“Building Tomorrow” is a special collaboration between Marketplace and This Old House Radio Hour that asks a simple but urgent question: How do we build homes that can last the next hundred years?

From wildfire rebuilds to factory-built housing, this hour explores how new materials, new methods, and new ideas about community are reshaping the future of housing in America. Hosted by Jenn Largesse and Marketplace’s David Brancaccio, the episode blends reporting, lived experience, and hard science to show what’s possible right now.

In this episode, you’ll learn about:

• A massive prefab factory where homes are built like cars on an assembly line.
• A disaster research campus where engineers crash-test houses against hurricanes, hail, and wildfire.
• A cutting-edge micro factory using software and small factories to build homes faster, locally, and at scale.
• Touring a pioneering cross-laminated timber home built as a living case study in low-carbon construction.
• How a 100-year-old house is transformed into a net-zero, future-ready home.
• A tiny-house community redefining retirement, aging, and what “home” really means.

Note: In the segment featuring Aloe Blacc's prefabricated home, the exterior is made of cement fiber, but the interior is not. The home's fire resilience comes from a combination of steel framing, fiber cement siding, and triple-pane windows.

The Supreme Court struck down many of President Trump’s tariffs today. We’ll discuss how the decision might affect businesses and consumers. Also in this episode: Since Trump announced those tariffs, some importers have figured out ways to avoid them. One way is through “transhipping” — making a pit stop en route to the U.S. and claiming the goods originated there, rather than China. Plus, we’ll talk to a few business owners who are planning for potential tariff changes.

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Marketplace is more than a radio show. Check out our original reporting and financial literacy content at marketplace.org — and consider making an investment in our future.

On today’s edition of “Economics on Tap,” Kimberly is joined by Anna Pope, agriculture and rural affairs reporter for KOSU and Harvest Public Media, to talk about how Oklahoma’s agricultural workers are faring amid wildfires, federal workforce reductions and shifting global trade tensions. One bright spot: beef prices! And, we’ll play a round of Half Full/Half Empty.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• "Oklahoma fire crews battling several wildfires" from KOSU
• "Oklahoma-based federal ag workforce lost nearly 1 in 5 of its employees last year" KOSU
• "Hunger rose slightly in the U.S., a new report shows. The USDA says it will stop tracking the data" from Harvest Public Media
• "Oklahoma had a bumper wheat crop, but it's not alone. Here's what that means for producers" from KOSU
• "Beef prices keep rising. What will it take to bring them down?" from Marketplace
• "Gen Z Doesn’t Go to the Club. They Party at Coffee Shops Instead." from Texas Monthly
• "Job hunters turn to "reverse" recruiters to get an edge" from Marketplace
• "Americans drank more milk in 2024, reversing a decade-long decline" from Harvest Public Media

We love hearing from you. Leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART or email makemesmart@marketplace.org.

The Supreme Court just ruled that the cornerstone of the president’s tariff policy is illegal. It says Donald Trump can’t impose tariffs under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. U.S. consumers and businesses have been shouldering nearly 90% of the cost of all import taxes, and some businesses are vowing to go to court to get a refund. Also on the show: weaker-than-expected GDP growth, DEI's rebrand, and potential federal regulation for driverless cars.

Mainstream economics acknowledges that some joblessness helps to keep prices down. It’s one of the reasons most economists say unemployment at zero isn't actually ideal. This morning, we're joined by the University of Tulsa's Clara Mattei, who argues in a new book that "unemployment is not a problem for our system, but it's actually a solution for it." But first, both Democrats and Republicans grapple with the issue of affordability.

From the BBC World Service: In her first major speech since being reelected as Japan's prime minister, Sanae Takaichi promised to make Japan "stronger and more prosperous." Promises included some changes to the country’s fiscal policy approach, which would include big government spending, strategic industrial investment, and subsidies. Meanwhile, lurking in the background is Japan's heavy debt and sluggish growth. Also, gold prices are on the rise, and traditional French brasseries and bistros are facing an existential crisis.

This week, Palantir announced on X it’s relocating its headquarters to Miami. Plus, we look at the controversy around Ring's Search Party feature.

But first, an update to Google's AI search summaries. If you use AI-enabled search on Google, it’ll spit out an AI-generated summary with source links to the right. Now, the company is making links more prominent when users hover over certain words in the AI summary.

Google says this new interface is “more engaging.” Marketplace’s Stephanie Hughes spoke with Anita Ramaswamy, columnist at The Information, about all this and more.

Consumers have gotten worse at guessing how much goods cost, research shows. Call that literal sticker shock? Accelerated price growth might be to blame, but so is dynamic pricing and the proliferation of online sales. Also in this episode: Trump’s tariffs have failed so far to shrink the U.S. trade deficit, wholesale inventory stabilizes as trade war uncertainty settles, and we visit a place where White House energy and immigration policies collide.

Every story has an economic angle. Want some in your inbox? Subscribe to our daily or weekly newsletter.

Marketplace is more than a radio show. Check out our original reporting and financial literacy content at marketplace.org — and consider making an investment in our future.