decorate its vacant storefronts with art. Mitchell Hartman reports.

Biz owner: Insure several, or just one?

Sep 18, 2009
If business owner Kristina Runciman offers health care to one of her employees with pre-existing conditions, she can't give insurance to anyone else on staff. She tells her story in this installment of "The Cure."

Biz owner: 'Get everybody insured'

Sep 18, 2009
To business owner Brian England, the health of workers in his Columbia, Md. auto care business is a top priority. He tells his story and explains why everybody should get health care in our latest installment of "The Cure."

Businesses want gov't help on flu

Sep 11, 2009
At a Congressional hearing, businesses warned they might need a little government help to get them through a flu outbreak. Mitchell Hartman reports.

So, what's a healthy job market again?

Sep 4, 2009
Unemployment jumped again in August, but the number of jobs lost is the smallest number in a year. Bad or good news? Mitchell Hartman reports on what a healthy job market is supposed to look like.

A clean break from coal for Duke Energy

Sep 3, 2009
Duke Energy is leaving a clean-coal lobbying group over a rift on climate change legislation. Mitchell Hartman reports.

A different approach to home buying

Sep 2, 2009
Critics say the real-estate industry has been slow to react to new realities, using outdated methods of business. But one Seattle start-up is trying to shake things up. Mitchell Hartman reports.