Behind the scenes on tariff politics

Explore the complex trade-offs policymakers face when considering tariffs

While tariffs can generate government revenue and encourage the consumption of locally produced goods, they can often lead to higher consumer prices and may negatively impact economic growth.

The history of the World Trade Organization

This episode of the "Brettonomics with Nancy Jackson" podcast explores the history of the WTO and its predecessor, the GATT, revealing the key people, negotiations, and decisions that shaped today's international trade rules.

Read an overview of US tariff policy before the second Trump Administration

This comprehensive report from the Congressional Research Service explores the evolving role of tariffs—from a major source of government revenue to a tool for trade and foreign policy—providing insights into current practices, legal foundations, and global trade dynamics.

How do tariffs work?

This brief animated video from Time walks through a simple example of a tariff on a single good, illustrating how this would affect the market for the good—both domestically and abroad—and who would eventually bear the cost of the tariff.

Explore the "winners and losers" of the Trump administration's H-1B visa fee

In this episode, experts discuss the rationale behind the new $100K fee, citing concerns about abuse of the H-1B program. Some economists warn that it could spur offshoring, reduce innovation, and create ripple effects on wages and talent supply.

Tax policy can have a direct impact on the national debt

Past presidents' changes to tax codes have inflated the deficit. An expert on the topic explains the interplay between policy and the national budget while debunking 10 tax-related myths in this podcast.

Trump's 2025 tariffs represent a significant break from the rules-based trade order

The Trump administration imposed broad tariffs on other countries outside WTO rules in 2025, claiming that those countries had long violated trade agreements and that the US was simply leveling the playing field.

A trade war is an economic conflict where nations impose tariffs or other trade barriers on each other in retaliation for similar actions

The US-China trade war is one example. While they aim to protect domestic industries, they can lead to higher prices for consumers and strained international relations.

Hear an oral history of the Electoral College and why it still exists

This podcast episode traces how the Electoral College emerged from rushed compromises, slavery-era power politics, and party maneuvering—showing why the system looks the way it does today and why efforts to change it have repeatedly stalled.

Hear the reasoning behind Trump's resurrection of the Monroe Doctrine in 2025

This podcast examines the Monroe Doctrine, from its casual origins in an 1823 congressional update to Trump's "Donroe Doctrine"—highlighting how fears of Chinese influence, concerns over oil prices, and the pursuit of hemispheric dominance influenced the administration's policies toward Latin America.

Oil’s legacy: fueling industrial growth and shaping imperial strategies

This episode of The Rest Is History podcast traces oil’s pivotal role—from fueling industrial growth to steering imperial power. It also examines how access to oil shaped US politics, World War II, and sparked the creation of OPEC following the Suez Crisis.

Both parties largely agree that America's immigration system is broken

This three‑part podcast series traces America's immigration system origins, revealing how historically celebrated Ellis Island-era policies evolved into today's fractured, fact‑starved debate—shedding light on economic, cultural, and political forces shaping the current dysfunction.

The 'Strong Towns' podcast explores how American cities can become financially resilient

This weekly podcast examines why the way America has built its cities since World War II has left some communities financially fragile—and what local governments can do differently moving forward.

'Planet Money' debates the financial indicators that defined 2025

In this end-of-year episode, "Planet Money" stages a playful debate over which economic indicators best captured the chaos of 2025—from tariffs to AI bubbles—and which signals may matter most as the US economy heads into 2026.

Stand-up comedy podcasts have realigned political campaigns

Some of the world’s most popular podcasts, like “The Joe Rogan Experience” and “This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von,” are hosted by stand-up comedians. They also now play a role in American politics, with representatives, senators, and even presidents taking part in their freewheeling conversations

An economist answers questions about love

Economists aren't exactly known for their dating advice. But as it turns out, economics experts can offer fresh perspectives to everyday romantic quandaries. On this podcast episode, economist Tim Harford answers listeners’ relationship quandaries, from paying for a first date to alternatives to saying, "I love you." Listen to the episode here.

How much power does the Federal Reserve really have?

Although mechanisms for transparency exist, it wouldn’t be difficult for the incredibly powerful institution to go rogue in the wrong hands. In this podcast episode, analysts game out how such a scenario would go.

Explore nuclear policy debates with this biweekly podcast

Hosted by Jeffrey Lewis and Aaron Stein, Arms Control Wonk offers biweekly analysis of nuclear weapons, disarmament, proliferation, and missile threats. Drawing on the hosts' deep arms‑control expertise, it makes complex security issues accessible.

Bitcoin started as a .PDF

Have you ever wondered how bitcoin became, well, bitcoin? In this podcast episode, journalist PJ Vogt dives into what drove the bitcoin hype machine, explaining how it became the phenomenon it is today.

Some people are against Black Friday, saying it promotes consumerism

This comprehensive podcast video episode from NYU Professor Scott Galloway offers a deep dive into the economics of Black Friday, Galloway believes Black Friday allows corporations to exploit the worst parts of Americans’ consumerist impulses, and warns Americans should not believe purchasing things leads to greater happiness.

Why processed foods can be so addictive

In recent years, many critics have voiced their concerns about the food industry and how ultra-processed foods affect our health. Despite our awareness of these issues, processed foods are still incredibly hard to remove from our diet. In this podcast by The Guardian, Dr. Chris van Tulleken explains how “junk food” is created to get us hooked, how it negatively affects us, and what we can do to improve our eating habits.

Intriguing facts about tomatoes

This episode of the Lunchbox Envy podcast dives deep into the world of tomatoes. Why do they taste nicer in certain settings? Do they "scream"? What are their health benefits? All of these questions and more are answered about the luscious red fruit. Listen and reflect on the historical and cultural significance of the tomato.

The drama of the car dealership quota

Car salespersons are often under a ton of pressure to meet quotas at their dealership, at least partly explaining why they are known to stoop to such lows to sell cars. In this now legendary podcast episode, "This American Life" host Ira Glass and...

Interview with a pay transparency expert

Maybe you’ve seen one of Hannah Williams’ videos on social media. On her viral “Salary Transparent Street” accounts, Williams stands on the street with a microphone and asks passersby to tell her how much money they make per year. This podcast interview with Williams details what she’s learned about pay transparency in the process. Listen to it here.

Illinois rolled back its happy hour legislation in 2015, opting to cap reduced-price drink sales at 15 hours per week and prohibit them after 10 pm instead

In this episode of the podcast “The Right to Drink,” alcohol expert and host Jarrett Dieterle explains why some states allow happy hour while others don’t. The host also dives into the fight to change happy hour legislation across the US.

Listen to an in-depth conversation on the links between Parkinson's disease and herbicide exposure and the challenging pace of scientific investigation.

The idea for the Federal Reserve was conceived in secret in 1910—with bankers donning duck hunt gear for disguise while traveling to a remote country club on Georgia's Jekyll Island

Hear about the 250-year history of the United States Postal Service, complete with some of its strangest deliveries, important innovations, and the figures that made it an American institution.

The US dollar is the most widely circulated currency in the world, and is involved in nearly 90% of global transactions

The price of gas is a composite made up of several different factors, with the federal gas tax making up less than 20% of what drivers pay at the pump.

Discover the catastrophic consequences of a failure of the US electrical grid—something that is more likely than many Americans think.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

Despite being favored by 87% of Americans, Congress does not have term limits.

Exploring the Larry Bird punch that almost changed March Madness

Warren Buffett's former professor Benjamin Graham is known as the 'father of value investing,' a strategy in which investors seek to buy stocks trading below their intrinsic worth.

Netflix profits when you're not watching, and its movies are designed that way—read a detail-rich critical essay exposing lesser-known Netflix takes

The American cockroach is actually from Africa, an apparent hitchhiker aboard ships carrying enslaved people, with evidence suggesting the bug may have arrived in the New World as early as the 1600s.

Jimmy Carter signed a 1978 bill that legalized home brewing, a move credited with kick-starting the craft beer industry.

The identity of the Tank Man in the iconic photo from the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests remains unknown and was possibly killed.

One disco producer saw 'Star Wars' four times on its opening weekend and was so inspired that he recorded the album 'Star Wars and Other Intergalactic Funk,' which produced a chart-topping single.

Fish populations in the Great Barrier Reef have increased after installing waterproof speakers on the ocean floor that played recordings of sounds from healthy coral reefs.

A researcher recently discovered an interview from 1967 between groundbreaking journalist Joan Didion and the Grateful Dead, years before the band became an institution.

Use this tool to calculate the dollar value of your parental mental load, from meal planning to coordinating after-school care, then see resources that help generate solutions.

Art theft is the third-largest source of criminal revenues worldwide, thanks in part to the subjective nature of valuing a work of art.

A pickleball's loud 'pop' sound can reach 120 decibels, which is equivalent to a hammer hitting a nail

See how fireworks are made and learn how metals like magnesium and copper are responsible for different colors.

After NASA's Voyager 1 captured Earth as a single pixel as it left the solar system in 1990, astronomer Carl Sagan used the image to reflect on humanity's fragility and the responsibility to protect 'the only world we've ever known.'

The word 'jazz' evolved from 'jasm,' 19th-century American slang for 'energy'

Some Pokémon have been named after real and fictional organisms, while some real-world species have been named after Pokémon, such as Chilicola charizard and Binburrum zapdos.