Milton Magnus, an Alabama businessman who runs one of the last makers of wire hangers in the U.S., has waged a decades-long tariff battle against Chinese manufacturers to try to stay afloat. We hear from Magnus and we talk to Chao Deng about th e effectiveness of tariffs as the trade tool becomes more popular with politicians.  Further Listening: -Why China Is Risking a Trade War  -The Fight Over U.S. Steel and the Community Caught in the Middle  Further Reading: -The Family Business in Alabama That Fights China for Survival  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Former president Donald Trump wants to be the crypto president. With stops at a bitcoin conference and a bitcoin-themed bar, Trump is tapping into an industry that’s eager to support a crypto-friendly candidate. WSJ’s Vicky Huang explains how Trump and the crypto industry have cozied up ahead of the 2024 election. Further Reading: - Trump Hitches His Campaign to the Crypto Crowd  - That Time Donald Trump Walked Into a Bar and Bought a Round Using Bitcoin  - The Crypto Industry Is Trying to Elect Political Allies. The Stakes Couldn’t Be Higher.  Further Listening: - Elon Musk and Silicon Valley Turn Towards Trump  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This month, Red Lobster emerged from bankruptcy. At the helm of the restaurant chain is its new CEO, 35-year-old Damola Adamolekun. Ryan Knutson talks to Adamolekun about what brought about Red Lobster’s decline and his plan to revitalize the company.  Further Listening: - McDonald’s Wants To Offer Quality And Value. Can It Do Both?  Further Reading: - The 35-Year-Old CEO Plotting Red Lobster’s Comeback  - Red Lobster Exits Chapter 11 Bankruptcy With New Owners, CEO  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Christian filmmakers have surprised Hollywood with a series of box office hits and now investors are pouring in millions. WSJ’s John Jurgensen explains how their successes could change the entertainment industry. Further Reading:  - Religious Movies Are Sweeping Hollywood. Rich Investors Are Pouring In Millions.  - Fans Pour Funding - and Faith - Into a Hit Drama About Jesus  - A Child-Trafficking Thriller Is Taking on Hollywood. Who’s behind it?  Further Listening:  - With Great Power, Part 1: Origin Story  - Mattel Bets Big on Barbie  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Federal Reserve cut interest rates this week, after a two year battle with inflation. David Uberti explains how that will impact the economy and we hear from two couples about what they hope this means for their finances.  Further Listening: - A Fed Insider on the Looming Rate Cut  - What the Stock Market Panic Says About the Economy  - Trump Allies Draft Plans to Rein in the Fed  Further Reading: - Americans Are Desperate for Relief. The Rate Cut Is a Glimmer of Hope.  - The Fed Aims to Repeat Greenspan’s 1990s Masterpiece  - Fed Cuts Rates by Half Percentage Point  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ryan Knutson talks with Molly Ball and Rachel Humphreys about their recent trip to Ohio, where they talked to voters about a tight Senate race and why it might matter so much for both parties. Plus, look at another important Senate race in Montana. Further Listening:  - Red, White and Who? Playlist  - Red, White and Who? A Swing-State Debate  - Red, White, and Who? How Abortion Plays for Trump and Harris  Further Reading: - A Populist Democrat Fights to Survive the Trump-Fueled Populist Wave  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

On Tuesday afternoon, thousands of pagers issued to Hezbollah operatives in Lebanon exploded at the same time, killing 12 people and injuring more than 2,800. The next day, walkie-talkies detonated in a similar way. Michael Amon reports on one of Israel’s most ambitious covert operations and what the attacks could mean for a broader war. Further Listening: -The Brutal Calculation of Hamas’s Leader  -Why Israel and Hamas Could Be Headed Into a Forever War  Further Reading: -How a Covert Attack Against Hezbollah Unfolded Across Lebanon’s Streets and Malls  -Israel Scored a Stunning Blow Against Hezbollah. Its Path to Victory Is Less Clear.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Organized crime used to be considered a remote threat in much of Western Europe, but ruthless violence by criminal gangs is now rattling the peace in some of the world’s safest societies. WSJ’s Sune Rasmussen explores the rise of one drug kingpin and how his brutal tactics have spread around the continent.  Further Reading: - Violent Drug Gangs Bring Mayhem to Western Europe  Further Listening: - The Push to Test Drugs for Fentanyl  - Afghanistan's Desperation Economy  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week, a trial got under way to determine whether Rupert Murdoch can change a trust holding the family’s assets for his children. Murdoch wants to ensure that when he dies control of the trust passes to his oldest son, Lachlan. Three of his other children, James, Elisabeth and Prudence, oppose the change because they would stand to lose voting power. Amol Sharma reports.  Further Listening: - Media Giant Rupert Murdoch Is Stepping Down  - Behind the Breakup of Fox and Tucker Carlson  Further Reading: - The Family Rift Driving Rupert Murdoch to Redo His ‘Irrevocable’ Trust  - Murdochs Face Off in a Reno Courthouse Over Family Trust  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tens of thousands of Boeing’s unionized workers are on strike after they rejected a new contract last week. WSJ’s Sharon Terlep reports on the rising tensions that have led to this breaking point and what it could mean for the only American manufacturer of both commercial and military aircraft. Further Reading:  - Boeing Freezes Hiring, Delays Pay Raises as Strike Worsens Finances  - Boeing Union Goes on Strike, Halting 737 Production  Further Listening:  - Boeing's Long Flight Delay – in Space  - Boeing Agrees to Felony Plea. Now Its Future Is Up in the Air.  - The Failures Inside Boeing's 737 Factory  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Scammers are exploiting retailers’ online return programs like never before, fueled by websites and messaging apps. WSJ’s Liz Young reports on the bind retailers now find themselves in, stuck between helping their customers and stopping the fraud.   Further Reading: - Online Returns Fraud Finds a Home on Telegram, Costing Retailers Billions  - Brick-Filled Boxes. Bogus Receipts. Retailers Battle Fraudulent Returns.  Further Listening: - How Cyber Thieves Are Disrupting U.S. Goods  - The Slaves Sending You Scam Texts  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a tense debate, Ryan Knutson and Molly Ball unpack a busy election week and examine what’s next for both campaigns in crucial swing states like Pennsylvania. Plus, could a state like Nebraska decide the election? Further Listening: - Red, White, and Who? How Abortion Plays for Trump and Harris  - For Kamala Harris, a Big Interview and a Narrow Lead  - Is the Trump Campaign Going Off Track?  Further Reading: - We Asked Undecided Voters Who Won the Trump-Harris Debate  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

President Biden, Vice President Harris and former President Trump have all signaled their opposition to the planned sale of U.S. Steel to Japan’s Nippon Steel. But, as Kris Maher reports, views on the deal are more complex in the place it could matter most: Pittsburgh. Further Listening: -Why China Is Risking a Trade War  Further Reading: -Biden Prepares to Block $14 Billion Steel Deal  -Japan Bid for U.S. Steel Runs Up Against U.S. Politics  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Testosterone therapy is booming, touting a boost at the gym and in the bedroom, but the potential side effects (like infertility) are less well known. WSJ’s Rolfe Winkler on the clinics making millions on this growing industry. Further Reading: - Testosterone Clinics Sell Virility. Some Men End Up With Infertility.  Further Listening: - Trillion Dollar Shot, Episode 1: Birth of a Blockbuster  - The Rise of Botox and the Wrinkle in Its Future  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

North Korean cybercriminals have developed a new way to access networks in corporate America: getting IT jobs. According to U.S. officials, hundreds of U.S. companies have unknowingly hired North Korean operatives in information-technology roles. Dustin Volz explores how these spies get hired, and one CEO describes how his company fell for the scheme. Further Listening: - How North Korea’s Hacker Army Stole $3 Billion in Crypto  - North Korea’s Propaganda Mastermind  - The Cyberattack That’s Roiling Healthcare  Further Reading: - North Korean Spies Are Infiltrating U.S. Companies Through IT Jobs  - Kim Jong Un Wants to Block All North Koreans From Escaping. It Isn’t Working.  - A North Korean Diplomat Managed a Rare Defection: A Flight Out of Cuba  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

WSJ’s Alexander Osipovich explores the world of political betting. We meet a trader making big money making predictions on the upcoming U.S. elections over a platform called Polymarket and examine the fight that is brewing with regulators over the practice.   Further Reading: - Meet the Traders Making Money Off the Trump Shooting and Biden’s Stumbles  - Judge Holds Off on Allowing Election Bets–For Now  - The Hot New Trade That Everyone Is Watching: Will Biden Drop Out?  Further Listening: - How Gambling Scandals Are Rocking Sports Leagues  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Kyle, Texas is one of the fastest-growing cities in the United States. It is also facing heat and drought that has been exacerbated by climate change and is expected to get worse. Matt Wirz reports on the tensions in Kyle as the city continues to build, even as it runs low on water.  Further Listening: - A Plan to Hack the Planet Further Reading: - This Texas City Is Too Hot, Short on Water—and Booming  - Welcome to Y’all Street, Texas’ Burgeoning Financial Hub  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Who will win the race to the White House? A new series from The Journal podcast explores the issues that are shaping this election. This week, Ryan Knutson and WSJ’s Molly Ball delve into reproductive rights, examining how the issue is playing out for both Democrats and Republicans. Plus..what makes a state a swing state? Further Listening: - For Kamala Harris, a Big Interview and a Narrow Lead  - Hope, Unity (and Some Nerves at the DNC)  - Is the Trump Campaign Going Off Track?  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This month, for the first time in over two years, the U.S. Federal Reserve is widely expected to cut interest rates. Mary Daly, the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, is one of 12 people who will decide how aggressive that cut should be. She talks to Kate about inflation, unemployment, the economy and Taylor Swift.  Further Listening: - What the Stock Market Panic Says About the Economy  - Why the Fed Is Steering Away From Rate Cuts  Further Reading: - The Make-or-Break Moment That Will Determine the Economy’s Fate  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Tweens, or kids aged 8 to 12, have learned to shop online. Brands are taking note. WSJ’s Chavie Lieber spoke to TikTok-er Demetra Dias and explains the impact of influencers like her on young shoppers and the brands that court them. Further Reading: - Teen Girls Are Spending Big. She Tells Them What to Buy.  - Why Tweens Are Obsessed With This $110 Sweatsuit  Further Listening: - How the Stanley Cup Became the Internet's Favorite Water Bottle  - Teens Are Falling Victim to AI Fake Nudes  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices