The Daily News Briefing in Podcasts

Trump has named wrestling tycoon Linda McMahon to be his secretary of education. She’ll be tasked with his campaign promise of … closing the department she’ll run. Is it a good idea?

This episode was produced by Amanda Lewellyn and Peter Balonon-Rosen, edited by Miranda Kennedy, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, Kim Eggleston, and Anouck Dussaud, engineered by Patrick Boyd and Andrea Kristinsdottir, and hosted by Noel King.

Transcript at vox.com/today-explained-podcast

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Linda McMahon speaking on the final night of the 2024 Republican National Convention. Photo by Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images.

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Weeks before taking office, President-elect Donald J. Trump is doubling down on tariffs. Even if the threat to impose them proves to be just a negotiating tactic or bluster, it is also a gambit that has immediate consequences.

Ana Swanson, who covers trade for The Times, discusses whether tariffs worked in Mr. Trump’s first term and how they compare with the alternative approach used by President Biden.

Background reading: 

• Mr. Trump’s threat to wield tariffs is already rocking business and diplomatic relationships.
• The president-elect picked Jamieson Greer, a lawyer and former Trump official, to serve as top trade negotiator, a position that will be crucial to Mr. Trump’s plans of rewriting the rules of trade in America’s favor.

For more information on today’s episode, visit nytimes.com/thedaily. Transcripts of each episode will be made available by the next workday. 

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In what could be the biggest protest march in New Zealand’s history, 42,000 people took to the roads over fears Māori rights are being dismantled. Eva Corlett reports. Help support our independent journalism at theguardian.com/infocus

On this episode of “Impromptu,” Opinions columnists Shadi Hamid and Heather Long talk with Style columnist Monica Hesse about what’s really behind the baby bust and whether we just need to prepare for a lower fertility future. 

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