The prices of the things we buy, from floor lamps to canoes and bicycles, are slated to go up, literally overnight, as the Trump administration makes good on a promise to raise tariffs on $200 billion worth of imported Chinese products.

On The 21st: Who gets to talk about history, especially when that history is brutal and hard to talk about in the first place? That’s the subject of a new play from Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theater. Plus, after years of criticism, Illinois has scraped the controversial PARCC standardized test in schools. But will the new one be different enough to quell concerns from teachers and parents? And, we explore the messy backstory of the US trade war with China, including its roots in the Cold War and intellectual property theft. Also, what better way to celebrate Pi Day today than with some lemon meringue?

In theory, closing off China’s soybean market due to the trade dispute with the U.S. on top of generally low prices for the commodity should affect all industry players, big to small. But if you’re a farmer who plants only soybeans on relatively few acres, you’re probably in trouble.

The U.S. trade war with China has created a financial burden for farmers and companies that import Chinese goods. Consumers, on the other hand, have mostly been spared from the conflict. That could all change if this month’s negotiations between the U.S. and China don’t go well.

The U.S. trade war with China, now approaching a year, is often framed as hurting manufacturing and agriculture the most. But that’s mainly collateral damage in an international struggle over power and technology that has its roots in the Cold War, when China was still considered a largely undeveloped country.