Dealing with credit card or medical debt? Here's how to handle it.

Today we’re taking a trip to Kimberly’s hometown: St. Louis, Missouri. St. Louis Public Radio’s politics correspondent Jason Rosenbaum joins Kimberly to break down the fights over Missouri’s congressional maps and voter-led ballot initiatives. And, we’ll get into how St. Louis is recovering from the historic tornado that swept through the city earlier this year. Plus, are you Half Full or Half Empty on St. Louis style pizza?Here’s everything we talked about today:"Democratic National Committee will contribute to blocking Missouri congressional map" from STLPR"Missouri voters and lawmakers clash over ballot initiative powers" from AP News"Missouri Gov. Kehoe activates National Guard to assist ICE agents" from STLPR"FEMA approves additional funding and assistance for St. Louis tornado debris cleanup" from STLPR"Should you postpone your flight during the government shutdown?" from Marketplace"Thune dangles Obamacare vote after shutdown ends" from Politico "Thin-Crust Fans, Meet St. Louis Pizza: Crunchy, Cheesy, and Totally Underrated" from Serious EatsWe love hearing from you. Leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART or email [email protected].

In this rough labor market, job seekers are more vulnerable to scams. We’ve all seen those texts, right? The ones offering jobs with suspiciously high pay for suspiciously little work? On today’s show, Marketplace’s Kristin Schwab joins Kimberly to share what happened when she replied to one of these scam messages. Plus, why AI and the shift to remote work has fueled the rise in job scams.Here’s everything we talked about today:"Job scam texts have become more frequent and more believable" from Marketplace"Who experiences scams? A story for all ages" from the Federal Trade Commission"Job Scam Texts Are Duping Gen Z, Millennials Amid Unemployment Fears" from Business InsiderJoin us tomorrow for “Economics on Tap.” The YouTube livestream starts at 3:30 p.m. Pacific time, 6:30 p.m. Eastern.

The effects of government shutdowns are felt particularly deeply in tribal communities across the United States. That’s because the federal government has a constitutional obligation to fund services in Indian Country. But when the government closes, tribal nations are left to pick up the tab. Marketplace’s Savannah Peters joins Kimberly to explain how tribal communities get caught up in the federal government’s dysfunctional budget process and why tribal leaders argue this needs to change.Here’s everything we talked about today:"How the government shutdown is playing out in Indian Country" from Marketplace "Tribal governments fend off the worst of the impacts of the shutdown" from High Country News "The shutdown isn’t big for Utah’s tribes yet. If it drags on, that’s the problem" from KUER "In Indian Country, federal budget dysfunction takes a toll" from MarketplaceWe love hearing from you. Leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART or email [email protected].

On today’s show, Kimberly is joined by the host of NPR’s “Life Kit” podcast, Marielle Segarra, who’s recently been working on a four-week newsletter series all about credit card debt — and how to avoid it all snowballing. Plus, we’ll play a round of Headline or Head-lyin’!Here’s everything we talked about today:“In credit card debt? There’s a path out” from Life Kit“Medical bills can cause a financial crisis. Here’s how to negotiate them” from Life Kit“A big misconception about debt — and how to tackle it” from Life Kit

Today we’re all getting smarter about some of the economic and political terms dominating the headlines these days. Terms like “authoritarianism” and “state capitalism” that have been hotly debated during the second Trump administration. Plus, “stagflation” and other vocabulary words our listeners have been curious about. With some help from experts, Kimberly breaks them all down. Here’s everything we talked about today:"Why journalists are reluctant to call Trump an authoritarian – and why that matters for democracy" from The Conversation"What do we call the Trump administration's economic interventions?" from Marketplace"The U.S. Marches Toward State Capitalism With American Characteristics" from The Wall Street Journal"Trump's Latest Trade Deals Raise More Questions Than Answers and Harm America’s Future" from the Center for American Progress"Supreme Court Agrees to Review Trump’s Sprawling Tariffs" from The New York Times"What Is Stagflation, What Causes It, and Why Is It Bad?" from Investopedia"Are Donald Trump's tariffs the new sanctions?" from Stanford UniversityJoin us tomorrow for “Economics on Tap.” The YouTube livestream starts at 3:30 p.m. Pacific time, 6:30 p.m. Eastern.

A growing list of U.S. cities are set to see National Guard troops in their communities as President Trump explores ways to deploy the military on American soil. But legal challenges are piling up. On today’s show, Kimberly talks with Patrick Eddington, senior fellow in homeland security and civil liberties at the Cato Institute, about the changing role of the National Guard and why Trump’s use of the Guard defies precedent.Here’s everything we talked about today:"The President’s List of Subversive Organizations" from the Cato Institute"Trump’s use of Guard may have lasting impact on cities and troops" from The Washington Post"Trump's use of the National Guard sets up a legal clash testing presidential power" from AP News"Troops and marines deeply troubled by LA deployment: ‘Morale is not great’" from The Guardian"What We Lose by Distorting the Mission of the National Guard" from The AtlanticWe love hearing from you. Leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART or email [email protected].

On today’s show, Kimberly is joined by Marketplace’s very own Henry Epp to chat about his reporting on the “maturing” of the craft beer industry, and just who's sipping all those IPAs and sours. They'll also get into how the Trump administration is using the government shutdown to consolidate power. Plus, we’ll play a round of Half Full/Half Empty!Here’s everything we talked about today:“For years, craft beer was booming. Now, it’s ‘maturing’” from Marketplace“Trump charts path to total control amid government shutdown” from Axios“AOL’s dial up internet takes its last bow, marking the end of an era” from the Associated Press“Colleges turn to video essays to counter AI-written submissions” from Marketplace Tech“Robots are learning to make human babies. Twenty have already been born.” from The Washington Post“Buy it in ChatGPT: Instant Checkout and the Agentic Commerce Protocol” from OpenAI“The future of loyalty” from Business Insider

Messy fights over funding the federal government have become all too familiar in American politics. Why are we like this? On the show today, The Brookings Institution’s Molly Reynolds joins Kimberly to explain how shutdowns became Congress’ political weapon of choice and why the federal budget process has gotten even more complicated under the Trump administration. Plus, we hear from you, our dear listeners.Here’s everything we talked about today:"Congress has long struggled to pass spending bills on time" from Pew Research Center"Government shutdown continues as Senate Democrats hold firm on health care demands" from AP News"How John Thune sees the shutdown ending" from Politico"What are Democrats' demands in the government shutdown fight?" from MarketplaceShow your love for Make Me Smart and our community of curious listeners! Donate now to get us one step closer to our Fall Fundraiser

Las Vegas is facing a months long decline in tourism, partly due fewer international visitors to the United States overall. So is Las Vegas dead? “Marketplace Morning Report” host David Brancaccio went to find out. He joins Kimberly on the show today to share what he’s hearing from business owners and tourists about the city’s economic slump. Here’s everything we talked about today:"Sin City tourism slump signals wider economic slowdown" from Axios"An Empty Strip And Fewer Tips: Is Las Vegas In Trouble?" from Time"Las Vegas is hurting as tourism drops. Are Canadians behind the Sin City slump?" from CBC NewsThe way forward is together! Step up and be one of 2,000 Marketplace Investors before our fundraiser ends Friday. Give now: https://support.marketplace.org/smart-sn

Hey Smarties! Today we’re sharing a special bonus episode from “How We Survive.” It’s a conversation between host Amy Scott, “Marketplace” host Kai Ryssdal and Pulitzer Prize winning science writer Elizabeth Kolbert. Together, they dig into how the climate crisis is triggering economic disruption. Plus, some solutions to be hopeful about.And, we get a peek into Kolbert’s forthcoming book, ”Life on a Little-Known Planet: Dispatches from a Changing World.” In this collection of her most influential essays, Kolbert takes readers around the globe, telling stories about caterpillars, whale conversations and the people trying to preserve our planet.This conversation was recorded live, over Zoom, in front of an audience. You can watch the webinar here. The event is presented by Odoo with additional underwriting support from The Economist.