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The Biden administration rolled out a $2 trillion infrastructure proposal today. The American Jobs Plan calls for investment in roads and bridges, the electric grid, green energy infrastructure — and home health care. On today’s show: Why the Biden administration is taking such a broad view on infrastructure. Also: how infrastructure money could be used to relieve port backlogs, Apple is contributing to a platform for musicians to keep their own copyrights, and how the pandemic made high-frequency data a go-to economic indicator.

There’s been a lot of talk about inflation recently. Mostly, about if it’s going to go up with all the relief money floating around the economy. Notably, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is not too worried about it. Inflation can be a major focus for policymakers, but most consumers probably won’t pay it too much attention — until it starts to affect their wallets. On today’s show: Inflation isn’t just about higher prices. Plus, home prices have been rising at the fastest clip in 15 years, why some businesses are struggling to figure out their taxes and diaper banks have been struggling to keep up with demand.

We’re in a weird spot in this pandemic right now. It feels like things are getting better, more and more people getting vaccinated, more businesses opening — but people are still getting sick and dying. That puts health officials and policymakers in a tough spot. On today’s show: Two decisions by the Centers for Disease Control remind us the pandemic is not over. Also, the future of the U.S.-China trade war, how workers who started jobs remotely are adapting a year on and President Joe Biden wants to spend big on science.

When the COVID pandemic hit a year ago, co-anything became risky. Especially co-working spaces: Shared tables and communal kombucha taps weren’t exactly appealing. But the tide may be turning as the pandemic winds down. Whether they accommodate parents escaping kids, travelers working their way around the world or companies holding brainstorming sessions, co-working spaces are making a comeback. Also on today’s show: Co-working company WeWork is using a SPAC to go public, Democrats are not very aggressively undoing Trump administration regulations and streaming platforms are spending big bucks to keep you on your couch this summer.

After being postponed many times, the Marvel film “Black Widow” is finally going to premiere. And just as movie theaters are starting to reopen, Disney has announced that the film will open in July — both in cinemas and on Disney Plus. It’s a pretty big blow to struggling theaters and a sign of how we’ll likely be watching movies from now on. Also on today’s show: restaurants struggle to recruit enough staff to reopen, why Slack was quick to walk back a new DM feature and we check in with another micro business making it through the pandemic.

A 1,300-foot-long, 200-foot-wide cargo ship blocked the Suez Canal this week, shutting down traffic in both directions. And it could take several days to move the ship and unblock the canal, a key route for global trade. One expert told us each additional delay of shipping is equivalent to a tariff of between 0.5% and 2%. On today’s show: the fragility of the global supply chain. Also, orders for U.S. durable goods dipped for the first time in nearly a year, why businesses are pushing Congress to expand paid family and medical leave, and we decided to see what all that NFT buzz is about.

There’s been a lot of talk about the need to achieve herd immunity, the point at which so many people are immune to a disease that it can no longer easily spread and the whole population is protected. If we can just hit that number, the thinking is, the country will be safe to reopen. But there is no one magic number. On today’s show: the challenges of reaching herd immunity and reopening. Plus, appliance shortages are holding up home improvement and construction, why retailers are opening so many brick-and-mortar stores this year and a look at racism in the tax code.

The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment survey shot up more than 8% in March to the highest level in a year (it’s still about 7% below pre-pandemic levels). Given that consumer spending makes up about 70% of the economy, it’s key to the economic recovery from COVID-19. On today’s show: American consumerism is back. Plus, movie theaters are reopening without their biggest moneymaker, the consequences of maintaining vaccine borders and how the pandemic changed our perception of privacy.

As $1,400 stimulus payments make their way into people’s pockets and vaccine distribution continues, things are looking up. Economists predict that consumers will be ready to release pent-up demand and spend some money in the second half of this year. On today’s show: wrapping up the relief-planning stage and moving into the relief-spending stage. Plus, Disney is facing a complaint of pay secrecy, Amazon and the NFL have finalized a billion dollar streaming deal and we check in with a Washington apple farm.

Remember that trade war the Trump administration started with China? All those tariffs? Well, it doesn’t seem like things will change all that much under President Joe Biden. One expert expects the Biden administration to continue a hard line against what it considers Chinese protectionism, hacking and siphoning of American technology. On today’s show: the future of the U.S.-China trade relationship. Plus, Google will spend $7 billion on offices and data centers across the U.S., what happens when Big Tech moves into health care and the pandemic has been especially damaging to working moms.