The Federal Reserve: Climate Change edition

Vox's Dylan Matthews joins Matt and Jerusalem to talk about whether the Federal Reserve can use monetary policy to fight climate change and how the ideal Fed Chair may not exist. Plus, a new study about the effectiveness of masking against Covid-19 reignites the debate on public health messaging around the pandemic. Also, Matt wants experts to stay in their lanes. 

Resources:

“Will Biden Make a Historic Mistake at the Fed?” by J. Bradford Delong (Project Syndicate; Sep 1, 2021)

“Strengthening the Financial System to Meet the Challenge of Climate Change” by Lael Brainard (Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; Dec 18, 2020)

“The Planet Depends on the Next Federal Reserve Chair” by David Dayen (The American Prospect; Aug 27, 2021)

“The Planet Needs Jerome Powell” by Robinson Meyer (The Atlantic; Sep 1, 2021)

“On Maximizing Employment, a Case for Caution” by Raphael Bostic (Policy Hub: Macroblog; Oct 26, 2018)

White paper: “The Impact of Community Masking on COVID-19: A Cluster-Randomized Trial in Bangladesh” by Mushfiq Mobarak et al. (Innovations for Poverty Action; Sep 1, 2021)

Hosts:

Matt Yglesias (@mattyglesias), Slowboring.com

Jerusalem Demsas (@JerusalemDemsas), Policy Reporter, Vox

Dylan Matthews (@dylanmatt), Senior Correspondent

Credits:

Ness Smith-Savedoff, Producer & Engineer

Erikk Geannikis, Producer, Talk Podcasts

As the Biden administration gears up, we'll help you understand this unprecedented burst of policymaking. Sign up for The Weeds newsletter each Friday: vox.com/weeds-newsletter.

The Weeds is a Vox Media Podcast Network production.

Want to support The Weeds? Please consider making a contribution to Vox: bit.ly/givepodcasts

About Vox

Vox is a news network that helps you cut through the noise and understand what's really driving the events in the headlines.

Follow Us: Vox.com

Facebook group: The Weeds

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices