Brian Lair on WNYC.

Now we'll talk about three big pieces of economic news breaking in the last couple of days

and what they mean for the future and the present of the U.S. economy.

This morning's jobs report, remember they release on the future and the present of the U.S. economy. This morning's jobs report,

remember they release on the first Friday of each month, the number of jobs created or lost

in the previous month. So this is Friday, August 1st, and the jobs report for July,

just out, shows 73,000 jobs were added in the month, well below expectations, and the unemployment rate

ticked up to 4.2%. Also, job growth from earlier this year was revised sharply downward, as they

do a few months after the initial estimates each time. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve, as you probably

heard this week, is holding interest rates steady for the fifth straight meeting, despite

mounting pressure from President Trump, who's been publicly attacking Fed Chair Jerome Powell

and calling for rates to be cut. And starting today, Trump's latest round of tariffs is set to kick in. He had been

advertising August 1st, remember, as he previously advertised April 2nd, and there is today,

August 1st, a mix of delays, partial deals, and one-way tariffs, raising import taxes on goods

from dozens of countries. The administration says

it's about protecting American workers and rebalancing global trade, but so many economists

warned the tariffs could hurt businesses, raise prices, and weaken U.S. growth. So what does all

of this add up to and where might the economy be headed? Joining us now is New Yorker staff writer John Cassidy,

who's been reporting on the Fed, the job market, and Trump's tariff gamble.

He also has a recent book about capitalism and its critics that he was on for.

John, welcome back to WNYC.

Hi, Brian.

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