Over the past decade, politicians from both parties have courted American voters with an enticing economic prospect – the dream of bringing manufacturing and manufacturing jobs back to America. They've pushed for that dream with tariffs and tax breaks and subsidies. But what happens when one multinational company actually responds to those incentives, and tries to set up shop in Small Town, USA?
Today on the show – how a battery factory ignited a political firestorm over what kind of factories we actually want in our backyard. And what happens when the global economy meets town hall democracy.
This episode of Planet Money was produced by Emma Peaslee and Sylvie Douglis. It was edited by Marianne McCune and Jess Jiang. It was fact-checked by Sierra Juarez. It was engineered by Robert Rodriguez. Alex Goldmark is our executive producer.
Read Viola Zhou's reporting on the Gotion battery factory.
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PBS News Hour - Art Beat - Jacinda Ardern on keeping empathy in politics and new memoir, ‘A Different Kind of Power’
At 37 years old, Jacinda Ardern was the world’s youngest female head of government when she became prime minister of New Zealand. She was also just the second to give birth while in office and led her nation through crises, including a devastating mass shooting and the pandemic. Ardern joined Amna Nawaz to discuss her memoir, “A Different Kind of Power," and the documentary, “Prime Minister.” PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders
Marketplace All-in-One - Labor force participation dropped last month
The latest jobs report is out Friday, and overall it’s pretty middling — some details are good news; others not so much. One data point sounding economic alarms? The labor force participation rate, which fell to 62.4% in May after several years of general growth since the height of the pandemic. In this episode, we explain what’s going on. Plus: E-commerce exporters in China describe the “rollercoaster” of keeping up with tariffs, and California’s Central Valley experiments with agricultural innovation.
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The Gist - Funny You Should Mention: Chris Turner
Comedian, freestyler, and archaeology grad Chris Turner joins the show to explain how a middle-class British kid became one of the most dazzling improv lyricists in comedy. From his early days writing one-liners to mesmerizing crowds at the Comedy Cellar with rhymes about chlamydia, Hispaniola, and Jerry Springer, Turner charts a path that makes no sense—until you see it live. He talks about bombing in polite accents, fax machines causing drive-by shootings, and why freestyling is more like tennis than chess. Plus: ear-wiggling, axolotl envy, and the double-edged sword of being good at something nobody believes you can do.
Produced by Corey Wara
Production Coordinator Ashley Khan
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WSJ Minute Briefing - U.S. Stocks Rise After Better-Than-Expected Jobs Report
The three major indexes are once again all up for the year, for the first time since late February. Plus: Tesla shares take back some ground after Thursday’s selloff. And Lululemon shares dropped after it cut its outlook and said it would raise prices due to tariffs. Danny Lewis hosts.
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Newshour - MAGA Republicans respond to Trump-Musk fallout
Donald Trump invested a lot of political capital in Elon Musk. And Elon Musk invested a lot of money in Donald Trump. Will their bust up cost them both?
Also on the programme, who are the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation and what is known about them? And we meet Pedro Urruchurtu, one of the Venezuelan opposition figures who spent over a year in Argentina's embassy in Caracas, and who was subsequently rescued by the USA in "Operation Guacamaya."
(Photo: Elon Musk (L) and Donald Trump (R) face each other in March 2025. Credit: Reuters)
Reset with Sasha-Ann Simons - WBEZ’s Weekly News Recap: June 5, 2025
Immigration agents detained at least 10 people in the South Loop after the government sent them instructions via text to show up for a routine appointment. The Chicago Fire’s billionaire owner Joe Mansueto unveiled plans to build a $650 million stadium south of Roosevelt Road. Air quality in the city and suburbs was poor due to Canadian wildfires. Reset breaks down those stories and more with WBEZ midday anchor Lisa Labuz, Axios Chicago reporter Justin Kaufmann and Northwestern University’s Natalie Moore.
For a full archive of Reset interviews, head over to wbez.org/reset.
Consider This from NPR - Do private school voucher programs work?
House Republicans' reconciliation bill, which includes a first-of-its-kind national private school voucher program, is now in the hands of the Senate.
The proposal would use the federal tax code to offer vouchers that students could use to attend private secular or religious schools, even in states where voters have opposed such efforts.
Debates about voucher programs have raged on throughout the years. But what does the research say? NPR education correspondent Cory Turner unpacks it.
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The proposal would use the federal tax code to offer vouchers that students could use to attend private secular or religious schools, even in states where voters have opposed such efforts.
Debates about voucher programs have raged on throughout the years. But what does the research say? NPR education correspondent Cory Turner unpacks it.
For sponsor-free episodes of Consider This, sign up for Consider This+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.
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The Daily Signal - Victor Davis Hanson: The Quiet Economic Boom of Trump 2.0
Victor Davis Hanson analyzes why the Trump budget may be triggering a quiet economic reboot on this episode of “Victor Davis Hanson: In His Own Words.”
“ The economy is doing very, very well. And a lot of it is the expectation of the things that are in process. The $10 trillion of foreign investment. This extensions of the tax cuts. Incentives for investment, in the new budget.
“ Especially with the economy, it's being rebooted. It's being redirected in ways that economists are not even able to figure out. Because, we haven't done this before. And the net result might be that we're going to make progress both in the expansion of the economy and through growth in federal revenues cut down these deficits.”
(0:00) Introduction: The Trump Budget in the Senate
(0:03) Fiscal Debates and Tax Cuts
(1:56) Economic Indicators and Market Reactions
(2:47) Trade Deficits and Border Policies
(3:46) Economic Growth and Federal Revenue
(5:28)Revolutionary Developments in the Economy
(5:56) Conclusion and Final Thoughts
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WSJ Minute Briefing - Why Musk Picked This Fight With Trump
P.M. Edition for June 6. As the dust settles from the blowup between President Trump and billionaire Elon Musk, Republicans choose sides even as some are asking why one of the most consequential alliances in modern American politics had to end this way. We hear from congressional reporter Olivia Beavers and columnist and host of the Bold Names podcast Tim Higgins on how we got here and what it means. Plus, job growth slowed in May, though less than economics expected. WSJ economics reporter Justin Lahart breaks down the numbers. And the Trump administration brings back Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the man wrongfully deported to El Salvador, to face criminal charges in the U.S. Alex Ossola hosts.
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