Risky Business with Nate Silver and Maria Konnikova - China’s Best Moves, and How to React to a Dealer’s Mistake

Last week, Nate and Maria talked about the game theory of American diplomacy right now. This week, they look at it from the perspective of America’s biggest rival: China. How should China respond as the US turns away from the global stage? What new opportunities do they have?

Plus, both hosts weigh in on the poker controversy surrounding a recent big win… that was actually a loss.

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The Leap from Maria Konnikova

Silver Bulletin from Nate Silver 

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It Could Happen Here - Nate Silver: The Smoothest Brain On The Internet

Robert, James, and Gare discuss Nate Silver’s theory that tweets are proof that Elon Musk is a ‘spiky’ genius.

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CBS News Roundup - 03/12/2025 | World News Roundup Late Edition

President Trump slaps reciprocal tariffs on steel and aluminum imports. EU promises countermeasures. Senate Democratic leader says votes aren't there to pass a bill to avoid partial government shutdown on Friday. Lawyers for Palestinian activist the government wants deported appeared in court. CBS News Correspondent Jennifer Keiper with tonight's World News Roundup.

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Slate Books - Supercommunicators | 3. How to Have the Hardest Conversations

The final installment of our series explores the conversations that most of us dread, like frank discussions of our differences or a negative performance review at work. We often anticipate that these chats will go badly—and end in hurt feelings or embarrassment—but there are proven ways to make them easier to navigate.


Host Charles Duhigg talks with psychologist Jay Van Bavel about strategies for having the hardest conversations. And: Vernā Myers, Netflix’s former vice president for inclusion strategy, tells the story of what happened inside the company after an executive was fired for using a racial slur. 


This Slate miniseries dives into the art and science of meaningful conversations, inspired by Duhigg’s bestselling book, Supercommunicators. The guides we mention in this episode can be found at charlesduhigg.com/tools/


Supercommunicators was produced by Sophie Summergrad and Derek John, who also did the sound design. Our technical director is Merritt Jacob and our supervising producer is Joel Meyer.

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Planet Money - The last time we shrank the federal workforce

If you cut every single federal job President Donald Trump wants to cut, how much money would that save?

A president has tried to massively shrink the size of the federal government before. It was in the 90s, under a Democrat.

Today on the show: Where they found waste the last time we really looked. (Hint: it wasn't jobs.) And why the pace of firings under Trump might start to slow down.

For more:
- Lessons for the Future of Government Reform
- Is government too big? Reflections on the size and composition of today's federal government
- Creating a Government That Works Better and Costs Less

This episode of Planet Money was produced by Willa Rubin. It was edited by Jess Jiang and engineered by Jimmy Keeley. We had fact-checking help from Sierra Juarez. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer. Special thanks to Ben Zipperer.

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Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the NPR app or anywhere you get podcasts.

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Music: Audio Network - "West Green Road," "Raise Up," and "Blue and Green."


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Consider This from NPR - The Trump administration’s attacks on oversight of executive power

The Trump administration continues to fire, shut down or defund independent elements of the federal government that traditionally work as a check on presidential power.

Supporters of President Trump say: That's exactly the point.

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Consider This from NPR - The Trump administration’s attacks on oversight of executive power

The Trump administration continues to fire, shut down or defund independent elements of the federal government that traditionally work as a check on presidential power.

Supporters of President Trump say: That's exactly the point.

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Consider This from NPR - The Trump administration’s attacks on oversight of executive power

The Trump administration continues to fire, shut down or defund independent elements of the federal government that traditionally work as a check on presidential power.

Supporters of President Trump say: That's exactly the point.

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The Gist - The Opposition

Senate Democrats have a rare chance to force Republican concessions in the government funding battle, but fear of political blame looms large. Lauren Egan, writer of The Bulwark’s Opposition newsletter, examines how Democrats are responding to challenges from within and outside their party—whether it’s policy missteps, messaging struggles, or the new ideological battlegrounds in media and podcasting. Plus, the Spiel on a subway shooting that occurred because of threat to public safety, but which the NY Times continues to frame as an example of overly aggressive crackdown on fare evasion.


Produced by Corey Wara

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The Daily Signal - Victor Davis Hanson: Why Won’t Europe Help ‘Rockstar’ Zelenskyy?

Europe treats Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy like a superstar, yet still expects the United States to fund Ukraine’s war against Russia.

Is this fair?

“ Of all the players in this drama, it's Europe who should be in the driver's seat. They have 500 million people,” says Victor Davis Hanson on this episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words.”

“We have 500 million people in Europe and they're very upset that 330 million people across the ocean will not help 40 million people fighting 140 million people in Russia.

In other words, of all the players in this drama, it's Europe who should be in the driver's seat. They have 500 million people. And yet, when we look at their expenditures, nine countries out of the 32, 11 years later, have not increased their NATO contributions to 2%. That's all we're asking for.”

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