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Freedom From Religion Foundation Representative
This Marketplace podcast is supported by the Freedom From Religion Foundation. America is an aspirational idea, one we're still working to fulfill, shaped by enlightenment ideals, reason, liberty and freedom of conscience, the belief that power comes from we the people, not a divinely appointed ruler. And while these ideals have not yet been fully perfected, they created something powerful, a framework that has expanded rights and freedoms over time. Now those freedoms and your rights are under attack. We're seeing growing efforts to blur the line between church and state, public funds to promote religion, Ten Commandments and cloth classrooms, and pushing a version of America that leaves out too many people. As our Nation approaches its 250th anniversary, the Freedom From Religion foundation is working to protect the Constitution, defend secular government, and ensure that freedom continues to expand for everyone. Because America isn't just where we started, it's what we choose next. Go to FFRF US America or text America to 51151 1America to 511511 text fees may apply.
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hitting
Sabri Ben-Achour
the road and the Wallet from Marketplace I'm Sabri Ben, ashore in New York. Memorial Day weekend is here. The summer travel season has begun. More Americans are expected to hit the roads this year than last. They will, however, be met with the highest gas prices in four years. Marketplaces Nova Sappho has more.
Nova Safo
The national average for a gallon of Regular gas is $4.56, according to AAA. It's 409 in Texas, 613 in California. Prices are up about $1.40 since the US and Israel attacked Iran and Iran effectively closed off the Strait of Hormuz. There are signs some Americans are adjusting their travel plans. AAA expects 39 million people to hit the roads this weekend, an increase from last year, but the smallest increase in a decade. Also, more Americans will opt to drive shorter distances. According to GasBuddy, airline travelers this weekend are set to be less affected. AAA projects three and a half million people will take domestic flights with average airfare about 6% cheaper because most trips were booked before the Iran war. I'm Nova Safo for Marketplace.
Sabri Ben-Achour
California governor Gavin Newsom got into it yesterday with Chevron over gas prices. His office urged people to ditch Chevron in favor of cheaper, unbranded alternative. Chevron had said gas was so expensive because of the state's climate policies. All of this raises a question, which is how are you feeling financially? The University of Michigan asks consumers this and other questions every month for its Consumer Sentiment report coming out later this morning For May. Earlier this month was looking pretty bad. Lowest sentiment since the mega inflation of the pandemic, Marketplace's Mitchell Hartman reports.
Mitchell Hartman
There's a lot weighing on consumer sentiment right now. Rising gas prices and utility bills, high interest rates, a tough labor market for new grads and other job seekers. But there's also a conundrum here, one we've faced before. While sentiments hit rock bottom, spending remains strong, says morning consult economist Sophia Beg.
Sophia Beg
As far as overall spending when it comes to gas prices, we haven't seen an effect yet. Consumers are absorbing the prices and not
Mitchell Hartman
cutting back on discretionary purchases like travel,
Sophia Beg
airfare, hotels, restaurants, recreation, which would include baseball games, movie theaters. Those all have been increasing.
Mitchell Hartman
Higher income consumers are driving a lot of that spending. Lower income folks, meanwhile, are just belted in for the ride, says Swarthmore College behavioral economist Sion Banot.
Nova Safo
They have no choice. If you're driving to work, you got
Sabri Ben-Achour
to fill your gas tank.
Nova Safo
You might get frustrated to see the prices higher, but you know, what are you going to do about it?
Mitchell Hartman
With inflation rising, political strife at home and geopolitical tensions abroad, Benoit doesn't expect sentiment to rebound anytime soon. I'm Mitchell Hartman for Marketplace.
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Sabri Ben-Achour
Morning post Malone Meghan Trainor Zayn Malik the Pussycat Dolls Just a few of the artists who have cut back on or entirely canceled their tours this summer. Some have cited personal reasons. Others have said the economics are just not great. In the music industry, there is a word for one possible explanation. Blue dot fever. When you look at a seat map when you're buying tickets, all the empty seats show up as blue dots. If you are an artist looking at that and you see too many of those dots, you might just call the whole show off. Dave Clark is a senior staff writer at Ticket News and is here to talk about it.
Dave Clark
Hi Dave, Good morning. Thanks for having me.
Sabri Ben-Achour
There have been, you know, a bunch of high profile cancellations. Is this level of cancellation normal or is there something going on?
Dave Clark
I think both can be true. There's always going to be cancellations, you know, different tours for any number of reasons that you can think of will cancel. However, it does feel like at least the sentiment is that there is something more meaningful with what is going on right now based on just the pressures that consumers are feeling and the prices and things of that nature. Whether or not it's a longer term issue remains to be seen, but it's definitely the perception is that there's something more significant than just a normal tour cancellation batch.
Sabri Ben-Achour
Has it also gotten expensive for the artists themselves to go on tour?
Dave Clark
Oh, unquestionably. The cost of doing business at the tour level is much, much higher this summer. It's probably going to be even worse because you know, the fuel costs are going to be really high and that drives prices up for everything. Particularly if it's a large scale tour that has like set pieces that are moving from city to city. The paradigm Used to be you would go on tour to support your new music and album sales, and now it's really flee clipped on its head where a lot of these artists are earning their living on their touring income, and then the music is basically, you know, more of a promotion for the tickets rather than the other way around.
Sabri Ben-Achour
Blue Dot Fever is this term that refers to unsold tickets. The head of Live Nation said, this is not a thing. Is this a thing?
Dave Clark
It's impossible to say that it isn't happening now. Where they might have a more realistic argument is it's not abnormal for tours or individual shows to be underperforming relative to what they might hope. The actual visibility of what unsold seats are even showing up as blue dots is not necessarily a guarantee of a comprehensive manifest of unsold seats. A lot of times unsold seats are completely hidden from the visible manifest in order to drive the perception that a show is less available inventory than it actually has. So even the fact that, you know, there's as many blue dots showing up for certain shows is kind of significant because that might not even be, you know, a comprehensive indicator of how many seats are unsold. They want to, you know, effectively drive the perception that there are fewer seats available than there might actually be in reality.
Sabri Ben-Achour
Dave Clark is a senior staff writer at Ticket News. Dave, thank you so much.
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Thank you.
Sabri Ben-Achour
In New York, I'm Sabri Benishour with the Marketplace Morning Report. From apm, American Public Media.
Nova Safo
There's so much happening in the world, and if you have particularly, shall we say, inquisitive kids, it can be hard to answer their questions.
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Hi, I'm Ryan.
Sophia Beg
And I'm Bridget. And we host Million Bazillion, a podcast from Marketplace about money for kids and their families. We help your little ones think big about important but tricky topics like taxes, gas prices, and even what a cashless society might be like.
Nova Safo
There's a bunch of new episodes out now, so go listen to Million Bazillion on your favorite podcast.
Dave Clark
Apparently,
Marketplace Morning Report
Episode: The cost of that Memorial Day travel
Date: May 22, 2026
This episode of Marketplace Morning Report, hosted by Sabri Ben-Achour, covers the financial realities facing Americans as they prepare for Memorial Day travel in the context of record-high gas prices, evolving consumer spending habits, and a turbulent live music industry. The episode unpacks the economic, political, and social implications of these trends and provides insights from experts across business and behavioral economics.
(Segment begins at 01:32)
Notable Quote:
“Prices are up about $1.40 since the US and Israel attacked Iran and Iran effectively closed off the Strait of Hormuz.”
— Nova Safo (01:53)
(Segment begins at 02:41)
Notable Quotes:
“As far as overall spending when it comes to gas prices, we haven’t seen an effect yet. Consumers are absorbing the prices and not cutting back on discretionary purchases like travel.”
— Sophia Beg, Morning Consult Economist (03:37)“They have no choice. If you’re driving to work, you got to fill your gas tank.”
— Sion Benoit, Swarthmore College Behavioral Economist (04:08)
(Segment begins at 06:29)
Notable Quotes:
“The cost of doing business at the tour level is much, much higher this summer. It’s probably going to be even worse because the fuel costs are going to be really high and that drives prices up for everything.”
— Dave Clark, Ticket News (07:59)“The actual visibility of what unsold seats are even showing up as blue dots is not necessarily a guarantee of a comprehensive manifest of unsold seats.”
— Dave Clark, Ticket News (08:40)
The episode maintains Marketplace’s clear, concise, and slightly analytical tone, contextualizing pressing economic trends without alarmism. The hosts and guests present complex issues in accessible language, balancing factual reporting with direct quotes from expert sources.
This brisk episode efficiently connects the dots between war-driven fuel price surges, the ripple effects on summer travel and leisure, and novel stresses in the live events industry. It provides both hard numbers and human perspectives, punctuated with expert opinions and real-world implications—equipping listeners with a comprehensive snapshot of Memorial Day economics in 2026.