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Plus: the Trump administration amps up its defense of prediction markets. And today’s jobs report could clarify whether February’s big jobs drop was a blip, or the start of something more serious. Luke Vargas hosts.
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On this week’s “Marketplace Tech Bytes: Week in Review,” Big Tech operations in the Middle East from companies like Apple, Google and Microsoft could be targeted by Iran. And California Governor Gavin Newsom issued a new AI executive order with a not-so-thinly veiled message to the Trump administration. But first, Elon Musk's rocket company SpaceX reportedly took a first step towards a highly anticipated initial public offering this week. The company made a confidential filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that potentially puts it on track to go public at a more than $2 trillion valuation in June. Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino spoke with Paresh Dave, senior writer at WIRED, to learn more.
President Trump said the Iran war is “nearing completion” while warning the U.S. will strike Iran extremely hard over the coming weeks. Oil prices jumped as traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained shut down, with global benchmarks climbing above $100 a barrel. In California, a fight over AI infrastructure is growing, with a proposed $40 million data center in Monterey Park facing backlash over cost, noise, and pollution. Meanwhile, Governor Gavin Newsom is drawing criticism for a more aggressive social media strategy that pokes fun at conservatives. In business, the eco-friendly footwear company Allbirds has agreed to sell its assets to American Exchange Group for a fraction of its previous $4 billion valuation, and Trader Joe’s continues its steady growth with new locations in Paso Robles and Anaheim Hills. Read more at https://LATimes.com.
A.M. Edition for April 3. Tehran is responding to the threat of possible U.S. military action on its soil by stepping up defenses around its biggest oil port and launching a mass recruitment drive reminiscent of its 1980s war with Iraq. Plus, WSJ reporter Hannah Erin Lang discusses how investing platform Public hopes to gain more users by offering AI agents that can help put their brokerage accounts on autopilot. And WSJ data reporter Inti Pacheco breaks down how tariffs, bad weather and commodities trading is making coffee more expensive. Luke Vargas hosts.
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President Trump announced that he would be replacing Pam Bondi as attorney general on Thursday.
Tyler Pager, who broke the story of her removal, discusses how she fell out of favor with the president.
Guest: Tyler Pager, a White House correspondent for The New York Times covering President Trump and his administration.
Background reading:
For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday.
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.
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President Trump removes Pam Bondi as attorney general. Congressional Republicans say they have a plan in place to fund the Department of Homeland Security. And oil prices surge after Trump’s address on Iran.
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China’s ambitious underwater mapping operation takes us on a voyage into the depths of ocean and map science.
We look at what a network of underwater microphones can tell us about underwater geography, noisy ships, and whale conversations, and how it took nearly 300 researchers working together to map 140 000 neurons in a fruit fly’s brain.
Then, we are joined by biogeochemist and author Karen Lloyd, who tells us about the long-lived microbes living deep in the crust below the sea floor, how they survive for 100 000 years, and what their mysterious existence tells us about life and evolution.
And forget sunken treasures – we will talk about the valuable, potato-sized mineral nodules that grow on the sea floor, and the pros, cons and current legality of mining them. Plus – how dolphins can help us track down abandoned undersea explosives.
All that and even more unexpected elements.
Presenter: Marnie Chesterton, with Katie Silver and Tristan Ahtone Producers: Ella Hubber, with Lucy Davies and Georgia Christie
We have made it to April. We survived the snowstorms and the cold, and now that the days are getting longer, there’s more time to read. So this week, if you are looking for some books to tide you over until summer, our Book Review editors Gilbert Cruz and Joumana Khatib have got you covered.
Also on this week’s episode, the former United States poet laureate Ada Limón joins us to talk about her new book, “Against Breaking: On the Power of Poetry.” And she reads two of her poems.
Books discussed on this episode:
“Transcription,” by Ben Lerner
“This Land Is Your Land,” by Beverly Gage
“London Falling,” by Patrick Radden Keefe
“Prophecy,” by Carissa Véliz
“Ghost Town,” by Tom Perrotta
“From Life Itself,” by Suzy Hansen
“The Calamity Club,” by Kathryn Stockett
“Dog Days,” by Emily LaBarge
“The Midnight Train,” by Matt Haig
“The Land and Its People,” by David Sedaris
“On the Calculation of Volume (Book 4),” by Solvej Balle
“Famesick,” by Lena Dunham
“The Sane One,” by Anna Konkle
“On Witness and Respair,” by Jesmyn Ward
“John of John,” by Douglas Stuart
“The Things We Never Say,” by Elizabeth Strout
“Yesteryear,” by Caro Claire Burke
“Five Weeks in the Country,” by Francine Prose
“The Ending Writes Itself,” by Evelyn Clark (V.E. Schwab and Cat Clark)
“Go Gentle,” by Maria Semple
“True Crime,” by Patricia Cornwell
“Against Breaking,” by Ada Limón
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Credits
“The Book Review Podcast” is hosted by Gilbert Cruz and produced by Amy Pearl and Sarah Diamond. The show is edited by Larissa Anderson and mixed by Pedro Rosado.
Special thanks to MJ Franklin, Dahlia Haddad and Brooke Minters.
Illustration by The New York Times; Inset photos: Scribner; Viking; Spiegel & Grau
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In a prime time address on Wednesday, President Trump proclaimed that America was “on the cusp of ending Iran’s sinister threat.” But he also kept open the option of boots on the ground. The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz is also about to start really biting – as countries get hit with shortages, which would spike prices across the globe.
So what are Trump’s options? What would happen if he just declared victory and walked away from the fight? What kinds of military operations are on the table? If Trump ended the war without achieving his strategic goals, what would that mean for the United States, for Iran and for the world?
“I don’t see a victory in real terms at the end of this crisis…,” Suzanne Maloney told me. “And that is a very dangerous outcome for the long term.”
Maloney is one of Washington’s leading Iran experts. She has advised several presidential administrations and has written or edited a number of books on Iran. She is the vice president and director of the Brookings Institution’s foreign policy program.
Note: This conversation was recorded on Wednesday morning, before Trump’s speech on the war. But the speech reflected Maloney’s analysis almost perfectly.
Mentioned:
The Iranian Revolution at Forty by Suzanne Maloney
President Trump Addresses Nation on War with Iran
“Trump tells Post war against Iran won’t last ‘much longer’ —Strait of Hormuz will reopen ‘automatically’ after US exit” by Steven Nelson
Book Recommendations:
The Twilight War by David Crist
American Hostages in Iran by Warren Christopher and Paul H. Kreisberg
Democracy in Iran by Misagh Parsa
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 Rollin Hu. Fact-checking by Michelle Harris with 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 Marie Cascione, Annie Galvin, Kristin Lin, Emma Kehlbeck, 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.
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