Oct 10, 2023

Maybe don’t take a stand

Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Fewer Americans want brands to speak out about current events. Plus, some small businesses are having trouble borrowing enough cash.

Segments From this episode

With higher interest rates, small businesses and lenders proceed with caution

by Justin Ho

Oct 10, 2023

Only a quarter of small businesses say they're getting the credit they need, according to the National Federation of Independent Business.

Some banks have been more cautious about lending to certain sectors of the economy that aren’t doing so well. That includes commercial real estate.

Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images

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Fewer Americans want brands to take a stand on controversial issues

by Kristin Schwab

Oct 10, 2023

A recent Bentley-Gallup survey says 41% of Americans think businesses should take a public stance on current events. That’s down from 48% just a year ago. What happened?

Maybe we don’t care what our toothpaste says about us. But we do care about what our shoes say as we walk through the world in them. Above, a 2018 Nike advertisement featuring quarterback Colin Kaepernick.

Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

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Inside Smallhold's specialty mushroom supply chain

by Kai Ryssdal and Maria Hollenhorst

Oct 10, 2023

The Brooklyn-based startup is hoping to alter the future of fungi through a network of urban farms.

Smallhold hopes to build a network of mushroom farms across the U.S. Above, yellow oyster mushrooms grow in Smallhold’s Vernon, California, farm.

Sofia Terenzio/Marketplace

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Earnings season sparks hopes of upside surprises

by Mitchell Hartman

Oct 10, 2023

Optimism is growing that earnings could top expectations and provide a boost to the stock markets.

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Solutions to AI image bias raise their own ethical questions

by Matt Levin

Oct 10, 2023

De-biasing artificial intelligence image generators pose questions around synthetic diversity, historical accuracy.

Text to image AI companies know that the pictures generated by their software are informed by images that are already available on the internet. But the best way to correct for that bias can gets complicated.

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Music from the episode

Tightrope Janelle Monáe

California Sunset Poolside

Motherland Journey Blue Lab Beats, Fela Kuti, KillBeatz

Inside Out Spoon

Do Wop (That Thing) Ms. Lauryn Hill

Soul Vibration J-Walk

The team

Nancy Farghalli Executive Producer

Maria Hollenhorst Producer II

Andie Corban Producer I

Sarah Leeson Producer I

Sean McHenry Director & Associate Producer II

Richard Cunningham Associate Producer I

Jordan Mangi Assistant Digital Producer

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