Is Trump ‘Detoxing’ the Economy or Poisoning It?

It’s hard to understand the economic logic of President Trump’s tariffs. In our last episode, we tried, but with limited success. And that might be because the logic here isn’t entirely economic at all. So we wanted to spend an episode looking at Trump’s economic policies through a wider lens. Gillian Tett is a columnist at The Financial Times and a member of its editorial board. She’s also a trained anthropologist with a Ph.D. And she brings both perspectives into this conversation — exploring Trump’s policies as economics, as well as power politics, patronage and cultural messaging — which I think makes the whole thing make a bit more sense. Mentioned: “ A User’s Guide to Restructuring the Global Trading System ” by Stephen Miran Book Recommendations: National Power and the Structure of Foreign Trade by Albert Hirschman The Economic Consequences of the Peace by John Maynard Keynes Debt by David Graeber How to Think Like an Anthropologist by Matthew Engelke Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com. You can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of “The Ezra Klein Show” at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast . Book recommendations from all our guest…