When unemployment becomes endless

This Marketplace episode explores the experience of long-term unemployment, following two people navigating a job search that has lasted more than six months. It also covers a surge in lone star ticks threatening ranchers and an Alabama cattle farm using bird tourism as a side business. The program reports that the national debt has passed the $40 trillion threshold and examines how McDonald's collects large amounts of data on frequent customers. The stories connect individual economic struggles with broader agricultural and fiscal pressures.