Mercatus Center at George Mason University
500 episodes listed below
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Hosted by David Beckworth of the Mercatus Center, Macro Musings pulls back the curtain on the important macroeconomic issues of the past, present, and future.
Based on 6 episodes we listened to · September 2026
David Beckworth turns monetary-policy debates into rigorous conversations about institutions, incentives and the real distribution of economic costs.
David Beckworth builds each conversation around a policy problem, then gives the guest room to establish the history and institutional mechanics behind it.
The 1933 bank holiday has more plot twists than your neat Fed story allows.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A clear look at how debt, rates, and household costs now collide.
The episode puts the U.S. fiscal outlook in plain terms: debt, interest costs, and the pressure they put on ordinary households. Ben Harris and David Beckwith walk through how low rates once made the debt easier to shrug off, and why that changed once borrowing costs started…
Inflation is framed as distributional politics, not just a number.
Inflation is treated less like a chart and more like a fight over who pays. Mark Blyth and David Beckwith move from banking crisis politics to price controls and bank windfalls, then through the competing explanations for the pandemic inflation surge, keeping several causes in…
A steady look at Treasury market plumbing and the tradeoffs around central clearing.
This episode stays close to the mechanics that actually move rates, liquidity, and risk. Sam Schulhofer-Wohl's Fed background keeps the discussion specific, while David Beckworth gives the conversation room to work through the policy tradeoffs without turning it into a lecture.
A focused accountability discussion grounded in Fed spending details and plain numbers.
Andy Levin's return to Macro Musings gives the episode a narrow but useful focus: why the Federal Reserve should have an independent inspector general.
A serious look at money, AI, and the state power behind both.
Matthew Pines uses the future of money to pull in AI, monetary policy, and U.S. power without making the conversation feel overbuilt. The host lets him move from physics and philosophy into public policy, national security consulting, and the Bitcoin Policy Institute, which…
A careful account of bank supervision that makes the Federal Reserve feel like a response to repeated failure.
Macro Musings turns bank supervision into a history of limits: what the Comptroller of the Currency could see, what it could not, and why that mattered for national banks and state-chartered institutions alike.
George Selgin revisits the Great Depression through the New Deal, the gold standard, and the banking holiday.
George Selgin's conversation with David Beckworth treats the Great Depression as a policy story shaped by the New Deal, the gold standard bind, and the banking holiday.
A solid case for how weak demand can turn into a longer growth problem.
Macro Musings does a good job of making Luca Fonaro's work on hysteresis, endogenous growth, and agri-demand policy feel concrete rather than sealed off in jargon.
Small things, real markets, strange incentives.
Markets, money, and Germany in motion.
This episode features an interview with monetary historian Bryan Cutsinger, discussing historical growth-driven deflation in the late 19th century and its potential lessons for policymakers in the context of an AI-driven economic boom.
This episode features an interview with Will Luther and Josh Hendrickson at the Bitcoin Policy Institute's 2025 Summit, discussing the implications of cryptocurrency for monetary and fiscal policy.
This episode features an interview with Aditi Sahasrabuddhe about her book exploring how personal relationships among central bankers influence responses to economic crises.
Robin Brooks discusses the dollar, fiscal dominance, geoeconomics, and the U.S.
This episode features an interview with economist Gerald Dwyer discussing the history of free banking, cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, and the application of historical monetary concepts to stablecoins.
Samim Ghamami discusses the implications of U.S.
Host David Beckwith interviews Marc Giannoni, a former Federal Reserve economist now at Barclays Capital, about the Fed's framework review, its independence, and the future of R-star in monetary policy.
This episode features an interview with macroeconomist Jon Hartley discussing his new paper on John Taylor's contributions to economics and updates on R-Star and U.S.
This episode features an interview with Jim Clouse, a longtime Federal Reserve veteran, discussing his 36-year career at the central bank and his insights into its operations and economic impact.
This episode features an interview with economists Steve Quinn and Will Roberts about their book on the Bank of Amsterdam's history as an early central bank, exploring its origins and relevance to modern monetary systems.
This episode features an interview with Rashad Ahmed discussing the global impact of US stablecoin regulation, including the recent Genius Act, and its implications for cryptocurrency adoption and macroeconomic issues.
This episode features an interview with economist Lukasz Rachel discussing his research on non-Ricardian macroeconomic policy, secular stagnation, and the implications of budget deficits and debt for inflation and neutral interest rates.
Austin Campbell, a Wall Street veteran and digital asset expert, discusses the rise and regulation of dollar-backed stablecoins and their implications for the financial system on the Macro Musings podcast.
This episode features an interview with Laurence Bristow, a former Reserve Bank of Australia staffer, discussing the RBA's monetary policy implementation system and its potential lessons for the Federal Reserve.
Martha Gimbel discusses the impact of AI and the trade war on labor markets, fiscal outlook, and her work at the Budget Lab at Yale.
This episode is a 2025 end-of-year retrospective where host Sam Allberger interviews David Beckworth about the past year of their Macro Musings podcast, discussing show developments, macroeconomic trends, and how the year will be remembered in economic history.
This episode features an interview with Per Osbury-Samar, a senior advisor at the Swedish Central Bank, discussing the Riksbank's operating system, its new deposit facility, and broader trends in central banking.
Host David Beckwith interviews Richard Berner, a former financial official and Wall Street veteran, about the growth of private credit, fiscal dominance in treasury markets, and global macroeconomic issues.
This episode features an interview with economist Scott Sumner discussing his recent activities and insights on U.S.
This episode features economist Jesús Fernández-Villaverde discussing global demographic decline, AI, dollar dominance, and the future of macroeconomics.
Bill Nelson, Chief Economist at the Bank Policy Institute and former Federal Reserve official, discusses recent research on the structural demand for reserves and updates on the Fed's balance sheet, including his congressional testimony on the issue.
This episode features an interview with monetary economist Ruth Judson discussing her work on global capital flows, currency demand, and her experiences at the Federal Reserve.
This episode features an interview with Andrew Martinez, a former Treasury economist and current academic, discussing his career path and the art of forecasting in macroeconomics.
This episode features an interview with economic historian Christopher Meissner discussing his book 'One from Many, The Global Economy Since 1850' and the history of globalization.
This episode features an interview with economist Veronique de Rugy discussing fiscal policy, the U.S.
This episode features an interview with finance professor Tyler Muir discussing the Federal Reserve's Quantitative Easing programs and their impact on financial markets.
Dan Awrey discusses the future of the U.S.
This episode features experts from MIT's Digital Currency Initiative discussing their paper on the hidden financial and technical aspects of stablecoins and their implications for macroeconomic policy.
This episode features an interview with Raghuram Rajan discussing his research on the ratcheting effect of the Federal Reserve's quantitative easing programs on its balance sheet and highlights from his career in economics and central banking.
This episode features an interview with Aaron Klein discussing the US's real-time payments challenges, the impact of COVID-era quantitative easing on housing inflation, and related financial regulatory issues.
Tara Sinclair discusses her research using AI to simulate FOMC decision-making and addresses challenges in economic policymaking without real-time data.
Host David Beckwith interviews Mike Bird, Wall Street editor for The Economist, about his new book 'The Land Trap' and the historical role of land in the global economy.
This episode features an interview with SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce discussing the SEC's evolving role in digital finance, financial surveillance, and the importance of regulatory dissent.
Former IMF official Manmohan Singh discusses the meaning of money in the digital age, its implications for financial systems and central banks, drawing from his global experience.
Paul Kupiec discusses problems with the Federal Reserve's balance sheet and recent congressional calls to end interest on reserves in this interview on Macro Musings.
This episode features an interview with Atlanta Federal Reserve President Raphael Bostic, discussing his role, the Fed's dual mandate, and personal interests like birding.
Economist George Hall discusses the long-term fiscal impacts of U.S.
David Beckworth asks economic historian Kris Mitchener what anchors the price level, using the gold standard, bimetallism and recent central bank losses as test cases.
David Beckworth interviews Steve Kamen and Mark Sobel about the status of dollar dominance, the Treasury Foreign Exchange Report, and U.S.
Fiscal concern lands in the household budget.
Luis Garicano discusses the future of digital money, highlighting Europe's defensive stance against dollar-denominated stablecoins and its cautious approach to CBDCs to protect banks.
Mark Blyth discusses his book on inflation, challenging mainstream views by analyzing who wins and loses from inflation.
David Beckworth interviews Sam Schulhofer-Wohl of the Dallas Fed about reforms in the Treasury market, including central clearing mandates and their benefits for risk management and resilience.
Andy Levin discusses his new policy brief advocating for an independent inspector general at the Federal Reserve, highlighting the need for accountability to protect the Fed's independence.
Matthew Pines discusses Bitcoin's rise as a strategic asset, U.S.
Host David Beckworth interviews Peter Conti-Brown and Sean Vanatta about their book on the history of bank supervision in America, covering topics from Federal Reserve independence and Supreme Court rulings to powerlifting analogies and lessons from past financial crises.
George Selgin discusses his book 'False Dawn,' analyzing the Great Depression and the New Deal's role in recovery.
Daniel Bunn, President of the Tax Foundation, discusses pressing U.S.
David Beckworth interviews Luca Fornaro on hysteresis, endogenous growth models, and aggregate demand policies.
Adam Ozimek discusses his report on reforming high-skilled immigration to maximize American economic benefits, proposing solutions like the Heartland visa and addressing myths.
David Beckworth interviews Skanda Amarnath about the Federal Reserve's ongoing framework review, covering risks to Fed independence from a Supreme Court case and the challenges of supply shocks like tariffs.
Andy Levin discusses his policy brief on Federal Reserve accountability, highlighting issues like excessive staffing, lavish building renovations, and lack of independent oversight.
David Beckworth interviews law professor Kate Judge about her paper on the Federal Reserve's emergency lending facilities (Section 13-3) and lessons learned since the Great Financial Crisis.
David Beckworth interviews Paul Blustein about his new book on the dollar's history and challenges to its dominance.
David Beckworth interviews Bill Nelson about monetary policy and banking regulation.
David Beckworth interviews economist Kerala Binder about her new book on inflation and the Fed's framework review.
David Beckworth interviews SEC economist Samim Gamami about reforms to the U.S.
David Beckworth interviews Sam Schulhofer-Wool about Treasury market resiliency, the floor system, the Friedman Rule, bank deposits, and monetary policy implications of labor migration.
David Beckworth interviews former Fed President James Bullard about his transition to academia and insights on Fed policy.
David Beckworth interviews Mickey Levy about his paper on rebooting the Fed's monetary policy strategy ahead of the Fed Framework Review.