Kai Ryssdal (2:21)

The total US workforce.

Amy Scott (2:22)

The south is home to a majority of black workers.

Mitchell Hartman (2:26)

Minimum wage hikes do well at the ballot box. Economist Michael Strain at the American Enterprise Institute says that's not too surprising.

Kai Ryssdal (2:34)

Voters tend to support minimum wage increases.

Mitchell Hartman (2:37)

Because they think it's going to increase their wages. When the minimum wage goes up, wages a little higher on the income ladder tend to go up as well. But strain says 15 an hour or higher isn't good for everyone. The higher the minimum wage goes, the.

Kai Ryssdal (2:52)

Harder it is for the least educated, least experienced and most vulnerable workers to find jobs.

Mitchell Hartman (3:00)

The minimum wage is indexed to inflation in nearly half of states, rising automatically with the cost of living. Michelle Evermore at the Century foundation worked on Capitol Hill the last time Congress raised the federal minimum wage.

Amy Scott (3:14)

Indexing to inflation didn't seem quite as.

Mitchell Hartman (3:16)

Important in 2007 as it does after.

Amy Scott (3:18)

Our experience over the last few years.

Mitchell Hartman (3:20)

Nguyen she says a sharp spike in inflation hit low income households particularly hard. I'm Mitchell Hartman for Marketplace.

Amy Scott (3:28)

Wall street knocked off early on a high note. We'll have the details when we do the numbers. First time ever Netflix will be ringing in Christmas with a couple live NFL games Tomorrow, the platform's nearly 300 million subscribers will be able to watch Kansas City play Pittsburgh and then Houston against Baltimore. Go Ravens. It'll all kick off with a performance by the Queen of Christmas, Mariah Carey, followed by a halftime show by Queen Bey, AKA Beyonce. Netflix is just the latest major streamer to push into live sporting events. Amazon prime has Thursday Night Football. Apple has pro soccer, and that play can come with big rewards, but also big risks, Marketplace's Megan McCarty Carino reports.

Mitchell Hartman (4:40)

This may be Netflix's first entry into the big leagues of sports, but the streamer has been getting its reps in with some lower stakes live events, like a roast of football legend Tom Brady and the much hyped boxing match between Internet celebrity Jake Paul and 58 year old Mike Tyson last month.

Amy Scott (5:01)

Are you ready to make history?

Mitchell Hartman (5:07)

Netflix sent 65 million subscribers around the world tuned in for the fight, the most streamed sporting event ever. But there were some hiccups.

Amy Scott (5:17)

We couldn't get it going actually at our house for some reason.

Mitchell Hartman (5:23)

Elizabeth Parks at market research firm Parks Associates was one of many viewers who experienced technical difficulties on social media. Reports abounded of issues with buffering and low resolution. We drove over to friends across the street. They were also having problems, but they.

Amy Scott (5:40)

Ended up throwing it from the phone to the tv.

Mitchell Hartman (5:44)

Streaming live events is technically difficult to plan for, says Dan Rayburn, an independent streaming media analyst.

Kai Ryssdal (5:52)

How do you prepare when you don't know how long people are going to watch for, how many people might tune in just for the Beyonce halftime show? And where are they going to come from?

Mitchell Hartman (6:02)

Around the world, streaming platforms work with Internet service providers in advance to free up capacity. But Rayburn says there's not a lot of precedent.

Kai Ryssdal (6:11)

What Netflix is looking to do and the scale they're doing it at has never been done before.

Mitchell Hartman (6:17)

So why even attempt? One answer is advertising, says Charles Schrager, a business professor at nyu.

Kai Ryssdal (6:25)

The NFL is, you know, the North Star. That is the one thing that consistently dominates television.

Mitchell Hartman (6:33)

93% of the most watched broadcast programs last year were NFL games. And streamers are eager to intercept some of those eyeballs. I'm Megan McCarty Carino for Marketplace.

Amy Scott (7:09)

The Fraser fir is one of the most popular Christmas tree varieties. They smell amazing, have a nice pyramid shape and hold onto their needles a good while. And in North Carolina, the trees are also a crucial economic asset for people in the state's rural mountain communities. 20% of the country's Christmas trees are grown there. The job of growing those trees has been tough lately. This year, Hurricane Helene barreled through the region weeks before harvest season. Blue Ridge Public Radio's Laura Hackett has more.

Laura Hackett (7:42)

D. Clark is kind of like the Santa Claus of Christmas trees. He's a white bearded farmer in the mountains of western North Carolina, where he oversees 400,000 Fraser fir trees.

Kai Ryssdal (7:52)

It's a big tradition in North Carolina. You come to the mountains and get a fresh cut. Frasier fir.

Laura Hackett (7:58)

Frasier fir trees are native to Appalachia, and so is Clark. His grandfather was one of the first to start growing Christmas trees commercially. But in the last decade, he says, farming has become more challenging.

Kai Ryssdal (8:10)

To be a farmer anymore, you can't only just be be a good farmer. You have to be a good business person. And it is very hard to combine both.

Laura Hackett (8:18)

The trees take 10 years to grow. So when things go wrong, like the historic floods from Hurricane Helene, the ripple effects can last for years.

Amy Scott (8:27)

Business wise, we took a huge hit.

Kai Ryssdal (8:31)

We estimate our losses in the neighborhood of $3 million.

Laura Hackett (8:35)

A lot of his property was damaged, and flooding and landslides took out some of his seedlings. What's really keeping Clark up at night, though, is a deadly fungus that he's expecting to bloom as a result of the floods.

Kai Ryssdal (8:47)

It's called Phytophora, and it's a microorganism that attacks the roots and causes the roots to die.

Amy Scott (8:55)

And once you get it in your.

Kai Ryssdal (8:56)

Soil, you can't get it out.

Laura Hackett (8:59)

Phytophora is fairly common. It kills houseplants and other crops, too.

Mitchell Hartman (9:04)

Phytophthora, the Latin means plant destroyer.

Laura Hackett (9:07)

That's Justin Whitehill, the director of North Carolina State's Christmas tree genetic program.

Mitchell Hartman (9:12)

There's really no solution for those trees that are out there.

Kai Ryssdal (9:15)

It's just gonna unfortunately lead to a mortality event for some of those trees.

Laura Hackett (9:20)

The floodwaters probably helped Phytophthora travel.

Kai Ryssdal (9:23)

What we're worried about is where that pathogen was able to spread to some areas that have never had a problem with Phytophthora may now be more susceptible to it because the water spreaded around to those areas.

Laura Hackett (9:36)

His research team has been looking for solutions, everything from genetic modification to complex grafting techniques for the trees.

Kai Ryssdal (9:43)

That's basically editing the DNA of the tree to try to make it more resistant to the pathogen that we're facing.

Laura Hackett (9:50)

But those solutions are not here yet, and it'll be a few years before Christmas. Tree farmers know how much the fungus has spread. This year though, there are still plenty of Fraser fir trees available for Christmas. Like here at the farmer's market in Asheville.

Amy Scott (10:05)

Look at that one. It's beautiful. It's pretty.

Laura Hackett (10:08)

It gives me the Christmas feeling.

Kai Ryssdal (10:09)

I want it.

Laura Hackett (10:11)

9 year old Jessa Hager has found the perfect tree.

Kai Ryssdal (10:14)

This one, this one, this one, this one.

Laura Hackett (10:16)

Let's get this one, sweetie. Her technique works. Her family leaves the market with a six foot tall bouncy Fraser fir tree tied to the roof rack of their car. Nearby, Christmas tree farmers Bob and Ray Hockset are helping other families pick out their trees.

Kai Ryssdal (10:29)

We're just blundering around the market.

Laura Hackett (10:32)

The Hoxets are brothers who own their own farm. I asked Bob about the hardest part of growing Fraser firs.

Kai Ryssdal (10:38)

Maintaining your sanity. What am I thinking?

Laura Hackett (10:44)

He loves growing trees, but there's a lot he can't control, like the flooding from hurricanes and the existential threat of fungus destroying his crop. He says this business is kind of like gambling.

Kai Ryssdal (10:56)

Farmers are the highest rollers there are in the country.

Amy Scott (10:58)

You know, you're always betting down the road and so you're betting that eight.

Kai Ryssdal (11:03)

Or ten years from now that somebody will want that tree.

Laura Hackett (11:06)

For now, though, lots of customers want his Fraser firs. By the end of the day, he's sold out. In Asheville, I'm Laura Hackett from Marketplace.

Amy Scott (11:41)

Coming up, when they walk in the.

Kai Ryssdal (11:42)

Stores of Casita del Campo, that's it. You're loved, you're embraced, you're treated with dignity.

Amy Scott (11:49)

Where do I sign up? But first, let's do the numbers. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 390 points, nine 10% to finish at 43,297. The Nasdaq picked up 266 points, one and a third percent to land at 20,031. And the S P 500 gained 65 points, one and a 10th percent. Close at 60 40. American Airlines added six. 10%. A technical issue temporarily grounded all its flights earlier today. Both Delta and United Airlines improved 1 and 7. 10%. This holiday season is expected to be a record one for travel. The Transportation Security Administration is expecting some 40 million travelers over the Christmas and New Year period. U.S. steel strengthened 1 and 9. 10% after a committee of top government officials failed to reach a consensus on its proposed sale to Japan's Nippon Steel Corporation. President Biden will now make the call. Nippon Steel firmed up 9. 10%. You're listening to Marketplace.

Kai Ryssdal (13:11)

This economy can be complicated. That's why the Marketplace newsletter makes understanding it all simple. Get smart takes on the week's biggest stories delivered to your inbox every Friday. No jargon, no hype, just economics you can use. Sign up today@marketplace.org subscribe hi, I'm Kai Ryssdal, the host of How We Survive. This season is all about the institution that shaped me, the US Military, and how it could shape the future of climate tech. You've probably heard that 2024 was the hottest year on record, that wildfires devastated Los Angeles and that the US Withdrew from the Paris Agreement again. And while all that might feel pretty terrible, the climate crisis is not an inevitable reality. From simulated climate emergencies to micro grids and sustainable aviation fuel, we look at how the military is investing part of its $850 billion budget in a greener, more resilient future. Listen to how we survive wherever you get your podcasts.

Amy Scott (14:17)

This is Marketplace. I'm Amy Scott. This month, noaa, the national oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, released its annual Arctic Report Card. And the news was NOAA reported that after storing carbon dioxide in its frozen soil for millennia, the Arctic tundra is now becoming a source of carbon emissions. Umair Irfan is a correspondent covering climate change for Vox, where he wrote about the changing tundra. Welcome to the program.

Kai Ryssdal (14:49)

Hi, Amy. Thanks for having me.

Amy Scott (14:51)

So, for people who aren't familiar with this region, talk about what the Arctic tundra is. What does it look like? What region are we talking about?

Kai Ryssdal (15:00)

Well, it's a region in the northern latitudes. It is a vast treeless plain. It actually covers about 20% of the planet's land area. So it's actually quite large. But the vegetation on there tends to grow very slowly because in the Arctic, of course, the winters are very long. That slow cycle of growth actually gives it this really strong power of being able to capture carbon from the atmosphere and store it for very long periods of time. And the soil beneath it is usually frozen year round. And so that acts as a critical mechanism, stalling sort of the cycle of carbon and making sure it withdraws more than it deposits into the atmosphere.

Amy Scott (15:42)

So that has changed as the tundra becomes a net emitter of carbon instead of a sink. What is the impact of that and why has that happened?

Kai Ryssdal (15:53)

Well, the planet as a whole has been warming up, and that has had some of its most profound effects in the Arctic regions. The Arctic is actually warming up, Warming anywhere from two to four times faster than the rest of the planet. But yes, as we've seen the Arctic warm, we've seen a number of different mechanisms starting to play out, particularly with the soil, the permafrost layer, the year round frozen layer of soil, is starting to become less permanent. It's starting to thaw out in the warmer seasons. And with that, that means microbes in the soil start digesting a lot of the carbon and the vegetation that's there. And as they do that, they start to emit carbon dioxide and methane. Recently, the national oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, according to their analysis, they found out that basically over the past decade, the tundra has now become a net emitter, that there's more carbon dioxide coming out of the soil, coming out of the tundra and going into the atmosphere that is being absorbed. That has some pretty important effects for the rest of the planet. Obviously, it means that this ecosystem that we were counting as a sink is now a source. And that can also create more of an amplification and sort of a feedback loop that leads to even more warming.

Amy Scott (17:03)

Talk about the role that wildfires play in this. I was surprised to hear how many wildfires have been in the region in recent years.

Kai Ryssdal (17:12)

Right. A lot of people don't seem to associate fire with the Arctic because it tends to be very cold. But fire is a natural part of the ecosystem. We do see, have historically seen wildfires in places like the tundra. They don't tend to be very frequent or happen very often. But more recently, we've been seeing the pace of wildfires picking up. And that also puts that carbon back into the atmosphere that the vegetation was previously absorbing. And so this increase, this uptick in wildfire activity we've seen in the Arctic in the tundra regions is a big reason why we've seen this tipping from being a sink to a source in terms of greenhouse gas emissions.

Amy Scott (17:50)

Wow. Well, I want to talk about some of the economic factors here, because as the Arctic warms, there's just more oil and gas development going on. Is that just going to lead to more warming and kind of feed this cycle potentially?

Kai Ryssdal (18:07)

You know, the Arctic is You know, we tend to think of it as this frigid, desolate expanse, but there are about 4 million people that live north of the Arctic Circle. There's a lot of mining activity already going on there. There are indigenous communities that live there. It's an also potentially an important shipping route. And of course, with the retraction of sea ice, that means that there's more resources offshore and onshore that they can access. But crucially, oil and gas development is also driven by the market. And so even though they may have access to the oil and gas that's available there, it's still a pretty expensive place to do that kind of extraction work. And it really only makes sense for companies when oil prices are really high. Right now, we have actually kind of an abundance of oil and gas on the global market. So even as this resource becomes more accessible, it's not a guarantee that companies are really going to be chomping at the bit to try to start drilling. They're going to probably wait for gas prices to go back up and then maybe start doing more development work there.

Amy Scott (19:06)

So we hear a lot about this concept of tipping points in climate change. And the thawing of the permafrost is one of those. How frightening is this report card to you? As someone who covers climate change, I.

Kai Ryssdal (19:22)

Would say it's definitely concerning, but I wouldn't go as far as to call it frightening. Some of the scientists I talked to were a little wary of using the term tipping point here. And one of the scientists I spoke to about this actually made the point that, you know, this is potentially still a reversible thing, that if we are able to, you know, limit our output of greenhouse gases, that potentially we could see the balance tip back in the other direction. You know, the past decade has been exceptionally warm, and the past two years have been the hottest on record. That doesn't necessarily mean that the next year will also be even hotter. You know, part of the reason we saw the exceptionally hot years in 2024 and 2023 was because of El Nino, and we expect that fever to sor break. But the momentum is moving in the direction that the Arctic is becoming less able to absorb carbon over time. That much is definitely true. That does potentially add up to a scenario where we see far more consequential effects, even far south in much lower latitudes, because the Arctic is actually really important for regulating climate and weather in other parts of the planet.

Amy Scott (20:26)

Umair Irfan covers climate change for vox. Thank you so much for your reporting.

Kai Ryssdal (20:31)

My pleasure. Thank you again for having me.

Amy Scott (20:37)

We've got a podcast all about climate solutions you should check out. It's called How We Survive. Available wherever you listen to podcasts. Sit down. Restaurant chains have been having a tough time this year. More than a dozen high profile names like Red Lobster and TGI Fridays filed for bankruptcy. Others have been rolling out value deals to get people in the doors. But some old school restaurants have stayed afloat and the holidays are an important time of year when people dine out more and are drawn to tradition. Corrine Ruff has this story from Los Angeles.

Mitchell Hartman (21:43)

When you step into Monte Carlo Italian Deli in Burbank, California, you'll see wooden Pinocchio statues everywhere. It's a nod to the name of the attached cafeteria style restaurant. It's no frills, big portions. You can get a glass of red wine for just $4.25. Kathy Hampel is standing in line at the deli. She's at Monte Carlo to stock up for the holidays.

Kai Ryssdal (22:03)

I love their sausage.

Mitchell Hartman (22:04)

It tastes like ours. Hampel has been coming here since the 70s and she says it's like a second home. And it's just a good feeling because I see Italian people talking Italian, which I haven't heard for years. It's cozy, it's comfy, and that's a big reason why people come to random restaurants like this during the holidays. Anthony Scuticchio took over the business from his father in law. He says Christmas Eve week gets a little hectic. The catering business is flooded with hundreds of pickup orders for lasagna and eggplant parmesan and the deli business triples.

Kai Ryssdal (22:36)

People come in here on 22nd of December and they pull a number and they have to wait maybe an hour and a half for the number to get called, but they have a good.

Mitchell Hartman (22:43)

Time with it, he says. Customers are willing to wait for a traditional meal. Plus occasionally celebrities make appearances. Jay Leno sometimes comes by and tells jokes in line, which keeps the mood light. But Monte Carlo, like a lot of restaurants, has been struggling with inflation. Scouticchio has had to raise prices. That cheap glass of red wine cost $0.30 more than it did last year.

Kai Ryssdal (23:05)

If a piece of cheese goes up, so you raise the price. But what do you do when your gas bill goes from when it doubles? What do you when your electricity bill goes up?

Amy Scott (23:14)

I mean, those are the things that.

Kai Ryssdal (23:15)

Are hard to calculate.

Mitchell Hartman (23:16)

But he's hoping his customers will stick with him, in part because of nostalgia. Hudson Reely, senior vice president of research at the National Restaurant association says when people do go out, they want a unique experience and younger generations are leaning into the restaurant model from the 1950s to 1970s. You know, there's a saying in the.

Kai Ryssdal (23:35)

Industry that what's old is new again.

Mitchell Hartman (23:38)

He says restaurants can count on a healthy sales boost between Thanksgiving and New Year's. Last year, holiday spending at restaurants was up almost 8% compared to the year before, according to Mastercard's Spending Pulse Indicator. Part of that is thanks to holiday get togethers those keep business chugging along. At 62 year old Mexican restaurant Casita del Campo in LA's Silver Lake neighborhood.

Kai Ryssdal (24:00)

So many celebrations are happening.

Mitchell Hartman (24:02)

Thank God owner Robert Del Campo took over the restaurant from his parents. Over the years, it became a safe haven for the queer community and that welcoming atmosphere is still at the heart of the business.

Kai Ryssdal (24:13)

When they walk in the stores of Casita del Campo, that's it. You're loved, you're embraced, you're treated with dignity.

Mitchell Hartman (24:20)

People also come for the fresh food, like the chiles and nogada. They make it special for the holidays because of its festive red, white and green colors, which also represent the Mexican flag.

Kai Ryssdal (24:31)

That's a chili poblano that's stuffed with different kinds of meat and spices. And on top of the walnut sauce is fresh pomegranate seeds.

Mitchell Hartman (24:41)

Del Campo says it's been really difficult the last few years. Overall revenue is down. Competing restaurants are popping up in the neighborhood. He's had to cut back on overtime hours and dip into savings. But he's grateful that his late father had the foresight to buy the land. So at least there's no mortgage on the business. And it helps having the long view of a restaurant that's weathered decades of change. Bel Campos still leans on advice from his late father.

Kai Ryssdal (25:07)

You can't do anything about what's going on over there or over here. Over there. You just gotta focus on your space.

Mitchell Hartman (25:14)

In other words, in an industry always looking for the next big thing, restaurants might be better off playing up what they already have. In Los Angeles, I'm Corinne Ruff for Marketplace.

Amy Scott (25:53)

This final note on the way out today. Christmas Day is traditionally a big day for movies, so how about a look at the box office this year? Several films are opening in theaters tomorrow, including the horror remake Nosferatu, Bob Dylan biopic A Complete Unknown and boxing story the Fire Inside. Deadline reports the holiday week could bring in $280 million in tickets sales, comparable to last year. For the year, Hollywood is on track to bring in $8.75 billion, not bad for an industry still recovering from last year's writer and actor strikes. Our Digital and On Demand team includes Kerry Barber, Jordan Mangy, Dylan Mietanen, Janet Wynn, Olga Oxman, Ellen Rolfus, Virginia K. Smith, and Tony Wagner. Francesca Levy is the executive director of Digital and On Demand. And I'm Amy Scott. We'll be back tomorrow. This is apn.