Category: 4-FrequentNewsStreams

Oil companies are barely breaking even on crude oil right now — a barrel of West Texas Intermediate started Monday at a paltry $58. If prices stay low, firms will have a choice to make: invest in new production, or pay investors dividends. Plus, the services sector expanded but remains wary of tariffs, health care hiring may not weather major cuts to Medicaid and we visit an electric vehicle showcase in Shanghai.

 

Benny is a loner whose identity revolves around his wife and children. Gil is a free spirit who longs to fulfill his potential. When the two strangers meet, they form an instant, deep bond. But slowly cracks start to form and their fresh bromance begins to crumble. A new Chicago Shakespeare Theater play called “Hymn” is an entertaining journey with some good old school music and elements of Black male friendship woven throughout the narrative. Reset sits down with the play’s director Ron OJ Parson to learn more. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

The Trump administration is hoping tariffs will spur companies to bring manufacturing back to the United States. But a new survey from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas found that most companies are planning to deal with tariffs another way. (Spoiler alert: we totally saw this coming!) We’ll also discuss how the Department of Homeland Security is hoping to cut the cost of mass deportations. Plus, did Trump get the idea to reopen Alcatraz from a movie?

Here’s everything we talked about today:

-Post on Bluesky from Carl Quintanilla

-"Tariff Politics; Rent-Stabilized Tenants May See a Rent Hike; Surviving Wall Street; Celebrating NYC's Mexican Communities" from The Brian Lehrer Show 

-"DHS Announces Historic Travel Assistance and Stipend for Voluntary Self-Deportation" from Department of Homeland Security 

-"US offers $1,000 stipend to encourage migrants to self-deport" from Reuters

-"Mass Deportation: Devastating Costs to America, Its Budget and Economy" from American Immigration Council

-"Trump Seems to Have Decided to Reopen Alcatraz Because of a Movie" from The New Republic

-"Trump Says He Wants to Reopen Alcatraz as a Functioning Prison" from The New York Times

-"Met Gala 2025: Highlights from exhibit of Black style and designers" from AP News  

-​"'Tailoring Black Style': Dandyism shines at the 2025 Met Gala" from NPR

Got a question for the hosts? Email makemesmart@marketplace.org or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.

It’s been almost a month since President Donald Trump announced 145% tariffs on all Chinese goods. One of the places we’re starting to see the impact of that announcement is at U.S. ports. Almost as soon as Trump raised tariffs on China, U.S. importers started canceling orders. And it could lead to a major supply chain shock. Also: tariffs on international films and strategies for older adults to work down credit card debt.

Warren Buffett is stepping down as CEO of Berkshire Hathaway after 60 years, though he'll still stay on as chairman. The legendary investor, age 94, announced at Berkshire Hathaway's annual shareholder meeting in Omaha, Nebraska. We'll hear more. And later: Have you ever wanted to spend your days with seals, sea lions and turtles? Today, we'll chat with an aquatic veterinarian who does just that, as part of our series "What's That Like?"

From the BBC World Service: U.S. President Donald Trump says he will hit movies made in foreign countries with 100% tariffs, as he ramps up trade disputes with nations across the globe. Plus, Skype will officially stop operating today, although Skype for Business will continue. And the Maldives has signed a deal with a Dubai-based company to establish an $8.8 billion investment zone aimed at diversifying the tourism hotspot into a "financial freezone."

A recent survey asked 3,000 Americans what they think the coolest job is in each state. Pennsylvania’s coolest job was chocolate scientist at Hershey, while California’s was animator at Pixar. And Illinois? The survey found that respondents thought the coolest work you can do in Illinois is be a paleontologist for the Field Museum. But what does a day in the life of a paleontologist look like? And how do they really feel about the Jurassic Park movies? Reset talks with Field Museum paleontologists to find out more. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

People are using chatbots in all kinds of ways — to search the web, get help with an online purchase, sometimes even for counseling. But there's a lot about this human-AI interaction we don't fully understand. Do these chatbots effectively combat loneliness or worsen social isolation? The answer — so far — is complicated, according to Cathy Fang, a second-year PhD student at MIT Media Lab who, along with researchers from OpenAI, studied how chatbot use affects human social and emotional wellbeing.

Hailing from Gothenburg, Sweden, singer and songwriter Yukimi gifts the world with new music that makes listeners experience heartache, love and power all at once, packaged in her first solo album titled “For You.” Reset sat down with the singer during her stop in Chicago for her North American “For You” Tour to talk about motherhood, the joys and pains of being alive and connecting to one another. For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.

It’s been one month since President Trump raised tariffs on goods from China. Already, the global supply chain is struggling. In this episode, we’ll hear about plummeting container ship traffic to the U.S. and how small retailers are dealing with limited stock. Plus, how the drayage sector is faring and what all these tariff negotiations will mean for the global economy going forward.