Meet the Secret Service Dogs Who Protect the White House

Guest: Mihir Desai, PhD, Professor of Finance, Harvard Business School, Professor of Law, Harvard Law School, Author, “The Wisdom of Finance” Republicans in Congress have released their tax plan. It adjusts the current income tax brackets so that more middle-earners will qualify for a lower tax rate. It also boosts the standard deduction and child tax credit, but limits some popular deductions people can claim.  The heart and soul of the plan, however, is a permanent cut in the corporate tax rate. Republicans and the Trump administration are convinced the best way to turbocharge the US economy and get more money in the pockets of workers, like you and me, is to lower taxes businesses pay on their income. According to public polls, the American people are not so sure cutting corporate taxes is a good deal for them.

Guest: Dhammika Dharmapala, PhD, Professor of Law, University of Chicago Law School Let’s take a closer look at the part of the Republican tax plan called “repatriation.” The idea is to encourage American companies doing business around the world to bring more of their international profits home to the US economy and invest it in their business here, create jobs here, pay more money to their workers here. Part of that $4,000-per-household-raise estimate from the White House Council of Economic Advisors would come from the repatriation of trillions of US dollars back from the foreign outposts of companies like Apple, Citigroup and Nike.

Guest: Todd Davidson, PhD, Research Associate in the Energy Institute and the Webber Energy Group, University of Texas at Austin Do you wonder sometimes if it’s worth it to own a car? With all the maintenance and fuel and the hassle of sitting in traffic, I know I’ve wished for a better alternative at times. The Energy Institute at the University of Texas at Austin has come up with an online calculator to tell you whether it makes long-term economic sense to have that car in the driveway or to just rely on ride-hailing services like Uber when you need to go somewhere. It’s available for free at here.

(Originally aired Aug. 23, 2017) Guest: Brian Merchant, Tech Journalist, Author of “The One Device, the Secret History of the iPhone” In the next few weeks, lucky Apple customers who were first in line to order the new iPhone ten will finally have the sleek device in their hands. At the launch in September, Apple executives called the X “the biggest leap forward since the original iPhone,” which turns ten this year. Over the summer, we looked back at ten years with the iPhone and how it came to be.

(Originally aired Mar. 29, 2017) Guest: Efraim Benmelech, PhD, Professor of Finance, Northwestern University The man suspected of driving a pickup into a crowd in New York this week, killing 8 people, has been charged with terrorism offenses. He told investigators he was inspired by Islamic State videos and police say one of the suspect’s phones contained dozens of videos and images that appear to be ISIS-related propaganda.  ISIS has proven particularly savvy at using the internet to recruit people to its cause. The US and European countries are investing heavily in efforts to counter ISIS recruitment and prevent would-be martyrs from radicalizing. Efraim Benmelech of Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management studies the economics of terrorism