Donald Trump’s decision to fire the commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Erika McEntarfer, apparently in retribution for a report that showed slower job growth, was without precedent in recent US history. This week on Everybody’s Business we explore why presidents—at least since Richard Nixon—have left the BLS alone, and we hear from former BLS commissioner Erica Groshen on how exactly that data is collected.

According to Groshen, the recent downward revisions in the rate of job growth (which Trump alleged without any evidence was a political hatchet job) were business as usual. She explains that such revisions happen because it takes months for the more than 100,000 businesses the government surveys every month to respond. Some fill in their data electronically; some send it by email or even fax. While the BLS waits, it puts out an estimate; those estimates are often revised later on.

For the past few decades, this approach has been widely seen as a huge success. BLS data, which includes employment and inflation statistics, is relied on by researchers, economists and government policy planners—as well as by businesses. They use the data to help write budgets, plan hiring and set prices. Although Groshen optimistically contends that McEntarfer’s firing won’t immediately dent that perception, it comes amid budget cuts that have already limited the ability of BLS researchers to collect granular data and could lead to questions about reliability.

Also this week, we discuss the controversy around artificial intelligence pricing, which has recently centered around the airline industry, widely seen as the undisputed leader in customer frustration. But the strategy is in fact coming for you on pretty much every type of good and service. We also debate the significance of the American Eagle “good jeans” controversy and ask how much consumers really think about culture wars when they buy dungarees. Finally: A counterintuitive approach to warding off one of America’s most feared predators.

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It was a packed week for the US economy: jobs numbers, an interest rate announcement from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, consumer confidence data and a tariff deadline. Topping the list was gross domestic product, the sum total of goods and services the economy produces—generally considered the measure of growth. After months of tariffs (and Donald Trump’s constantly shifting positions on them), many economists were predicting the US economy would be showing signs of strain. It turns out, that wasn’t necessarily the case when it comes to GDP (though jobs numbers unveiled Friday may give some pause). After falling a bit during the first few months of the year, this quarter, economic growth clocked in at a 3% annualized rate.

But there’s more to this number than meets the eye—or perhaps less. This week on Everybody’s Business, we talk GDP with Ken Rogoff, Harvard economist and author of Our Dollar, Your Problem. His take: the numbers may have been distorted by some of the panicked importing that US businesses were doing earlier in the year in anticipation of Trump’s latest (and now extended again) deadlines. However, he also leans into some chess metaphors (he is, after all, a grandmaster) to address those Trump fans who contend the president is playing four dimensional chess. His verdict? Trump is a “coffee house player.” That’s someone who’s better than you think—but not as good as he himself thinks.

Later in the show, we talk with Evan Ratliff about his feature in Bloomberg Businessweek, detailing how workers in North Korea are taking US tech jobs while posing as remote-working Americans. They’ve allegedly managed to infiltrate some of the biggest and wealthiest companies in the country—and their paychecks go to fund North Korea’s nuclear program.

Finally, the underrated story of the week is a canned spirit drink was mislabeled as an energy drink.

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After 10 years, CBS announced it was cancelling Stephen Colbert’s Late Show. This coincidentally came on the heels of his humorous excoriation of parent company Paramount’s $16 million deal with President Donald Trump over what the Republican claimed was bias in the editing of an interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris. CBS journalists denied the allegation and legal experts said Trump’s claim was dead on arrival in court.

Colbert meanwhile referred to the payment as a “big fat bribe,” going on to imply that Paramount—led by Chair Shari Redstone—was paying off Trump in the hope he would green-light an $8 billion merger with SkyDance. (On Thursday evening, also the same day this episode was recorded, the FCC approved the deal). Given that Colbert had the best-rated show in its time slot, the move to cancel him was widely seen as a quid pro quo, driving yet another nail into the coffin of free expression. Add to that a GOP-controlled Congress taking back previously approved funding for public media (at Trump’s direction), and some see the end of a free press in America.

Or, less pessimistically, could it just be the end of outdated business models? This week on Everybody’s Business from Bloomberg Businessweek, Felix Gillette joins Max Chafkin and me to break down the Colbert firing. Gillette contends that, despite its ratings, Colbert’s show has been losing money since the pandemic and that it may have been cancelled in the near future anyway. He also points to the most recent episode of South Park, which tackles the issue of Colbert’s cancellation while taking aim at Trump. The creators of South Park just signed a $1.5 billion deal with Paramount (which owns Comedy Central). So maybe free expression is still alive and well, only it’s not so free anymore?

Then we take a look at the federal government. Max and Stacey talk with a former employee of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau about his experience getting fired by the “Department of Government Efficiency,” what he’s seen happen to the department since and some of the CFPB’s work that isn’t being done (and, in some cases, being undone). Also on this episode:

• Max and Stacey discuss the return of meme stocks: Kohls, GoPro, and Krispy Kreme are feeling the boost. Stacey gets reactions from Krispy Kreme customers.

• The underrated story of the week: Starbucks’ big plan for turning business around? Serving more coffee. Max takes issue.

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