There's one statistic that rules them all when it comes to keeping track of the economy: gross domestic product (GDP). It's the sum of all final transactions, so all the goods or services bought and sold, in an economy. GDP tells us how hot the economy is running, or how cool — like if we might be heading into a recession. And it's an important tool to compare countries, policies, and politicians. It's used by the U.S. government to allocate money and by businesses to make decisions about the future.
For close to a century the building blocks of GDP have been the same. Now Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, has proposed a big change: taking government spending out of GDP.
On today's show, can the U.S. change how it measures GDP? We talk with a former head of the BEA — about what he thinks they're likely to do now, and about the pressure he faced while trying to compile GDP for nearly two decades. Turns out, people have always been trying to bend it to make whatever grand project they're working on look better.
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CrowdScience - Are there global food allergy hotspots?
Are food allergies higher in the West than the East? UK-based listener Jude wants to know the answer. Her daughter-in-law Min didn’t know anyone with food allergies when she was growing up in South Korea and thinks that they’re not so common there.
Host Alex Lathbridge investigates. Along the way, he finds out what makes us sensitive to food allergies and how much that depends on our environment. He volunteers to have an allergy test, learns what triggers food allergies and tries to discover what lies behind their increase around the world.
Alex talks to some of the leading experts on food allergies in search for an answer to our listener’s question: Paul Turner breaks down what happens in our bodies when we have an allergic reaction; Jennifer Koplin explains why Australia tops the league table for food allergies and Michael Levin reveals what he found out in his ground-breaking research in South Africa comparing urban and rural populations. We also hear from Hana Ayoob, who grew up in Singapore and the UK, who describes what it’s like to suffer from multiple food allergies and describes the difference in cultural attitudes. Finally, we turn to Sooyoung Lee in South Korea to see if our listeners are right about the difference in rates for food allergies between East and West.
Presenter: Alex Lathbridge Producer: Jo Glanville Editor: Cathy Edwards Production Co-ordinator: Ishmael Soriano Studio Manager: Duncan Hannant
(Image: Young Asian father with cute little daughter grocery shopping for dairy products in supermarket Credit: d3sign via Getty Images)
The Daily Signal - Victor Davis Hanson: Democrats’ 10 Part Strategy to Stopping Trump (At Any Cost)
Victor Davis Hanson breaks down this agenda into 10 key themes on today’s episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words.”
Democrats think “ Donald Trump must be considered, as Chris Matthews just said, a Mussolini-like figure. He must be opposed in every aspect. He must be demonized. Everything he does is evil. And by extension, the same is true of Elon Musk.
“ The second thing I’ve noticed, very quickly, is ICE is wrong. You have to stop ICE from deporting anybody, even if they’re a criminal.
“ There should be no cuts. No cuts in the federal government. We have a $1.7 trillion deficit. … We’re not going to discuss it. All we know is there should be no layoffs.”
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Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons - WBEZ’s Weekly News Recap: March 21, 2025
Chicago Board of Education postpones vote on controversial loan to pay pension debt. Trump signs executive order closing Department of Education as Illinois comes under federal scrutiny for accommodating trans students. Reset goes behind those headlines and more with Chalkbeat Chicago reporter Reema Amin, NBC-5 Chicago reporter Christian Farr and Chicago Sun-Times reporter Mitchell Armentrout on the Weekly News Recap.
For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.
Motley Fool Money - Market Movers: Jerome Powell and Jensen Huang
Two of the most influential voices in the market had something to say this week.
(00:21) Asit Sharma and Jason Moser discuss:
- Fed Chair Powell’s rate outlook, and what Jensen Huant sees coming down the pike for Nvidia chips and quantum computing.
- What Tesla investors need to know about the headlines around recent accounting concerns.
- Earnings updates and red market reactions for FedEx, Nike, and Accenture.
(19:11) Joe Cutillo, CEO of Sterling Infrastructure, talks Motley Fool CEO Tom Gardner through his company’s work on infrastructure projects, how the tariff picture figures into their outlook, and how to invest like a CEO.
(30:57) Jason and Asit talk about lessons from their favorite college basketball teams and the stocks on their radar this week: BYD and Williams Sonoma.
Stocks discussed: NVDA, TSLA, FDX, NKE, ACN, STRL, BYDDY, WSM
Host: Dylan Lewis
Guests: Asit Sharma, Jason Moser, Joe Cutillo, Tom Gardner
Engineers: Dan Boyd
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The Bulwark Podcast - S2 Ep1005: Michael Lewis: Government Workers Aren’t the Corrupt Ones
Trump loves to complain about the deep state while Elon claims he's rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse with all his mass firings. But DOGE should be looking higher up the food chain to target the graft: for example, the South African immigrant whose car company would not have gotten off the ground without the taxpayer money he still collects. In contrast, government workers are mainly mission-driven and they're not in it for the money. Michael's new collection of essays takes a look at some of the characters who populate our federal workforce, including people performing small miracles without fame and glory. Plus, the risk of Trump politicizing economic data and his plan to destroy whatever trust people still have in the government.
Michael Lewis—and Sarah Vowell, who profiled a record keeper at the National Archives for the new book—join Tim Miller for the weekend pod.
show notes
Michael Lewis—and Sarah Vowell, who profiled a record keeper at the National Archives for the new book—join Tim Miller for the weekend pod.
show notes
-
The new book, "Who Is Government: The Untold Story of Public Service"
-
Tim's "Bulwark Takes" on some of the men taken taken to the El Salvador prison camp
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Adrian's "Huddled Masses" newsletter on ICE deportations based on tattoos
-
George Conway emergency pod on the Paul Weiss law firm caving to Trump
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Michael's book, "Losers: The Road to Everyplace but the White House"
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Tim's playlist
The Journal. - The New Hit Depression Treatment? A Ketamine-Derived Nasal Spray
After it was approved in 2019, Spravato, a depression treatment derived from the club drug ketamine, was looking like a dud. But recently it has taken off, and it surpassed $1 billion in annual sales last year for its maker, Johnson and Johnson.
Further Listening:
-A Lawyer Says He Doesn't Need Help for Psychosis. His Family Disagrees.
-America's Maternal Mental Health Crisis
Further Reading:
-J&J’s Ketamine-Derived Drug Is Taking Off
-Big Pharma Walked Away From Mental Health. Why Some Are Coming Back.
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Cato Daily Podcast - Pharmacists Can Do Much More; States Should Let Them
Pharmacists regularly help patients navigate both prescriptions and physicians’ advice, but they can do more. A few states have begun to recognize their capabilities that have otherwise largely gone untapped. Alicia Plemmons of the Knee Regulatory Research Center comments.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
1A - The News Roundup For March 21, 2025
Republican Rep. Brandon Gill of Texas filed resolution to impeach the judge who ordered the Trump administration to stop deportations of Venezuelans.
Two federal judges have ordered tens of thousands of fired federal workers to be rehired in recent weeks, but the White House is moving to appeal the decision leading to more questions for and about the fates of federal workers.
Meanwhile, the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas collapsed this week as Israel began airstrikes once again on the blockaded Strip.
President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin spent 90 minutes on the phone this week discussing the war in Ukraine.
We cover all this and more during this week's News Roundup.
Want to support 1A? Give to your local public radio station and subscribe to this podcast. Have questions? Connect with us. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.
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Two federal judges have ordered tens of thousands of fired federal workers to be rehired in recent weeks, but the White House is moving to appeal the decision leading to more questions for and about the fates of federal workers.
Meanwhile, the ceasefire between Israel and Hamas collapsed this week as Israel began airstrikes once again on the blockaded Strip.
President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin spent 90 minutes on the phone this week discussing the war in Ukraine.
We cover all this and more during this week's News Roundup.
Want to support 1A? Give to your local public radio station and subscribe to this podcast. Have questions? Connect with us. Listen to 1A sponsor-free by signing up for 1A+ at plus.npr.org/the1a.
Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoices
NPR Privacy Policy
Audio Poem of the Day - Eighth Sky
By Michael Palmer