Seriously the most interesting and informative podcast out there. Kimberly and Kai are a joy to listen to as they discuss the days news. I enjoy the diversity of hosts and their thoughts. Great podcast, can’t recommend enough! Market place as a whole is great but this show is the best of.

Kai and Kimberly are smart and funny. The podcast started during the pandemic, when it was important to feel connected, and it succeeded exceptionally. 4 years later, I’m still listening and learning.

I used to like this podcast but Kai has gotten to be such a downer and won’t stop interrupting discussions to point out dysfunctional congress. Okay, we get it you hate anything new or unfamiliar to you, and congress isn’t working right now.

I like what this show is trying to do, but it really feels like Kai doesn’t want to be there lately.

One of my favorite shows to listen to almost every day. Love the Friday happy hour!

In todays age where news is always doom and gloom it’s nice to hear it presented in such a way where you don’t feel depressed after hearing it however it manages to still remain informative. Definitely recommend!

Wonderful format! Kai has a great perspective, which is especially enjoyable to juxtaposed with his younger costar. I appreciate that they are both clearly journalists at heart and try to disclose and mitigate their own personal biases when forming opinions on the topics of the day. Excellent show! Keep it going.

Still listening after all these years! The best podcast around!!

Everything you need to know about current in-depth news.

Pains me to say, but Make Me Smart isn’t making me smart. If anything, it’s exposing how out of touch the hosts are on some topics that should be in their wheelhouse. The eye-opener was a recent episode where Kai was shocked - shocked! - to read that Twitter isn’t and never was a significant source of traffic for NPR and other media outlets. This isn’t news and hearing Kai and Kimberly ooh and ah and sigh over this and other well-trodden ground is a little too basic for this nerd.

Touché, Kimberly! Please keep on trolling Kai on The Never Ending Story. Tee Hee!

The news can be such a bummer but this dynamo duo knows how to deliver all the “need to know” info you should know about to stay informed. Kimberly is amazing and so is Kai. Thanks for making me smart and thanks for all the smiles.

I love Kai and have been following him for so long but this podcast was 100% times better with Molly because she knew how to carry on a conversation. As a woman of color who would usually agree with her views, Kimberly just makes everything about her perspective and is always interrupting. Stop this Kimberly

Basically this show has become a mouthpiece for progressive propaganda. All stories are tackled from that angle, and reasonable opposing criticism is never given. Lopsided and obviously agenda oriented

I love spending my morning in the company of Kai and Kimberly. Entertaining and informative.

Was much better quality (and more engaging) when only one day a week. Like cable news, not enough to fill five episodes a week with quality. No longer my fav podcast - just too much

Used to be an interesting show but like the rest of NPR, it has divulged into partisan propaganda. I liked listening to NPR so I can get different perspectives, but it’s become intolerable

This show has single-handedly caused me to question the journalistic integrity of Marketplace and the parent company American Public Media.

I like the show and big fan of Kai but the reporting on retail theft is bad. Just because we can’t find the data does mean the facts not in the data are wrong. The retail theft is real bad around the Bay Area. I have seen quite a bit of stores broken in my neighborhood that are supposed to be very safe areas. If you can’t find enough evidence there might be problems with data collection and we should consider that before questioning what people are observing daily. I know there a tendency to push any negative narrative as wing propaganda but I am an atheist who is exactly opposite spectrum of right wing ideology, I love the California liberals but retail theft is bad around this place.

I’ve given the new cohost arrangement a solid couple of years and the more I listen the more annoyed I get. Kimberly Adams, while an excellent journalist on the regular Marketplace shows, is basically unlistenable on MSM. The chemistry with Kai feels strained and the general approach to this show is supposed to be much more wide ranging in its topics than it has been since Kimberly became the permanent cohost. Honestly I knew that she would be given the nod as soon as Molly announced her departure because Kimberly hits all the demographic sweet spots. But when Sabri Ben-Achour guested I found the show much more enjoyable and he should have been given serious consideration as Molly’s replacement. Update: I just listened to #1000 and was instantly reminded just how much I miss Molly. Her interactions with Kai are much more relaxed and it really contrasted with how stilted the interactions are between Kai and Kimberly. Plus, Molly is very real on the show and always had been. Kimberly on the other hand has never been that real on the show. We all know when someone isn’t being genuine and with Kimberly it’s quite obvious but I’ve never really been able to put my finger on it until now. Kai can’t carry the show for me anymore. But there’s good news in that Molly has a new podcast called Everybody in the pool. So I am unsubscribing from MMS and getting my Molly Wood fix again. Oh and not for nothing but all of the reviews that complain about how “liberal” the show has gotten clearly have been listening to too much right wing propaganda. Content wise the show is still very informative and provides good information especially when they do their weekly interviews with experts. They’ve also done a better job since my original review of getting back to a more expanded set of topics and issues which I do appreciate. It’s Kimberly’s fake demeanor and unprofessional digs at Kai which have made the show unlistenable for me. So I changed my rating from 3 stars to 1.

These two have such great chemistry. They remind me of siblings who quibble but in a funny way. Kai is such a legend, and it’s really awesome to hear Kimberly clap back. I get the sense they really like each other!!

Kimberley doesn’t understand conversation etiquette. She doesn’t respond to what Kai says in a way that sounds genuine and appears to be condescending. She just like waits until it’s her turn to talk without acknowledging what kai says. A conversation shouldn’t be one sided. It comes off awkward without the back and forth (which is what people like in a podcast.) I’m a black woman and a leftist so it has nothing to do with Kimberly’s views which I mostly agree with. Kimberly just isn’t a good podcast host

Ayeeeee! I really really enjoy listening to this podcast. Kimberly, Kai, and the rotating cast of Marketplace casts that come through are so amazing. I love that you guys cover things that are different from other daily podcasts and shows. I know that it can be taboo to hear journalists discussing their experiences and opinions on topics but I love because it makes me think yall are living in the same world as us because certain journalists seem like they are trying to detached themselves from reality on how they talk about things. Thank you for making me smart.

Get facts and report that, not your opinion please. I’m done though, will see if you change in a few months.

I’ve listened to Make Me Smart for a long time and I think they need to consider going back to a weekly show. It frequently seems like they don’t have real news material to fill 5 shows with and just seems unfocused When it was weekly with Kai and Molly it was a useful news update, and I got the switch to daily during the pandemic/lockdown, but that motivation is gone and the show is weaker for it. I’m not quite at unsubscribe level yet but I’m pretty close. (Plus it’s clear that Kai and Kimberly have other commitments and can’t always be there to record- so stop trying to force it)

It is great to hear honest reactions to our world

I love this show and have been listening for a long while now, pre Kimberly, while it was still Molly and Kai. I loved Molly and was worried about losing her as a host but really like Kimberly and the dynamic she and Kai have. They’re smart, conversational and funny, each in their own way. I do feel more knowledgeable and always learn something interesting and equally helpful in life. I like each days’ focus too. Keep doin what you’re doing MKTPL!

It’s not a bad podcast, but it’s not great. All the talk about cocktails is suuuper boring.

I consider myself pretty “centrist” but it seems that current content always has an allegory feel to it. Although that is not unique in media today ;) Although I think the quality of guests is pretty cool, I feel like I’m not really getting the unbiased story like I got from the old Marketplace.

Listened to a recent episode talking about the crack down on Costco, Netflix members sharing memberships. When the conversation turned to how unfair it is towards singles because it’s “basically a singles tax” compared to a family of 6 using their memberships, I had to unsubscribe. If an educated person, who is supposed to be “making us smarter,” can’t figure out the difference between the cost of living for a family of 6 versus a single person, there are far better podcasts worth my time to listen.

Have loved Marketplace for years but MMS has devolved into one of the hosts ranting inanely about her personal and petty grievances…Every.Single.Episode.(Wow, how does she manage to make every episode about her pretentious self, her cat, and her very Specific and Important life challenges. Omg, Costco’s club model isn’t tailored to household size of 1?!?) Nobody cares, we would just like for her to stop talking already. Please let the show get back to actual meaningful economic and business NEWS and balanced coverage.

W I’m hub

Very disappointed in the obvious partisanship and unnecessary politicization of what bills itself as a business news story. Won’t be coming back to this one.

As a long-time listener of the "Make Me Smart" podcast, I am disappointed and frustrated by the direction it has taken in recent years. Once an engaging and informative show, it has gradually devolved into a platform for extreme leftist political commentary. As a result, I can't give this podcast anything more than a 1-star rating. The podcast has become increasingly one-sided and politically biased. Kai and Kimberly now make little to no effort to present balanced viewpoints, opting instead to push their own political agenda. This not only alienates long-time listeners like myself, but also exacerbates the growing political divide in our society. The political commentary on "Make Me Smart" has grown progressively more superficial, cherry-picking facts and anecdotes to support the hosts' existing beliefs. The lack of thorough analysis and intellectual rigor is a far cry from the podcast's earlier days, and it's disheartening to see how far it has strayed from its original mission. Furthermore, the podcast's tone has taken a turn for the worse, becoming condescending and patronizing. It's as if the hosts believe their opinions are the only valid ones, and anyone who disagrees is simply uninformed or ignorant. This attitude detracts from the show's potential value and makes it nearly impossible to appreciate any insights it may offer. In conclusion, as a once-loyal listener, I can no longer recommend "Make Me Smart" to anyone seeking a balanced, informative, and engaging podcast. The extreme leftist bias, superficial commentary, and patronizing tone have turned a former favorite into a disappointing and frustrating listening experience. There are countless other podcasts available that offer a more fair and insightful exploration of current events – don't waste your time with this one.

I read a novel about the Dollar being replaced. It’s called Trigger Warning, by Vic Hendrickson. It was pretty good.

The episode titles always entice me to listen but five minutes in I ask myself what am I listening to? It sounds like they are having a conversation about anything and everything. I expect to learn a bit more about the topic after listening to an episode. There is no depth and certainly does not make me feel smarter.

This started as an excellent segment on another show where a domain expert made all of us smart. It became a stand alone show with same domain expert and the oldest young curmudgeon on radio. It was amazing. Now it’s just a place where unqualified people speak authoritatively about things they do not know but happen to feel passionately. They often invite an ‘expert’ who supports their existing view and ask biased questions. This is not journalism.

I haven’t listened yet.

I enjoy Molly and Kai and their spirited intelligent and insightful discussions about the political eddies and their impact on the macro and micro economics that we all try to live with and within. Thank you! Superb radio journalism.

Kimberly Adams doesn’t seem to care about the show. Her responses to pretty much everything Kai says “yay”, “yah”, “I’ve got nothing to add to that”.

What happens when the rate of SSDI payments doesn’t keep up with the rate of inflation? And how do lower-income Americans handle the income/benefit caps as prices continue to rise?

It’s an entertaining show with great hosts, but there’s not a lot of depth. I understand they’re limited by time, but I don’t necessarily feel smart and equipped to discuss the topics covered in the podcast after listening to the show. Overall entertaining but a little light.

I used to really love this show. I started listening in around June 2019 and it became part of my daily routine that I looked forward to when episodes became daily. I’m sad to say that it has become gradually less enjoyable and less smart over time, and now I kind of hate having to get through it, but I hate to let go a show that I used to truly love. I really miss Molly Wood. I really like Kimberly too, but her chemistry with Kai just isn’t the same. I hate the half full/half empty game. Almost all the opinions are predictable and obvious for the topics brought forward in it, so it is pointless. I really wish they would return to once- or twice-weekly episodes with higher value. They used to feature great listener messages, but for a long time almost all of them have been fluff with little substance about any important topics discussed. Clearly with the increase in ad breaks, the daily show isn’t garnering as much listener support as other marketplace shows. Return to better substance and less fluff-based shows, and maybe that will change! Please don’t let this show continue to go downhill.

Missing Molly and I know she is not coming back. We would Totally love a Kimberly and Molly combination show. :)

I love listening to Kai.. have been listening for several years on marketplace and I was a big fan of Kai and Molly on this show. I really really tried to give Kimberly a chance but I just can’t listen anymore. I don’t feel like I’m learning anything like I used to on the weekly shows back in the day. I’m disappointed in the direction they took this podcast.

I’ve recently added Make Me Smart to my podcast listening routine. Kimberly and Kai really balance each other and help me understand things and how they affect all of us. And I don’t necessarily agree with every perspective shared. But this kind of thoughtful, well-rounded, clear and soundly investigated discourse by true professionals like them is sadly what is missing in our society. Thank you for all you do. Keep it coming. By the way, Kimberly, shake those haters off if they don’t like your style. They can find a lesser podcast to listen to. You are a breath of fresh air. Be blessed.

I’ve given the new duo time and it’s getting hard to listen. K Adams seems miscast— like she could be better for a different type of podcast. If there were a feature that allows only listening to Kai I would use that. Not being harsh, the flow is just on different levels now and I can’t get used to so much fluffy personal info at the outset, peppered in the middle and especially at the end.

Hello! Love the podcast. Regarding the primaries (11/29/2022 episode) they should all be on the same day; Iowa and New Hampshire should definitely NOT be the first to hold caucuses and primaries. The election season is entirely too long and too expensive. It’s exhausting for campaigns and for those of us who contribute, GOTV, write postcards and letters. Three debates in April, primaries in June. We will then have our candidate to focus on (time and money), and wrap it up on Election Day (which should be a holiday, BTW).

I did not think I could recover from Molly’s departure but I find I am enjoying the new era. Keep up the good work. The variety of topics you cover and the succinctness of your presentations makes listening a good investment!

Always learning something new with humor and passion.