Roughly 1 in 4 Americans now identifies as a family caregiver. That share has risen dramatically over the past decade. With more people needing care and limited options for affordable long-term care services in the United States, caregivers are strained—often mentally and financially. On today’s show, Debra Whitman, chief public policy officer of AARP, joins Kimberly to unpack how this “invisible workforce” fits into the broader economy and how we can make caregiving more sustainable for families.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• "Caregiving in the US 2025" from AARP
• "The number of “sandwich generation” caregivers is growing" from Marketplace
• "If Americans Were Paid For Their Caregiving, They Would Make More Than $1.1 Trillion" from the National Partnership for Women and Families
• "Returning to the Workforce After Being a Caregiver" from Harvard Business Review
• "Invisible crisis: America’s caregivers and the $600 billion unpaid cost of their labor" from ABC News
• "Caregiving in the US 2025: Caring Across States" from AARP

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Florida is a state that often feels tangible impacts of climate change, with strong storms and hurricanes making landfall in the state every hurricane season. However, this year is the first time in a decade that the Sunshine State was spared from experiencing a single hurricane. Jessica Meszaros, a climate change reporter at WUSF, joins Kimberly to explain how Floridians are rebuilding a year after hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton hit the state. Plus, we’ll play a round of Half Full/Half Empty!

Here’s what we talked about on the show today:

• “Florida and the U.S. were spared of hurricanes in 2025, but storms are still rapidly intensifying” from WUSF
• “Hurricane Helene Response” from US Army Corps of Engineers
• “Assessment of Agricultural Losses Resulting from Hurricane Milton” from University of Florida IFAS
• “Disaster and insurance costs are rising. The middle class is struggling to hang on” from NPR
• “Sorting trash can be dirty and dangerous. Sounds like a job for AI” from Marketplace
• “Disney comes to Sora: What you can and can't do with the characters” from Axios
• “How fruitcake became a Christmas classic (even if it’s unpopular)” from MSN
• “City life is reshaping raccoons – and may be nudging them toward domestication” from The Guardian

The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by a quarter of a percentage point Wednesday. And this decision comes as President Donald Trump continues to put pressure on the supposedly independent agency to move the economy the way he wants. Plus, the president is reportedly beginning final interviews for Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s potential successor.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• “Fed lowers interest rates again amid debate over inflation, jobs” from The Washington Post
• “Trump to start final Fed chair interviews beginning with Kevin Warsh” from CNBC
• “What a Fed rate cut means for your home, car and credit card loans” from The Washington Post
• “Watch out for these refinancing red flags” from Marketplace Morning Report