Evan Smith, cofounder and CEO of Altana, was last on the show in early 2025 to talk about how Trump’s first few waves of tariffs were starting to affect global trade. It was a very alarming and also very illuminating chat; Evan and I got into the existential weeds of international relations and economics almost immediately.

A year and a half later, and everything is somehow even more chaotic than it was the last time Evan and I talked — and that’s true about both trade and also the world of running a software company. Agentic AI, whack-a-mole tariff policy, war in Iran — we jumped right back into weeds yet again.

Links: 

• How Trump’s tariff chaos is already changing global trade | Decoder
• Skydio CEO Adam Bry on not drawing red lines for drone use | Decoder
• Trump imposes new global tariffs, drawing protests from trading partners | Reuters
• Greer: USMCA Talks Could Stretch Into Next Year | Wall Street Journal
• Trump hits Canada with new 50% tariffs | Associated Press
• Iran weaponized the Strait of Hormuz. Now neighbors are going around it | CNN
• The Iran war is testing Southeast Asia’s faith in the US | Politico

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Credits:

Decoder is a production of The Verge and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.

Decoder’s producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. This episode was edited by Kabir Chopra. Our editorial director is Kevin McShane. 

The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.

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