Make Me Smart

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BUSINESS
UPDATED DAILY

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.

7 HR. AGO

The tax cut zealots vs. the budget hawks

Republicans in Congress want to extend several provisions from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, passed during President-elect Donald Trump’s first term, that are set to expire at the end of this year. But they’re expected to be costly — very costly. We’ll unpack the spending cuts the House GOP is eyeing to offset the impact on federal deficits. And, we’ll get into why Paramount is considering settling Trump’s lawsuit over CBS’ interview with Kamala Harris. Plus, we’ll weigh in on the business trends that are in and out for 2025. Here’s everything we talked about today: “CBS Owner Discusses Settling Trump Suit, With Merger Review on Tap” from The Wall Street Journal “House Budget Republicans eye more than 200 spending cuts, tax changes for major bill” from The Hill Ways and Means memo from the House Budget Committee Bluesky thread from Sen. Ron Wyden “Will 2025 Be the Watershed Year for Return-to-Office Mandates? That Depends.” from The Wall Street Journal “TikTok Influencers React to a Potential Ban” from The New York Times “Every Movie Sequel Releasing In 2024” from Screen Rant “Beyoncé’s Whisky, Kylie Jenner’s Canned Vodka Soda, Plus More Stars in the Alcohol Business” from People “Tesla stock jumps amid speculation Musk could buy TikTok” from Yahoo Finance We love to hear from you. Email us at makemesmart@marketplace.org or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.

27 min
1 DAY AGO

TikTok’s eleventh hour

Many TikTok users are joining apps such as RedNote and Lemon8 in anticipation of a TikTok ban in the United States. The problem? They’re also Chinese-owned. We’ll get into how this could turn into a headache for Congress. Then, we’ll unpack Defense Secretary nominee Pete Hegseth’s climate change comments at his confirmation hearing and how people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles are being impacted by the current fires in a unique way. Plus, a farewell hallucinogenic mushroom story from outgoing Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. Here’s everything we talked about today: “Some of the possible alternatives to TikTok have their own problems” from Marketplace “Trump considers executive order hoping to ‘save TikTok’ from ban or sale in U.S. law” from The Washington Post “With TikTok ban looming, ByteDance has a backup plan” from Marketplace “Where Gaetz and Hegseth stand on climate change” from Politico “The Changing Threat” from Marketplace’s “How We Survive” “As thousands flee LA fires, disaster poses unique challenges for the unhoused” from Marketplace “How the LA fires could exacerbate California’s homelessness crisis” from CalMatters “‘It Was Ok” – Sec. Janet Yellen On Trying Marijuana For The First Time” from “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” Join us tomorrow for “Economics on Tap.” The YouTube livestream starts at 3:30 p.m. Pacific time, 6:30 p.m. Eastern.

14 min
2 DAYS AGO

What Biden is leaving Trump

President Biden today announced a hostage and ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas aimed at ending the war in Gaza. This comes as Biden is making a string of policy decisions to make it harder for the incoming administration to undo his legacy. We’ll explain. And, when the world feels like too much, how do we cope? Plus, a touching photo essay that zooms in on the work of hospice nurses makes us smile. Here’s everything we talked about today: “Israel and Hamas agree to Gaza ceasefire deal, senior U.S. official says: Live updates” from The Washington Post “Biden Races to Cement His Legacy Through a Series of Actions” from The New York Times “Introduction: ‘Those Who Have Made Death Their Life'” from The Daily Yonder “Justice Alito Asks If You Can Read Pornhub for the Articles” from The Cut “We Asked the Math Tutor Who Posts His Lessons on Pornhub: Why?” from Vice We love to hear from you. Email us at makemesmart@marketplace.org or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.

13 min
3 DAYS AGO

How to live with wildfires

The Los Angeles fires are a warning to all of us. Over the past week, lives, homes, businesses and entire communities have been lost in what’s expected to be among the nation’s costliest disasters ever. But with more than one-third of the U.S. population living in counties with high wildfire risk, this begs the question: Should lots of people relocate? Crystal Kolden, director of the Fire Resilience Center at the University of California at Merced and a former wildland firefighter, said abandoning these places isn’t the only option. On the show today, Kolden explains why the L.A. fires have been so tough to put out, why wildfires are different from other natural disasters like hurricanes and floods, and how devastated communities can rebuild in a way that makes them more resilient to future fires. Later, a listener shares a teamwork approach to cleaning up after a house party. And, Brad Stulberg, author of “Master of Change,” was wrong about how to find motivation. Here’s everything we talked about today: “L.A. Fires Show Limits of America’s Efforts to Cope With Climate Change” from The New York Times “Column: Recovery will be tempered by hard decisions and, if we aren’t careful, inequality” from The L.A. Times “Palisades and other Southern California fires could be most expensive in US history” from LAist “More People Are Living in the Riskiest Wildfire Zones” from Bloomberg “‘Zone Zero’ Mandates Near Completion for High Wildfire Risk Areas” from the Sierra Club “‘Conditions’ should be placed on California wildfire aid: House Speaker Mike Johnson” from USA Today We want to hear your answer to the Make Me Smart question. Leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART or email us at makemesmart@marketplace.org.

24 min
4 DAYS AGO

The rise of private firefighting

As wildfires continue to burn in Los Angeles, some wealthy residents are shelling out thousands each day to hire private firefighters to protect their homes and businesses. But some argue that the market for these private crews diminishes public firefighting resources. We’ll get into it. And, renowned science fiction author Octavia Butler predicted many of our modern problems, including catastrophic wildfires. We’ll explain how looking to the past helped her write about the future. Plus, Kimberly gives us some advice for throwing better parties in 2025. Here’s everything we talked about today: “‘Will Pay Any Amount’: Private Firefighters Are in Demand in L.A.” from The New York Times “I Will Pay Any Amount to Not Pay My Taxes” from McSweeney’s Internet Tendency “N.K. Jemisin on the prescience and brilliance of Parable of the Sower” from New Scientist “A Few Rules For Predicting The Future by Octavia E. Butler” from Common Good Collective “The LA Fires Aren’t a Surprise If You Study History and Climate Change. So Now What?” from Teen Vogue “Americans Need to Party More” from The Atlantic “Here’s how single women are successfully navigating an otherwise brutal market for first-time homebuyers” from Business Insider We love to hear from you. Email us at makemesmart@marketplace.org or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.

29 min
12/31/2024

Wheelchair rugby’s Chuck Aoki makes us smart about the Paralympics (rerun)

Hey smarties! We’re on a break for the holidays and revisiting some of our top episodes from 2024. We can’t do this show without you and we still need your support. If you can, donate today to keep independent journalism going strong into 2025 and beyond. Give now to support “Make Me Smart.” Thank you so much for your generosity, happy holidays and we’ll see you in the new year. In case you haven’t heard, the Summer Olympics aren’t over! This year’s Paralympics kick off in Paris on Aug. 28. It’s the first time all 22 Paralympic events will be aired live, and total broadcast revenues are up by more than 20% from the delayed 2020 Paralympics. Chuck Aoki, an American Paralympic wheelchair rugby player, said content creators like himself are also bringing eyes to the event. On the show today, Aoki breaks down the basics of wheelchair rugby (aka “murderball”), the system that classifies para athletes based on their disability, and why this year’s Paralympics are getting more buzz than ever. Then, we’ll get into how pharmaceutical companies’ new direct-to-consumer programs could impact drug prices. And, listeners tell us about the trafficless 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles, and a lesson in credit cards learned the hard, heartbreaking way. Here’s everything we talked about today: “Passion And Guts: Chuck Aoki’s World of Wheelchair Rugby” from Team USA “Paralympic Games in Paris set to reach largest audience after broadcast deals” from The Guardian “What sports are in the Paralympics and how does the classification system work?” from AP News “How to Watch the 2024 Summer Paralympics: Streaming Schedule, Free Options” from Wired “Pfizer Follows Lilly With Website Selling Directly to Patients” from Bloomberg “Eli Lilly lowering weight loss drug prices” from The Hill “Health Insurance Costs Will Rise Steeply if Premium Tax Credit Improvements Expire” from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities “How Much and Why ACA Marketplace Premiums Are Going Up in 2025” from KFF “Pfizer launches new website for migraine, respiratory offerings” from Reuters “Panama Canal Eases Limits That Caused Global Shipping Bottleneck” from Bloomberg We want to hear your answer to the Make Me Smart question. Leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART or email us at makemesmart@marketplace.org.

24 min
12/24/2024

How Big Food changed the way we eat (rerun)

Hey smarties! We’re on a break for the holidays and revisiting some of our top episodes from 2024. We can’t do this show without you and we still need your support. If you can, donate today to keep independent journalism going strong into 2025 and beyond. Give now to support “Make Me Smart.” Thank you so much for your generosity, happy holidays and we’ll see you in the new year. Today we’re talking about food. Specifically, Big Food. In his book, “Barons: Money, Power, and the Corruption of America’s Food Industry,” Austin Frerick, agricultural and antitrust policy fellow at Yale, argues the food system is the most consolidated sector in the United States. On the show today, Frerick explains how the American food system became so concentrated, how that’s inflated prices and eroded quality, and what we should do about it. Plus, Walmart’s role as king of grocery kings. Then, we’ll get into why Boeing can’t keep up with SpaceX. And, an expert on youth mental health (and former guest on “Make Me Smart”) was wrong about how teens curate their social media feeds. Here’s everything else we talked about today: “Lax Antitrust Enforcement Imperils The Nation’s Supply Chains” from Forbes “What Is “Big Ag,” and Why Should You Be Worried About Them?” from Union of Concerned Scientists “The problem with growing corporate concentration and power in the global food system” from Nature Food “Major retailers are offering summer deals to entice inflation-weary shoppers” from AP News “US Consumer Confidence Rises for First Time in Four Months” from Bloomberg “Inflation now means high prices, not just rising costs” from Axios “What do Americans think about inflation?” from The Brookings Institution “Boeing Prepared to Fly Crewed Space Taxi With Helium Leak” from Bloomberg We love to hear from you. Send your questions and comments to makemesmart@marketplace.org or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.

26 min
12/17/2024

Want to protect our democracy? Start here! (rerun)

Hey Smarties! We’re on a break for the holidays and revisiting some of our top episodes from 2024. We can’t do this show without you and we still need your support. If you can, donate today to keep independent journalism going strong into 2025 and beyond. Give now to support “Make Me Smart.” Thank you so much for your generosity, happy holidays and we’ll see you in the new year. If you’ve been feeling hopeless about the news, the election, the economy, the climate crisis and everything else that’s going on, today’s episode is for you. Emily Amick, lawyer and co-author of “Democracy in Retrograde: How to Make Changes Big and Small in Our Country and in Our Lives,” argues we can all become better participants in our democracy. And we don’t need to have a gazillion dollars to do it. On the show today, Amick explains why we should treat civic engagement as self-care, how to find your civic personality and ways to cultivate a news diet that doesn’t put you in a doom loop. Plus, the moment she realized our democracy was headed in the wrong direction. Then, we’ll get into how voters in Utah fought to protect the power of citizen-led ballot initiatives and why shoppers hide purchases from their romantic partners. Plus, an anime cosplayer was wrong about what it would take to create her own costume. Here’s everything we talked about today: “Despite Recent Setbacks, There Is Still Hope For Democracy” from Forbes “In ‘Democracy in Retrograde,’ Emily Amick Talks About Political Engagement and Her Cancer Diagnosis” from Teen Vogue “What does Utah’s redistricting ruling do to voters’ ability to change laws?” from The Salt Lake Tribune “Utah Supreme Court: Lawmakers must heed voter-passed gerrymandering reforms “ from Axios Salt Lake City “Amazon’s Prime Day a ‘major’ cause of worker injuries, Senate probe finds” from CNBC “US Retail Sales Excluding Autos Rise by Most in Three Months” from Bloomberg “Gym Bags, Trunks, Back Doors: How Stealth Shoppers Hide Purchases” from The Wall Street Journal “Financial Infidelity Report 2023: Why People Hide Purchases From Partners” from Circuit “Inside a UPS warehouse that prioritizes super-fast shipping” from Marketplace How are you getting involved in civic life? What helps you fend off feelings of hopelessness? Let us know at makemesmart@marketplace.org or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.

36 min

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4.6

out of 5

5,313 Ratings

Make me smart

12/14/2024

Serihitfenkil

Love your voices love your work.
My fav Podcast by far!

10/22/2024

A'liz

Just great a Podcast to be in the know about a variety of subjects, the ones making the headlines and those not being covered as much! Love Kai, and Kimberly you’re terrific!!
Shifted to Single POV

12/11/2024

In Search of the Open Minded

I started listening when the show first started. Up until a 1-3 years ago the show was open to a wide range of thought and opinions. Slowly the show has shifted away from being open minded to vilifying thoughts and opinions that did not fully align with whomever the host was for the episode. Additionally the guests on Tuesday seemed to move to be more politically minded and not about the content that guest was supposed to make me smart about.
Trash for Karens

12/05/2024

SoulLove77

I’m constantly dismayed, the attitudes and information that these people one of which I had I used to have absolute respect for, being a naval aviator and all… But the programmed trash and the amount of Trump arrangement syndrome that is prominent on something that is associated as a new source is just disgusting. Just really sad that this is related to NPR. Just not very informative and when there’s comments of opinions made, there’s not any substantial fact behind them except for the basic premise that you about what the Democrat operating machine tells you to spout.. Kind of pathetic.