This week: Jason Furman joins the show this week for an economy-focused discussion. We start by looking at why public views about the economy have gotten so negative, the persistent economic problems people are so mad about, the obvious solution (it's fiscal consolidation — that is, tax increases and spending cuts), and what it could take to get us there. We also discuss Kevin Warsh's first actions as chair of the Fed.

For paying subscribers, we talk with Jason — who co-teaches Harvard’s largest undergraduate course — about the university’s efforts to unwind the rampant grade inflation that led to two-thirds of undergraduate grades being straight A’s. And we have another edition of cocktail hour, in which Megan, Ben and I reflect on our experiences of skipping grades in elementary school, we rank the best six New England states, I offer provocations about grilling, and we share our plans for celebrating America’s 250th birthday.

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This week: the case for AI regulation and what it would look like, with Dean Ball, who helped to shape AI policy in the Trump White House and is soon to join OpenAI. Is bank regulation a good model for AI regulation, where companies follow rules about making their own rules? We discuss that, and whether we have other choices.

Then: for paying subscribers, this week’s episode ends with the very first (but not the last) Central Air cocktail hour, where Ben, Megan and I pour ourselves some drinks, unpack what we’ve heard from our guest, and try to get comfortable with what the future holds for us. To hear the whole episode, upgrade at www.centralairpodcast.com.

This week: Andrew Sullivan joins us from Provincetown to assess the emergent Iran deal. Paying subscribers also get our discussion of racial unrest and immigration politics in the U.K., our debate how much Europe really needs to learn from the United States (a lot, I’d say, and not just about air conditioning), and our consideration of the joys of Europeans discovering exurban America (including Buc-ee’s!) as they attend the World Cup.

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This week: Matt Yglesias joins us to recap WelcomeFest and discuss “dog-whistle moderation," and why the factional forces seeking to drag the Democratic Party to the center need to advocate specific moderation on specific issues. Then: why Maine Democratic voters are attached to Graham Platner despite his manifest defects, a mistake Washington D.C. voters appear poised to make, the city's failures to stop “teen takeovers,” California’s vote-count malaise, and Matt somewhat walks back his anti-dog-park position.

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Listen to two conversations Josh, Ben and Megan had at WelcomeFest, the center-left organizing conference: one with San Francisco DA Brooke Jenkins, and the other with Tejano singing legend-turned-congressional candidate Bobby Pulido.

More next week, and thanks to those of you who joined us for our happy hour in Washington last week. Sign up for updates about the show and future happy hours at www.centralairpodcast.com.

This week: Reihan Salam of the conservative Manhattan Institute on the state of the center and the right in cities. Why have we been asked to support politicians like Andrew Cuomo who discredit the center? Is Zohran Mandani really doing such a bad job? Can conservatives and cities be persuaded to take interest in each other again? All subscribers hear that conversation.

Paying subscribers hear the rest of the conversation with Reihan about why people can’t leave Israel out of municipal politics, and what it’s like to run a conservative think tank in the age of Trump. Also: Ben, Megan and Josh discuss the “Save our Bacon Act” and the ethical obligations we have toward livestock, and finally, the implosion of the “Freedom 250” festival.

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As noted last week, we don’t have a regular episode this week, due to the Memorial Day holiday. We’ll be back with two episodes next week — one with Reihan Salam, president of the Manhattan Institute, and one with content from Welcomefest, including an interview with Mark Cuban. We do have some bonus content for you: a Substack Live chat we did with Nate Silver of Silver Bulletin on Wednesday, reacting to Tuesday’s primary election in Texas and assessing Democrats’ odds of retaking the Senate. There’s also a free preview of that for free subscribers. Enjoy!

On this week's show: Why is Europe poor? Megan wrote about the issue this week, and Sam Bowman of Works in Progress magazine joins us from London to discuss our differences in work culture, leisure, and how we dry our clothes. Plus, we talk about the ignominious unpopularity of Keir Starmer’s Labour, which has not delivered on its promise to build instead of block, even though Britain’s central government has all the authority over planning and zoning that Abundance advocates here dream about.

That’s for all free listeners. Yes, the paywall is here — for paying subscribers, we also chat with Sam about Christopher Nolan’s forthcoming film ‘The Odyssey,' the Long Island Rail Road strike, and we discuss central New Jersey’s missing congressman, Tom Kean Jr., who hasn’t been seen since early March. Is he in a mental institution? We discuss that possibility with Ben, who is an alumnus of America’s most prestigious mental institution.

Upgrade your subscription (and find instructions for setting up your private paid podcast feed) at www.centralairpodcast.com and RSVP to our D.C. happy hour on June 2 here.

On this week's show: Robinson Meyer, executive editor of the excellent Heatmap News, talks with us about why oil has not gotten even more expensive, if there is hope for permitting reform, why Republicans hate windmills so much, and if there ever been a greater environmental advocate than ‘Degrowth Donald.' And where can we put data centers so they won’t bother anyone?

Also this week: Josh's despair at the continued unwinding of the social contract, and Democrats’ despair over the Virginia Supreme Court.

Plus, exciting news: we’ll be having a listener gathering in Washington, D.C., the evening of Tuesday, June 2. More details on that soon. Sign up for updates from Central Air at www.centralairpodcast.com.

On this week's show: Gary Leff, author of the View From the Wing blog on the airline industry, joins us to discuss who killed Spirit Airlines — the airline made strategic errors, but it could have been profitably acquired by JetBlue years ago if not for a series of Biden-era anti-trust policy failures. The Trump administration tried to commit its own policy error — it wanted to buy the airline, making Spirit’s troubles into taxpayers’ problem — but fortunately, Spirit’s existing creditors refused to be crammed down, and there was no deal to be had.

We have a wide-ranging conversation for you with Gary on the relationship between the government and the airlines — whether United could really be allowed to buy American, what’s going to become of the financially-troubled JetBlue, why Europe has a more robustly competitive low-cost airline industry than the U.S. does, and much more.

Also this week: We discuss hopeful federal news on housing policy and a grim housing policy outlook in our nation’s capital.

Sign up for updates from Central Air at www.centralairpodcast.com.