Marketplace Morning Report — "A Christmas Present for Drivers"

Date: December 25, 2025
Host: Sabri Benishore
Special Guests: Dr. Hassan Ben Shukran, Amy Scott, Paul Penner

Episode Overview

This episode of Marketplace Morning Report delivers a brisk yet informative Christmas Day update on key economic news and trends shaping the lives of Americans. Highlights include a major break for holiday travelers as gas prices hit multi-year lows, an exploration of artificial intelligence’s expanding role in health care, and a field report on how Midwestern agriculture is coping with a drier climate—with implications for the global food supply.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Holiday Relief: Lowest Gas Prices Since 2021

Host: Sabri Benishore

• AAA reports the average price of gasoline has stayed below $3/gallon for most of December, down 7% from a month ago—just in time for the holiday travel surge.
• [00:55]: “Gas prices are at their lowest level since 2021. That’s according to AAA, as millions of Americans are traveling for the holidays...down 7% from a month ago.”

2. AI’s Growing Presence in Healthcare

Host: Sabri Benishore, Guest: Dr. Hassan Ben Shukran (Pulmonary and Intensive Care Physician, San Diego)

• [01:08]: “Artificial intelligence is becoming a bigger and bigger part of healthcare. AI is helping to develop new drugs... regular people going to AI directly to search their symptoms...that makes doctors a little uneasy. But doctors use AI too...”

• Doctor’s Insights on AI in the Clinic:

  • Ambient Scribs: Helps with clinical note-taking and paperwork, alleviating administrative burden.
  • Quick Research: AI models allow doctors to get rapid, referenced summaries when unfamiliar diseases or conditions arise.
  • Quote

    “Some of the models I use are ambient scribes... A second one is the research models...instead of plugging it into Google and then clicking on each link...you have a digest of something and you have the references.”
    — Dr. Hassan Ben Shukran [01:53]

• Further Listening: Full interview available at marketplace.org/tech.

3. Market Status: Christmas Holiday

• [02:27]: “Stock and bond trading is closed today for the Christmas holiday. Markets are set to reopen for regular trading tomorrow.”

4. Climate Change on the Great Plains: The Moving Dryline

Host: Amy Scott (How We Survive), Guest: Paul Penner (Kansas Farmer)

• The 100th meridian west—once the symbolic line dividing arid West and humid East—is shifting eastward due to climate change, causing drier conditions deeper into the Midwest.
• Columbia University research flags significant implications for US agriculture, farm economies, and global food security.
• [04:31]: “The 100th meridian west is...the dividing line between the arid western United States and the more humid East. But...the dryline appears to be moving due to climate change...that could have huge implications for farmers, the economy, and the global food supply.”

On-the-Ground: Paul Penner, Hillsboro, Kansas

• Farming on ~1,000 acres; has observed more severe, frequent droughts over the past 15 years.
  • Quote:

    “You do it for the love of farming, but also, you know what, I'm a businessman too. I gotta make money. And I get really angry at myself when I don't make money.”
    — Paul Penner [06:07]

• Adaptation: Introduced no-till farming about 20 years ago—retaining crop stubble to reduce erosion, preserve moisture, and protect yields during drought.
  • [06:19]: Explanation and demonstration of stubble layers in his fields.
• Climatic Extremes: This year, rain came in short, intense bursts—too much water in total, but too little soaks in.
  • [07:16]: Paul shares rainfall app: average = 36”, this year = 42”.
  • [07:24]:

    “Much of it has come in short, intense bursts where only a fraction soaks in, leaving crops stressed... one wet year doesn’t change the trend line toward a hotter, more arid future.”
    — Amy Scott

Broader Impacts & Market Pressures

• Global consequences: Less consistent moisture could hurt both yield and quality, impacting world food supply.
  • Quote:

    “It’s going to impact the amount of wheat available...could impact quality depending on how the rainfall patterns are... We have to have, you know, a consistent form of moisture...”
    — Paul Penner [07:53]

• Trade Troubles: Downward pressure on prices due to tariffs and drying export markets (notably China).
  • To break even, needs $7.50/bushel for wheat; market offering < $5 as of September.
  • Quote:

    “Tariff trade war. I could use some other expletives, but I won’t.”
    — Paul Penner [08:40]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Dr. Hassan Ben Shukran on AI:

  “Instead of plugging it into Google and then clicking on each link... you have a digest of something and you have the references.”
  — [01:53]

• Paul Penner on the Challenge of Modern Farming:

  “I'm a businessman too. I gotta make money. And I get really angry at myself when I don't make money.”
  — [06:07]

• Paul Penner’s Market Frustration:

  “Tariff trade war. I could use some other expletives, but I won’t.”
  — [08:40]

Key Segment Timestamps

• 00:55 — Welcome & Gas prices drop
• 01:08 — Artificial Intelligence in Health Care
• 01:53 — Doctor’s perspective on AI in the clinic
• 02:27 — Holiday markets closure
• 04:31 — Climate change shifts US dryline, move to Kansas farm
• 05:11 – 09:13 — "How We Survive" special: Realities and adaptation in the nation’s breadbasket

Conclusion

This Christmas edition of Marketplace Morning Report weaves together news on lower gas prices, the evolving role of artificial intelligence in health care, and the pressing challenge of climate change and economic pressure on US farmers. Interviews with a practicing physician and a Kansas farmer add firsthand perspectives and urgency to the economic and environmental headlines.

For full conversations and more stories, visit marketplace.org