Seattle's tech industry blues

Recently, Seattle’s tech workforce has been hit by wave after wave of layoffs. Some company execs say it’s AI’s fault. KUOW’s Monica Nickelsburg joins Kimberly on today’s show to share what she’s hearing from tech workers. And, we’ll get into another side of the AI boom: the push to build more data centers and the pushback from locals. Plus, a round of Seattle trivia!Here’s everything we talked about today:"Booming" from KUOWWhy Seattle tech companies are still laying off workers from The Seattle Times"From coder to shuttle driver: Where Seattle's laid off tech workforce is now" from KUOW"A small town in Central Washington is Microsoft's answer to the data center backlash" from KUOW"What produce prompted the creation of the Market?" from the Pike Place Market Foundation"Seattle doesn't have many unicorns. Does it matter?" From GeekWire"Scents from a Mall: The Sticky, Untold Story of Cinnabon" from Seattle Met"Seattle area expected to generate $845 million from FIFA World Cup" from Fox 13 SeattleWe love hearing from you. Leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART or email [email protected].

Will AI take my job? On today’s show, Anthropic’s head of economics Peter McCrory sits down with Kimberly to answer our burning questions about artificial intelligence’s effects on the labor market. We’ll get into what Anthropic’s research shows about how people are using the company’s chatbot Claude and what that could mean for the future of the global economy. Here’s everything we talked about today:"Snap's stock jumps on plans to axe 16% of its workforce citing AI efficiencies" from CNBC"Anthropic Economic Index report: Learning curves" from Anthropic"Labor market impacts of AI: A new measure and early evidence" from Anthropic "Anthropic Economic Index report: Uneven geographic and enterprise AI adoption" from Anthropic "Behind the Curtain: A white-collar bloodbath" from Axios"Estimating AI productivity gains from Claude conversations" from Anthropic"What 81,000 people want from AI" from AnthropicWe love hearing from you. Leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART or email [email protected].

In her book “The Second Estate,” Boston College Law School professor Ray Madoff argues that the tax code in the United States lets billionaires keep their wealth outside of the tax system, leaving the heaviest burden to lower- and middle-income, working Americans. On today’s show, Madoff joins Kimberly to explain the “tax avoidance playbook” and why Congress has let certain loopholes go unclosed for decades. Plus, why a wealth tax may not be the simple solution you think it is.

Nearly 600 Marketplace fans gathered at the Aratani Theatre in downtown Los Angeles to watch Kai Ryssdal present Marketplace Live, in partnership with LAist.Kai was joined onstage by economics author, educator, and content creator Kyla Scanlon to talk about AI, prediction markets, Federal Reserve independence, and the war in Iran. Later, former “Marketplace Morning Report” host David Brancaccio joined Kai to discuss his experience rebuilding after the LA fire and his new job as Marketplace senior correspondent covering future effects.Note: This show was recorded on March 29, and the situation in Iran has changed since then. Follow our latest coverage here.

A lot of sci-fi is dystopian. Solarpunk flips that on its head. The subgenre imagines a brighter future where humans have fostered a better relationship with technology, the environment, and each other, in spite of climate disaster. On today’s show, writer and academic Phoebe Wagner joins Kimberly to make us smart about solarpunk, its connection to the green energy transition, and why you should check it out if you want to shake off climate doom.Here’s everything we talked about today:"Solarpunk: A Container for More Fertile Futures" from Solarpunk Magazine"Tired of Dystopian Sci-Fi? You Might Like Solarpunk." from Mother Jones"Sunshine and Seedlings" from Hydroponic Trash"Underground" from Tractor BeamChobani ad on YouTubeWe love hearing from you. Leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART or email [email protected].

A series of suspiciously well-timed Iran war bets placed on Polymarket have revived concerns about insider trading on prediction markets. But enforcement is something of a gray area. Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino joins Kimberly to explain the relatively recent history of insider trading laws at the CFTC and what it could mean for prediction market platforms. Plus, the debate over whether insider trading on these markets is actually a good thing.

Doorbell cameras, license plate readers, and social media platforms are just a few of the tech products that make up an ever-growing surveillance network in the United States. ICE’s use of surveillance tools as part of its immigration crackdown has brought that into focus. On today’s show, Kimberly talks with investigative journalist and co-founder of 404 Media Joseph Cox about the growth of the American surveillance state and simple steps you can take to protect your privacy.Here’s everything we talked about today:"With Ring, American Consumers Built a Surveillance Dragnet" from 404 Media"Surveillance company Flock generates controversy, and L.A. customers" from The L.A. Times"Ring Ends Deal to Link Neighborhood Cameras After Backlash to Super Bowl Ad" from The New York Times"All the Ways Big Tech Fuels ICE and CBP" from Wired"Inside a Powerful Database ICE Uses to Identify and Deport People" from 404 MediaWe love hearing from you. Leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART or email [email protected].

This week’s launch of Artemis II marked the first crewed mission to the moon in over 50 years. This time around, the spaceflight industry looks pretty different, with private companies playing a more dominant role. On today’s show, Kimberly gets into the future of NASA and the commercial space sector with Ars Technica’s senior space editor Eric Berger. Plus, why are we going back to the moon, anyway? Here’s everything we talked about today:"Artemis II is unlikely to be the cultural touchstone Apollo 8 was, and that's OK" from Ars Technica "Isaacman aims to reinvigorate NASA’s image, starting with the moon" from Politico "Trump FY2027 NASA Budget Supports Moon Missions, But Cuts Everything Else" from SpacePolicyOnline.com "Big Banks Seeking a Piece of SpaceX’s I.P.O. Must Subscribe to Elon Musk’s Grok" from The New York Times"SpaceX quietly files for big bang IPO" from SpaceNews "Artemis II: What's on the Menu?" from NASA"Astronaut Reid Wiseman was wrong about how rockets get to space" from MarketplaceWe love hearing from you. Leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART or email [email protected].

Happy first tariff-versary? Despite the fact that many of President Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariffs were recently struck down, small businesses across the country are still dealing with the aftermath. On today’s show, Kimberly talks with two small business owners: Justine Kahn, founder of Botnia Skincare in Sausalito, CA and Will Sissle, owner of Sissle & Daughters Cheesemongers & Grocers in Portland, ME, about how they’ve navigated a year of tariffs.

Last week, at a time when the war with Iran has been roiling global energy markets, executives from energy companies all over the world gathered for CERAWeek, the “Super Bowl” of energy conferences. But as Marketplace’s Elizabeth Trovall tells us, conflict in the Middle East wasn’t the only hot topic there. Trovall joins Kimberly to discuss how the energy sector is confronting a wide range of disruptions, from geopolitics to technology.Here’s everything we talked about today:"At "Super Bowl of the energy industry," war in the Middle East is the hot topic" from Marketplace"Gas prices eclipse $4 a gallon in the US, the highest since 2022" from AP News"How Blocking Oil and Gas From Leaving the Strait of Hormuz Ripples Around the World" from The New York Times"Venezuela oil production has reached 1.1 mln bpd in March" from Reuters "Energy demand from AI " from the International Energy Agency Got a question about the Iran war and its impact on the global economy? Leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART or email [email protected].