Macro Musings with David Beckworth

Hosted by Mercatus Center at George Mason University

Business Education

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Episodes

572

Latest episode

Oct 2026

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About the show

Hosted by David Beckworth of the Mercatus Center, Macro Musings pulls back the curtain on the important macroeconomic issues of the past, present, and future.

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60 recent

October 26, 2026Episode 56656 min

Patrick Harker on Real-Time Payments and the Future of the Federal Reserve

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 00:40:44 - Pat's Substack and Thoughts on AI 00:56:07 - Outro

October 19, 2026Episode 56556 min

Christina Skinner on the Financial Stability Oversight Council and Central Bank Independence

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 Experience and Teaching 00:40:44 - Central Bank Independence 2.0 00:56:07 - Outro

October 12, 2026Episode 56452 min

John Rolle on The Bahamas' Fixed Exchange Rate and the First Nationwide Central Bank Digital Currency

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 00:44:14 - Future of the Financial System and Economy in the Bahamas 00:49:41 - Small Open Economy Central Banks 00:52:04 - Outro

October 5, 2026Episode 56354 min

George Selgin on the New Deal and the History of Banking Crises

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

September 28, 2026Episode 56253 min

Erik Thedéen on QE, Central Bank Independence, and Digital Payments

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 00:50:09 - Tokenization 00:52:37 - Outro

September 21, 2026Episode 56147 min

Ellen Correia Golay on All-to-All Trading and Treasury Market Liquidity

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 Wishes 00:46:20 - Outro

September 14, 2026Episode 56050 min

Nellie Liang on Stablecoins After GENIUS, Private Money, and the Global Dollar

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

September 7, 2026Episode 55955 min

Stephen Miran on Regulatory Dominance, Shrinking the Fed's Balance Sheet, and the Return of Monetarism

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

August 31, 2026Episode 5581 hr 9 min

Donald Kohn on the Fed's Past, Present, and Future

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

August 24, 2026Episode 55757 min

Ben Harris on AI, Fiscal Sustainability, and the Resilience of the U.S. Economy

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 Problem 00:20:12 - A Novel Sanctions Regime 00:30:35 - Temper Your AI Optimism 00:39:34 - Longer Lives, But Larger Debt 00:45:00 - AI and the Future of Interest Rates 00:49:24 - Policy Implications 00:56:26 - Outro

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