Michael Barbaro

You know, we're going to do something a little bit different here.

No, not just us. And I think a little backstory is in order. We came to you, as we do with some, I suspect, annoying frequency, to ask you how to think about the economy. And when we talked to you last week, you said, sure, there's a ton going on in the economy because of everything that President Trump has done to the economy.

No, not just us. And I think a little backstory is in order. We came to you, as we do with some, I suspect, annoying frequency, to ask you how to think about the economy. And when we talked to you last week, you said, sure, there's a ton going on in the economy because of everything that President Trump has done to the economy.

But that just looking at the raw data, nothing much has changed since we last spoke with you maybe a couple weeks ago. But everyone we know is feeling something very acute in their financial lives. And it felt like we needed to listen to that.

But that just looking at the raw data, nothing much has changed since we last spoke with you maybe a couple weeks ago. But everyone we know is feeling something very acute in their financial lives. And it felt like we needed to listen to that.

And we thought, what if we hand our microphone to our listeners and just acknowledge how many people have questions and anxieties, worries, concerns that they want to address.

And we thought, what if we hand our microphone to our listeners and just acknowledge how many people have questions and anxieties, worries, concerns that they want to address.

Exactly. So we put a call out to our listeners for their questions and they showed up in force.

Exactly. So we put a call out to our listeners for their questions and they showed up in force.

Hundreds and hundreds of questions. From Indianapolis, Indiana. From New Orleans, Louisiana. From Olympia, Washington. Came our way in the form of voice memos. It's not going to surprise you to hear that a lot of those questions revolve around tariffs.

Hundreds and hundreds of questions. From Indianapolis, Indiana. From New Orleans, Louisiana. From Olympia, Washington. Came our way in the form of voice memos. It's not going to surprise you to hear that a lot of those questions revolve around tariffs.

Okay. Caveat accepted. I want to start with a question that I think really encapsulates listeners' curiosities around the tariffs.

Okay. Caveat accepted. I want to start with a question that I think really encapsulates listeners' curiosities around the tariffs.

What do you have to say besides Mazel Tov?

What do you have to say besides Mazel Tov?

I think a reasonable question, and it's implied in Sarah's question, is, is it okay to kind of panic by now? We all know what happens when lots and lots of people decide to do that collectively at the same time. That's what happened during the pandemic. It can actually be pretty counterproductive and yet entirely, in this case, understandable.

I think a reasonable question, and it's implied in Sarah's question, is, is it okay to kind of panic by now? We all know what happens when lots and lots of people decide to do that collectively at the same time. That's what happened during the pandemic. It can actually be pretty counterproductive and yet entirely, in this case, understandable.

How likely are empty shelves? I believe that both Walmart and Target have found a way to warn the White House that that could be a thing. Not totally empty shelves, but not really full shelves either if the tariffs against China remain in place.

How likely are empty shelves? I believe that both Walmart and Target have found a way to warn the White House that that could be a thing. Not totally empty shelves, but not really full shelves either if the tariffs against China remain in place.

All right, let's turn to a set of questions we got about housing.