Podcast appearances and mentions of David Wessel

The growing size of the U.S. debt, and the concerns over how much more it will increase, is very much on the minds of investors, markets and lawmakers. The developments were tied in part to Moody’s announcement that it was downgrading the U.S. credit rating over concerns about large annual deficits, debt and rising interest costs. Amna Nawaz discussed more with David Wessel. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

More than any other single institution, the US Federal Reserve drives global capital markets with its decisions and communications. While its interest rates are set by a committee, for almost a century, the Fed's philosophy and operational approach have been moulded by one person: the Chair of the Board of Governors. In the first series of The Chair, Tim Gwynn Jones talked to authors of books about the Fed's foundational Chairs – Marriner Eccles, Bill Martin, Arthur Burns, and Paul Volcker. In this second series, he covers the people who chaired the Fed through the post-1990 period of financialisation, globalisation, and – perhaps today – deglobalisation. Episode two of the second series covers the life and crisis-era times of Ben Bernanke, the man who filled Alan Greenspan's big shoes and ran the Fed from 2006 to 2014. A shy but world-renowned monetary economist and historian of the Great Depression, Bernanke was left holding the proverbial bomb when the financial system came close to collapse in 2008. To discuss Bernanke, Tim is joined by David Wessel, author of In FED We Trust: Ben Bernanke's War on the Great Panic (Crown, 2010). “It wasn't obvious when he was appointed to the Fed in 2006 that having somebody who had spent their life studying the Great Depression would be well equipped to be Alan Greenspan's successor,” says Wessel. “I have sometimes said it was a like being a paleontologist. It's very nice that you know a lot about dinosaurs, but what use is that to us today until one day a Stegosaurus appears on the horizon. And it was remarkable good fortune for the country and the world that there was a guy who happened to have studied all the mistakes that the Fed made in the 1920s and the 1930s in a position to do something about it when a situation, not all that dissimilar, appears both to his surprise and to almost everybody else's”. Wessel is two-time Pulitzer Prize winning journalist who now runs the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at the Brookings Institution. For 30 years, he worked at the Wall Street Journal - reporting mostly from Washington and covering economics and the Fed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

More than any other single institution, the US Federal Reserve drives global capital markets with its decisions and communications. While its interest rates are set by a committee, for almost a century, the Fed's philosophy and operational approach have been moulded by one person: the Chair of the Board of Governors. In the first series of The Chair, Tim Gwynn Jones talked to authors of books about the Fed's foundational Chairs – Marriner Eccles, Bill Martin, Arthur Burns, and Paul Volcker. In this second series, he covers the people who chaired the Fed through the post-1990 period of financialisation, globalisation, and – perhaps today – deglobalisation. Episode two of the second series covers the life and crisis-era times of Ben Bernanke, the man who filled Alan Greenspan's big shoes and ran the Fed from 2006 to 2014. A shy but world-renowned monetary economist and historian of the Great Depression, Bernanke was left holding the proverbial bomb when the financial system came close to collapse in 2008. To discuss Bernanke, Tim is joined by David Wessel, author of In FED We Trust: Ben Bernanke's War on the Great Panic (Crown, 2010). “It wasn't obvious when he was appointed to the Fed in 2006 that having somebody who had spent their life studying the Great Depression would be well equipped to be Alan Greenspan's successor,” says Wessel. “I have sometimes said it was a like being a paleontologist. It's very nice that you know a lot about dinosaurs, but what use is that to us today until one day a Stegosaurus appears on the horizon. And it was remarkable good fortune for the country and the world that there was a guy who happened to have studied all the mistakes that the Fed made in the 1920s and the 1930s in a position to do something about it when a situation, not all that dissimilar, appears both to his surprise and to almost everybody else's”. Wessel is two-time Pulitzer Prize winning journalist who now runs the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at the Brookings Institution. For 30 years, he worked at the Wall Street Journal - reporting mostly from Washington and covering economics and the Fed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science

More than any other single institution, the US Federal Reserve drives global capital markets with its decisions and communications. While its interest rates are set by a committee, for almost a century, the Fed's philosophy and operational approach have been moulded by one person: the Chair of the Board of Governors. In the first series of The Chair, Tim Gwynn Jones talked to authors of books about the Fed's foundational Chairs – Marriner Eccles, Bill Martin, Arthur Burns, and Paul Volcker. In this second series, he covers the people who chaired the Fed through the post-1990 period of financialisation, globalisation, and – perhaps today – deglobalisation. Episode two of the second series covers the life and crisis-era times of Ben Bernanke, the man who filled Alan Greenspan's big shoes and ran the Fed from 2006 to 2014. A shy but world-renowned monetary economist and historian of the Great Depression, Bernanke was left holding the proverbial bomb when the financial system came close to collapse in 2008. To discuss Bernanke, Tim is joined by David Wessel, author of In FED We Trust: Ben Bernanke's War on the Great Panic (Crown, 2010). “It wasn't obvious when he was appointed to the Fed in 2006 that having somebody who had spent their life studying the Great Depression would be well equipped to be Alan Greenspan's successor,” says Wessel. “I have sometimes said it was a like being a paleontologist. It's very nice that you know a lot about dinosaurs, but what use is that to us today until one day a Stegosaurus appears on the horizon. And it was remarkable good fortune for the country and the world that there was a guy who happened to have studied all the mistakes that the Fed made in the 1920s and the 1930s in a position to do something about it when a situation, not all that dissimilar, appears both to his surprise and to almost everybody else's”. Wessel is two-time Pulitzer Prize winning journalist who now runs the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at the Brookings Institution. For 30 years, he worked at the Wall Street Journal - reporting mostly from Washington and covering economics and the Fed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/biography

More than any other single institution, the US Federal Reserve drives global capital markets with its decisions and communications. While its interest rates are set by a committee, for almost a century, the Fed's philosophy and operational approach have been moulded by one person: the Chair of the Board of Governors. In the first series of The Chair, Tim Gwynn Jones talked to authors of books about the Fed's foundational Chairs – Marriner Eccles, Bill Martin, Arthur Burns, and Paul Volcker. In this second series, he covers the people who chaired the Fed through the post-1990 period of financialisation, globalisation, and – perhaps today – deglobalisation. Episode two of the second series covers the life and crisis-era times of Ben Bernanke, the man who filled Alan Greenspan's big shoes and ran the Fed from 2006 to 2014. A shy but world-renowned monetary economist and historian of the Great Depression, Bernanke was left holding the proverbial bomb when the financial system came close to collapse in 2008. To discuss Bernanke, Tim is joined by David Wessel, author of In FED We Trust: Ben Bernanke's War on the Great Panic (Crown, 2010). “It wasn't obvious when he was appointed to the Fed in 2006 that having somebody who had spent their life studying the Great Depression would be well equipped to be Alan Greenspan's successor,” says Wessel. “I have sometimes said it was a like being a paleontologist. It's very nice that you know a lot about dinosaurs, but what use is that to us today until one day a Stegosaurus appears on the horizon. And it was remarkable good fortune for the country and the world that there was a guy who happened to have studied all the mistakes that the Fed made in the 1920s and the 1930s in a position to do something about it when a situation, not all that dissimilar, appears both to his surprise and to almost everybody else's”. Wessel is two-time Pulitzer Prize winning journalist who now runs the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at the Brookings Institution. For 30 years, he worked at the Wall Street Journal - reporting mostly from Washington and covering economics and the Fed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/economics

More than any other single institution, the US Federal Reserve drives global capital markets with its decisions and communications. While its interest rates are set by a committee, for almost a century, the Fed's philosophy and operational approach have been moulded by one person: the Chair of the Board of Governors. In the first series of The Chair, Tim Gwynn Jones talked to authors of books about the Fed's foundational Chairs – Marriner Eccles, Bill Martin, Arthur Burns, and Paul Volcker. In this second series, he covers the people who chaired the Fed through the post-1990 period of financialisation, globalisation, and – perhaps today – deglobalisation. Episode two of the second series covers the life and crisis-era times of Ben Bernanke, the man who filled Alan Greenspan's big shoes and ran the Fed from 2006 to 2014. A shy but world-renowned monetary economist and historian of the Great Depression, Bernanke was left holding the proverbial bomb when the financial system came close to collapse in 2008. To discuss Bernanke, Tim is joined by David Wessel, author of In FED We Trust: Ben Bernanke's War on the Great Panic (Crown, 2010). “It wasn't obvious when he was appointed to the Fed in 2006 that having somebody who had spent their life studying the Great Depression would be well equipped to be Alan Greenspan's successor,” says Wessel. “I have sometimes said it was a like being a paleontologist. It's very nice that you know a lot about dinosaurs, but what use is that to us today until one day a Stegosaurus appears on the horizon. And it was remarkable good fortune for the country and the world that there was a guy who happened to have studied all the mistakes that the Fed made in the 1920s and the 1930s in a position to do something about it when a situation, not all that dissimilar, appears both to his surprise and to almost everybody else's”. Wessel is two-time Pulitzer Prize winning journalist who now runs the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at the Brookings Institution. For 30 years, he worked at the Wall Street Journal - reporting mostly from Washington and covering economics and the Fed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/finance

More than any other single institution, the US Federal Reserve drives global capital markets with its decisions and communications. While its interest rates are set by a committee, for almost a century, the Fed's philosophy and operational approach have been moulded by one person: the Chair of the Board of Governors. In the first series of The Chair, Tim Gwynn Jones talked to authors of books about the Fed's foundational Chairs – Marriner Eccles, Bill Martin, Arthur Burns, and Paul Volcker. In this second series, he covers the people who chaired the Fed through the post-1990 period of financialisation, globalisation, and – perhaps today – deglobalisation. Episode two of the second series covers the life and crisis-era times of Ben Bernanke, the man who filled Alan Greenspan's big shoes and ran the Fed from 2006 to 2014. A shy but world-renowned monetary economist and historian of the Great Depression, Bernanke was left holding the proverbial bomb when the financial system came close to collapse in 2008. To discuss Bernanke, Tim is joined by David Wessel, author of In FED We Trust: Ben Bernanke's War on the Great Panic (Crown, 2010). “It wasn't obvious when he was appointed to the Fed in 2006 that having somebody who had spent their life studying the Great Depression would be well equipped to be Alan Greenspan's successor,” says Wessel. “I have sometimes said it was a like being a paleontologist. It's very nice that you know a lot about dinosaurs, but what use is that to us today until one day a Stegosaurus appears on the horizon. And it was remarkable good fortune for the country and the world that there was a guy who happened to have studied all the mistakes that the Fed made in the 1920s and the 1930s in a position to do something about it when a situation, not all that dissimilar, appears both to his surprise and to almost everybody else's”. Wessel is two-time Pulitzer Prize winning journalist who now runs the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at the Brookings Institution. For 30 years, he worked at the Wall Street Journal - reporting mostly from Washington and covering economics and the Fed. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Historically, Black Americans' quest for power has been seen as an attempt to gain equal protection under the law, but power in America requires more than basic democratic freedoms. It's linked with economic influence and ownership of one's own self, home, business, and creations. In his new book, "Black Power Scorecard: Measuring the Racial Gap and What We Can Do to Close It," published by McMillan, Brookings Senior Fellow Andre Perry quantifies how much power Black Americans really have and calculates how that translates into the longevity of Back communities. On this episode of The Current, which was taped in front of a live audience, Perry, who also directs the Center for Community Uplift at Brookings, is interviewed by senior fellow David Wessel, who directs the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy. Show notes and transcript:  https://www.brookings.edu/articles/closing-the-racial-gap-in-economic-and-social-power Follow The Current and all Brookings podcasts on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.

The escalating trade war between the U.S. and China is continuing to inject uncertainty into the world’s two largest economies. Over the weekend, President Trump and top trade officials added to the confusion, carving out exemptions for tariffs on electronic products. To discuss the trade war, William Brangham spoke with David Wessel of the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

The escalating trade war between the U.S. and China is continuing to inject uncertainty into the world’s two largest economies. Over the weekend, President Trump and top trade officials added to the confusion, carving out exemptions for tariffs on electronic products. To discuss the trade war, William Brangham spoke with David Wessel of the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

David Wessel - author of Choosing Sides, the tale of an ordinary family torn apart by Hitler's Germany  https://www.amazon.com/CHOOSING-SIDES-David-K-Wessel/dp/1952439779    Sharoya Ham and Katie Fowle - Help my child won't go to school https://www.amazon.com/Help-My-Child-Wont-School-ebook/dp   "If there is a book you want to read but it hasn't yet been written, you must be the one to write it." ~ Toni Morrison   AFSA November issue has a listing of all identified books published by Foreign Service members.     Find a supportive community who can contribute to the end product.  Reviewers, illustrators, proof-readers.   It pays to find an experienced, non-biased, expert to give feedback. www.shutupandwrite.com

Before an audience of world leaders and top business people, President Trump tried to convince them to invest in the U.S. by promising lower taxes and threatening tariffs if they don't. Geoff Bennett discussed the various messages and threats with David Wessel of the Brookings Institution. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

President Biden said he would block the sale of one of America's most iconic companies to a Japanese firm. In December 2023, Nippon Steel announced it would buy U.S. Steel for more than $14 billion. Nick Schifrin discussed the president's decision with David Wessel of the Brookings Institution and Sheila Smith of the Council on Foreign Relations. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

President-elect Trump continues to round out his Cabinet, including some key economic appointments. He's chosen billionaire hedge fund manager Scott Bessent for treasury secretary and for commerce, he's chosen Howard Lutnick, the CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald and a big backer of tariffs. William Brangham discussed what these choices mean for Trump's agenda with David Wessel. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

President-elect Trump continues to round out his Cabinet, including some key economic appointments. He's chosen billionaire hedge fund manager Scott Bessent for treasury secretary and for commerce, he's chosen Howard Lutnick, the CEO of Cantor Fitzgerald and a big backer of tariffs. William Brangham discussed what these choices mean for Trump's agenda with David Wessel. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

David Wessel, a senior fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution, compares the candidates' records and campaign promises on taxes, spending, tariffs, housing and more. TV critic David Bianculli reviews Netflix's rom-com series Nobody Wants This.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

David Wessel, a senior fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution, compares the candidates' records and campaign promises on taxes, spending, tariffs, housing and more. TV critic David Bianculli reviews Netflix's rom-com series Nobody Wants This.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The Federal Reserve cut interest rates for the first time in four years with an aggressive move that lowers its benchmark rate by a half percentage point. The Fed also said it intended to lower interest rates by a full point before the year is out. Amna Nawaz discussed the decision and what it could mean, with David Wessel, director of the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Global markets have plunged on fears that the world's strongest economy, the United States, may be slowing down. U.S. Stocks also fell with all three indexes recording losses. To discuss what happened and what it means, Amna Nawaz spoke with David Wessel, director of the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at the Brookings Institution. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

The COVID-19 pandemic shone a spotlight on supply chains, with shortages in everything from baby formula to microchips. This spurred an on-going policy debate on the need for the U.S. to shore up its supply chains, in some cases literally moving production back to the U.S. or allied nations. However, new analysis published in the Brookings Papers on Economic Activity showed that effort may be more difficult than standard supply chain data suggests, especially when it comes to limiting exposure to China. In this episode, David Wessel, director of the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy, interviews Rebecca Freeman of the Bank of England and Angelos Theodorakopoulos of Aston University on the “hidden exposure” that is revealed in U.S. supply chains with their new data. Show notes and transcript The Brookings Podcast on Economic Activity is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Subscribe and listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.

"Within our mandate, the [European Central Bank] is ready to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro. And believe me, it will be enough". With those three words delivered in London on 26 July 2012, Mario Draghi - the ECB's president from 2011-2019 - stopped a contagious collapse of Europe's common currency after just one decade. Jana Randow and Alessandro Speciale write in Mario Draghi: The True Story of the Man Who Saved the Euro (Rizzoli, 2019): “So simple a phrase, delivered at the right time in front of the right audience, it will hang on as a warning to investors when Draghi is long gone that central bankers in Europe are ready to defend their currency against speculative attacks brought on by people not quite aware of their resolve". Draghi, who went on to see Italy through the Covid pandemic as its prime minister from 2021-2022, has acquired mythical status. Who is he? What are the skills that allowed him to succeed where others may have failed? How did he manage the ECB's governing council in comparison to his French predecessor and successor? Books from inside the ECB by Massimo Rostagno and Pedro Gustavo Teixeira have covered the policy-making history of the Draghi years but, so far, only Randow and Speciale have written a fly-on-the-wall account to match Bob Woodward's and David Wessel's books on the Federal Reserve. Jana Randow is Bloomberg's senior European economics correspondent based in Frankfurt and Alessandro Speciale now heads Bloomberg's Zurich bureau after doing the same in Rome and working with Jana as ECB correspondent from 2013 until mid-2019. *Jana's book recommendations are Rebel Radio: The Story of El Salvador's Radio Venceremos by José Ignacio López Vigil (Curbstone Press, 1995 - translated by Mark Fried) and Fabian, Die Geschichte eines Moralisten by Erich Kästner - first published in 1931 and translated by Cyrus Brooks as Going to the Dogs: The Story of a Moralist (NYRB Classics, 2013). *Alessandro's book recommendations are The Magician by Colm Tóibín (Viking, 2021) and Magnificent Rebels: The First Romantics and the Invention of the Self by Andrea Wulf (John Murray, 2022). Tim Gwynn Jones is an economic and political-risk analyst at Medley Advisors, who also writes the twenty4two newsletter on Substack and hosts the In The Room podcast series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

"Within our mandate, the [European Central Bank] is ready to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro. And believe me, it will be enough". With those three words delivered in London on 26 July 2012, Mario Draghi - the ECB's president from 2011-2019 - stopped a contagious collapse of Europe's common currency after just one decade. Jana Randow and Alessandro Speciale write in Mario Draghi: The True Story of the Man Who Saved the Euro (Rizzoli, 2019): “So simple a phrase, delivered at the right time in front of the right audience, it will hang on as a warning to investors when Draghi is long gone that central bankers in Europe are ready to defend their currency against speculative attacks brought on by people not quite aware of their resolve". Draghi, who went on to see Italy through the Covid pandemic as its prime minister from 2021-2022, has acquired mythical status. Who is he? What are the skills that allowed him to succeed where others may have failed? How did he manage the ECB's governing council in comparison to his French predecessor and successor? Books from inside the ECB by Massimo Rostagno and Pedro Gustavo Teixeira have covered the policy-making history of the Draghi years but, so far, only Randow and Speciale have written a fly-on-the-wall account to match Bob Woodward's and David Wessel's books on the Federal Reserve. Jana Randow is Bloomberg's senior European economics correspondent based in Frankfurt and Alessandro Speciale now heads Bloomberg's Zurich bureau after doing the same in Rome and working with Jana as ECB correspondent from 2013 until mid-2019. *Jana's book recommendations are Rebel Radio: The Story of El Salvador's Radio Venceremos by José Ignacio López Vigil (Curbstone Press, 1995 - translated by Mark Fried) and Fabian, Die Geschichte eines Moralisten by Erich Kästner - first published in 1931 and translated by Cyrus Brooks as Going to the Dogs: The Story of a Moralist (NYRB Classics, 2013). *Alessandro's book recommendations are The Magician by Colm Tóibín (Viking, 2021) and Magnificent Rebels: The First Romantics and the Invention of the Self by Andrea Wulf (John Murray, 2022). Tim Gwynn Jones is an economic and political-risk analyst at Medley Advisors, who also writes the twenty4two newsletter on Substack and hosts the In The Room podcast series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science

"Within our mandate, the [European Central Bank] is ready to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro. And believe me, it will be enough". With those three words delivered in London on 26 July 2012, Mario Draghi - the ECB's president from 2011-2019 - stopped a contagious collapse of Europe's common currency after just one decade. Jana Randow and Alessandro Speciale write in Mario Draghi: The True Story of the Man Who Saved the Euro (Rizzoli, 2019): “So simple a phrase, delivered at the right time in front of the right audience, it will hang on as a warning to investors when Draghi is long gone that central bankers in Europe are ready to defend their currency against speculative attacks brought on by people not quite aware of their resolve". Draghi, who went on to see Italy through the Covid pandemic as its prime minister from 2021-2022, has acquired mythical status. Who is he? What are the skills that allowed him to succeed where others may have failed? How did he manage the ECB's governing council in comparison to his French predecessor and successor? Books from inside the ECB by Massimo Rostagno and Pedro Gustavo Teixeira have covered the policy-making history of the Draghi years but, so far, only Randow and Speciale have written a fly-on-the-wall account to match Bob Woodward's and David Wessel's books on the Federal Reserve. Jana Randow is Bloomberg's senior European economics correspondent based in Frankfurt and Alessandro Speciale now heads Bloomberg's Zurich bureau after doing the same in Rome and working with Jana as ECB correspondent from 2013 until mid-2019. *Jana's book recommendations are Rebel Radio: The Story of El Salvador's Radio Venceremos by José Ignacio López Vigil (Curbstone Press, 1995 - translated by Mark Fried) and Fabian, Die Geschichte eines Moralisten by Erich Kästner - first published in 1931 and translated by Cyrus Brooks as Going to the Dogs: The Story of a Moralist (NYRB Classics, 2013). *Alessandro's book recommendations are The Magician by Colm Tóibín (Viking, 2021) and Magnificent Rebels: The First Romantics and the Invention of the Self by Andrea Wulf (John Murray, 2022). Tim Gwynn Jones is an economic and political-risk analyst at Medley Advisors, who also writes the twenty4two newsletter on Substack and hosts the In The Room podcast series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/biography

"Within our mandate, the [European Central Bank] is ready to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro. And believe me, it will be enough". With those three words delivered in London on 26 July 2012, Mario Draghi - the ECB's president from 2011-2019 - stopped a contagious collapse of Europe's common currency after just one decade. Jana Randow and Alessandro Speciale write in Mario Draghi: The True Story of the Man Who Saved the Euro (Rizzoli, 2019): “So simple a phrase, delivered at the right time in front of the right audience, it will hang on as a warning to investors when Draghi is long gone that central bankers in Europe are ready to defend their currency against speculative attacks brought on by people not quite aware of their resolve". Draghi, who went on to see Italy through the Covid pandemic as its prime minister from 2021-2022, has acquired mythical status. Who is he? What are the skills that allowed him to succeed where others may have failed? How did he manage the ECB's governing council in comparison to his French predecessor and successor? Books from inside the ECB by Massimo Rostagno and Pedro Gustavo Teixeira have covered the policy-making history of the Draghi years but, so far, only Randow and Speciale have written a fly-on-the-wall account to match Bob Woodward's and David Wessel's books on the Federal Reserve. Jana Randow is Bloomberg's senior European economics correspondent based in Frankfurt and Alessandro Speciale now heads Bloomberg's Zurich bureau after doing the same in Rome and working with Jana as ECB correspondent from 2013 until mid-2019. *Jana's book recommendations are Rebel Radio: The Story of El Salvador's Radio Venceremos by José Ignacio López Vigil (Curbstone Press, 1995 - translated by Mark Fried) and Fabian, Die Geschichte eines Moralisten by Erich Kästner - first published in 1931 and translated by Cyrus Brooks as Going to the Dogs: The Story of a Moralist (NYRB Classics, 2013). *Alessandro's book recommendations are The Magician by Colm Tóibín (Viking, 2021) and Magnificent Rebels: The First Romantics and the Invention of the Self by Andrea Wulf (John Murray, 2022). Tim Gwynn Jones is an economic and political-risk analyst at Medley Advisors, who also writes the twenty4two newsletter on Substack and hosts the In The Room podcast series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/european-studies

"Within our mandate, the [European Central Bank] is ready to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro. And believe me, it will be enough". With those three words delivered in London on 26 July 2012, Mario Draghi - the ECB's president from 2011-2019 - stopped a contagious collapse of Europe's common currency after just one decade. Jana Randow and Alessandro Speciale write in Mario Draghi: The True Story of the Man Who Saved the Euro (Rizzoli, 2019): “So simple a phrase, delivered at the right time in front of the right audience, it will hang on as a warning to investors when Draghi is long gone that central bankers in Europe are ready to defend their currency against speculative attacks brought on by people not quite aware of their resolve". Draghi, who went on to see Italy through the Covid pandemic as its prime minister from 2021-2022, has acquired mythical status. Who is he? What are the skills that allowed him to succeed where others may have failed? How did he manage the ECB's governing council in comparison to his French predecessor and successor? Books from inside the ECB by Massimo Rostagno and Pedro Gustavo Teixeira have covered the policy-making history of the Draghi years but, so far, only Randow and Speciale have written a fly-on-the-wall account to match Bob Woodward's and David Wessel's books on the Federal Reserve. Jana Randow is Bloomberg's senior European economics correspondent based in Frankfurt and Alessandro Speciale now heads Bloomberg's Zurich bureau after doing the same in Rome and working with Jana as ECB correspondent from 2013 until mid-2019. *Jana's book recommendations are Rebel Radio: The Story of El Salvador's Radio Venceremos by José Ignacio López Vigil (Curbstone Press, 1995 - translated by Mark Fried) and Fabian, Die Geschichte eines Moralisten by Erich Kästner - first published in 1931 and translated by Cyrus Brooks as Going to the Dogs: The Story of a Moralist (NYRB Classics, 2013). *Alessandro's book recommendations are The Magician by Colm Tóibín (Viking, 2021) and Magnificent Rebels: The First Romantics and the Invention of the Self by Andrea Wulf (John Murray, 2022). Tim Gwynn Jones is an economic and political-risk analyst at Medley Advisors, who also writes the twenty4two newsletter on Substack and hosts the In The Room podcast series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/eastern-european-studies

"Within our mandate, the [European Central Bank] is ready to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro. And believe me, it will be enough". With those three words delivered in London on 26 July 2012, Mario Draghi - the ECB's president from 2011-2019 - stopped a contagious collapse of Europe's common currency after just one decade. Jana Randow and Alessandro Speciale write in Mario Draghi: The True Story of the Man Who Saved the Euro (Rizzoli, 2019): “So simple a phrase, delivered at the right time in front of the right audience, it will hang on as a warning to investors when Draghi is long gone that central bankers in Europe are ready to defend their currency against speculative attacks brought on by people not quite aware of their resolve". Draghi, who went on to see Italy through the Covid pandemic as its prime minister from 2021-2022, has acquired mythical status. Who is he? What are the skills that allowed him to succeed where others may have failed? How did he manage the ECB's governing council in comparison to his French predecessor and successor? Books from inside the ECB by Massimo Rostagno and Pedro Gustavo Teixeira have covered the policy-making history of the Draghi years but, so far, only Randow and Speciale have written a fly-on-the-wall account to match Bob Woodward's and David Wessel's books on the Federal Reserve. Jana Randow is Bloomberg's senior European economics correspondent based in Frankfurt and Alessandro Speciale now heads Bloomberg's Zurich bureau after doing the same in Rome and working with Jana as ECB correspondent from 2013 until mid-2019. *Jana's book recommendations are Rebel Radio: The Story of El Salvador's Radio Venceremos by José Ignacio López Vigil (Curbstone Press, 1995 - translated by Mark Fried) and Fabian, Die Geschichte eines Moralisten by Erich Kästner - first published in 1931 and translated by Cyrus Brooks as Going to the Dogs: The Story of a Moralist (NYRB Classics, 2013). *Alessandro's book recommendations are The Magician by Colm Tóibín (Viking, 2021) and Magnificent Rebels: The First Romantics and the Invention of the Self by Andrea Wulf (John Murray, 2022). Tim Gwynn Jones is an economic and political-risk analyst at Medley Advisors, who also writes the twenty4two newsletter on Substack and hosts the In The Room podcast series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/economics

"Within our mandate, the [European Central Bank] is ready to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro. And believe me, it will be enough". With those three words delivered in London on 26 July 2012, Mario Draghi - the ECB's president from 2011-2019 - stopped a contagious collapse of Europe's common currency after just one decade. Jana Randow and Alessandro Speciale write in Mario Draghi: The True Story of the Man Who Saved the Euro (Rizzoli, 2019): “So simple a phrase, delivered at the right time in front of the right audience, it will hang on as a warning to investors when Draghi is long gone that central bankers in Europe are ready to defend their currency against speculative attacks brought on by people not quite aware of their resolve". Draghi, who went on to see Italy through the Covid pandemic as its prime minister from 2021-2022, has acquired mythical status. Who is he? What are the skills that allowed him to succeed where others may have failed? How did he manage the ECB's governing council in comparison to his French predecessor and successor? Books from inside the ECB by Massimo Rostagno and Pedro Gustavo Teixeira have covered the policy-making history of the Draghi years but, so far, only Randow and Speciale have written a fly-on-the-wall account to match Bob Woodward's and David Wessel's books on the Federal Reserve. Jana Randow is Bloomberg's senior European economics correspondent based in Frankfurt and Alessandro Speciale now heads Bloomberg's Zurich bureau after doing the same in Rome and working with Jana as ECB correspondent from 2013 until mid-2019. *Jana's book recommendations are Rebel Radio: The Story of El Salvador's Radio Venceremos by José Ignacio López Vigil (Curbstone Press, 1995 - translated by Mark Fried) and Fabian, Die Geschichte eines Moralisten by Erich Kästner - first published in 1931 and translated by Cyrus Brooks as Going to the Dogs: The Story of a Moralist (NYRB Classics, 2013). *Alessandro's book recommendations are The Magician by Colm Tóibín (Viking, 2021) and Magnificent Rebels: The First Romantics and the Invention of the Self by Andrea Wulf (John Murray, 2022). Tim Gwynn Jones is an economic and political-risk analyst at Medley Advisors, who also writes the twenty4two newsletter on Substack and hosts the In The Room podcast series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/italian-studies

"Within our mandate, the [European Central Bank] is ready to do whatever it takes to preserve the euro. And believe me, it will be enough". With those three words delivered in London on 26 July 2012, Mario Draghi - the ECB's president from 2011-2019 - stopped a contagious collapse of Europe's common currency after just one decade. Jana Randow and Alessandro Speciale write in Mario Draghi: The True Story of the Man Who Saved the Euro (Rizzoli, 2019): “So simple a phrase, delivered at the right time in front of the right audience, it will hang on as a warning to investors when Draghi is long gone that central bankers in Europe are ready to defend their currency against speculative attacks brought on by people not quite aware of their resolve". Draghi, who went on to see Italy through the Covid pandemic as its prime minister from 2021-2022, has acquired mythical status. Who is he? What are the skills that allowed him to succeed where others may have failed? How did he manage the ECB's governing council in comparison to his French predecessor and successor? Books from inside the ECB by Massimo Rostagno and Pedro Gustavo Teixeira have covered the policy-making history of the Draghi years but, so far, only Randow and Speciale have written a fly-on-the-wall account to match Bob Woodward's and David Wessel's books on the Federal Reserve. Jana Randow is Bloomberg's senior European economics correspondent based in Frankfurt and Alessandro Speciale now heads Bloomberg's Zurich bureau after doing the same in Rome and working with Jana as ECB correspondent from 2013 until mid-2019. *Jana's book recommendations are Rebel Radio: The Story of El Salvador's Radio Venceremos by José Ignacio López Vigil (Curbstone Press, 1995 - translated by Mark Fried) and Fabian, Die Geschichte eines Moralisten by Erich Kästner - first published in 1931 and translated by Cyrus Brooks as Going to the Dogs: The Story of a Moralist (NYRB Classics, 2013). *Alessandro's book recommendations are The Magician by Colm Tóibín (Viking, 2021) and Magnificent Rebels: The First Romantics and the Invention of the Self by Andrea Wulf (John Murray, 2022). Tim Gwynn Jones is an economic and political-risk analyst at Medley Advisors, who also writes the twenty4two newsletter on Substack and hosts the In The Room podcast series. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/finance

Today on the Macrocast, Ylan, John, and Brendan are joined by David Wessel, Director of the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at the Brookings Institution. The group unpacks Fed Chairman Jerome Powell's Jackson Hole speech, including Powell's takeaway that the economy's growth could require additional Fed hikes to fight inflation. The group also discusses the implications of the U.S.'s federal debt, including former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley's comments on the subject at this week's debate ,and triages the prospects for Congressional economic deals more broadly in the coming months. Read more about David Wessel and his work at the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at the Brookings Institution.

Paul Rohde with the Waterways Council and Illinois Farm Bureau Assistant Director of Transportation and Infrastructure Rodney Knittel discuss investment and maintenance in the inland waterway system. University of Illinois Extension's Mary Liz Wright on making your food dollar stretch and bargains in the meat case. Pork the center of the plate focus.Getting to know Illinois Soybean Association at large director David Wessel.

David Wessel, senior fellow and director of the Hutchins Center on fiscal and Monetary Policy at Brookings, joins host David Dollar to discuss what's in the debt ceiling deal reached between President Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. The deal, signed into law by the president on June 2, averts a debt default that was expected as early as June 5. Wessel explains the deal's broad provisions, it's impact on fiscal policy, and whether it resolves the long-term budget and debt issues. Show notes and transcript Dollar & Sense is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Learn more at brookings.edu/podcasts, and send feedback to podcasts@brookings.edu.

After weeks of back and forth, a new debt ceiling deal is inching its way through Congress. This week, host Elisa is joined by David Wessel, economic expert at the Brookings Institution, to discuss how economic and debt policies can strengthen or weaken national security. What is the national security impact if Congress fails to reach an agreement? And are the repeated battles over the debt ceiling and deficit threatening our prosperity? David Wessel is Director of the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy, and a Senior Fellow for Economic Studies at the Brookings Institution: https://www.brookings.edu/experts/david-wessel/ References: Wessel, David. In Fed We Trust: Ben Bernanke's War on the Great Panic. Three Rivers Press, 2010: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/188972/in-fed-we-trust-by-david-wessel/ Wessel, David. Red Ink: Inside the High-Stakes Politics of the Federal Budget. Crown, 2013: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/red-ink-david-wessel/1110783493 Wessel, David. Only The Rich Can Play: How Washington Works in the New Gilded Age. PublicAffairs, 2021: https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/david-wessel/only-the-rich-can-play/9781541757202/?lens=publicaffairs The Antideficiency Act: https://www.gao.gov/legal/appropriations-law/resources The Chips Act: https://www.congress.gov/117/bills/hr4346/BILLS-117hr4346enr.pdf The Biden Administration's International Economic Agenda: A Conversation with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan: https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/es_20230427_sullivan_intl_economic_agenda_transcript.pdf

The Federal Reserve raised interest rates again, its tenth consecutive hike, this time by a quarter of a point. But Chairman Jay Powell also suggested the Fed may pause future hikes if the economy continues to cool. He cited the state of the job market as to why he's optimistic the rate increases won't tip the economy into a recession. Amna Nawaz discussed the latest with David Wessel. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

The Exchange goes on the road to Washington, D.C. ahead of the Federal Reserve's interest rate decision.Sen. John Kennedy joins Kelly and Tyler to discuss the economy, the banking industry, and the debt ceiling deadline.David Wessel from the Brookings Institute says the big question is what the Fed will signal about June.And Dan Clifton from Strategas has a closer look at the policy implications of the recent bank failures and a potential default.

After the U.S. reached its debt limit last week, Secretary Janet Yellen announced that the Treasury will engage in extraordinary measure to prevent the U.S. from defaulting on its debt, but it remains to be seen how and when Congress will take action. Brookings experts David Wessel, Bill Gale, Molly Reynolds, Wendy Edelberg explain the debt ceiling, the economic ramifications of default, and the politics of finding a solution. Transcript and show notes: https://www.brookings.edu/podcast-episode/whats-happening-with-the-debt-ceiling-again/ 

Mark, Cris, and Marisa are joined by David Wessel, senior fellow in economic studies at Brookings, to dissect the CPI report, and discuss Fed policy, prospects for recession, and the looming threat of a debt limit breach.Come join us at the Moody's Analytics Summit, March 5th-7th at the Phoenician in Scottsdale Arizona.To learn more & register, click here:  Moody's Analytics Summit 2023. Follow Mark Zandi @MarkZandi, Cris deRitis @MiddleWayEcon, and Marisa DiNatale on LinkedIn for additional insight

Inflation slowed in November for the fifth consecutive month. Reset discusses the numbers with David Wessel, director of the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at the Brookings Institution.

While President Biden has officially declared the COVID-19 pandemic “over,” America now faces a new challenge in the form of an overheating economy and high inflation, and the prospect of a Federal Reserve-induced recession is looming. In the latest Brookings Podcast on Economic Activity, David Wessel, director of the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy, spoke with Laurence Ball of Johns Hopkins University about his new paper, “Understanding U.S. inflation during the COVID era.” In the study, Ball and his co-authors find that the Fed may need to push unemployment higher than its 4.1% projection to return inflation to the 2% target. Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/3ChFl3S The Brookings Podcast on Economic Activity is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Subscribe and listen on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu.

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell delivered a stark message Friday on inflation, warning that more interest rate hikes are coming and they're going to take a toll. Those statements came during the Fed's annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. David Wessel, director of the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at the Brookings Institution joins William Brangham to discuss. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell delivered a stark message Friday on inflation, warning that more interest rate hikes are coming and they're going to take a toll. Those statements came during the Fed's annual economic symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. David Wessel, director of the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at the Brookings Institution joins William Brangham to discuss. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Economic shocks can have outsized effects on children, interrupting their growth and development. How well did policy buffer households with children from the economic consequences of the COVID-19 downturn? How did changes in areas like childcare, food and nutrition, and health insurance affect children's well-being? On this episode, host David Wessel is joined by Anna Aizer, professor at Brown University and co-director of the National Bureau of Economic Research Program on Children, and Claudia Persico, assistant professor at American University. Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/3yhtJLd  Recession Remedies podcast is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Subscribe and listen on Apple, Spotify, Google, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu, and follow and tweet at @policypodcasts on Twitter.

The COVID-19 pandemic posed a particular dilemma to state and local governments. The federal government provided close to $1 trillion to state and local governments to help them meet this dilemma—far more than the roughly $275 billion provided during the Great Recession. But something unexpected happened. On this episode, Brookings Senior Fellow Louise Sheiner joins host David Wessel to discuss what the last couple of years can teach us about state and local governments during recessions. Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/3HvqzYr  Recession Remedies podcast is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Subscribe and listen on Apple, Spotify, Google, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu, and follow and tweet at @policypodcasts on Twitter.

The COVID-19 economic policy response helped prevent dire outcomes for renters and homeowners with mortgages during the pandemic. How did the stars align to make forbearance an especially effective policy? What did the pandemic reveal about gaps in the rental assistance safety net? To discuss these questions and more on housing policy during COVID-19, host David Wessel is joined by Laurie S. Goodman, vice president of housing finance policy at the Urban Institute, and Paul Willen, senior economist and policy advisor for research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/3xMUTdu  Recession Remedies podcast is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Subscribe and listen on Apple, Spotify, Google, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu, and follow and tweet at @policypodcasts on Twitter.

The U.S. responded to the COVID-19 recession with massive and unprecedented support for businesses. The business sector overall fared much better than had been expected at the outset. Is this evidence that the business aid had strong economic benefits? Why should policymakers think twice before redeploying the same toolkit during future recessions? Ben Iverson, associate professor of finance at Brigham Young University, and Gabe Chodorow-Reich, associate professor of economics at Harvard University, join host David Wessel to discuss lessons learned about support for businesses. Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/3mfdOaB  Recession Remedies podcast is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Subscribe and listen on Apple, Spotify, Google, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu, and follow and tweet at @policypodcasts on Twitter.

The three rounds of Economic Impact Payments during COVID-19 were by far the largest direct stimulus payments made to American households. They were one of the main policy successes of the pandemic response in providing immediate support directly to households. What effect did these checks have on households and the economy? Should the program be replicated in future recessions—or better targeted? Melvin Stephens Jr., professor and chair of economics at the University of Michigan, and Michael Gelman, assistant professor of economics at Claremont McKenna College, join host David Wessel to discuss lessons learned about stimulus checks. Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/3z2wf9S  Recession Remedies podcast is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Subscribe and listen on Apple, Spotify, Google, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu, and follow and tweet at @policypodcasts on Twitter.

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. government implemented the largest expansion in federal unemployment insurance (UI) benefits in U.S. history. Did expanded UI reach those who needed help? Did it stimulate the economy? And did it disincentivize people from looking for work as the pandemic abated? Fiona Greig, managing director and co-president of the JPMorgan Chase Institute, and Pascal Noel, Neubauer Family Assistant Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, join host David Wessel to discuss lessons learned about unemployment insurance. Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/3LJtFIC  Recession Remedies podcast is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Subscribe and listen on Apple, Spotify, Google, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu, and follow and tweet at @policypodcasts on Twitter.

The COVID-19 pandemic posed an extraordinary threat to the economy. In the U.S., the COVID-19 downturn was sharp, but the ensuing economic recovery was faster and stronger than nearly any forecaster anticipated. What was the effect of the economic policy response? Did it come with trade-offs? On the first episode of the Recession Remedies podcast, Jason Furman, Aetna Professor of the Practice of Economic Policy at Harvard University, and Wendy Edelberg, senior fellow and director of The Hamilton Project at Brookings, join host David Wessel for an overview of the economic policy response and the lessons learned for future recessions. Show notes and transcript: https://brook.gs/37E1gpv  Recession Remedies podcast is part of the Brookings Podcast Network. Subscribe and listen on Apple, Spotify, Google, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Send feedback email to podcasts@brookings.edu, and follow and tweet at @policypodcasts on Twitter.

Inflation numbers released Tuesday by the U.S. Labor Department show prices are up in nearly every consumer category, but especially energy costs. President Biden traveled to the midwest to explain how his administration is going to ease the pain at the pump. David Wessel, director of the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy at the Brookings Institution, joins Judy Woodruff to explain. PBS NewsHour is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

Opportunity Zones were created under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, signed into law by President Trump in December 2017. Originally the brainchild of Napster co-founder Sean Parker and supported by both Republicans and Democrats, the idea was to attract investment to poor communities across the U.S. by offering tax breaks for investors. Brookings Institution senior fellow and former Wall Street Journal economics editor and columnist David Wessel author of "Only the Rich Can Play," talks about the creation of Opportunity Zones and discusses the impact they have had.     Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices