Rob Schmitz is NPR's international correspondent based in Berlin, where he covers the human stories of a vast region reckoning with its past while it tries to guide the world toward a brighter future. From his base in the heart of Europe, Schmitz has covered Germany's levelheaded management of the COVID-19 pandemic, the rise of right-wing nationalist politics in Poland and creeping Chinese government influence inside the Czech Republic.
Bill Phillips was an outsider to economics, but he used a machine and a chart to change the way we think about the government's role in a capitalist economy.
It's not just oil and gas that are affected by the Iran war. All sorts of shortages and price spikes are starting to pop up that stand to affect people's daily lives.
The visit takes place ahead of President Trump's own summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping next month, where Taiwan is expected to be a top agenda item.