Episodes

As we wind down this season of YDHTY, I invited Ben Studebaker on to review everything we've learned since he sent me down a rabbit hole of monetary policy, commodities markets, and food systems in our last conversation on the war in Ukraine. In this conversation, we discuss how the major domestic...

In discussing America's growing economic might in the 1930s, journalist Ludwell Denny wrote, "We shall not make Britain's mistake. Too wise to govern the world, we shall merely own it." In 1944, his prediction came true, as the US dollar was officially made the de facto currency of the world via...

The United States ranks alongside a long list of nations that have taken on enormous debt to fight wars, pandemics, and fuel future economic growth. How have nations resolved their debts, and what does this tell us about the future of the United States? Barry Eichengreen of UC Berkeley joins me in...

In the conversation around the US national debt, the process around what the government spends money on and how is often crowded out by conversations around what spending programs we should add. For Maya MacGuinaes of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, the current process is one that...

Since World War 2, the US has operated under the mantle of being a champion and protector of democratic values. At the same time, its policy in the Middle East has involved close relationships with autocratic regimes, and military engagements more reflective of an imperial power than a defender of...

If the riot at the Capitol was a signal of the populist right's mistrust and discontent with the establishment, the recent run up in the price of GameStop's stock by a mob of Redditor's at the expense of hedge funds might be the populist left's. Since September 2020, a group of average investors on...