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All Episodes

Make Me Smart — 250 episodes

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Title
1

Vietnam's economy on the rise

2

Seattle's tech industry blues

3

Anthropic’s head of economics answers our questions about AI and the job market

4

Here’s how the ultrarich avoid paying taxes

5

"Marketplace" Live

6

Rejecting climate doomerism with solarpunk

7

Who can stop insider trading on prediction markets?

8

ICE and the “wide, deep, and ever-growing” surveillance state

9

Make Me Smart: Lunar Edition

10

One wild year of Trump's tariffs

11

Inside the "Super Bowl of energy”

12

Make Me Smart about the business of sake

13

The humanitarian risks of a fertilizer shock

14

The super PAC spending flooding the primaries

15

The economics behind the rise of BTS and Korean culture

16

Who gets to set limits on AI?

17

How the farm bill became the everything bill

18

Can Hollywood make a comeback?

19

The economic ripple effects of ICE in Minnesota

20

The ski industry squeeze

21

The big money in the Texas primaries

22

The Trump administration scrapped the endangerment finding. Now what?

23

The U.S., Iran, and the rise of drone warfare

24

Make Me Smart: Vermont Edition

25

Kai returns to unpack Trump's new tariff

26

Sled hockey's Declan Farmer makes us smart about the Winter Paralympics

27

The view from cattle country

28

Congress set aside $50 billion to transform rural health care. Will it work?

29

Medical providers grapple with Trump's attempts to end gender-affirming care for minors

30

From "This Is Uncomfortable": In America, cultural education doesn't come cheap

31

Can AI bots help us find love?

32

The power of reading and writing as self-care

33

From "This Is Uncomfortabe": Help! My coworker wants a copy of my house key!

34

What do American families really care about right now?

35

The political cloud hanging over the Fed

36

Make Me Smart about Olympic figure skating

37

What does the end of TPS mean for Haitian workers in the U.S.?

38

Trump’s rift with Europe

39

The infrastructure side of the AI boom

40

What is media capture?

41

The changes coming to federal student loans in 2026

42

On the ground in Minnesota

43

It's brutal out here (in the job market)

44

Trump vs. the courts

45

New year, new mayor, New York

46

Venezuela and Trump's new Monroe Doctrine

47

The road to rebuilding, one year after the LA wildfires

48

From "This Is Uncomfortable": Wait, I think I’m being underpaid

49

From "This Is Uncomfortable": "You'll never be ready to buy a home"

50

Cheers to hosting better parties this holiday season (rerun)

51

"Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle" and anime's biggest year yet

52

The music industry vs. AI (rerun)

53

Your thoughts on the economy in 2025

54

Feeding the Family

55

How to start the caregiving conversation

56

Can we fix America’s long-term care system?

57

The "invisible workforce" of family caregivers

58

Floridians feel the impacts of climate change

59

Why the Fed cut interest rates

60

Deep-sea mining: The next frontier for critical minerals

61

Shopping through a K-shaped holiday season

62

Is the U.S. a gerontocracy?

63

The human story behind a digital time capsule

64

From "Million Bazillion": What is Black Friday?

65

From "How We Survive": The Dry Line

66

How prediction markets are transforming sports betting

67

Cheers to hosting better parties this holiday season

68

The COP without the U.S.

69

Are we on the cusp of another big health care debate?

70

What’s happening in Vegas?

71

An unbalancing of power

72

The rise of the "solo economy"

73

How rising energy costs factored into Virginia's elections

74

Quantum computing: What's all the hype about?

75

Friends, foes, and tariffs

76

How to face your financial fears

77

How can we build a more resilient labor market?

78

The shutdown continues

79

From "How We Survive": The Uncanny Valley of Meat

80

Chicago vs. ICE

81

How can our food systems become more sustainable?

82

From "How We Survive": Food Tour of the Future

83

Make Me Smart: St. Louis Edition

84

This labor market is ripe for job scams

85

When the government shuts down, tribal communities get the shaft

86

Dealing with credit card or medical debt? Here's how to handle it.

87

An economic vocab lesson for the Trump era

88

The politicization of the National Guard

89

Is craft beer's popularity going flat?

90

Another budget breakdown. Why are we like this?

91

Checking the pulse of the Las Vegas economy

92

From "How We Survive": The climate crisis is an economic crisis

93

Make Me Smart: Fat Bear Week Edition

94

The music industry vs. AI

95

What happened to American soft power?

96

The aftermath of the Hyundai plant raid

97

Rep. Ayanna Pressley on the troubling rise in Black women's unemployment

98

The "little treat" economy

99

Who has the power of the purse these days?

100

The rise of political violence in America

101

The future of education research in limbo

102

From "How We Survive": ESG, Reincarnated

103

From "How We Survive": The Death of ESG

104

From "Million Bazillion": Why does organic food cost more than non-organic food?

105

The Real Costs: Special Coverage from "Marketplace"

106

Economics on Tap: Anime Edition

107

What to know about changing COVID vaccine guidelines

108

Trump turns up the heat on the Fed

109

The global business of anime

110

USPS’s EV plans face a Republican roadblock

111

Armed with cash, ICE plans for rapid growth

112

A vibe check on the job market

113

China has an economic data problem. Is the U.S. next?

114

A new era of athlete pay in the U.S.

115

A federal takeover of the nation's capital

116

SOS at the IRS

117

Are we in a K-shaped job market?

118

Big Tech's Trump era power play

119

Why state and local politics matter now more than ever

120

Lessons from the rest of the world on politicizing economic data

121

The future of economic data under Trump

122

Let's check in with the Fed

123

The hunger crisis unfolding in Gaza

124

Public libraries on the line

125

Are Trump's tariffs legal?

126

We have a trade deal with Japan, right?

127

The realities of No Tax on Tips and Overtime laws

128

The trade-offs of Japan’s trade deal

129

What happens when a data center moves to town?

130

ICE says it's coming for companies too

131

Trump administration gives ICE access to Medicaid records

132

Senate votes to cut funds for public media, foreign aid

133

Are Trump's tariffs starting to impact prices?

134

How could Medicaid cuts affect long-term care?

135

Another budget showdown on Capitol Hill

136

The changing rules of who's entitled to services in America

137

Trump cuts and the National Weather Service

138

The countdown to a government shutdown begins (again)

139

Who profits from immigration detention?

140

The first national private school voucher program just dropped

141

From “Million Bazillion”: What are tariffs?

142

A tale of two jobs reports

143

The end of USAID

144

Is it possible to be a "good tourist"?

145

Let the vote-a-rama begin!

146

SCOTUS’ nationwide injunction decision and the economy

147

The new era of warfare

148

The fate of federal heat safety rules under Trump

149

What happened to the Iran nuclear deal?

150

How much leverage does Iran really have over oil trade?

151

The current reconciliation bill will raise the deficit. Could it pass anyway?

152

Health care, social programs on the chopping block

153

The Senate unveils its version of the reconciliation bill

154

How will the reconciliation bill affect student loans?

155

The disappearing safety net for Baby Boomers

156

Can reparations shrink the Black wealth gap in Tulsa?

157

Much ado about a China trade deal

158

Is college still worth it?

159

California sues Trump over National Guard deployment to LA

160

Introducing "What We Spend" (Sponsored by Audacy)

161

Financially Inclined: Going green with your money

162

Higher education is a major U.S. export. And it’s under threat.

163

No tax on tips? Here's what that could mean.

164

Watch the dollar!

165

Where are the GOP's free market diehards?

166

Kai shares some news

167

You've got questions about this economy. We've got answers!

168

Congress' AI power grab

169

K2-18b and the search for alien life

170

What's inside the new GOP tax bill?

171

Is U.S. trade policy being run on vibes?

172

So, about that U.S.-UK trade "deal"

173

The million-dollar starter home?

174

Is the clean energy economy doomed?

175

How are companies handling tariffs? Exactly like we predicted

176

Economics on Tap: Airport Edition

177

Buy less, pay more?

178

What’s driving the GDP slowdown?

179

The Canadian economy goes “elbows up”

180

The Canadian Dispatch

181

Inflation's self-fulfilling prophecy

182

Congress' tug-of-war for tariff authority

183

Introducing ... The Ryssdal Window

184

The religious roots of ESG investing

185

Could the Supreme Court gut preventative care under Obamacare?

186

Selling America: Special Coverage From Marketplace

187

Trump's immigration crackdown is coming for legal workers

188

Trump vs. Powell

189

Let's talk about Zeno's paradox

190

Will Congress deliver Trump's tax cuts?

191

Brexit ... but make it American

192

Selling America

193

Your hot takes on this week's tariff insanity

194

Another day, another tariff switch-up

195

Move over taco Tuesday! Tariff Tuesday is here

196

Is the tide turning against Trump’s tariffs?

197

Can you tariff-proof a cocktail?

198

Our post-tariff takeaways

199

Trump’s tariff test. Will it work?

200

The problem with running the government like a business

201

The tariff countdown

202

CoreWeave’s IPO tests money magic of AI

203

The chilling effect of ICE arrests

204

Beyond the “Signalgate” headlines

205

Trump’s race for the world’s rare earth minerals

206

The Trump administration’s big group chat fail

207

Our tribute to cherry blossom season

208

We answer more of your questions about tariffs

209

U.S. trade tensions with the EU just got tenser

210

What we can learn from a past tariff tiff (rerun)

211

We have a constitutional crisis. Now what?

212

Shutdown averted. How it all went down.

213

“Tariff on the brain”

214

Let’s talk about Newsom the Govcaster

215

Unpacking our collective COVID-19 trauma, five years on

216

Will climate tax credits stay or go?

217

Oh, the irony!

218

Your questions about government economic data answered

219

What is even happening with the politics of this economy?!

220

Angel City FC and the rise of women’s pro soccer

221

What is an economy of caution?

222

What the Trump-Zelenskyy meeting says about the world economic order

223

Whaddya wanna know about federal layoffs and this economy?

224

An asteroid miss and the WaPo opinion shift

225

“Unlocking the Gates” on housing and economic opportunity

226

Is Apple actually going “America First”?

227

A brewing legal battle and the future of the Fed

228

DOGE’s next target: IRS

229

Is recession risk rising?

230

Should we be worried about bird flu?

231

A gulf between the White House and the press

232

How to actually tackle government waste

233

Is there a better way to measure the economy?

234

What we can learn from a past tariff tiff

235

Trump’s purge of federal workers and its historical parallels

236

Are Trump’s firings legal?

237

Chaos is not an economic strategy

238

Is this a coup?

239

The migrant workforce under Trump

240

The strategy behind Trump’s executive orders

241

Silicon Valley’s quiet rebellion

242

The Cuban dispatch II

243

What you need to know about DeepSeek and the AI race

244

From Burning Questions: Is the future insurable?

245

The Cuban dispatch

246

Finally, a resolution to the Purdue Pharma case?

247

How Trump’s executive orders are impacting migrant workers

248

The mainstreaming of meme coins

249

The American diet under Trump

250

The tax cut zealots vs. the budget hawks