While the new spending and tax law boosted the Child Tax Credit by $200, child care costs have risen 30% since before COVID. The U.S. spends less of its GDP on child care and pre-kindergarten than other industrialized nations, and many families face tough choices when confronting the cost of child care. Also on the program: a calm start to the week for financial markets despite political instability in Japan and a trade war.

President Donald Trump wants to bring additional drug manufacturing to the United States and has threatened tariffs on imported medicine. The U.S. relies heavily on imports for low-cost generics, and building up domestic supply chain capacity could be tricky. We'll map out drug manufacturing and explore what it'd take to reshore drug supplies. But first: oil giants are eager to drill off the coast of Guyana, and the boss of an obscure regulatory agency is stepping down.

From the BBC World Service: Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's governing coalition lost its majority in the upper house of parliament, but Ishiba said, with the threat of additional U.S. tariffs and rising inflation, he's not going anywhere. Plus, the European Union is ramping up efforts to avoid President Donald Trump's tariffs. An Aug. 1 deadline is looming, and retaliatory tariffs could be in the pipeline. And later, we'll examine the cost of child care in the U.S.

Late last night, the House approved a bill taking back nearly $1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which distributes funding to public radio and TV stations, and roughly $8 billion in foreign aid. We'll give an explainer about what's in the bill. Then, from Marketplace's "Age of Work" series, we'll hear how a woman at a U.K. business school prompted conversations about menopause at work, and from "Marketplace Tech," we'll learn why Pentagon leaders are talking about the right to repair.

The GOP tax law made huge cuts to Medicaid, but some lawmakers were able to set aside $50 billion for rural health. People who live in the nation’s rural areas have more chronic disease, die younger, and make less money. But some rural hospital and clinic leaders worry the infusion won’t reach the right places. Also on the show: Crypto week draws to a close, and TSMC, the company that makes NVIDIA chips, posts record profits.

From the BBC World Service: In an exclusive interview with the BBC, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz accepted U.S. accusations that Europe has done too little to fund its defense and security. It follows an interview with U.S. President Donald Trump this week, in which he backed the NATO military alliance. Also: Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva responds to tariff threats, and leather sandal makers in India react to Prada's high-end, Indian-inspired footwear.

It's summer grilling season, and beef prices are at an all-time high. Ground beef prices have increased 45% in the last 10 years as cow inventory in the U.S. has dwindled. This means that people and businesses with a hankering for beef are having to get creative. But first: The president says he likely won't fire the head of the Federal Reserve, and tariff delays helped boost consumer spending in June.

President Donald Trump wants Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell to cut interest rates. But the Fed makes that call based on analyzing the economy, not a president's wishes. This has some concerned that the president is looking for a pretext to fire Powell — like costly renovations to the Fed's DC headquarters. Plus, these are the dog days of summer travel. And, who's really paying for tariffs: foreign exporters or U.S. businesses?

From the BBC World Service: The Canadian firm Couche-Tard, best known for Circle K, is walking away from a $47 billion bid to buy Japan’s Seven & i, the parent company of 7-Eleven. Couche-Tard says it faced a “calculated campaign of obfuscation and delay” from the Japanese side. Then, Americans are firing up their grills this summer, but they’re getting singed by the cost of beef. Prices continue to rise. We find out why.

More than five years after the start of the pandemic, we’re learning more about who's working in person and who isn't. Labor Department data shows 29% of men work from home, down from 34% two years ago. But the number of women working remotely has stayed flat at 36%. We'll discuss what to make of the dynamic. Also: Wholesale inflation remains unchanged, and the White House launches an investigation into unfair trade practices by Brazil.