Can spending billions on political ads actually win elections?

By Election Day, campaigns and PACs will spend an estimated $9.7 billion on ads. One of our listeners wants to know: Does flooding the airwaves even move the needle? Where’s the saturation point? We’ll do our best to answer on this Whaddaya Wanna Know Wednesday. Plus, your questions about student loan forgiveness, the poverty line and regional Halloween traditions.

Here are links to what we talked about today:

• “Social Security recipients to get their biggest cost-of-living raise in over 40 years” from Marketplace
• “How many people are really facing poverty in the U.S.?” from Marketplace
• “Campaigns spend over $6.4 billion on ads for 2022 elections, making race one of the most expensive ever” from CNBC
• “Do Political Ads Even Work?” from The New Republic
• “In Midterm TV Ad Wars, Sticker Shock Costs Republicans” from The New York Times
• “This Ad’s for You (Not Your Neighbor)” from The New York Times
• “Federal Student Loan Forgiveness: Your Questions Answered” from U.S. News & World Report
• “Halloween Is More Funny Than Scary In St. Louis” from NPR

If you’ve got a question about the economy, business or technology, let us know. We’re at makemesmart@marketplace.org or leave us a message at 508-U-B-SMART.