U.S. President Donald Trump (L) shakes hands with Apple CEO Tim Cook during an event in the Oval Office of the White House on August 6, 2025 in Washington, DC.

Tariffs and the Economy; NYC Tourism is Down; Selling Eternal Life; Fun With Words

The Brian Lehrer Show | Aug 11, 2025
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On today's show: 

  • After many delays and negotiations, most of President Donald Trump's tariffs went into effect last Thursday, August 7th. Eric Levitz, senior correspondent at Vox, break down the latest news — including why Trump’s tariffs, no matter how tough they might be on American pocketbooks, might be very hard to reverse.

  • Arun Venugopal, senior reporter for WNYC's race & justice unit, shares his reporting on how the tourism industry in NYC is suffering because of President Trump's tariffs and other policies.

  • Tad Friend, a staff writer at The New Yorker and the author of In the Early Times: A Life Reframed (Crown, 2022), talks about his New Yorker article "How to Live Forever and Get Rich Doing It," about researchers selling the idea of defeating death. 

  • Martha Barnette, co-host of the radio show and podcast A Way with Words and author of Friends with Words: Adventures in Languageland (Harry N. Abrams, 2025), shares some fascinating stories of where words like "spam" and "cocktail."

 

Transcripts are posted to each segment as they become available.

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