Aug 22, 2024

Hotel, motel, affordable home?

Bill Vorasate/Getty Images

That motel with dozens of unused rooms — what if it became affordable housing? Plus, where would we see the effect of interest-rate cuts first?

Segments From this episode

When interest rate cuts come, where will you feel them first?

by Samantha Fields

Aug 22, 2024

Mortgages, savings accounts and credit card debt are a few places. Some rates have already edged down.

Interest rates have declined on mortgages and some fixed-income investments.

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

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Old motels find new life as affordable housing

by Amy Scott

Aug 22, 2024

The buildings are typically located near major thoroughfares. But developers say conversions are "not for the faint of heart."

Southern Crossing, a former 1950s-era motel, will soon provide transitional housing in Newburg, Maryland.

Amy Scott/Marketplace

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Adventures in Housing

The history behind the "shotgun" houses of New Orleans

by Maria Hollenhorst

Aug 22, 2024

Despite their association with New Orleans, researchers say the shotgun style originated farther afield.

A traditional clapboard Creole cottage in the Faubourg Marigny historic district of New Orleans.

Tim Graham/Getty Images

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Retired Americans tend to feel good about their finances. Workers, not so much.

by Savannah Peters

Aug 22, 2024

There's a persistent, widening gap between workers’ gloomy expectations and retirees’ rosy reports in an annual Gallup survey.

People dance at a Florida retirement community. A Gallup poll shows retired Americans are generally comfortable with their finances, but many still working are anxious about the future.

Rhona Wise/AFP via Getty Images

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More corporations are disclosing the risk AI might pose to their businesses

by Matt Levin

Aug 22, 2024

What those risks are, and which companies are worried, go beyond the usual suspects.

Many companies don't see AI as a competitor but do acknowledge a security risk to using AI in their work.

Getty Images

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When daycares close in rural areas, sometimes an entire town is left without options

by Melodie Edwards

Aug 22, 2024

In Wyoming alone, 285 daycares have shuttered in the past 15 years, and there were only about 850 to begin with. One town has a fresh idea to help bring a child care option back to their community.

In Wyoming, 285 daycares have shuttered in the past 15 years, and there were only about 850 to begin with.

Nimito/Getty Images

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Music from the episode

"Waterfalls" TLC

"No Room" Madison McFerrin

"A New Career in a New Town" David Bowie

"Don't Start Now" Dua Lipa

"reflection eternal" Nujabes

The team

Nancy Farghalli Executive Producer

Maria Hollenhorst Producer II

Andie Corban Producer I

Sarah Leeson Producer I

Sean McHenry Director & Associate Producer II

Sofia Terenzio Assistant Producer

Jordan Mangi Assistant Digital Producer

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