Month: August 2025

The fashion world has the Met Gala. The movies have the Oscars. Central banking has an annual gathering in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Fed Chair Jerome Powell will deliver a speech, where economists will be listening for clues on interest rates. But there’s another pressing issue looming over Powell’s speech: a new five-year framework for the Fed's interest rate strategy. We have an explainer. Plus, there's new evidence that first-time homebuyers remain undeterred.

From the BBC World Service: A trade agreement between the United States and the European Union means that U.S. tariffs on imported European goods will be significantly lower than previously thought. The U.S. will cap tariffs on European cars, pharmaceuticals, and semiconductors at 15%. That's a huge decrease from prior threats of levies as high as 250%. Plus, it's the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland, showcasing drama, comedy, and music. The tourism provides an economic boost, but also makes things pricier. How are folks there dealing?

The first wind phone was created in Japan by Itaru Sasaki after losing his cousin to cancer in 2010. He installed a disconnected rotary phone in his garden as a way to connect with his cousin after their death. In 2011, after a tsunami hit the coast of Japan, destroying cities and leaving hundreds of people missing, Sasaki then relocated the phone booth on a hill overlooking the ocean to give others a way to connect with their lost loved ones. And now in 2025, one mother in Geneva, Ill., wants to bring a wind phone to the far western suburb. Reset learns more about this effort and navigating grief. We’ll hear from Elaine Haughan, who lost her son James in 2021; Liam Jackowiec, best friend of James Haughan; and Neal Parker, with the Arlington Heights Memorial Library, which invites visitors to use the wind phone they have available by its butterfly garden. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.