The United States Agency for International Development, or USAID, has funneled humanitarian aid to countries around the globe for over six decades. Today on the show, people familiar with USAID's work describe the fall-out from the Trump administration's sudden dismantling of the agency, and what that means for the country's longstanding use of foreign aid to advance American national security and economic goals.

Related episodes:
A 'Fork in the Road' for federal employees (Apple / Spotify)
Trump threatens the grim trigger (Apple / Spotify)
Why are some nations richer?

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The name Charles Ponzi immediately recalls the financial scheme that bears his name. But what of the man who helped expose Ponzi's scheme? Today on the show, the incredible, little known story of Simon Swig, who upended Boston's financial and banking world in the early 20th century before crossing paths with the notorious scammer.

Related episodes:
Charles Ponzi's scheme

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President Donald Trump has already made noise with tariff threats against the United States' North American trading partners. And soon, the United Kingdom could become another target which has a chance to drive a wedge between the U.K's trade relationship with the EU.

Today on the show, we explore what the U.K. could possibly offer the United States to ease trade tensions.

Related episodes:
Trump threatens the grim trigger
Why tariffs are SO back
How Trump's tariffs plan might work

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Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

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Memecoins are having a moment, but who's making money off them? On today's show, how a dearly beloved internet squirrel found an afterlife as a cryptocurrency and how others, including President Trump, are trying to capitalize on online fame.

Related episodes:
Is government crypto a good idea? (Apple / Spotify)
WTF is a bitcoin ETF? (Apple / Spotify)
Who let the Doge(coin) out?

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The job security of government employees has been in the spotlight since President Trump took office with big plans to slash the federal workforce. About 2 million employees were given an offer to quit their jobs. The government says those who resign can collect pay and benefits through September without working. But is this offer even legal?

Today on the show, an employment lawyer shares his concerns about the government's offer. And we talk to some of those federal workers about making this critical decision during an uncertain time.

Related episodes:
Federal hiring is about to get the Trump treatment (Apple / Spotify)

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What is a sovereign wealth fund? President Trump's executive order calling for a plan to start a U.S. sovereign wealth fund is not a new idea. But it remains a topic of much debate among economists and policymakers. So is a national sovereign wealth fund a good or even viable idea?

A version of this episode originally aired Oct. 1, 2024.

Related episode:
Why oil in Guyana could be a curse

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President Trump speaks fondly of William McKinley, the 25th U.S. president who was a strong advocate for tariffs. He's credited with helping to protect the fledgling tinplate industry in the late 19th century. But did the tariff work? We take a closer look at McKinley's tinplate tariff and if it was worth the cost.

Related episodes on tariffs:
Trump threatens the grim trigger (Apple / Spotify)
Canada's key resource against Trump's possible trade war (Apple / Spotify)
Why Trump's potential tariffs are making business owners anxious (Apple / Spotify)
Trump's contradictory trade policies (Apple / Spotify)
How Trump's tariff plan might work (Apple / Spotify)
Worst. Tariffs. Ever. (Apple / Spotify)

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President Donald Trump had promised new tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China. However, after negotiations with both Mexico and Canada on Monday tariffs against those countries are paused for at least a month. He said tariffs are not a negotiating tool, but he's used them as one as recently as January in a dispute with Colombia. Today, we dissect the game theory behind Trump's use of tariffs.

Related episodes:
Canada's key resource against Trump's potential trade war (Apple / Spotify)
How tariffs have been used throughout US History (Apple / Spotify)
The game theory that led to nuclear standoffs (Apple / Spotify)

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With so much water in the eastern U.S., why can't the region pipe some of it to its drought-prone neighbors in the West? This perennial question nags climate journalists and western water managers alike. We break down why building a pipeline is unrealistic right now for the Colorado River.

Related episodes:
How Colorado towns are trying to get some water certainty
The trouble with water discounts

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Why haven't American 8th graders' math scores recovered? Does Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) actually have the resources to make all the deportations Trump's promised? And what's the path for interest rates in the Trump economy? All that on Indicators of the Week.

Related Episodes:
The U.S. once banned Chinese immigrants — and it paid an economic price
Why Is The Fed So Boring?

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org.

Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

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