Before this year’s election, Heather Cox Richardson, a historian at Boston College, joined “Make Me Smart” live in Boston to explain the high stakes for our economy and democracy.

Now that the election is over and the transition to a second Donald Trump administration is underway, we’re following up.

“The thing about Trump coming in again is that he’s made a number of promises to a number of people that are completely contradictory,” said Richardson. “You can’t both lower prices and put on tariffs. I mean, that’s like saying you can be dry and wet at the same time.”

On the show today, Richardson weighs in on the election aftermath. She explains how the current media environment in the United States played into the election, how economic narratives have influenced American politics throughout history, and what the past can tell us about how President-elect Trump might brand his economic agenda while in office.

Then, we’ll get into the bipartisan effort to add federal judges that’s suddenly falling apart. Plus, why Pete Hegseth might be confirmed to lead the Pentagon after all.

Later, a listener weighs in on “brain rot” as the word of the year. And, author Evan Schwartz was wrong about the inspiration behind L. Frank Baum’s “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.”

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• “December 9, 2024” from “Letters from an American”




• “What Donald Trump’s Win Means for the Economy” from Time




• Opinion “Voters prefer Harris’s agenda to Trump’s — they just don’t realize it. Take our quiz.” from The Washington Post 




• “On Issue After Issue, Trump Promises the Moon. No Word on the Rocket.” from The New York Times




• “Biden special envoy for hostages is in Beirut in search of Austin Tice” from The Washington Post




• “House sets up vote on bill to add dozens of new federal judgeships” from Roll Call




• “Ernst, Under MAGA Pressure, Signals Backing for Hegseth’s Pentagon Bid” from The New York Times

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