While artificial intelligence continues to outperform our human abilities in many areas, Pablo Peña believes critical thinking and curiosity are what will keep us in the driver's seat. AI can only draw on human-produced knowledge, Peña says, "The version of AI that we know now is only a sophisticated remix of what we know already." Peña is an associate professor of economics at the University of Chicago and author of Human Capital for Humans: An Accessible Introduction to the Economic Science of People. In this Podcast, Peña and journalist Rhoda Metcalfe discuss his article in the December issue of Finance & Development magazine.

Transcript: https://bit.ly/4ptL4cE

Read the article at IMF.org/FANDD

Technology is often what drives big changes, but innovations like cryptocurrencies and blockchain are transforming the world of money at breakneck speed. While the volatility of digital currencies like Bitcoin has kept it out of traditional banking systems, stablecoin is gaining ground in the race for a suitable digital counterpart to fiat currency. Dante Disparte heads strategy and global policy at Circle, which issues two of the world's most widely used stablecoins. In this podcast, he says stablecoin money can help overcome inefficiencies in the traditional banking system without compromising financial security.

Transcript: https://bit.ly/4odNIlK

Maintaining good relations promotes trade, but can trade repair bad relations? Marc Palen examines how Britain's repeal of the Corn Laws in the mid-1800s sparked its interest in free trade and the idea of economic interdependence for a peaceful and prosperous world. Palen, an archaeologist, historian, and author, discusses his latest book, Pax Economica: Left-Wing Visions of a Free World. In this podcast, he talks with journalist Rhoda Metcalfe about his research into the origins of globalization.

Transcript: https://bit.ly/4ra9n0O

Read the article at IMF.org/FANDD

Sub-Saharan Africa is holding its own despite a deteriorating global trade and aid landscape. The latest outlook projects growth to remain steady at 4.1 percent this year with a modest pickup in 2026. While the region has once again proven its resilience, what will it take to realize its full potential? IMF Economist Athene Laws helps pull together the biannual Regional Economic Outlook for sub-Saharan Africa. In this podcast, she says removing barriers to private firm growth is crucial for providing the jobs needed by the region's young and rapidly expanding labor force.

Transcript: https://bit.ly/4i7F6vt

Read the full report at IMF.org

It's not unusual for countries to reevaluate trade relationships as the global economy evolves. However, the persistent uncertainty brought on by tariffs has prompted entire regions to reconsider long-established alliances and rethink new ones that were unimaginable only a year ago. Gordon Hanson, international economist and Professor of Urban Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School, was invited to join a panel discussion on the global economy during the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings. In this podcast, Hanson says, we need to reinvigorate the process of building new trade agreements that reflect the new world, and middle- and newly high-income countries should play a leading role.

Transcript: https://bit.ly/4qT4LvS

While the US dollar has been at the top of its game for decades, new players are testing its reign. Chess grandmaster-turned-economist Kenneth Rogoff has long cautioned of the dangers that high debt and fiscal burdens could have on the world's favorite reserve currency, and in his latest book, Our Dollar, Your Problem, he says its share of global reserves may be on the decline. Kenneth Rogoff is currently the Maurits C. Boas Chair of International Economics at Harvard.

Transcript: https://bit.ly/3WXdHCZ

The US is a breeding ground for startups, and California has been the center of that universe since the dot-com boom in the late 1990s. But rising costs, tighter quarters, and increasing bureaucracy have many tech innovators seeking greener pastures, well beyond Silicon Valley. Princeton University's Swati Bhatt has been studying the evolution of America's startup boom in recent years and has uncovered a surprising trend toward rural communities, better known for raising cattle than for high-tech infrastructure. In this podcast, Bhatt talks to journalist Rhoda Metcalfe about these new entrepreneurs opting for a different lifestyle.

Transcript: https://bit.ly/3WcTvfM

Read the article in Finance & Development magazine IMF.org/fandd

While countries came together in the late 80s to fight money laundering and the financing of terrorism, technology and the advent of virtual currencies have further complicated the tracking of illicit financial flows across borders. Over $51 billion in cryptocurrency was used by criminals last year to circumvent traditional banking regulations. Chady El Khoury is an assistant general counsel and heads the Financial Integrity Group at the IMF. In this podcast, El Khoury says the anonymity of virtual currency transactions is supercharging the ability for criminals to grow their empires.

Transcript: https://bit.ly/3KOjzeA

Bringing nations together to maintain peace and security and raise living standards for all seemed a utopian idea in the early 20th century. Still, geopolitics, economics and vision by world leaders eventually came together to make it a reality. But what happens when the great powers that have been supporting the multilateral system decide it's not working for them anymore? Danny Quah has studied the increase in global economic tensions and sees the rising East as an important factor. Quah is the Li Ka Shing Professor of Economics at the National University of Singapore. In this podcast, he says that while economics and geopolitics worked together to build the multilateral rules-based system, they are now working together to break it apart.

Transcript: https://bit.ly/4grrx9n

Read the article in Finance & Development magazine: IMF.org/fandd

A lot has happened in the global economy since 2019, and few people know that better than Gita Gopinath. As the IMF Chief Economist and subsequently the institution's First Deputy Managing Director, she navigated unprecedented global crises, including the pandemic and the ensuing great lockdown, wars in Ukraine and the Middle East, inflation, and geopolitical fragmentation. Her career as a Professor at Harvard University was put on hold to take on those IMF roles, but now she's back. How will the 2025 version of Professor Gopinath compare to the 2018 version? In this podcast, Gita Gopinath reflects on her experiences at the Fund and what she's taking back with her to Harvard.

Transcript: https://bit.ly/4npTyR5