We’re on the brink of yet another government shutdown. If Congress fails to pass legislation to keep the federal government fully up and running past Oct. 1, it would be the country’s fourth shutdown in the last decade.

This has us wondering: Why does passing the federal budget often get so messy?

On the show today, Molly Reynolds, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution, explains how the federal budget process is supposed to work, why it often breaks down and why other countries don’t seem to have the same problem. Plus, how we can make the process smoother, given the Congress we’ve got.

Then, we’ll get into why the FTC is suing Amazon and how it might shape what “monopoly” means in this day and age. Plus, is President Joe Biden’s footwear really worth a headline?

Later, how one listener is thinking about the kind of change our democracy needs. And, a Jekyll and Hyde-style mix-up involving a popular California university.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

We want to hear your answer to the Make Me Smart question. You can reach us at [email protected] or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.