1001. On this Finance Friday, I’m clearing up the massive confusion surrounding "gift taxes." Many people are terrified to help their loved ones because they fear a surprise tax bill, but the reality is that the thresholds are much higher than you think.
Whether you're helping with a down payment, paying for a grandchild’s tuition, or simply sharing your wealth while you're around to see them enjoy it, there are a few "golden rules" you need to know to stay on the right side of the IRS.
In this episode, we discuss:
The 2026 Limits: Why you can likely give away millions without ever owing a penny in gift tax.
The Annual vs. Lifetime Exclusion: How to use the $19,000 annual limit to your advantage.
The "Direct Payment" Loophole: How to pay for medical or tuition bills without it counting as a gift.
The Inheritance Trap: Why gifting a house or stocks now might actually cost your children more in taxes later than waiting for a "step-up in basis."
IRS Form 709: When you actually need to file it (and why it’s not as scary as it sounds).
Last Friday, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced that he was breaking the Pentagon’s contract with the A.I. company Anthropic and would declare the company a supply chain risk — a designation for companies so dangerous, they can’t exist anywhere in the U.S. military supply chain. What makes this so wild is the military is still using Anthropic’s A.I. system right now. They reportedly used it during the raid to capture Maduro in Venezuela, and are now using it in the war in Iran.
This story raises so many questions: Why does the government think Anthropic is so dangerous? How exactly is the government using A.I. right now? How do they want to use A.I.? And who should ultimately control this powerful and uncertain technology?
Dean Ball is a senior fellow at the Foundation for American Innovation and the author of the newsletter Hyperdimensional. He served as a senior policy adviser on A.I. for the Trump White House and was the primary staff writer of their A.I. action plan. But he’s been furious at the Trump administration for how it has been handling the conflict with Anthropic. So I wanted to have him on the show to explain why.
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.
The Hindu festival of Holi has the Unexpected Elements team delving into the science of colour. First up, forget chicken and egg, we bring you a whole new controversy of which came first: colour or colour vision? Then, we learn how a new development in infrared contact lenses could extend our range of vision and help people with colour blindness.
We’re then joined by marine biologist Roger Hanlon who explains how octopuses are great at changing tones, even though they can’t appreciate the colours that they make. Plus, what’s orange, cream, 5,000 years old and worryingly resistant to most of our common antibiotics? And why does reading on dark mode leave one listener seeing things? All on this week’s Unexpected Elements.
Presenter: Marnie Chesterton, with Andrada Fiscutean and Chhavi Sachdev
Producers: Imy Harper, with Ella Hubber and Lucy Davies
On Thursday, President Donald Trump fired Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem via a Truth Social post. Her tenure was marked by a photoshoot in a superprison in El Salvador, brutal immigration raids, and the killing of two U.S. citizens killed by federal immigration officers in Minneapolis. It didn’t help that she spent $200 million dollars on an ad campaign featuring – wait for it – Kristi Noem. To make sense of Noem’s exit and the ongoing war in Iran, we hear from Virginia Democratic Senator Mark Warner, vice chairman of the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.
And in headlines, the U.S. House rubber stamps Trump’s war with Iran, negative public comments flood a hearing about the White House ballroom rebuild, and two dozen states sue the Trump administration over its latest tariffs.
Trump abruptly fires Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. Dan and Jon discuss the Congressional hearings that led to her dismissal, Trump's announcement that Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin will replace her, and the future of DHS. Then they react to the administration's ever-shifting justifications for their war with Iran, Republicans voting with Democrats to subpoena Attorney General Pam Bondi over her handling of the Epstein files, how MAGA is already attacking James Talarico, and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy's new target: Dunkin' Donuts. Then, Dan talks to Politico senior political columnist Jonathan Martin about Tuesday night's results, the tense Republican runoff in Texas, and Jmart’s forthcoming podcast series, On the Road with Jonathan Martin.
Apple has announced a new, lower-cost entry-level phone and laptop. WSJ personal tech columnist Nicole Nguyen shares an inside look at the latest colorful devices — and what they mean for Apple’s strategy going forward. Plus, companies offering prediction markets, where users can bet on anything from celebrity appearances to military strikes, are marketing to college students. Wall Street Journal investigative reporter Katherine Long explains the companies’ strategies to sign students up. Peter Champelli hosts.
A select few Native American artists choose to express their cultural and creative passions in miniature. An exhibition starting this month at the National Museum of Toys and Miniatures celebrates those artists who make distinctive pottery, baskets, and carvings on a decidedly downsized scale.
The top Indigenous beaders, potters, painters, and weavers are headed to the Heard Museum in Phoenix, Ariz. for that institution’s 68th annual Indian Art Fair and Market. The Heard welcomes more than 600 artists from all over the world for what has become one of the must-go events for both artists and collectors.
We’ll hear from organizers and artists from both of these events.
GUESTS
Marcus Monenerkit (Comanche descendant), director of community engagement at the Heard Museum
Aydrian Day (Ojibwe, Odawa, Potawatomi, Dakota and Lakota and an enrolled member of the Ho-Chunk Nation), artist
Sydney Pursel (Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska), curator at the Spencer Museum of Art and an advisory group member for the “Native Arts in Miniature” exhibition
Amy McKune, curator and senior manager of collections at the National Museum of Toys and Miniatures
Break 1 Music: Crossroad Blues (song) Lakota John (artist) Lakota John and Kin (album)
Break 2 Music: Digital Winter (song) Ya Tseen (artist) Stand On My Shoulders (album)
Teens aren’t getting enough sleep! And a two-decade study suggests it’s getting worse. Scientists found that the number of high schoolers getting insufficient sleep — less than seven hours a night — has increased from 69% to 77%. The throughline? There wasn’t one. Teens had bad sleep habits across most demographics, including race, gender and grade level. The findings were published this week in the journal JAMA.
Interested in more science behind recent headlines? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org.
When you’re sending troops to war, it seems like there are more important things to consider than how it will impact the stock market. However, it doesn’t seem coincidental that this administration waited until the markets closed on a Friday to launch its attacks on Iran.
Guest: Justin Wolfers, professor of economics and public policy at the University of Michigan
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Podcast production by Evan Campbell, and Patrick Fort.
