Macro Musings

Patrick Harker is the Rowan Distinguished Professor, Professor of Operations, Information and Decisions at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and the former president of the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank. He joins the program to discuss his time at the Fed, the FOMC, Amish banking, his amazing academic career, and much more. Watch the full length video on our new YouTube Channel! Check out the transcript for this week's episode, now with links. Recorded on September 10th, 2026 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our Macro Musings merch! Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:04:33 - Patrick's Career 00:21:32 - Amish Banking 00:28:29 - FedNow and Payments 00:34:59 - Crypto Assets, Tokenized Deposits, and Stablecoins 00:40:44 - Consolidation at the Fed 00:40:44 - Federal Open Market Committee 00:40:44 - Federal Reserve Balance Sheet 00:40:44 - Inflation and the Fed's Mandates 00:

Christina Skinner is a legal and financial scholar at the University of Pennsylvania, a former Bank of England official, and recently stepped down from her role as deputy assistant secretary in the FSOC office at the Treasury. Christina returns to the program to discuss her work with FSOC, the relationship between economic growth and financial stability, AI and financial regulation, central bank independence, the importance of democratic accountability, and much more. Watch the full length video on our new YouTube Channel! Check out the transcript for this week's episode, now with links. Recorded on September 10th, 2026 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow Christina Skinner on X: @CParaSkinner Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our Macro Musings merch! Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:04:33 - Financial Stability Oversight Council 00:21:32 - Priority Workstreams 00:28:29 - AI and Financial Stability 00:34:59 - Real-World Experie

John Rolle is governor of the Central Bank of The Bahamas and is the second sitting central bank governor to appear on Macro Musings. In his first appearance on the show, John joins the program to discuss what it's like to manage a central bank in a small open economy with a fixed exchange rate, the economic vulnerabilities of a tourism-dependent economy, the SandDollar, the future of digital payments and financial resilience, and much more. Watch the full length video on our new YouTube Channel! Check out the transcript for this week's episode, now with links. Recorded on September 8th, 2026 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our Macro Musings merch! Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:02:02 - Central Bank of the Bahamas 00:18:02 - The Economy of the Bahamas 00:24:56 - Financial Stability in the Bahamas 00:39:29 - Dollar-Based Stablecoins in the Bahamas 00:42:50 - Tokenized Deposits in the Bahamas 00

George Selgin was a senior fellow and director emeritus at the Center for Monetary and Financial Alternatives at the Cato Institute and professor emeritus of economics at the University of Georgia. George returns to the show to discuss the New Deal's record on economic recovery, the Fed's balance sheet and operating system, the Main Street Lending Program, and the history of banking crises, and much more. Watch the full length video on our new YouTube Channel! Check out the transcript for this week's episode, now with links. Recorded on July 28th, 2026 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow George Selgin on X: @GeorgeSelgin Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our Macro Musings merch! Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:35 - George's Book on the New Deal 00:03:31 - Fed's Balance Sheet Policy Task Force 00:25:59 - The Fed's Main Street Lending Program 00:32:58 - Myths and Fallacies 00:54:06 - Outro

Erik Thedéen is governor of Sweden's Riksbank, the world's oldest central bank, Chairman of the Executive Board, and the first sitting central bank governor to appear on Macro Musings. In his first appearance on the show, Erik joins to discuss the history and operation of the Riksbank, the lessons learned from QE, the future of digital payments, and much more. Watch the full length video on our new YouTube Channel! Check out the transcript for this week's episode, now with links. Recorded on September 4th, 2026 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our Macro Musings merch! Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:41 - Erik's Career 00:03:03 - History of the Riksbank 00:13:04 - Riksbank's Inflation Target 00:15:28 - Riksbank's Operating Framework 00:25:09 - Riksbank's Experiences with QE 00:30:26 - Deposit Facility at Riksbank 00:39:31 - Digital Payments 00:47:27 - Dollar-Based Stablecoins and Sweden 00:50

Ellen Correia Golay is a lead Treasury advisor in the markets group at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Ellen returns to the program to discuss the lessons of the March 2020 "dash for cash," how all-to-all trading and other market structure reforms could strengthen Treasury market liquidity and resilience, the rise of principal trading firms, and the future of the Fed's standing repo operations, and much more. Watch the full length video on our new YouTube Channel! Check out the transcript for this week's episode, now with links. Recorded on August 19th, 2026 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our Macro Musings merch! Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:20 - Ellen's Career and Responsibilities 00:09:29 - The Treasury Market 00:17:15 - All-to-All Trading 00:25:19 - Treasury Market Liquidity 00:32:59 - Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee 00:39:28 - Central Clearing 00:44:51 - Ellen's Policy Wi

Nellie Liang is a former Treasury and Federal Reserve official and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. In Nellie's first appearance on the show, she discusses the future of stablecoins following the GENIUS Act, what stablecoins mean for private money and illicit finance, Fed master accounts, the global role of the dollar, and much more. Watch the full length video on our new YouTube Channel! Check out the transcript for this week's episode, now with links. Recorded on August 18th, 2026 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our Macro Musings merch! Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:23 - Nellie's Career 00:05:48 - The GENIUS Act 00:11:31 - Stablecoins as Private Money 00:27:32 - Fed Master Accounts 00:29:53 - Dollar as Global Reserve Currency 00:35:42 - Stablecoins and US Debt 00:46:49 - Nellie's Policy Recommendations 00:50:11 - Outro

Stephen Miran is a former governor of the Federal Reserve, a former chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Donald J. Trump, and currently a senior strategist for Hudson Bay Capital Management. In Steve's third appearance on the show, he discusses his life as chair of the Council of Economic Advisers and as a Federal Reserve governor, the Fed's balance sheet, regulatory dominance, the future of the discount window, the possible return of monetarism, and much more. Watch the full length video on our new YouTube Channel! Check out the transcript for this week's episode, now with links. Recorded on August 20th, 2026 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow Stephen Miran on X: @SteveMiran Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our Macro Musings merch! Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:42 - Life as CEA Chair 00:08:40 - Reducing the Fed's Balance Sheet 00:42:23 - A Return to Monetarism? 00:54:32 - Outro

Donald Kohn is a 40-year veteran of the Federal Reserve System and a senior fellow in the Economic Studies program at the Brookings Institution. Don returns to the program to discuss the lessons of the Greenspan Fed, how Kevin Warsh should think about communication and forward guidance, why inflation remains a concern, the Fed's new task forces, the future of its monetary policy tools, and much more. Watch the full length video on our new YouTube Channel! Check out the transcript for this week's episode, now with links. Recorded on July 22nd, 2026 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our Macro Musings merch! Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:25 - Working with Paul Volcker 00:08:22 - Working with Alan Greenspan 00:22:11 - The Kevin Warsh Fed 00:31:21 - Fighting Inflation 00:43:26 - Balance Sheet Task Force 01:08:21 - Outro

Ben Harris is vice president and director of economic studies at the Brookings Institution and previously served in senior economic policy roles at the Treasury Department and Council of Economic Advisers. Ben returns to the program to discuss why recent economic shocks have been less damaging than expected, the outlook for inflation and energy markets, whether AI can improve the U.S. fiscal outlook, why we should temper our AI optimism, how longer lifespans and higher interest rates could complicate the fiscal picture, and much more. Watch the full length video on our new YouTube Channel! Check out the transcript for this week's episode, now with links. Recorded on July 20th, 2026 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Follow Ben on X: @econ_harris Check out our Macro Musings merch! Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:00:55 - Reasons We Were Wrong 00:11:58 - Stubborn Inflation 00:14:57 - Crude Is Not Really the Pr

Bill Nelson is chief research officer and chief economist at the Bank Policy Institute and a former deputy director of the Division of Monetary Affairs at the Federal Reserve Board. In Bill's 11th appearance on the show, he discusses how central banks are rethinking their operating systems, the case for a smaller Fed balance sheet and more routine discount window borrowing, the revival of interbank markets, lessons from Silicon Valley Bank, and much more. Watch the full length video on our new YouTube Channel! Check out the transcript for this week's episode, now with links. Recorded on July 20th, 2026 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our Macro Musings merch! Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:29 - Bill's Work with Central Banks Abroad 00:11:03 - Reducing the Fed's Balance Sheet 00:30:28 - Fed's Use of a Demand-Driven System 00:40:40 - Voluntary Reserve Target 00:54:31 - Outro

Gianluca Benigno is a professor of economics at the University of Lausanne. Previously, he was a senior economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and an economist at the Bank of England. Gianluca returns to the program to discuss financial r-star, the changing landscape of central bank balance sheets, the unique challenges facing the Swiss National Bank, how stablecoins could affect Treasury markets and the demand for reserves, the return of nonlinear inflation, its implications for monetary policy, and much more. Watch the full length video on our new YouTube Channel! Check out the transcript for this week's episode, now with links. Recorded on June 22nd, 2026 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow Gianluca Benigno on X: @BenignoGianluca Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our Macro Musings merch! Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:41 - R-Double-Star 00:04:10 - Central Bank Balance Sheets 00:09:22 - Swiss National Bank 0

Barry Eichengreen is a is well known author, economist, and economic historian from the University of California, Berkeley. Paul Blustein is a former Washington Post and Wall Street Journal journalist who has authored several acclaimed books on global economic institutions. Brendan Greeley is a veteran journalist from the Financial Times and current PhD student at Princeton studying monetary history. They all return to the show for a special roundtable discussion where they discuss the history of dominant currencies, whether we will always end up with a single reserve currency, whether monetary sovereignty is earned or given, the question of exorbitant privilege, what there is to do about a second China Shock, the future of dollars in the digital age, and much more. Watch the full length video on our new YouTube Channel! Check out the transcript for this week's episode, now with links. Recorded on May 11th, 2026 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBe

David Wessel is a senior fellow in economic studies at Brookings and is the director of the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy. In David's first appearance on the show, he discusses stories of the Greenspan Fed, what is was like in Europe when the euro was adopted, the legacy of the Powell Fed, his thoughts on the great man theory, the outlook for the Kevin Warsh Fed, the ongoing challenge of Fed independence, and much more. Watch the full length video on our new YouTube Channel! Check out the transcript for this week's episode, now with links. Recorded on June 15th, 2026 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow David Wessel on X: @DavidMWessel Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our Macro Musings merch! Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:48 - David's Career 00:19:30 - Legacies of Fed Chairmans 00:31:51 - Kevin Warsh Fed 00:43:34 - Fed Independence 00:55:13 - Outro

Sam Lyman is the head of research at the Bitcoin Policy Institute and formerly was a senior advisor and speechwriter for Treasury Secretary Bessent. In Sam's first appearance on the show, he discusses Secretary Bessent's secret skill, the competition in the digital payments space between the US and China, why the strategic Bitcoin reserve is important, what the future of Bitcoin holds, where things stand with the CLARITY Act, the Q Day conundrum, whether Satoshi Yakamoto is alive or dead, where Sam thinks the anti-AI sentiment is coming from, and much more. Watch the full length video on our new YouTube Channel! Check out the transcript for this week's episode, now with links. Recorded on May 21st, 2026 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow Sam on X: @SamLyman33 Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our Macro Musings merch! Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:00:49 - Sam's Career 00:05:37 - Nation-States and Digital Payments 00:14:40 - Strate

Stephan Luck is a Financial Research Advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. In Stephan's first appearance on the show, he discusses how the 2008 Great Financial Crisis shaped his career, how he and his coauthors leverage LLMs to comb through massive amounts of historical data, what this data can teach us about responding to bank failures, what people get wrong when they try and make historical analogies to the GENIUS era, the lessons we can learn from the German hyperinflation, and much more. Watch the full length video on our new YouTube Channel! Check out the transcript for this week's episode, now with links. Recorded on June 1st, 2026 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our Macro Musings merch! Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:02:55 - Stephan's Career 00:11:21 - Bank Failures 00:28:19 - Policy Implications of Bank Failures 00:37:21 - National Banking System 00:46:30 - German Hyperinflation 00:

Barry Eichengreen is well known author, economist, and economic historian from the University of California, Berkeley. In Barry's first appearance on the show he discusses a career in untangling the world's monetary history, the origins of his new book Money Beyond Borders: Global Currencies from Croesus to Crypto, the first uses on currencies in the 7th Century BC, the unexpected start of the dollar, how we landed on the central bank model, the dollar's rise to global reserve currency, which if any currencies as poised to take on the dollar, and much more. Watch the full length video on our new YouTube Channel! Check out the transcript for this week's episode, now with links. Recorded on May 27th, 2026 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow Barry on X: @B_Eichengreen Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our Macro Musings merch! Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:17 - Barry's Books 00:10:14 - Money Beyond Borders 00:17:17 - Lydia and Gree

Yesha Yadav is a professor of law, the Milton R. Underwood Chair, the Associate Dean & Robert Belton Director of Culture & Community, and the Co-Faculty Director, Master of Laws (LL.M) Program at the Vanderbilt University Law School. Chris Odinet is a professor of law, Mosbacher Research Fellow, and Affiliate Professor of Finance at Texas A&M University School of Law. Andrea Tosato is professor of law at the Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law. Yesha, Chris, and Andrea join the show to discuss their avenues into stablecoin regulation, their four-part definition of moneyness (nature of the claim, safety, discharge capacity, and negotiability), how Tether and Circle stack up to these definitions, the stablecoin bankruptcy conundrum, the progress the GENIUS Act made on closing legal loopholes, their prescriptions for policymakers, and much more.   Watch the full length video on our new YouTube Channel! Check out the transcript for this week's episode, now with links. Recorded on May

Jeffrey Lacker is the former president of the Richmond Federal Reserve Bank and is a senior affiliated scholar at the Mercatus Center. Jeff returns to the show to discuss the history of the Fed Treasury Accord, the state of fiscal dominance, his five proposals for a new Fed Treasury Accord, his calls for reform around the discount window, a memorial to his friend and colleague Charlie Plosser, and much more. Watch the full length video on our new YouTube Channel! Check out the transcript for this week's episode, now with links. Recorded on May 20th, 2026 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our Macro Musings merch! Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:00:56 - Fed Treasury Accord 00:18:26 - Fiscal Dominance 00:22:05 - Jeff's Five Proposals 00:49:05 - Charlie Plosser 00:55:49 - Outro

 Nik Bhatia is an author of two economics books, a visiting fellow at the Bitcoin Policy Institute and the founder of The Bitcoin Layer. In Nik's first appearance on the podcast, he discusses his niche in the Bitcoin community, the role of Bitcoin as a transaction asset, the threat or lack thereof of quantum computing on Bitcoin, his issues with the current eurodollar market, his new proposal to use stablecoins as statecraft, and much more. Watch the full length video on our new YouTube Channel! Check out the transcript for this week's episode, now with links. Recorded on May 5th, 2026 Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow Nik X: @Timevalueofbtc Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our Macro Musings merch! Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:49 - Nik's Career and Background 00:12:32 - Crypto Assets for Transactions 00:18:28 - Quantum Computing and Bitcoin 00:24:08 - Stablecoins as Statecraft 00:58:36 - Outro