{"api_version": 1, "episode_id": "ep_wsj_what_s_news_5c33dd136247", "title": "U.S. Spring Home Selling Season Is Off to a Rough Start", "podcast": "WSJ What\u2019s News", "podcast_slug": "wsj_what_s_news", "category": "news", "publish_date": "2026-04-13T20:56:00+00:00", "audio_url": "https://pdst.fm/e/traffic.megaphone.fm/WSJ4606911265.mp3?updated=1776354030", "source_link": "https://www.wsj.com/podcasts/whats-news", "cover_image_url": "https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/7297a16a-9f81-11e5-8821-232b0d194322/image/WSJ_Podcast_Whats_News.jpg?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress", "summary": "The US has initiated a naval blockade targeting Iranian ports, disrupting global oil markets as Brent crude nears $100 a barrel. Existing home sales fell 3.6% in March to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 3.98 million, the lowest since June 2025, dashing hopes for a housing rebound. Goldman Sachs reported a 19% profit jump in Q1 due to record trading revenue, while AI firms face compute shortages limiting product availability.", "key_takeaways": ["US blockade of Iranian ports involves 15+ warships and aims to force Iran into nuclear negotiations by cutting off maritime trade.", "Existing home sales dropped to 3.98 million in March, reflecting weak buyer confidence despite falling mortgage rates, with NAR slashing 2026 sales growth forecast from 14% to 4%.", "AI companies like Anthropic face compute shortages, forcing user prioritization and migration to alternatives like OpenAI, slowing AI deployment."], "best_for": ["investors tracking oil and housing market volatility", "policy watchers analyzing US-Iran tensions", "tech professionals monitoring AI infrastructure constraints"], "why_listen": "It delivers timely, cross-market insights on geopolitical risk, housing trends, and AI supply limits\u2014all critical forces shaping economic conditions this quarter.", "verdict": "worth_your_time", "guests": [], "entities": {}, "quotes": [], "chapters": [], "overall_score": 77.0, "score_breakdown": {"clarity": 82.0, "originality": 65.0, "actionability": 55.0, "technical_depth": 70.0, "recency_relevance": 95.0, "information_density": 78.0}, "score_evidence": {"clarity": "The idea, according to a release by US Central Command, is that The US is going to stop any ships that are going to or from Iranian ports.", "originality": "Even if the Strait Of Hormuz were magically to reopen tomorrow, it'd be a logistical nightmare to get all the ships in the right place.", "actionability": "This is a pretty bad sign for the rest of the year because spring is such an important time in the housing market.", "technical_depth": "You have an aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, that has a huge flight deck, so it could very easily be used as a base of operations.", "recency_relevance": "It's Monday, April 13. I'm Alex Osoleff for The Wall Street Journal. This is the PM edition of What's News.", "information_density": "One might now expect 2,000,000 barrels a day of Iranian oil exports to be taken off the market. Almost all of that oil goes to China."}, "score_reasoning": {}, "scoring_confidence": 0.95, "transcript_available": true, "transcript_chars": 13886, "transcript_provider": "deepgram"}