Days of our Tariffs
Planet Money uses producer James Sneed's surprise tariff bill on a collectible Arthur toy to illustrate how modern tariffs hit individual consumers, including unexpected brokerage fees and customs processes. Trade lawyer Lenny Feldman explains how changes to the de minimis exemption and importer-of-record rules push more tariff and processing costs onto buyers, while economist Alberto Cavallo shows, using large-scale price data, that recent tariffs have raised imported-goods prices by about 6%, domestic-goods prices by about 3.5%, and overall inflation by roughly 0.7 percentage points. The episode concludes that U.S. consumers are clearly paying for tariffs, often in ways that are not visible at the time of purchase.
The obscure pool of money the US used to bail out Argentina
The episode examines the U.S. Treasury's Exchange Stabilization Fund (ESF), a relatively obscure pool of money that Treasury Secretary Scott Besant recently used to extend a $20 billion credit line to Argentina without congressional approval. Through interviews with economist Brad Setzer and former Treasury official Jeffrey Schaefer, the hosts trace the ESF's origins, its rare large-scale use in the 1995 Mexican peso crisis, and compare that episode to the current situation in Argentina. The conversation explores how lender-of-last-resort principles, political risk, and Argentina's economic policies shape the chances that the U.S. will ever be repaid.
Flight Cancellation Chaos, SNAP Ruling, and U.S.-Canada Trade War
In this live Pivot taping from Toronto, hosts Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway discuss escalating U.S. flight delays tied to FAA staffing and a government shutdown, using airline safety and history to illustrate how policy choices affect economic vitality and public trust. They examine the U.S. Supreme Court's handling of SNAP food benefits, child hunger, and what budget priorities reveal about American values, before turning to U.S.-Canada tariffs, asymmetric trade benefits, Canadian efforts to diversify away from the U.S., and missed innovation opportunities. The episode also explores progressive urban politics, models of modern masculinity, debates over state-run grocery stores versus higher minimum wage, falling cross-border tourism, and audience questions on defending democracy, advertising careers, and AI-driven disinformation.
Mamdani's Win, Palantir's Stock Slide, and Tesla's Pay Package
Hosts Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway discuss recent U.S. election results, including Zoran Mamdani's New York mayoral win and Democratic gains nationwide, and analyze generational and gender divides in voting alongside structural inequality in education and child poverty. They debate income-based affirmative action and tax enforcement, examine the Supreme Court case over Trump's tariffs and the investment implications of possible refunds, and explore the growing privatization of space, Palantir's soaring valuation versus Michael Burry's short, right‑wing flirtations with extremism, and the looming shareholder vote on Elon Musk's massive Tesla pay package.
The remittance mystery
The episode investigates a puzzling surge in remittances flowing from the United States to several Central American and Caribbean countries, especially Honduras, despite heightened immigration enforcement and declining new immigration. Through interviews with a Honduran bank remittance manager, migrants, and economists, the reporters explore how fear of deportation, a looming remittance tax, and migrants' desire to build savings back home are driving this spike. They also examine how critical remittances are to economies like Honduras, the risks of over-dependence on this income, and the potential economic shock if these flows decline in the near future.
How Russia's shadow fleet is sailing around oil sanctions
The episode investigates Russia's "shadow fleet" of aging oil tankers that has emerged to evade Western sanctions and the G7 oil price cap imposed after Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. A Danish maritime pilot, Bjarne Cesar Skinnerup, describes guiding increasingly numerous, poorly maintained tankers carrying Russian oil through the Danish Straits, while maritime intelligence specialist Michelle V.C. Bachman explains how the fleet is structured using opaque ownership, fake insurance, and permissive or fraudulent flags. The hosts explore how this underground shipping network reshapes global oil flows, sustains Russian revenues, raises geopolitical tensions, and creates severe environmental and financial risks for coastal nations, while leaving individuals like Bjarne in a moral bind.
The best thing that could happen to the energy industry | Matt Tilleard
Host Elise Hu introduces a talk by renewable entrepreneur Matt Tilleard, who argues that the current clean energy shift is fundamentally different from past energy transitions because it is driven by technology instead of fuel. He explains how renewable technologies are less existential, more recyclable, more substitutable, and based on abundant materials, making control of resources and cartels far less powerful than in the fossil-fuel era. Using examples from his work in Africa and a case study in Madagascar, he outlines why the future of energy is likely to be more distributed, shared, and shaped by innovation and manufacturing rather than by those who control fuel deposits.
Saudi Comedy Festival Controversy, Threads' Major Milestone, and Trump's Movie Tariff
Kara Swisher and Scott Galloway discuss Donald Trump's proposed 100% tariff on movies made outside the U.S., arguing it would damage Netflix, Hollywood, and global content arbitrage, and then pivot to the Saudi state-backed Riyadh Comedy Festival, criticizing free-speech-branded comedians who accepted contracts barring criticism of the kingdom and religion. They examine consumer backlash that forced Sinclair and Nexstar to restore Jimmy Kimmel, Threads surpassing X in daily active users and changing media consumption habits, Trump's pressure-driven TikTok divestment plan that advantages major donors, his retribution-focused indictment of James Comey, the economic stupidity of tariffs and farm bailouts, and close with wins and fails plus a brief call for tighter limits on AI products for children.
Inside India's astonishing solar revolution | Kanika Chawla
Energy expert Kanika Chawla explains how India transformed an audacious 2014 commitment to install 100 gigawatts of solar power into reality, reaching the goal by February 2025 and unlocking $90 billion in investment and 300,000 new solar jobs. She argues that India's success was driven less by ideology and more by economic logic, backed by innovations in business models, market design, and planning. Drawing on examples from India, Ghana, sub-Saharan Africa, and Kenya, she outlines how planning, innovation, and localization can help developing countries lead an irreversible global energy transition.