EconoFact Chats

Do online prediction markets like Kalshi and Polymarket provide a service beyond the entertainment of gambling? Prediction markets are regulated by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the same agency that oversees futures contracts. Is this agency well-positioned to serve this role and guard against insider trading and market manipulation? And what should policy be towards online prediction markets? Futures contracts help companies and people hedge against risks. What is the social value of guessing the designer of Taylor Swift’s wedding dress, or of guessing which countries the President will mention in a given month? Gary Gensler joins EconoFact Chats to discuss these questions.

Gary is Professor of the Practice of Global Economics and Management at the MIT Sloan School of Management. He previously served as Chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission, and of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

In July, the US Treasury joined Japanese authorities in a joint intervention to prop up the yen -- the first US action in support of the yen since 1998. Maurice Obstfeld joins EconoFact Chats to discuss why the intervention reflects the pursuit of conflicting goals -- strengthening the yen, even as US tariffs weaken it, claiming a strong-dollar policy while pursuing currency interventions that weaken the dollar, and championing the dollar's reserve role while treating foreign sales of Treasuries as a problem. He also contrasts the openly political support for Argentina's peso with the strictly non-political criteria that have governed Fed swap lines -- and why a request from the UAE puts that distinction to the test.

Maury is a Professor of Economics at UC Berkeley and a Senior Fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. He served as Chief Economist at the IMF from 2015 to 2018.

Since EconoFact Chats last hosted a panel of economic journalists in June, oil supply disruptions due to the war in Iran have kept gasoline prices high. Inflation reached 3.4% in August. In response, the Fed raised its policy interest rate for the first time in over three years. There have also been renewed trade tensions, especially with Canada, while fears about the economic impact of artificial intelligence persist.

Binyamin Appelbaum of The New York Times, Larry Edelman of The Boston Globe, Scott Horsley of NPR, and Claire Jones of the Financial Times join EconoFact Chats once again to discuss these and other developments, and analyze how they might play out heading into the midterms.

Kenneth Kuttner joins EconoFact Chats to discuss how and why central banks are set up to be insulated from political pressure, and the economic consequences of a failure of central bank independence.

Ken is the Robert F. White Class of 1952 Professor of Economics at Williams College. He has also served as Assistant Vice President in the Research Departments of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

Note: This podcast was first posted on 18th January 2026.

Artificial Intelligence has the potential to bring major economic changes, including raising productivity, widening inequality, and causing widespread job displacement. There are associated consequences for federal debt which is now historically high relative to national income. Could policy responses such as support for displaced workers, raising taxes on AI profits, or even government ownership of companies help reduce the projected rise in government debt and ameliorate the disruptions from this new technology? Louise Sheiner joins EconoFact Chats to discuss these questions, drawing on a recent paper she wrote with Karen Dynan and Douglas Elmendorf.

Louise is the Robert S. Kerr Senior Fellow in Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution and policy director for the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy. She previously served at the Federal Reserve, the US Treasury, and the Council of Economic Advisers.

Billy Pizer discusses how energy security goes beyond the price of oil or liquified natural gas since these prices do not fully capture all the costs of using fossil fuels. One well-known externality, a cost beyond the price at the pump, is global warming and the corresponding climate-related disasters like the 2025 Palisades fire in California or the devastation in North Carolina from Hurricane Helene in 2024. Billy points out that there are other costs as well, including macroeconomic vulnerability from spiking oil prices and the risks associated with the tilting of political and military decisions due to energy needs. He also explains that climate change poses threats to those banks and parts of the financial system that have assets concentrated in places vulnerable to extreme weather events.

Billy is the President and CEO of Resources for the Future, a think tank focused on energy and the environment. He previously served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Environment and Energy at the US Treasury.

Note: This podcast was first posted on 24th May 2026.

The basic principles of economics are not only worthwhile reading for students, but for the wider public, and perhaps especially, for those involved in policy. Greg Mankiw, the author of best-selling textbooks for Macroeconomics and Principles of Economics joins EconoFact Chats to highlight how a wider understanding of economic principles such as trade-offs, opportunity costs, how people respond to incentives, the benefits of trade, and others can lead to better policy outcomes.

Greg is the Robert M. Beren Professor of Economics at Harvard University.  A leading researcher in macroeconomics, he has held numerous high-level policy positions, most notably serving as the Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors in the George W. Bush administration.

Note: This podcast was first posted on 19th January 2025.

While the best trade war strategy is to not have a trade war, this seems to no longer be an option. In their new book 'How to Win a Trade War' the goal of Soumaya Keynes and Chad Bown is to “… arm you with the knowledge to fight [because] these battles are going to last for a very long time.” Soumaya and Chad join EconoFact Chats to discuss the effects of the rise of China in the world trading system, the policy approaches taken by the United States, the European Union, and other countries, the role of multinational corporations, the intersection of trade and national security, and the efficacy of defensive policies (like limiting dependence on foreign goods) and offensive strategies (like tariffs).

Soumaya Keynes is an economics columnist at the Financial Times and host of The Economics Show with Soumaya Keynes. Chad Bown is a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and served as Chief Economist at the State Department in the Biden administration.

Note: This podcast was first posted on 14th June 2026.

Michael Klein switches from asking questions for EconoFact Chats to answering those posed by Gordon Lamphere’s in this rebroadcast of his Real Finds podcast. Michael discusses issues related to trade and the exchange rate, as well as the Federal Reserve, affordability, housing and real estate, and the founding of EconoFact.

Risks from the use of Artificial Intelligence range from autonomous vehicle fender benders to truly cataclysmic events. Managing these risks becomes more urgent with the increased prevalence of AI across a widening set of uses. Josephine Wolff joins EconoFact Chats to discuss how approaches to these challenges must account for the complexity, variety, and opacity of AI systems.

Josephine is a Professor of Cybersecurity Policy at The Fletcher School at Tufts University, and the author of Cyberinsurance Policy: Rethinking Risk in an Age of Ransomware, Computer Fraud, Data Breaches, and Cyberattacks.

Note: This podcast was first posted on 5th April 2026.