Audio Mises Wire - Powell Should Be A Great American Villain. DC Will Make Him a Hero

The current Washington tiff between Donald Trump and Jerome Powell is being reframed as Powell heroically defending the Fed’s “independence.” In truth, the Fed has always done the administration’s dirty work and pursued inflation when it might temporarily boost the economy.

Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/powell-should-be-great-american-villain-dc-will-make-him-hero

More or Less - Have more than 100 private schools been forced to close because of VAT?

Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news. This week: A headline in the Mail says more than 100 private schools have closed since Labour came to power and ended the VAT exemption for private schools. Is that number right?

Is it true that when Covid hit the UK, a one-week delay in imposing lockdown led to 23,000 deaths?

Do 10 million families rely on X as their main source of news? That’s what government spokesperson Baroness Ruth Anderson said in the House of Lords, but is it correct?

s there really a “quiet revival” of Christian worship? Two YouGov polls found churchgoing had gone up by 50% between 2018 and 2024 in England and Wales. New polling data suggests otherwise.

If you’ve seen a number in the news you want the team on More or Less to have a look at, email moreorless@bbc.co.uk

Contributors: Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter, Emeritus Professor of Statistics in the Statistical Laboratory, University of Cambridge Professor Sir John Curtice, Senior Research Fellow at the National Centre for Social Research

Credits: Presenter: Tim Harford Reporters: Tom Colls and Nathan Gower Producers: Charlotte McDonald and Lizzy McNeill Production co-ordinator: Brenda Brown Sound mix: Gareth Jones Editor: Richard Vadon

The Indicator from Planet Money - Can a good story change economic reality?

Economic decisions aren’t only driven by hard data. A compelling story can change economic behavior and outcomes. In today’s episode, we explore real-world examples of “narrative economics” like how the Suez Canal ended up getting built. And we ask: why do narratives sometimes matter more than truth or data? 

Related episodes: 
This indicator hasn’t flashed this red since the dot-com bubble 
Tariffs. Consumer sentiment. Cape Ratio. Pick The Indicator of The Year! 
The Beigie Awards: Manufacturing takes center stage 

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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NPR's Book of the Day - The novel ‘These Days’ fictionalizes a lesser-known chapter in the history of Belfast

In the spring of 1941, Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, braced for incoming attacks from German bombers. Over April and May, four German air raids killed thousands of Belfast residents. Lucy Caldwell’s novel These Days is set during this time. In today’s episode, she speaks with NPR’s Scott Simon about a piece of writing advice from Gabriel García Márquez, what she learned from survivors of the Belfast Blitz, and why she wanted to share this chapter in her city’s history.


To listen to Book of the Day sponsor-free and support NPR's book coverage, sign up for Book of the Day+ at plus.npr.org/bookoftheday

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The Indicator from Planet Money - One Fed battle after another

Over the weekend, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the Department of Justice served the Fed with grand jury subpoenas. Powell says it’s all a sham. But the stakes are unprecedented: A potential criminal indictment. Central bank independence. Today on the show, the administration’s case against the Fed. How did we get here? And what comes next?

Related episodes: 
Lisa Cook and the fight for the Fed
Trump's unprecedented attack on the Fed  
A primer on the Federal Reserve's independence
Why Is The Fed So Boring?

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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The Ezra Klein Show - Can James Talarico Reclaim Christianity for the Left?

State Representative James Talarico of Texas might have been our most requested guest last year. And he seemed to come out of nowhere.

Talarico started breaking through with viral videos on TikTok and Instagram. And in those videos, he didn’t sound like your typical Democrat. He’s forthrightly Christian, quoting Scripture to defend progressive positions and challenging Christian nationalism on Christian grounds. And he is now running for Senate in Texas — in a primary field that includes U.S. Representative Jasmine Crockett — in what will be one of the most important Senate races this year.

So I wanted to have Talarico on the show to talk about his faith, his politics and the way those two have come together in this attentional moment. Because he’s clearly saying things that people are hungry to hear.

Mentioned:

The Sabbath by Rabbi Heschel

#2352 James Talarico”, The Joe Rogan Experience

Common Sense by Thomas Paine

Book Recommendations:

Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry

Jesus and the Disinherited by Howard Thurman

The Upswing by Robert D. Putnam and Shaylyn Romney Garrett

Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.

You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast, and you can find Ezra on Twitter @ezraklein. Book recommendations from all our guests are listed at https://www.nytimes.com/article/ezra-klein-show-book-recs.

This episode of “The Ezra Klein Show” was produced by Marie Cascione. Fact-checking by Kate Sinclair and Mary Marge Locker. Our senior engineer is Jeff Geld, with additional mixing by Aman Sahota. Our executive producer is Claire Gordon. The show’s production team also includes Annie Galvin, Rollin Hu, Kristin Lin, Emma Kehlbeck, Michelle Harris, Jack McCordick, Marina King and Jan Kobal. Original music by Pat McCusker. Audience strategy by Kristina Samulewski and Shannon Busta. The director of New York Times Opinion Audio is Annie-Rose Strasser.

Subscribe today at nytimes.com/podcasts or on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. You can also subscribe via your favorite podcast app here https://www.nytimes.com/activate-access/audio?source=podcatcher. For more podcasts and narrated articles, download The New York Times app at nytimes.com/app.