The new "Be Kind, Rewind"

Summary

Marketplace Morning Report

Episode: The new "Be Kind, Rewind"
Date: December 29, 2025
Host: Nova Safo (in for David Brancaccio)
Guests: Julia Coronado (Macro Policy Perspectives), Caroline Ballard (Salt Lake City reporter), Kate Kowalczyk (Free Blockbuster box owner), David Tinsley (Bank of America Institute), Rebecca Drought (BBC)

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Episode Overview

This Marketplace Morning Report packs several news updates and human-interest stories into under ten minutes. The episode highlights anticipated insights from the Federal Reserve's upcoming meeting minutes, the revival of “take a movie, leave a movie” kiosks as a response to rising entertainment costs, and a historical find relating to Scottish coinage. The tone is brisk, informative, and lightly nostalgic.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Federal Reserve Division and Policy Outlook

• [01:01-03:52]
• Marketplace’s Nova Safo interviews economist Julia Coronado about anticipated Federal Reserve meeting minutes and internal policy disagreements.

Main Insights:

• Disagreement Within the Fed:
  • Some members dissented on the latest rate cut, with division between those wanting more aggressive cuts and those wanting none at all.
  • “We had people who were dissenting against the decision to cut rates a quarter point, but both in favor of lower rates and in favor of no cuts at all.”
    – Julia Coronado [01:45]
• What to Watch for in Minutes:
  • Investors and analysts will be able to gauge how sentiment is divided and whether more policymakers are hawkish (concerned about inflation) or dovish (supportive of further cuts).
  • Julia expects more to be worried about inflation:
    “There are more people concerned about higher inflation than advocating for more rate cuts.”
    – Julia Coronado [02:28]
• Looking Ahead:
  • With President Trump set to appoint a new Fed chair, pressure is expected for lower rates, but internal disagreements will likely continue given persistent inflation worries.
  • “It is very likely that the next Fed chair will be somebody who is going to want to deliver lower rates for President Trump... but...there’s a lot of people on the committee that are very concerned that inflation has been running above the Fed’s 2% target for more than four years now.”
    – Julia Coronado [03:14]

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2. The Rise of “Little Free Blockbuster” Movie Kiosks

• [03:53-06:17]
• Caroline Ballard reports from Salt Lake City on the resurgence of community lending kiosks for DVDs and VHS tapes.

Main Insights:

• Nostalgia and Community:
  • “Little free blockbuster” boxes mimic book-lending libraries, bringing the social, tactile experience of browsing for movies to new generations.
  • “I got to witness like a young preschooler learn what DVDs were. And that was incredible to be a part of that.”
    – Kate Kowalczyk [04:46]
• Economic Drivers:
  • Rising subscription prices and password sharing crackdowns drive consumers to rethink entertainment costs, making free community options more appealing.
  • David Tinsley observes, “Consumers are squeezed…streaming is one of the areas they can look at and take a fresh look at.”
    – David Tinsley [05:23]
• Changing Consumption Habits:
  • The shift from goods (DVDs, CDs) to services (streaming) alters how people budget for and experience entertainment.
  • “We used to go and buy DVDs, and now we subscribe and we used to buy CDs, and now we stream.”
    – David Tinsley [05:43]
• Joy and Social Value:
  • Kate emphasizes the contagious happiness brought by even small acts of sharing. “I think joy is contagious. And so it's been so fun and joyful for me to just witness … to see that smile…has brought a lot of joy into my life.”
    – Kate Kowalczyk [05:59]
• Origin Fact:
  • Nova Safo notes: “According to freeblockbuster.org, the idea started in 2019 when a former Blockbuster Video employee in Los Angeles repurposed abandoned newspaper dispensers.”
    – [06:17]

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3. Historic Coin Find in Scotland

• [07:45-08:37]
• The BBC’s Rebecca Drought reports on the discovery of the earliest known coin minted in Scotland.

Main Insights:

• Historical Significance:
  • Coin from the reign of King David I (1124-1153), minted in Edinburgh.
  • Previously, earliest coins in Scotland were thought to have been made elsewhere; this one changes historical understanding.
• Finder Rewarded:
  • Discovered by an amateur with a metal detector, valued and rewarded at £15,000 (about US$20,000).

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Fed Disagreement:
  “There are more people concerned about higher inflation than advocating for more rate cuts.”
  – Julia Coronado [02:28]

• On the Little Free Blockbuster: “Take a movie, leave a movie, which is the whole premise.”
  – Kate Kowalczyk [04:29]

• On Cultural and Cost Shifts: “We used to go and buy DVDs, and now we subscribe and we used to buy CDs, and now we stream.”
  – David Tinsley [05:43]

• On Community Joy: “Joy is contagious…to see that smile...has brought a lot of joy into my life.”
  – Kate Kowalczyk [05:59]

• On Historical Discovery: “The silver coin…bears an inscription showing it was minted in Edinburgh in the second half of the 1130s.”
  – Rebecca Drought [08:02]

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Useful Timestamps

• 01:01 — Fed meeting preview and introduction of Julia Coronado
• 01:45 — Discussion of Fed divisions
• 02:23 — What the upcoming minutes could reveal
• 03:12 — Implications of a new Fed chair appointment
• 03:53 — “Be Kind, Rewind” cultural story introduction
• 04:07 — Interview with Salt Lake City “free blockbuster” owner
• 05:23 — Economic context of streaming and subscriptions
• 05:59 — Community impact of free movie sharing
• 06:17 — Origin story of the free blockbuster project
• 07:45 — Historic Scottish coin discovery report

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Summary

This news-rich episode delivers critical updates on financial policy debate within the Fed as the U.S. approaches a leadership transition, reflects on shifting consumer habits amid rising costs, and closes with an archaeological find rewiring Scottish monetary history. The reporting expertly weaves together policy analysis, human interest, and global context with a light, engaging tone. The nostalgic “be kind, rewind” angle offers both a sense of community and insight into how economic pressure is reviving creative, communal solutions.

Transcript

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[Nova Safo]

We'Re about to learn more about what Federal Reserve officials are thinking for the year ahead. For Marketplace, I'm Nova Safo in for David Brancaccio. Tomorrow, the Federal Reserve is scheduled to release the minutes from its last interest rate setting meeting a couple of weeks ago. We know policymakers were unusually divided, and investors will be looking for more clues as to what Fed officials were thinking and and how that might impact the central bank's direction in the year ahead. Joining me for more on this is Julia Coronado, founder and president of Macro Policy Perspectives and a professor at the University of Texas, Austin. Welcome back.

[Julia Coronado]

Good morning.

[Nova Safo]

So when we say Fed policymakers were divided, would you walk us through what that means? Divided how?

[Julia Coronado]

Well, we had people who were dissenting against the decision to cut rates a quarter point, but both in favor of lower rates and in favor of no cuts at all. And we will learn more about the dimensions of that disagreement when the minutes are released this week. The concern is that inflation is still running above their target, but the labor market is still cooling and they're supposed to keep both of those things in check so there's reasonable disagreements on either side.

[Nova Safo]

And what will you be looking for in the minutes that get released tomorrow?

[Julia Coronado]

Well, what the minutes allow us to do is sort of count how many people are in each camp. I think it's going to be clear that there are more people concerned about higher inflation than advocating for more rate cuts and that ultimately, as a collective body, they are not in a rush to make decisions from here, they have cut rates three times and they're going to take their time and gather more data to see which of these tensions is greater. And that will determine the direction of policy.

[Nova Safo]

Now, next year, of course, President Trump appoints a new Fed chair. Jerome Powell's term is up, and the president has made no secret of the fact that he wants the Fed to lower interest rates a lot more. Does that mean divisions among Fed policymakers will grow?

[Julia Coronado]

Probably. So it is very likely that the next Fed chair will be somebody who is going to want to deliver lower rates for President Trump. And yet, as we've just discussed, there's a lot of people on the committee that are very concerned that inflation has been running above the Fed's 2% target for more than four years now and really don't want to cut rates in an aggressive or rapid fashion because that would risk inflation getting deeply entrenched. So I think we are going to see continued disagreements in 2026.

[Nova Safo]

All right, Julia Coronado, founder and president of Macro Policy Perspectives professor at the University of Texas, Austin, thank you very much for joining us.

[Julia Coronado]

My pleasure.

[Nova Safo]

Remember the term be kind. Rewind of the movie rental era. Well, now it's take a movie, leave a movie. Kiosks are popping up across the country offering free DVDs and VHS tapes. From Salt Lake City reporter Caroline Ballard has more.

[Caroline Ballard]

If you're a 90s kid like I am, the little blue and yellow box is instantly recognizable. It's so cute. I'm standing in front of Salt Lake City's first little free blockbuster. It's like a lending library, but for movies, mostly DVDs. Okay, take me on a little tour.

[Nova Safo]

Yeah.

[Kate Kowalczyk]

So here we have the box. You can see it's painted with our free blockbuster logo, which is on it. It says take a movie, leave a movie, which is the whole premise.

[Caroline Ballard]

Kate Kowalczyk is the box's owner. Right now it's stocked with seasonal favorites like how the Grinch Stole Christmas and Elf.

[Kate Kowalczyk]

People definitely stop and ask me about it. I got to witness like a young preschooler learn what DVDs were. And that was incredible to be a part of that.

[Caroline Ballard]

There are hundreds of little free blockbusters across the country. And recapturing the feeling of a Friday night video store run is only part of the appeal. Between price hikes and crackdowns on password sharing, customers are being forced to consider how much they're willing to spend on entertainment subscriptions. David Tinsley is a senior economist with the bank of America Institute. He says consumers are squeezed they're still.

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Under pressure from things like higher motor insurance, higher housing costs, high childcare costs. So in a way, streaming is one of the areas they can look at and take a fresh look at.

[Caroline Ballard]

Plus, Tinsley says our economy has changed. Things that used to be goods have now become services.

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So we used to go and buy DVDs, and now we subscribe and we used to buy CDs, and now we.

[Caroline Ballard]

Stream for Kate Kowalczyk. Watching free movies from the box is great, but it's really about community.

[Kate Kowalczyk]

I think joy is contagious. And so it's been so fun and joyful for me to just witness even when people don't take something from the box, to see that smile has just. It's brought a lot of joy into my life.

[Caroline Ballard]

And joy that's free, too. In Salt Lake City, I'm Caroline Ballard for Marketplace.

[Nova Safo]

And here's a free fact. According to freeblockbuster.org, the idea started in 2019 when a former Blockbuster Video employee in Los Angeles repurposed abandoned newspaper dispensers.

[Caroline Ballard]

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[Julia Coronado]

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Of course he did.

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[Nova Safo]

Visit t mobile.com A coin buried for hundreds of years in a wood in Scotland is now in the hands of the Scottish government. It it's the earliest known coin minted in that part of the world, and it was found by an amateur sleuth using a metal detector. The BBC's Rebecca Drought has more.

[Rebecca Drought]

King David I of Scotland ruled from 1124 to 1153. He introduced the country's first coinage. Earlier coins found in Scotland, such as those from the Roman or Viking eras, had been minted elsewhere, and it had been thought all King David's earliest coins were made in England. But the silver coin found in a wooded area near Penicook in 2020 bears an inscription showing it was minted in Edinburgh in the second half of the 1130s. The metal detectorist who found the coin was paid its 15,000 pound value as a reward.

[Nova Safo]

That was Rebecca Drought with our News partners the BBC. £15,000, by the way, works out to about US$20,000. I'm Nova Safo with a Marketplace Morning.

[Kate Kowalczyk]

Report.

[Nova Safo]

From APM American Public Media.

[Rima Reis]

Hey everyone. You already listened to Marketplace podcasts, so you know that it's important to understand how economic forces shape our lives. And that feels especially important now as we're all trying to make sense of the latest headlines. I'm Rima Reis, host of Marketplaces this is Uncomfortable, a show that explores how money bumps up against our relationships, our choices in the parts of life we don't always say aloud. And starting January 15th, we are back every single week. New stories, new questions, and the kind of conversations that make you feel less alone in this quickly changing economy. We're tackling questions like should I turn my hobby into a money making side hustle? How do I deal with layoff anxiety? Or what do we owe our parents financially? Don't miss an episode. Subscribe to this is Uncomfortable from Marketplace. Wherever you get your podcasts.