How you feel about industrial policy boils down to how you feel about the free market. Opponents say government shouldn't pick winners and Blake Prestonlosers: just let the free market do its thing. Supporters say sometimes there are broad social benefits to government support, and it's the government's role to steer the national economy in that direction.

Either way, it's a policy that fell out of favor in the U.S. decades ago. But Donald Trump's trade wars followed by huge spending by the Biden administration mean industrial policy is back.

Today for indicators of the week we're going granular on industrial policy. We'll look at some of the latest efforts to make more tech like semiconductor chips and electric-vehicle batteries in America.

Music by Drop Electric. Find us: Twitter / Facebook / Newsletter.

Subscribe to our show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts and NPR One.