Episódios

  • How low-cost drones are used in modern military strikes
    Mar 19 2026

    There have been decades of attempts to make destructive drones, going back to World War I. The technology has advanced significantly since then. Drones now range in size from tiny — as in, fitting in the palm of your hand — to so big they look like little planes.


    Stacie Pettyjohn directs the defense program at the Center for a New American Security. She spoke with Marketplace’s Stephanie Hughes about how drones are being used in the war between Iran, Israel and the U.S., including Iran’s Shahed-136 drone.

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    8 minutos
  • The ethics of using AI to immortalize the dead
    Mar 18 2026

    There's an emerging industry that uses artificial intelligence to create simulations of people who've died. These post mortem avatars are also called griefbots.


    Some critics, including Tomasz Hollanek, a researcher at the University of Cambridge, say this practice raises a number of ethical issues. He walks us through the mechanics of how this technology works, and how it may or may not be used responsibly.

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    8 minutos
  • AI-powered workplace tools keep tabs on employees
    Mar 17 2026

    More and more companies are incorporating artificial intelligence into their workflows — from AI assistants that record and analyze meetings, to AI notetakers that keep track of what's said, to AI summaries and analyses of emails.


    Workers may know this technology is being used, but some of these tools, which record and monitor, can still catch them off guard. Still, Josh Bersin, an human resources industry analyst and consultant, says the productivity gains from these tools mean many employers are embracing them.


    Marketplace’s Stephanie Hughes had him walk her through what he’s seeing businesses try and what they're using at his company — including one HR tool that his company makes and sells called Galileo.

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    7 minutos
  • How confident are crypto consumers?
    Mar 16 2026

    Here at Marketplace, we often report on a monthly economic indicator from the University of Michigan called the consumer sentiment index. It basically looks how people are feeling about the economy. Now, a team of academics at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School have used that index as a model to create something similar though much more niche: how people feel about cryptocurrency. It's called the Consumer Cryptocurrency Confidence Index, a monthly survey now in its third year. Marketplace’s Stephanie Hughes spoke with Wharton marketing professor Dave Reibstein, one of the creators of the index, about what he hopes to accomplish with it.

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    6 minutos
  • Bytes: Week in Review - Amazon and AI, YouTube tops the media market and Meta buys an AI-only social network
    Mar 13 2026

    This week, the AI chatbot social network Moltbook finds a new home. Plus, YouTube dominates the media landscape. But first, a look at AI-related site outages at Amazon.


    Marketplace’s Stephanie Hughes spoke with Jewel Burks Solomon, managing partner at Collab Capital, about all these headlines for this week’s “Tech Bytes: Week in Review.”

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    11 minutos
  • Why Bitcoin falls short as a safe haven in geopolitical turmoil
    Mar 12 2026

    Pretty much since its inception, the cryptocurrency bitcoin has been compared to gold: There’s only so much of it, its value isn't tied to any fiat currency. But gold is a traditional safe haven asset, while bitcoin isn't, necessarily. Gold surged in value when news first spread that the U.S. had attacked Iran. Bitcoin didn’t see the same immediate flight to safety. Marketplace’s Stephanie Hughes spoke with Gil Luria, head of tech research at D.A. Davidson, about why investors still don’t see Bitcoin as a safe haven for their assets.

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    8 minutos
  • An Ohio newspaper gives AI a byline
    Mar 11 2026

    The Plain Dealer newspaper in Cleveland, Ohio, has been around since the 1800s. Now, it's leaning into a very 21st century tactic: embracing the use of artificial intelligence in its journalism. That includes AI actually writing articles.


    The paper's editor, Chris Quinn, says incorporating artificial intelligence is critical to its success. Will Oremus, tech reporter at The Washington Post, says lots of publications are experimenting with AI. But the Plain Dealer has taken it further than most.

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    8 minutos
  • What do Girl Scouts get out of selling cookies online?
    Mar 10 2026

    Girl Scout cookie sales started back in 1917. In addition to raising money, cookie selling is also meant to make the girls more business savvy. The Girl Scouts say it's the largest girl led entrepreneurial program in the world. And now, some of that entrepreneurship is happening online. Marketplace’s Stephanie Hughes spoke with Wendy Lou, who oversees the cookie program as the chief revenue officer at Girl Scouts of the United States of America. She says last season, digital transactions accounted for more than 40 percent of cookie sale revenue.

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    7 minutos