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July saw the largest retail sales increase in months, according to the Commerce Department. But not all the news is rosy. NPR Senior Business Editor Marilyn Geewax joins guest host Jacki Lyden to take a look at consumer spending and the "back to school" season.

The economic hammer has fallen especially hard on young adults, many of whom might never be able to buy a home. In a nation where homeownership marks the American dream, a generation of renters could alter communities and redefine the idea of middle-class success.

A law in Louisiana stopped monks at St. Joseph Abbey from selling their wood caskets in the state. That law is just one of dozens of antiquated and possibly monopolistic laws that pervade the nation's funeral industry. But for the first time in decades, the laws are facing new scrutiny as consumers become more aware of their rights.

Togo wanted to distribute millions of dollars to its citizens in dire straits. There was just one daunting problem: How could it identify the neediest of the needy?

The silver (or gold) lining may be that changes in premium pricing may mean some people could sign up for a better health insurance plan that costs them less money.

Patrick Phiri of Malawi met Fiona ten Have of the Netherlands met and fell in love. He proposed to her. She said yes. But the pandemic stymied their wedding plans. How are they doing now?

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with Hanna Hopko, an original leader of Ukraine's EuroMaidan protests in 2014 about whether Ukrainians can stand up to the threat of Russian aggression.

NPR's Michel Martin speaks with Linda Jones, co-founder of Alabama Childhood Food Solutions, about how inflation is affecting people experiencing food insecurity in central Alabama.

From Walmart to the neighborhood supermarket, retailers across the country are having to adjust as Americans watch their pennies in the face of high inflation.

NPR's Alina Selyukh speaks with Christina Farr, a principal at OMERS Ventures and former technology and health reporter, about Amazon's potential acquisition of One Medical.