Y’all know the dad that turns the van around to prove a point, even though it’s going to spite him in the end? That’s Trump’s level of stubbornness with his (concepts of a) plan for tariffs, and in this ep, we cover what the hell a tariff is, why historians and economists are shaking their heads at Trump’s recent moves, and end with some projections on how the aftershocks of all this chaos will affect everyday people. Spoiler: it's tariff-fying (…we had to). Also: Ben gives Trump a new nickname, Abby screams into the void, and we both try our hands at RSR ASMR. Lots of good primary sources in this one - direct from the right-wing depths of social media.
We know the situation has been changing by the day, so FYI, we recorded this on April 8. Which also was the last day Ben had the tip of his finger before he cut it off on his birthday <3 more to come!
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SOURCES:
Atorre. 2023. “The Surprisingly Vast Logistics Behind a Simple Pencil.” The Blog of Logistics at MGEPS at UPV. May 16. https://logisticsmgepsupv.wordpress.com/2023/05/16/the-surprisingly-vast-logistics-behind-a-simple-pencil/
Boak, Josh. 2025. “Trump Announces Sweeping New Tariffs to Promote US Manufacturing, Risking Inflation and Trade Wars | AP News.” AP News. April 3. https://apnews.com/article/trump-tariffs-liberation-day-2a031b3c16120a5672a6ddd01da09933
Clausing, Kimberly and Maurice Obstfeld. “What Populists Don’t Understand About Tariffs (but Economists Do).” 2025. PIIE. February 13. https://www.piie.com/blogs/realtime-economics/2024/what-populists-dont-understand-about-tariffs-economists-do
Hernandez, Joe and Maria Aspan. 2025. “Wall Street Leaders Warn of Harsh Economic Consequences From Trump’s Tariffs.” NPR, April 7. https://www.npr.org/2025/04/07/nx-s1-5354797/tariffs-wall-street-warnings
Hodnett, Cindy. 2025. “North Carolina Furniture Manufacturer: Business Is Great; Trump’s Tariffs Are One Reason.” Furniture Today. April 7. https://www.furnituretoday.com/manufacturers/north-carolina-furniture-manufacturer-business-is-great-trumps-tariffs-is-one-reason/
Irwin, Neil. 2025. “Tariffs 101: What They Are and How They Work.” Axios, April 5. https://www.axios.com/2025/04/05/tariffs-explained
Mesa, Jesus. 2025. “As The World Turns on Trump, Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum Has Other Plans.” Newsweek, April 7. https://www.newsweek.com/claudia-sheinbaum-mexico-donald-trump-tariffs-2055581
Smith, Ken. 2025. “For NC Farmers, Complexity Makes Tariff Impact Hard to Predict, Troxler Says.” WRAL, April 7. https://www.wral.com/news/state/north-carolina-agriculture-tariffs-impact-troxler-april-2025/
VandeHei, Jim, and Mike Allen. 2025. “Behind the Curtain: You Gotta Believe.” Axios, April 4. https://www.axios.com/2025/04/04/trump-tariffs-confidence-americans-gamble
