What I'm reading about the Liberation Day tariffs, the Chinese "Friends of Eddie Coyle," and more

Roundup 04/13/2025

Greetings from Read Max HQ, and welcome to our weekly roundup column, in which I pick out some worthwhile and often overlooked books, articles, movies, and music to recommend to paying subscribers. For this week’s round-up, I’ve got:

• A long list of articles, columns, newsletters, explainers and takes that have helped me understand the Trump tariffs and their aftermath;

• an excellent deadpan Chinese crime caper in a Coen Brothers-ish mode, with gorgeous images and great action set-pieces; and

• four tracks I’ve been listening to a lot.

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Now, the roundup. :