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Scott Tong

Correspondent

SHORT BIO

Scott Tong is a former correspondent for Marketplace. He reported on sustainability issues (energy, climate, environment, resources) for Marketplace, as well as the U.S.-China technology relationship, frequently described as “fraught.” He is Marketplace’s former China bureau chief.

What was your first job?

English-language audiotape (yes, tape) voice-over work. Sixth grade.Taiwan.

What advice do you wish someone had given you before you started this career?

Show up an hour before the interview.

Fill in the blank: Money can’t buy you happiness, but it can buy you ______.

Gas for kid carpools; Washington Capitals hockey tickets.

What is something that everyone should own, no matter how much it costs?

Smoker (plus wooden slotted spoon).

What’s your most memorable Marketplace moment?

Sneaking into Burma for twenty bucks.

Episodes by Scott (2)

Make Me Smart | Episode 408

The weirdest trade secrets

Apr 9, 2021
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Marketplace Tech

There’s not enough internet for remote learning to go around

Oct 19, 2020
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Latest Stories (1,339)

The Price of Profits

How shareholders jumped to first in line for profits

by Scott Tong
Apr 25, 2022
A business theory helped put profits for shareholders ahead of other corporate interests.
Milton Friedman, one of the most influential economists of the 20th century.
PBS
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Pandemics, plagues and innovation in history: the striking parallels between COVID-19 and the Black Death

by Scott Tong
Jul 8, 2021
There are some economic lessons to be learned from society's handling of the infamous plague of the 14th century.
Ambulance men of Florence, Italy, carrying a patient on a stretcher whilst wearing masks to ward off the plague.
Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images
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Texas homeowners startled by "hijacked" thermostats

by Scott Tong
Jun 23, 2021
The changes were made by utilities trying to manage overtaxed power grids.
Customers who found their homes warmer than they'd programmed had actually consented to these changes, which were made by an energy-management firm called EnergyHub.
George Frey/Getty Images
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Pain at the pump? Think Iran.

by Scott Tong
Jun 21, 2021
Yes, the economy is reopening globally. But gasoline prices are also affected by Iran's latest election.
The price of crude oil has risen $3 to about $75 per barrel since Iran elected Ebrahim Raisi president last week.
Justin Sullivan via Getty Images
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Automation is replacing more workers than outsourcing, study says

by Scott Tong
Jun 17, 2021
New and better jobs could be created if we invest in breakthrough technologies that generate opportunities.
American workers replaced by automation may not have the same job prospects that displaced workers had in the past.
Dan Kitwood via Getty Images
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Truce on Airbus/Boeing subsidies lets sides focus on emerging competitor

by Scott Tong
Jun 15, 2021
U.S.-EU pact suspends punitive tariffs and could spur collaboration to fend off Chinese expansion in the commercial aircraft industry.
Eric Piermont/AFP via Getty Images
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As ransomware and other cyberattacks grow, cyber insurance struggles to keep up

by Scott Tong
Jun 14, 2021
The cost of cyber breaches may be double that of natural disasters. More firms seek coverage while insurers try to cut their own risk.
Rob Engelaar/AFP via Getty Images
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COVID-19

Today’s numbers: The COVID economy

by Scott Tong and Mitchell Hartman
Jun 11, 2021
A daily snapshot of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Kira-Yan/Getty Images
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With Keystone XL scrapped, oil companies look for workarounds

by Scott Tong
Jun 10, 2021
Pipelines have met increasing opposition, but persistent demand for crude may help them get approved.
Miles of unused pipe, prepared for the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, sit in a North Dakota lot in 2014.
Andrew Burton/Getty Images
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Some traders bet on oil hitting $100 per barrel as economies thaw

by Scott Tong
Jun 8, 2021
Demand is picking up as more and more people resume their normal lives after vaccination.
With more people on the move as economies reopen, oil prices will keep going up if demand outraces supply.
Paul Ratje/AFP via Getty Images
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