About Paul @paulsolman
Paul Solman has been a correspondent for the PBS News Hour since 1985, mainly covering business and economics.
While attending Brandeis University, Solman joined the Brandeis newspaper, The Justice, and eventually became its editor. He got his first journalism job in 1970 at the alternative weekly Boston After Dark.
Solman became founding editor of the rival alternative weekly The Real Paper in 1972 and went on to become a feature writer and investigative reporter.
Solman received an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1978.
After a few years of local PBS reporting, he inaugurated the PBS business documentary series, ENTERPRISE with fellow Nieman Fellow Zvi Dor-Ner.
In the 1980s, Solman produced documentaries, returned to local reporting, and joined the Harvard Business School faculty, teaching media, finance and business history in the school's Advanced Management Program. He also co-authored “Life and Death on the Corporate Battlefield” in 1983, which appeared in Japanese, German and Taiwanese editions. He joined the MacNeil/Lehrer Report in 1985.
In the '90s, with sociologist Morrie Schwartz, a teacher of his at Brandeis, Solman helped create -- and wrote the introduction to the book "Morrie: In His Own Words," which preceded "Tuesdays with Morrie.” In 2015, Solman co-authored “Get What's Yours: the Secrets to Maxing Out Your Social Security.”
Solman has lectured on college campuses since the '80s and has written for numerous publications, including the Journal of Economic Education. As a one-time cab driver, kindergarten teacher, crafts store co-owner and management consultant, he was also the author and presenter of "Discovering Economics with Paul Solman," a series of videos to accompany introductory economics textbooks.
In 2007, he joined the faculty at Yale, where he contributed to the university's Grand Strategy course for a decade. In 2011, he was the Richman Distinguished Visiting Professor at his alma mater, Brandeis, where he taught a seminar, "Economic Grand Strategies: From Chimps to Champs? Or Chumps?" He has taught regularly at West Point, the Naval War College and was an adjunct faculty member at Gateway Community College in New Haven, CT, where he created the evening program, “Yale@Gateway.” In 2016, he was a Visiting Fellow at Mansfield College, Oxford University.
Since 2019, Solman has chaired the board of the anti-polarization American Exchange Project, a nonpolitical nonprofit domestic "foreign exchange" program that introduces high school seniors from everywhere in America to each other, sends and embeds them, for free, in communities unlike their own.
Solman took up tennis at 50. His father was the American expressionist artist Joseph Solman. He is married with two children and seven grandchildren.
Paul’s Recent Stories
Nation Aug 11
Credit card debt surges in U.S. as high interest rates make it harder to pay offAmericans owe more than a trillion dollars in credit card debt, up 60% from just five years ago. Meanwhile, higher interest rates make debt even more difficult to pay off, a downward spiral causing credit card delinquencies to surge. Economics…
Arts Aug 04
The science behind using the arts to combat loneliness and social isolationA new program in Charlotte, North Carolina, is using the arts to tackle loneliness and social isolation. Paul Solman reports on prescriptions for art instead of medicine for our series at the intersection of art and health, part of our…
Nation Jul 29
Single women are outpacing single men in homeownership, but some face backlashIn the U.S., 20 million single women own homes, almost three million more than single men. Economics correspondent Paul Solman explores why women are deciding to buy and the unexpected fallout some face.
Economy Jul 21
Janesville, once a symbol of the Great Recession, becomes AI data center battlegroundArtificial intelligence is fueling stock market highs, economic growth and a construction boom across the country. But it is also igniting fierce local debates about the benefits, the costs and whether the data centers that power AI should be built…
Nation Jul 15
Police say Flock cameras help solve crimes, but critics call them an invasion of privacyLaw enforcement agencies in the U.S. use AI-powered cameras to scan billions of vehicles each month, often without drivers ever realizing. Supporters say the technology is a tool for solving crimes. But critics warn it's creating a nationwide surveillance network,…
Economy Jul 08
As living costs soar, more retirees head back to workAs the cost of living continues to rise in the United States, people are finding it more difficult to make ends meet. Older Americans are feeling it more than most. Paul Solman reports on what's forcing many retirees to unretire.
Economy Jul 06
Who could benefit the most from Trump's investment accounts for childrenTrump Accounts are officially open. They’re the first federal tax-advantaged investment accounts for kids. Some 87 companies, foundations, individuals and states have announced contributions to the accounts. The question is, can they deliver the benefits that are being promoted? Economics…
Economy Jul 01
As veterinary costs climb, private equity ownership of clinics draws scrutinyVeterinary care is becoming increasingly expensive for American pet owners. As prices rise, attention is turning to a major shift in the industry: private equity firms and large corporations buying up veterinary practices across the country. Paul Solman has the…
Science Jun 23
Farmers struggle with crops as climate change makes weather less predictableMore than half of the continental U.S. is facing drought conditions. But other parts of the country are facing the opposite problem. Extreme weather conditions can have major impacts on farmers and their crops at a time when they’re already…
Nation Jun 22
Remembering the legacy of Alan Greenspan, 'maestro' of the U.S. economyAlan Greenspan, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve, died Monday of complications from Parkinson’s at the age of 100. Greenspan was widely considered the most powerful Fed chair in modern times, largely presiding over a period of long prosperity,…