Marketplace

Our housing reporter revisits her childhood home and discovers how much homeownership has changed — and stayed the same. Plus: The big business of Queen Bey and why luxury retailers are getting in the secondhand clothing business. 

Chances are you won’t be traveling on a Boeing 737 Max during your summer vacation. Plus, a new Fed study found the 2017 tax overhaul may have caused a decline in new home sales last year. 

Tax Day used to be a big deal, with parties and protests at U.S. post offices. Plus, the most audited county in the United States and the latest in the talks between Hollywood writers and agents.

We look at what Disney brings to the streaming war. Plus, we talk with the the showrunner of "The Chi" and look at the companies disrupting the $7.2 billion bra business.

It’s the deadliest drug epidemic our country has ever faced. We go to ground zero, where “nothing changes except for the drug.” Subscribe to The Uncertain Hour wherever you get your podcasts.

In several cities, foreclosures are higher than pre-recession levels. But property values are rising, loan defaults are down and the job market is strong, so what's going on? Plus, the Midwest's devastating floods and more.

"Game of Thrones" is huge business for HBO, and Sunday is the beginning of the end. The show's spared no expense on costumes, sets and even whole languages. Today we talk with the linguist whose job it is to make them. Plus: What you need to know about the Fed meeting, and why rail is so expensive to build in the United States.

The tax-filing process is supposed to be simpler than ever, but most filers pay for software or an accountant to help. Today, we look at how fear, history and very effective marketing have kept Americans from going DIY on their tax returns. But first: The International Monetary Fund cut its outlook for global economic growth to the lowest it’s been since the financial crisis. Plus: Would requiring prices in pharmaceutical ads make drugs cheaper?

When you go online in China, you won't find tech giants like Facebook and Google, or news organizations like The New York Times and even the South China Morning Post. It's part of the country's strict regulation of speech, but China's internet is still vibrant. Today we take a look beyond the Great Firewall. But first: This is shaping up to be the biggest year for IPOs since the peak of the dot-com boom. We look at how investing has changed since then. Plus: Paying taxes in bitcoin?

Get out your parachute pants, because MC Hammer begins his first major concert tour since 1991 on Saturday. Hammer joins the Backstreet Boys, the Spice Girls and other '80s and '90s pop acts on the road, where there's still a lot of money to be made. Plus: Turning chaos into core strength with "Brexercise" and the economics of 3-pointers.

After decades of challenges, construction is finally underway on the largest public works project in the U.S.: California’s high-speed rail. Today, we look at why bullet trains have been an elusive American goal for more than 50 years. But first, the latest on the Ethiopian Airlines crash, Boeing and its grounded planes. Plus, the story of an undercover police officer whose career has been shaped by his county’s drug problems. 

Just eight weeks into its inaugural season, the Association of American Football appears to be throwing in the towel. With the XFL set to return next year, we look at why every NFL alternative seems to fail. But first, what you need to know about the recent spike in mortgage and refinancing applications. Plus, the professional shoppers of China who report mislabeled products for a share of the fine.

President Donald Trump threatened to unilaterally shut down the southern border this week if Mexico doesn't take steps to reduce illegal border crossings. Today we look at the economic consequences, starting with putting the brakes on the auto industry. Plus, the fight against robocalls and why that tote bag might not be as environmentally friendly as you think.

After several high-profile scandals, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg laid out the case for regulating his own company. But regulating one tech giant will likely mean regulating others, and they might not be as keen on letting Congress in. But first we do the numbers on Saudi Aramco, which just released figures revealing it's the world's most profitable company. Plus: what you need to know about a big snack food merger.

One day, early in the semester, Keith Jackson didn’t show up to class. He’d been arrested for selling crack, but for his classmates, that wasn’t the surprising part. Subscribe to The Uncertain Hour here or wherever you get your podcasts.