What Next | Daily News and Analysis - The Discourse | TikTok Ban: The Final Loop?

TikTok—which was supposed to be banned again on Wednesday but, again, isn’t—may be legal once more. The Trump administration says it’s meeting with Xi Jinping Friday to finalize the agreement, which may involve—get this—a wealthy Trump-supporting tech mogul. 


Guest: Nitish Pahwa, staff writer for business and tech at Slate.


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What Next | Daily News and Analysis - TBD | A Very Online Shooter

As the Charlie Kirk murder demonstrated, law enforcement, the government, and media all need more internet fluency. But their reactions in the wake of the murder don’t seem to be moving towards a better understanding. 


Guest:  Ryan Broderick, reporter on online culture, author of the newsletter Garbage Day.


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The Indicator from Planet Money - The Fed cuts rates, America’s FICO dips, and forever ends for sweepstakes winners

It’s … Indicators of the Week! Our weekly look at some of the most fascinating economic numbers from the news. 

On today’s show: A rate cut and drama at the Federal Reserve, the average American gets a little less creditworthy, and those giant check sweepstakes winners? Well, they might have to get a job soon. 

Related episodes: Why an aggressive rate cut could backfire on Trump Trump's unprecedented attack on the Fed What goes into a credit score? 


For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

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Cato Podcast - Free Speech and Domestic Tranquility

Are Americans becoming dangerously tolerant of political violence? After Charlie Kirk’s assassination, our Cato panel looks at trends in public opinion, past episodes of political terrorism, and new risks to free expression. Plus, Milei’s electoral setback in Buenos Aires province—what now for Argentina's libertarian experiment?


Alex Nowrasteh, "Politically Motivated Violence Is Rare in the United States," September 11, 2025.

Emily Ekins, "The State of Free Speech and Tolerance in America," October 2017 Survey Report.

YouGov, "What Americans really think about political violence," September 12, 2025.

Ian Vasquez, "Deregulation in Argentina." Spring 2025.

Lorenzo Bernaldo de Quirós, "Argentine President Milei Should Let the Peso Float," September 17, 2025.


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What A Day - How NOT To Run The FBI

The investigation into the assassination of Charlie Kirk has raised a lot of questions – not just about the alleged shooter, but about the investigation itself. And especially about the person at the head of the bureau tasked with helping to find and capture suspects in acts of violence not just in the Kirk case, but across the country: FBI Director Kash Patel. His performance thus far has been, well, questionable. And he's tussling with Democrats who call him on it. To learn more about the FBI, Kash Patel, and how the Bureau is supposed to work, I spoke to Andrew McCabe, the FBI's former deputy director.

And in headlines, the Federal Reserve cut interest rates amid some less-than-stellar employment and inflation numbers, the former director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention testified to the Senate about her firing by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.,  and the U.K. rolls out the red carpet for President Trump.

Show Notes:


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What Next | Daily News and Analysis - Trump’s Getting His Economy. Yikes.

Donald Trump has been calling for the Fed to cut rates to bolster the economy, and yesterday, they announced they would. The bad news is that’s because the economy is going to need a lot more bolstering.

Guest:  Justin Wolfers, economist and professor at the University of Michigan

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Podcast production by Elena Schwartz, Paige Osburn, Anna Phillips, Madeline Ducharme, and Rob Gunther.


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The Indicator from Planet Money - Why “free” public education doesn’t always include school supplies

Back-to-school supplies are getting more expensive … so why are parents and teachers at public schools expected to foot the bill? Today on the show: An economist explains how the cost of school supplies fits into the larger history of public school funding, and what one school district is doing differently. 

Related episodes: 

A food fight over free school lunch 

Mailbag: Children Edition 


For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.  

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Cato Podcast - The Rise of University Administration

When Syracuse University forced its social work faculty to partner with a for-profit corporation that takes two-thirds of online tuition revenue, professor Kenneth Corvo began investigating where student money actually goes in higher education. His findings reveal a systemic problem across American universities: more administrators than faculty at the college level, expanding bureaucracies focused on "student experience" and compliance, and minimal transparency about how tuition dollars are spent. The discussion with Cato's Walter Olson traces how federal funding, regulatory requirements, and the erosion of scientific rigor have combined to create institutions that increasingly fail their core educational mission.

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Audio Mises Wire - Charlie Kirk and the Sacred Totem of Civil Rights

One of the reasons Charlie Kirk was considered "divisive" was that he spoke out against the civil rights laws, which was interpreted as his supporting Jim Crow segregation. Yet, these laws did not increase liberty but rather imposed a new progressive vision on Americans.

Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/charlie-kirk-and-sacred-totem-civil-rights

More or Less: Behind the Stats - Is it true that out-of-work benefits have almost doubled?

Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news. This week:

Nigel Farage says 6.5 million people are on out-of-work benefits – with some benefits up 80% since 2018. Are those numbers right?

Do French pensioners really earn more than their working-age compatriots?

How is it possible for one kilogram of fish food to produce one kilogram of salmon?

And do we really have five senses?

If you’ve seen a number you think we should take a look at, email the team: moreorless@bbc.co.uk

Presenter: Tim Harford Reporter: Lizzy McNeill Producer: Nicholas Barrett Series producer: Tom Colls Production co-ordinator: Maria Ogundele Sound mix: Neil Churchill Editor: Richard Vadon