President Trump’s on-again, off-again tariff announcements sent stock markets plunging. On this week’s On the Media, how to make sense of the ever-changing news about the economy. Plus, the policy behind the ‘Make America Healthy Again’ rhetoric.

[01:00] Host Micah Loewinger speaks with Gordon Hanson, an economist at Harvard University’s Kennedy School, about President Trump’s “America First” vision and the potential consequences of his chaotic tariff scheme.

[17:22] Micah sits down with Mark Blyth, a professor at Brown University, who explains the rhetoric about short term pain for long term gains, and what to make of the economy right now.

[35:07] Host Brooke Gladstone speaks with Helena Bottemiller Evich, Editor-in-Chief of Food Fix, to trace the complicated relationship between Republicans and food policy, from the Obama era to RFK Jr.’s “Make America Healthy Again” plan.

Further reading:

“Track One Car Part’s Journey Through the U.S., Canada and Mexico—Before Tariffs” by By Vipal Monga Follow and Santiago Pérez
“Washington’s New Trade Consensus (And What It Gets Wrong),” by Gordon Hanson
“Austerity Is Back – and More Dangerous Than Ever,” by Mark Blyth
“Republicans propel MAHA agenda with wave of state legislation,” by Helena Bottemiller Evich

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Trump’s On-and-Off-Again Tariffs, and Decoding ‘Make America Healthy Again’

On the Media