David Brancaccio reflects on thousands of conversations

Summary

Marketplace Morning Report Summary

Episode: David Brancaccio reflects on thousands of conversations
Date: April 10, 2026
Host: David Brancaccio
Duration: ~10 minutes

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Episode Overview

This special episode marks David Brancaccio’s final day as the regular host of the Marketplace Morning Report. He covers the latest economic headlines, discusses stock market bubbles with legendary economist Burton Malkiel, and takes listeners on a reflective journey through some of his most memorable moments on the show over the past thirteen years. The episode blends timely business reporting with Brancaccio’s personal highlights and lessons learned from thousands of interviews.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Market News & Inflation Update (01:10–01:40)

• Gas Prices & Inflation:
  • The Iran conflict has driven up gas prices, directly impacting March’s Consumer Price Index (CPI):
    • CPI rose 0.9% in March (seasonally adjusted), 3.3% year-over-year, the highest in two years.
    • Gasoline prices up 21% in the last month alone.
• David Brancaccio:
  • Quote: “Whatever the headline when it comes to investing, do not do anything rash.” (01:10)

2. Feature Interview: Burton Malkiel on AI Stock Bubble (01:41–03:38)

• Guest: Burton Malkiel, Princeton emeritus professor; author of A Random Walk Down Wall Street.
• The “AI Bubble?”
  • Malkiel compares the current enthusiasm for artificial intelligence stocks to historical bubbles:
    • Quote: “Is it possible that we are in the midst of an AI bubble? Absolutely. ... We don't know if we're in the top of the third inning of an AI bubble or the bottom of the ninth.” (02:03)
• Market Valuation Context:
  • Stocks currently aren’t as overvalued as during the dot-com bubble; price-to-earnings ratios are much lower.
    • Advice: “Rebalance. If your equities are too large now, definitely rebalance. Do not, do not try to time the market. You’ll never get it right.” – Burton Malkiel (02:52)
• Highlight:
  • Malkiel’s perspective is rooted in decades of observing boom-and-bust cycles and the futility of market timing.

3. David Brancaccio’s Farewell Reflections (05:26–08:45)

• New Role Announcement:
  • Moving to a “special correspondent” position, covering the economic consequences of today’s decisions:
    • Quote: “A sleuth for consequences, if you will.” (05:29)
• Memorable Reporting Moments:
  • 2020 Pandemic Reporting:
    • Recalls the intensity of early COVID-19 coverage, including reporting job losses:
      • “Today we'll be reporting data likely showing that more than 20 million Americans were thrown out of work over the last four weeks.” (06:05)
  • Paul Krugman Interview:
    • Pressed Nobel laureate Paul Krugman on trade and inequality:
      • Brancaccio recounts being humorously out-argued by Krugman:
        • “The only Swedish thingy I got is a packet of meatballs from Ikea.” (06:45)
  • Reporting on News Deserts:
    • Story of Karen Gleason, a local reporter in Del Rio, Texas, who secured crucial coverage of the 2021 Haitian migrant crisis:
      • Quote from Karen Gleason: “They covered me with blankets. And we went through the Border Patrol checkpoint at the fence. And he'd tell me, like, okay, nobody's looking.” (07:25)
• Celebrity Encounter:
  • Retells meeting William Shatner (James T. Kirk), highlighting Shatner’s entrepreneurial perspective:
    • William Shatner:
      • “Being an entrepreneur really means dedicating yourself to the thing that you think is important. And you may fail. In fact, you have to fail.” (08:10)
      • “If you’re taking risk, you don’t know what the outcome is going to be. … Only by making the mistakes can you learn what not to do and what to do.” (08:24)

4. Gratitude and Sign-off (09:00–End)

• David Brancaccio:
  • Expresses appreciation for listeners and public media, notes relief at not waking up at 2am for live hosting duty.
  • Quote: “Thank you for being there for public media, especially this year.” (09:00)

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Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• On AI Stock Bubbles:
  • “We don't know if we're in the top of the third inning … or the bottom of the ninth.” — Burton Malkiel (02:03)
• On Market Timing:
  • “Do not, do not try to time the market. You’ll never get it right.” — Burton Malkiel (02:52)
• On Trade Debates:
  • “The only Swedish thingy I got is a packet of meatballs from Ikea.” — David Brancaccio (06:45)
• On Reporting Resilience:
  • “They covered me with blankets. And we went through the Border Patrol checkpoint at the fence.” — Karen Gleason (07:25)
• On Entrepreneurship:
  • “You may fail. In fact, you have to fail.” — William Shatner (08:10)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 01:10 — David Brancaccio’s caution on investing amidst headline risk
• 02:03 — Burton Malkiel on the possibility of an AI bubble
• 02:52 — Malkiel’s advice on rebalancing and market timing
• 06:05 — Recalling the COVID-19 labor market shocks
• 06:45 — Humorous exchange with Paul Krugman
• 07:25 — Karen Gleason’s reporting in Del Rio, Texas
• 08:10 — William Shatner on entrepreneurship and risk
• 09:00 — Brancaccio’s sign-off and expression of gratitude

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Summary Tone

Warm, thoughtful, and slightly nostalgic, with Brancaccio’s signature dry wit. The episode delivers actionable economic analysis while celebrating journalistic integrity, perseverance, and the human side of reporting. A fitting close to Brancaccio’s tenure as host, leaving listeners both informed and inspired.

Transcript

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[David Brancaccio]

that whatever the headline when it comes to investing, do not do anything rash. I'm David Brancaccio in Los Angeles. First, there's news. The Iran conflict's effect on gas prices has driven up the Consumer Price Index, which shows today prices up 9. 10% in March, up 3.3% in a year, the highest in two years. Gasoline up 21% last month. The keynote here today is a conversation with the Princeton economics professor who has argued for half a century that you cannot time when to get in or out of stocks. Burton Malkiel, Princeton professor emeritus, is author of what is arguably the most influential investing book of all time, A Random Walk Down Wall Street. Now in a 13th edition, here's an excerpt from our conversation about concern now that stocks related to artificial intelligence are a bubble that could pop.

[Burton Malkiel]

Is it possible that we are in the midst of an AI bubble? Absolutely. We have had bubbles in the stock market with every revolutionary event. We had this with the Internet revolution, when the market then collapsed and went down 40% between the beginning of 2000 and the end of 2002. But we don't know if we're in the top of the third inning of an AI bubble or the bottom of the ninth.

[David Brancaccio]

Now, some say it's a bubble, others say relax. I personally never relax. But for those worried it's a bubble that could pop, what should they do? Given your experience over more than half a century?

[Burton Malkiel]

For those listeners who are worried, the market is a lot lower in terms of its prices relative to earnings today than they were at the top of the Internet bubble when a lot of those Internet companies sold at 100 times earnings or more. The market's not cheap today, but it is far more reasonably priced than it was then. Yes, rebalance. If your equities are too large now, definitely rebalance. Do not, do not try to time the market. You'll never get it right.

[David Brancaccio]

Random Walk Author Burton Malkiel still going strong at 93 our full conversation streamable from marketplace.org now.

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[David Brancaccio]

hosting the Marketplace Morning Report. I'm shifting to a new role still over here that I'm very jazzed about. I'll be our special correspondent, covering future decisions now that shape our economic futures. A sleuth for consequences, if you will. But thinking back on the 13 years covering Brexit, the inflation surge, and now let's call it reverse globalization. Think things stick with me like from April 2020. The economic narrative now is horrifying and we've been facing it head on. For instance, today we'll be reporting data likely showing that more than 20 million Americans were thrown out of work over the last four weeks. Also from the archive the time I pressed famed economist Paul Krugman on freer trade and Globalization being a big cause of economic inequality. Krugman's research says trade is unfairly blamed. And listen to how he swats this flea. You think the trade issue is overblown? I've got a lot of personal human capital invested in trade because that's what I did. That's what I got the Swedish thingy for the Swedish thingy? Yes, the Swedish thingy. But look, Dr. Krugman essentially clobbers my point using his Nobel Prize at economics. Final score, Krugman 1, Brancaccio 0. The. The only Swedish thingy I got is a packet of meatballs from ikea. Another moment reminds us of the importance of local journalism. I was working on a series about news deserts in America, places essentially devoid of local news coverage. Now, I was along the border in Del Rio, Texas, site of a big story a few years earlier when thousands of refugees from Haiti were detained under a bridge across the Rio Grande. Border Patrol wasn't talking. And to get the story, it took an experienced local reporter, one of that reporter Karen Gleason. Gleason's longtime connections was Del Rio's mayor, an official who had permission to enter the camp of migrants where news media had been excluded. Gleason told it like this.

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[David Brancaccio]

the back of my car.

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They covered me with blankets. And we went through the Border Patrol checkpoint at the fence. And he'd tell me, like, okay, nobody's looking.

[David Brancaccio]

Gleason then got her firsthand account to residents on a fledgling local news website that had sprung up to try to fill the void in a town that now had no daily paper. And you get to meet childhood heroes, including the day I'm in the Marketplace New York bureau, and who walks through but James T. Kirk of the Starship Enterprise himself. William Shatner, then 87, was in the house on his way to a gig at Canadian Broadcasting down the hall. I grabbed him for us because Shatner, the actor, is also Mr. Shatner, entrepreneur, who talked to me of the resilience needed for both the acting and the business game.

[William Shatner]

Being an entrepreneur really means dedicating yourself to the thing that you think is important. And you may fail. In fact, you have to fail.

[David Brancaccio]

And this is because being an entrepreneur is taking risk, right? And sometimes it is a risk.

[William Shatner]

And if you're taking risk, you don't know what the outcome is going to be. And a great deal has to do with luck. So if you're not lucky this time, gather yourself up, try again. Sooner or later, if you're smart, if you're aware you will learn by your mistakes and only by making the mistakes can you learn what not to do and what to do.

[David Brancaccio]

Shatner told us how he was paid very little and saved nothing from the first Star Trek series, but got passionate about nest egging after that experience. Anyway, I'll still be around here, but not getting up every day at 2am to go live. Thank you for being there for public media, especially this year in Los Angeles. I'm David Bronkac from APM American Public Media.

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I'm Maggie Smith, host of the Slowdown, where each morning I invite you to step away from your to do list and spend a few minutes with a moment of reflection and a poem from both beloved and emerging voices. Make it part of your morning ritual on a walk, over breakfast or while you get ready for the day. It's a daily moment of pause in a world that never stops moving. Find the Slowdown Wherever you listen to podcasts.