Yes, Napster is still alive and kicking. The peer-to-peer file-sharing company that became synonymous with music piracy in the early 2000s was bought by a company called Infinite Reality Labs last week for about $207 million. It’s the latest in a string of attempts to revive the brand. After it was shut down by the courts in 2001 and declared bankruptcy, Napster returned as a music subscription service, a marketplace for non-fungible tokens and now a virtual reality-metaverse destination. Marketplace’s Meghan McCarty Carino spoke with Harry McCracken, global technology editor at Fast Company, who has been following Napster from the beginning. He says the brand still has some power.

President Donald Trump has promised that a fresh wave of tariffs on April 2 will usher in an era of growth in American manufacturing. But does history bear that out? We’ll explain how steel tariffs under President George W. Bush did more harm than good. And, in response to Trump’s trade agenda, the “buy Canadian” movement is gaining steam. American exporters are already feeling it. Plus, we’ll smile about flowers, parties and the unspoken rules of texting.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• “As ‘Buy Canadian’ grows, more US companies say retailers shunning their products” from Reuters




• “Republicans scramble to shield their states from Trump’s next wave of tariffs” from Politico




• “Why steel tariffs failed when Bush was president” from Politico




• “Are You a Hostile Punctuator???” from Time




• “‘God’s way of smiling at us’: Iconic DC cherry blossoms create lasting joy, new beginnings” from USA Today

Got a question or comment for the hosts? Email [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.

Just how expensive has homeownership become? To afford a typical home, households need an income of about $117,000 right now — a 50% increase from $78,000 in January 2020, according to a Bankrate report. Over the same five years, wages rose  just 27%. What gives? Also in this episode: The dollar’s value drops, Europe weighs economic independence amid tariff troubles and falling enrollment shrinks budgets at rural public schools.

On Wednesday, President Donald Trump is expected to announce a tsunami of new tariffs that will apply to all countries. Markets are down sharply here and abroad today in response. We’ve known that these reciprocal tariffs are coming for a while, so why the sharp market reaction now? Also on the program: a bitcoin mining operation in Zambia and a trial involving Norfolk Southern over the 2023 train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

This morning, global markets are cratering after President Donald Trump said that new tariffs set to be announced this week will impact essentially all countries. Meanwhile, a key inflation gauge came in hotter than expected on Friday, and consumers have become increasingly cautious about spending. All of this has investors worried. Plus, the host of Marketplace’s “Financially Inclined” podcast joins the show to discuss what you need to know before starting your own business.

From the BBC World Service: Stock markets in Asia took a hit as traders look ahead to U.S. President Donald Trump’s so-called “liberation day” on April 2, when a raft of tariffs are expected to be announced. Plus, a court in Paris has convicted Marine Le Pen of embezzlement, and a cryptocurrency company plans to roll out small power plants to rural villages in Africa to provide electricity and mine for bitcoin.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is pushing for the country to be a global leader in artificial intelligence by 2030 as Beijing competes with Washington to gain an edge in advanced technology. The release of AI chatbot DeepSeek, which stunned industry experts in January, gave a boost to China’s hopes of catching up to the U.S. despite restrictions on the advanced chips used to power AI.

The artificial intelligence cloud computing provider CoreWeave sold shares to the public today with so-so results. Because it’s the first major IPO of the current generative AI era, some argue that CoreWeave could be a barometer of the AI boom. We’ll get into it. And, a federal appeals court ruled in favor of President Donald Trump’s firings of independent agency heads. The case will likely make its way to the Supreme Court. Plus, we’ll play a round of Half Full/Half Empty!

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• “Appeals court clears way for Trump to fire leaders of ‘independent’ federal agencies” from Politico




• “CoreWeave stock seesaws after IPO in first big test of AI trade” from Yahoo Finance




• “CoreWeave Is A Time Bomb” from Ed Zitron’s Where’s Your Ed At




• “OpenAI Unveils New Image Generator for ChatGPT” from The New York Times




• “DoorDash and Klarna partner to offer buy now, pay later for takeout” from Marketplace




• “Crocs hits record revenue as popularity with younger consumers soars” from Marketplace




• “When should we pay rent with a credit card? from Marketplace




• “Facebook’s New Friends Tab Brings App Back to Its Roots” from The New York Times

Marketplace’s March fundraiser ends today! Chip in now and pick up a classic public media thank-you gift: https://support.marketplace.org/smart-sn

Consumers say they’re fed up with inflation, then they keep spending. But their behavior could be catching up with their anxiety, an economist told us. The clues are in data released today by the Commerce Department. Also in this episode: Can you live on just 13 gallons of water a day? One water-saving group thinks it’s possible. Plus, we look into how cities, farmers and compost brokers are tackling organic waste.

The current economic landscape, marked by tariffs and other policy-driven uncertainty, could be a particularly difficult one for Fed decision-makers to navigate in the next few months. We chat with Susan Schmidt, Portfolio Manager at Exchange Capital Resources, about the latest inflation data and what it means. Plus, federal worker unions are pushing back against the Trump administration’s rollback of collective bargaining rights for government employees. And, the BBC’s Sam Gruet reports on how Canadian businesses are reconsidering their partnerships with U.S. businesses amid tensions between the two countries.