Marketplace Tech – Details, episodes & analysis

What if receiving a medical diagnosis was as simple as shopping online? The growing home diagnostics industry says it can be. At-home testing was widespread during the COVID-19 pandemic, but more health tech companies also offer DIY kits that test for food allergies, fertility and thyroid function, among other things. Some medical experts are wary of this on-demand model, but health tech investors say it can make health care more accessible. Marketplace’s Lily Jamali spoke to Chrissy Farr, author of the Second Opinion newsletter, and Anarghya Vardhana, a partner at the Maveron venture firm, about the prospects of the industry and how it affects relationships between patients and doctors.

On Friday, a Boeing Starliner spacecraft undocked from the International Space Station to return to Earth without its crew. NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore stayed behind due to uncertainty about the safety of the Boeing craft. The duo will instead hitch a ride back on a SpaceX mission set to arrive at the ISS in February. It’s another win for the Elon Musk-owned company, which has come to dominate rocket launches in the U.S. But NASA’s reliance on SpaceX now is a bit of a reversal, according to Steven Feldstein, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment’s Democracy, Conflict and Governance program.

It’s Friday, which means it’s time for our weekly review of some of the big stories making headlines in tech. First: No, you’re not having déjà vu all over again. Google really is back in court this week for its second antitrust trial of the year. Plus, a startup in Silicon Valley wants to make AI data centers more sustainable by putting them underwater in the San Francisco Bay, but regulators have questions. And Taylor Swift announced she is endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris in this year’s presidential election. She took to Instagram on Tuesday night to publish her stance, citing artificial intelligence-enabled misinformation as a driving force. Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino spoke with Paresh Dave, senior writer at Wired, for his take on this week’s tech news.

It’s an interesting time for many in the U.S. Some people feel great about President-elect Donald Trump’s return to the White House, while others don’t. This week, people from both sides are sitting down together for Thanksgiving dinner. And while it’s one thing to ignore a family member’s social media posts or online rants, that can be a bit more challenging face-to-face, sometimes leading to awkward conversations about beliefs, truth and misinformation. Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams spoke to Whitney Phillips, assistant professor of digital platforms and ethics at the University of Oregon, about how to navigate awkward conversations this holiday season.

President-elect Donald Trump has tapped Elon Musk to co-lead a new Department of Government Efficiency. And the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, who is also the owner of X, does have a record of wringing efficiencies out of his businesses. But the move raises many questions, like should someone whose companies benefit from federal dollars have a hand in making budget decisions? SpaceX alone has secured about $15.4 billion in federal contracts over the last decade, helping it become the dominant player in the industry. So, how has SpaceX rocketed ahead of the competition, and can anyone catch up? Ashlee Vance, the author of “When the Heavens Went on Sale” and a writer for Bloomberg, pointed to reusable rockets, an innovation that was on spectacular display when SpaceX tested its Starship system last month.

It’s Election Day and even though the campaign may be over, the battle over misinformation is not. Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams spoke with Derek Tisler, counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice, about some of the misleading online narratives voters should expect to see and how to deal with them. This conversation is part of “Marketplace Tech’s” limited series “Decoding Democracy.” Watch the full episode on our YouTube channel.

We know from various studies that young people are, unsurprisingly, using generative AI tools like chatbots and image generators, sometimes for homework, sometimes for fun and sometimes for malicious purposes. A recent survey from the Center for Democracy and Technology found that artificial intelligence is being used among high school students to create nonconsensual, illicit imagery — in other words, sexually explicit deepfakes. Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino spoke with Elizabeth Laird, director of equity in civic technology at CDT, to learn more.

Online misinformation about Hurricanes Helene and Milton, and about the relief response from the Federal Emergency Management Agency have surged in recent weeks, including false narratives of aid being withheld from victims for their political beliefs and aid being stolen by undocumented immigrants. Marketplace’s Kimberly Adams spoke with Ethan Porter, professor of media, public affairs and political science at George Washington University, about why there’s been so much misinformation about these natural disasters and FEMA’s relief response.

There’s been a lot of discussion about health insurance over the last week. And one practice could be seeing more oversight: the use of artificial intelligence in coverage decisions. Plus, the FDA issues final guidance for makers of AI-enabled medical devices so they can now update their software after approval. And it was a good year for health tech startups — after a not-so-good year in 2023 — especially for those with the letters “AI” attached to their business. Our regular contributor Christina Farr, managing director with Manatt Health, joins Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino to discuss the news.

This week, we’re talking about how teenagers are using artificial intelligence tools like chatbots and image generators, often without the knowledge of their parents and teachers, according to a recent report from the nonprofit Common Sense Media. Monday we heard about that research from Jim Steyer, founder and CEO of the group. And now we want to home in on a specific piece of what he said: “If you look back at the advent of social media, about 20 years ago, we pretty much blew the regulatory side of that, but also the educating teachers and parents part of that. And we left kids on their own.” So we called up Nathan Sanders, an affiliate of the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard, who has written about the overlapping risks of AI and social media.