Make Me Smart
Make Me Smart

Make Me Smart

Marketplace

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Each weekday, Marketplace’s Kai Ryssdal and Kimberly Adams make today make sense. Along with our supersmart listeners, we break down happenings in tech, the economy and culture. Every Tuesday we bring on a guest to dive deeper into one important topic. Because none of us is as smart as all of us.

Recent Episodes

Trump vs. Powell
APR 17, 2025
Trump vs. Powell
<p>In over a hundred years, no president has ever fired the chair of the Federal Reserve … yet! President Donald Trump says he could show Jerome Powell the door, even though Powell says he’s not going anywhere. We’ll explain why it might all come down to the Supreme Court. Plus: the economic conditions that led to the American Revolution. And, a smile-worthy photo reminds us it&#39;s never too late to try new things!</p><br/><p>Here’s everything we talked about today:</p><br/><ul><br/><li><p><a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/5254177-trump-if-i-ask-powell-to-leave-hell-be-out-of-there/">“Trump: If I ask Powell to leave, ‘he’ll be out of there’”</a> by The Hill</p></li><br/><li><p><a href="https://www.oyez.org/cases/1900-1940/295us602">Humphrey&#39;s Executor v. United States</a> from Oyez</p></li><br/><li><p><a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/paul-revere-ride-boston-250-years-later/" class="default">“Recreating Paul Revere&#39;s ride from Boston 250 years later, 2 men prepare for landmark journey”</a> from CBS News Boston</p></li><br/><li><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/ken-griffey-jr-photographer-masters-rory-mcilroy-win-golf-retirement-2025-4">“A Hall of Fame baseball player picked up photography in retirement. He captured one of the defining shots of the Masters.”</a> by Business Insider</p></li><br/><br/></ul><br/><br/><p>Join us tomorrow for “Economics on Tap.” The <a href="https://www.youtube.com/@marketplaceAPM/streams">YouTube livestream</a> starts at 3:30 p.m. Pacific time, 6:30 p.m. Eastern.</p>
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10 MIN
Let's talk about Zeno's paradox
APR 16, 2025
Let's talk about Zeno's paradox
<p>Since President Donald Trump took office, his administration has ignored court rulings on a range of issues from <a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/04/15/white-house-ap-court-order" class="default">press access</a> to <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/16/trump-deportation-el-salvador-federal-judge-00293076" class="default">deportations</a>. Now, a federal judge might hold him in criminal contempt of court. We’ll unpack the Zeno’s paradox of constitutional crises. Plus, where luxury goods actually come from and why you may want to think twice before buying one. And if you’re looking to zone out, turn on the “Great Moose Migration.”</p><br/><p>Here’s everything we talked about today:</p><br/><ul><br/><li><p><a href="https://bsky.app/profile/kyledcheney.bsky.social/post/3lmwxvv3dv224">@kyledcheney.bsky.social</a>‬ on Bluesky</p></li><br/><li><p><a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/politics-news/president-defies-judges-orders-contempt-rcna201455">“What happens if a president and the federal government fail to follow a judge&#39;s orders?” </a>by NBC News</p></li><br/><li><p><a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.278436/gov.uscourts.dcd.278436.81.0_2.pdf">J.G.G., et al., v. Donald J. Trump, et al.</a> from the United States District Court for the District of Columbia </p></li><br/><li><p><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2017/02/02/opinions/secondary-checks-trumps-power-michaels-opinion/index.html">“What to do in case of a constitutional crisis”</a> by CNN</p></li><br/><li><p><a href="https://www.brookings.edu/articles/how-is-civil-society-responding-to-the-u-s-constitutional-crisis/">“How is civil society responding to the US constitutional crisis?”</a> from the Brookings Institution</p></li><br/><li><p><a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/91317589/trumps-china-tariffs-spark-viral-tiktok-workarounds">“Trump’s China tariffs spark viral TikTok work-arounds”</a> from Fast Company</p></li><br/><li><p><a href="https://www.newsweek.com/chinese-warehouse-tiktok-videos-urge-americans-buy-directly-them-2060093">“&#39;Chinese Warehouse&#39; TikTok Videos Urge Americans to Buy Directly From Them”</a> from Newsweek</p></li><br/><li><p><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2025/04/15/viral-tiktok-chinese-manufacturers-tariffs/">“Ignore advice to buy direct from Chinese factories with DHGate, others”</a> from The Washington Post</p></li><br/><li><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/15/world/europe/sweden-moose-livestream.html">“The ‘Great Moose Migration’ Livestream Captivates Sweden”</a> from The New York Times</p></li><br/><br/></ul><br/><br/><p>Got a question or comment for the hosts? Email [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.</p>
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13 MIN
Will Congress deliver Trump's tax cuts?
APR 15, 2025
Will Congress deliver Trump's tax cuts?
<p>Happy Tax Day, folks. While you’re hitting “Submit” on your returns, lawmakers in Washington are negotiating over what next year’s Tax Day could look like. Congress is aiming to pack President Donald Trump’s promised tax cuts into one behemoth reconciliation bill. But Caitlin Reilly, tax and economics reporter at CQ Roll Call, said there’s a long way to go before making these promises a reality. On the show today, Reilly explains why Congress is pursuing “reconciliation,” the accounting magic lawmakers are using to make certain tax cuts look free, and how the House and Senate will square two drastically different mandates for spending cuts. </p><br/><p>Then, we’ll look into how Boeing is getting caught up in the U.S.-China trade war. And, a tax professor answers the “Make Me Smart” question.</p><br/><p>Here’s everything we talked about today:</p><br/><ul><br/><li><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2025/04/09/upshot/senate-vs-house-budget.html">&quot;House Republicans Passed a New Budget. Here&#39;s What&#39;s in It.&quot;</a> from The New York Times</p></li><br/><li><p><a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/04/05/g-s1-58281/senate-budget-resolution-reconciliation-trump">&quot;Senate GOP passes budget plan, setting up a critical next phase for Trump agenda&quot;</a> from NPR</p></li><br/><li><p><a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/10/house-gop-adopts-budget-framework-paving-the-way-for-trumps-big-beautiful-bill-00283511">&quot;House GOP adopts budget framework, paving the way for Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’&quot;</a> from Politico </p></li><br/><li><p><a href="https://rollcall.com/2025/04/07/current-policy-debate-dogs-budget-reconciliation-efforts/">&quot;&#39;Current policy&#39; debate dogs budget reconciliation efforts&quot;</a> from Roll Call</p></li><br/><li><p><a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/your-cheat-sheet-to-congress-budget-fight">&quot;Your cheat sheet to Congress’ budget fight&quot;</a> from PBS Newshour</p></li><br/><li><p><a href="https://www.wsj.com/livecoverage/stock-market-trump-tariffs-trade-war-04-15-25/card/china-goes-after-boeing-tells-airlines-not-to-order-new-aircraft-from-u-s-jet-maker-8Tig6sST73fWP52Hdf0q">&quot;China Goes After Boeing, Tells Airlines Not to Order New Aircraft From U.S. Jet Maker&quot;</a> from The Wall Street Journal </p></li><br/><br/></ul><br/><br/><p>We want to hear your answer to the “Make Me Smart” question. Email [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.</p>
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27 MIN
Brexit ... but make it American
APR 14, 2025
Brexit ... but make it American
<p>Nearly a decade after Brexit, the British economy is still feeling the fallout. Now, President Donald Trump seems to be pulling from a similar playbook — with tariffs that could reshape the U.S. economy in eerily familiar ways. (Shocker, we know!) But first: Trump threatens to send Americans to prisons in El Salvador. The constitutional crisis alarm bells are ringing. Plus, poop in space is a bigger problem than you might think.</p><br/><p>Here’s everything we talked about today:</p><br/><ul><br/><li><p><a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/04/14/trump-americans-el-salvador-prison-bukele">&quot;Trump again threatens to send Americans to prisons in El Salvador&quot;</a> from Axios</p></li><br/><li><p><a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-news/greg-gutfeld-fox-nation-game-show-what-did-i-miss-1236188415/">&quot;Fox Nation Plans Game Show About Isolated People Guessing What Trump Did In His First 90 Days&quot;</a> from The Hollywood Reporter</p></li><br/><li><p><a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/04/14/trump-federal-medicaid-funding-states">&quot;Trump admin shrinks federal Medicaid funding available to states&quot;</a> from Axios</p></li><br/><li><p><a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/vessel-sanitation-program-layoffs-hhs_n_67f9151ee4b0f27aea9f0f13">&quot;HHS Lays Off All Full-Time Cruise Ship Health Inspectors Amid Illness Outbreaks: Report&quot;</a> from The Huffington Post</p></li><br/><li><p><a href="https://www.upi.com/Odd_News/2025/04/09/NASA-LunaRecycle-Challenge-human-poop/8541744218992/">&quot;NASA offers $3M in competition to recycle human poop in space&quot;</a> from UPI</p></li><br/><li><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/13/world/europe/how-brexit-a-startling-act-of-economic-self-harm-foreshadowed-trumps-tariffs.html">&quot;How Brexit, a Startling Act of Economic Self-Harm, Foreshadowed Trump’s Tariffs&quot;</a> from The New York Times</p></li><br/><li><p><a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-features/comedy-tiktok-leopards-eat-my-face-franchesca-ramsey-1235317072/">&quot;Meet the Comedian Putting Trump Voter Regret to Music&quot;</a> from Rolling Stone </p></li><br/><br/></ul><br/><br/><p>Got a question for our hosts? Email [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.</p>
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15 MIN
Selling America
APR 11, 2025
Selling America
<p>Amid this week’s tariff turmoil, U.S. stocks tumbled, U.S. Treasurys sold off, and the U.S. dollar weakened. Kai explains what this triple sell-off could mean for the future of the American economy. And, is the era of cheap stuff in America over? Donald Trump administration officials are arguing it’s a good thing. We’ll get into it. Plus, we’ll weigh in on penguin memes and using public phones during a round of Half Full/Half Empty. </p><br/><p>Here’s everything we talked about today:</p><br/><ul><br/><li><p><a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/03/06/treasury-secretary-bessent-says-the-american-dream-is-not-about-access-to-cheap-goods.html">&quot;Treasury Secretary Bessent says the American dream is not about &#39;access to cheap goods&#39;&quot;</a> from CNBC</p></li><br/><li><p><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-04-10/cheap-consumer-goods-are-more-important-to-america-than-team-trump-realizes">&quot;Cheap Consumer Goods Are the American Dream, Actually&quot;</a> from Bloomberg</p></li><br/><li><p><a href="https://www.vox.com/future-perfect/408139/donald-trump-tariffs-prices-consumer-goods-amazon-cheap">&quot;The Trump administration says cheap goods aren’t part of the American dream. They’re wrong.&quot;</a> from Vox</p></li><br/><li><p><a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/11/business/bond-market-trump-treasury-yield-rates/index.html">&quot;The bond market is acting weird. It spooked Trump&quot;</a> from CNN Business</p></li><br/><li><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/05/world/americas/penguins-tariffs-island.html">&quot;After Trump’s Tariffs, Stocks Plunged but Penguin Memes Ticked Up&quot;</a> from The New York Times</p></li><br/><li><p><a href="https://www.marketplace.org/story/2025/04/09/why-more-students-are-opting-for-certificates-over-undergraduate-degrees">&quot;More students opt for certificates as undergraduate degree earners decline&quot;</a> from Marketplace</p></li><br/><li><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/09/business/trader-joes-tote-bags.html">&quot;A Frenzy at Trader Joe’s: ‘Everyone’s Here for the Tote Bags’&quot;</a> from The New York Times</p></li><br/><li><p><a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/91315025/the-masters-offers-public-phones-as-alternatives-to-cellphones">&quot;The Masters offers public phones as alternatives to cellphones. Here&#39;s what attendees think&quot;</a> from Fast Company</p><br/><p>Got a question for our hosts? Email [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.</p></li><br/><br/></ul>
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34 MIN