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Sarah Leeson

Latest Stories (139)

Streets used to be full of kids playing. Can those spaces be reclaimed?

Sep 17, 2024
As neighborhoods experiment with play streets, grownups can reconsider modern parenting, Stephanie Murray wrote in The Atlantic.
Children playing safely on city streets may be a thing of the past.
Douwe Bijlsma/BSR Agency/Getty Images

The connection between flight delays and cabin crews' pay

Sep 16, 2024
Delayed flights aren't just a hassle for flyers but also for flight attendants, explains Whizy Kim of Vox.
In the warmer months this year, about 25% of flights were delayed.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

In national broadband rollout, rural landscapes pose a challenge

Aug 27, 2024
The government is spending billions to expand internet access. But distance, low housing density and other factors complicate the plan.
Chip Spann of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration gave Marketplace's Kai Ryssdal a tour of sites related to Kentucky's broadband expansion.
Sarah Leeson/Marketplace

Libraries are essential for internet access, even as national broadband projects ramp up

Aug 23, 2024
The federal government wants to bring fiber connections to every home. In the meantime, some areas will still rely on the library.
Debra Lawson, director of the Spencer County Public Library, says she doesn't know what some patrons would do without the library's internet access. "The way they use our computers, they're participating in society," she says.
Andie Corban/Marketplace

As Magnificent Seven stocks dip, smaller companies have taken up the mantle

Aug 5, 2024
The companies that could profit the most from a potential Fed rate cut aren't Big Tech companies, so investors are shifting their focus.
With Big Tech companies stumbling in recent earnings, the hundreds of smaller companies in the S&P 500 have sprung to life.
Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

In a tight housing market, Texas is seeing some relief for buyers

Jul 30, 2024
"I have not seen us write more than two offers before getting an acceptance, whereas before it was writing offer after offer after offer," said Houston real estate broker LaTisha Grant.
House prices are continuing to rise nationally, but Texas is an exception.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Retirement communities are creating a "steady stream" of spending for local economies

Jul 18, 2024
At Sun City Texas, where the median age is 73, seniors are kicking up their heels and patronizing a variety of nearby businesses.
Many baby boomers are enjoying retirement and spending it up.
Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

American sunscreens lag behind Korean brands in quality. Why?

Jul 8, 2024
The FDA hasn't approved a new UV filter for sunscreen since 1999. Some consumers are turning to foreign markets instead.
American sunscreens are notoriously thick and greasy. Some countries have more advanced options.
Michel Porro/Getty Images)

When an accessibility mapping app went viral, success came with a cost

Jun 11, 2024
Roll Mobility, an app for mapping accessibility infrastructure and linking disabled communities, went viral. Now the team needs to raise funds.
A viral video boosted the popularity of an accessibility app called Roll Mobility. Now the company needs to raise funds to build its operation, said co-founder Joe Foster.
Philippe Lopez/AFP via Getty Images)

What's all the buzz about decaf coffee?

Jun 7, 2024
With advances in the decaffeination process and the use of better beans, coffee lovers are giving decaf another shot.
A coffee maker from Houston won the U.S. Brewers Cup, "but he won it with decaf, which is kind of like winning the Tour de France on a unicycle," says reporter Matt Kronsberg.
Tim Boyle/Getty Images