Skip to content
Another budget breakdown. Why are we like this? episode artwork

Oct 2, 2025 22 min

Another budget breakdown. Why are we like this?

from Make Me Smart Hosted by Marketplace

Messy fights over funding the federal government have become all too familiar in American politics. Why are we like this? On the show today, The Brookings Institution’s Molly Reynolds joins Kimberly to explain how shutdowns became Congress’ political weapon of choice and why the federal budget process has gotten even more complicated under the Trump administration. Plus, we hear from you, our dear listeners. Here’s everything we talked about today: "Congress has long struggled to pass spending bills on time" from Pew Research Center "Government shutdown continues as Senate Democrats hold firm on health care demands" from AP News "How John Thune sees the shutdown ending" from Politico "What are Democrats' demands in the government shutdown fight?" from Marketplace Show your love for Make Me Smart and our community of curious listeners! Donate now to get us one step closer to our Fall Fundraiser

Episode details come from the podcast's RSS feed.

Embed this episode

Ready to play

Another budget breakdown. Why are we like this?

0:00 22:00

No transcript yet.

Requests help us decide what to transcribe next.

Frequently asked questions

How long is this episode of Make Me Smart?

This episode is 22 minutes long.

When was this Make Me Smart episode published?

This episode was published on October 2, 2025.

Can I download this Make Me Smart episode?

Yes. Use the download control on the episode player to save the publisher-provided media file.