Macro Musings with David Beckworth

Kris Mitchener is a professor of economics at Santa Clara University and is an economic and monetary historian. In Kris's first appearance on the show, he discusses how he fell in love with building data sets out of old dusty archives, the origins and fall of bimetallism, the pros and cons of the gold standard, the problem of operating losses on the Fed's balance sheet, what truly anchors the price level, and much more. 
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Check out the transcript for this week's episode, now with links.
Recorded on March 4th, 2026
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Timestamps
00:00:00 - Intro
00:01:33 - Kris' Career Path
00:06:32 - What Is Bimetallism?
00:14:41 - The Gold Standard
00:28:55 - Disinflation Policies and Central Bank Finances
00:49:25 - What Anchors the Price Level
00:55:22 - Outro

Steve Kamin is a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and was previously the director of the Division of International Finance at the Federal Reserve Board. Mark Sobel is the US chairman of the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum and is a veteran of the US Department of Treasury. Steve and Mark return to the show to discuss the status of dollar dominance, the future threats to dollar dominance, the role or lack thereof that stablecoins will play in dollar dominance, the new findings in the Treasury Foreign Exchange Report, the current state of tariffs, whether we are in a second China shock, 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 March 5th, 2026
Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus
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Timestamps
00:00:00 - Intro
00:02:26 - Termites Eating Away at Dollar Dominance
00:16:52 - Future Threats to Dollar Dominance
00:19:47 - Stablecoins and Dollar Dominance
00:33:40 - Treasury Foreign Exchange Report
00:44:28 - Tariff Policy
00:53:25 - Second China Shock?
01:00:38 - Outro

Ruth Judson is a monetary economist, economic historian, and veteran of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. In Ruth's first appearance on the show she discusses her career at the Fed, field trips tracking counterfeit dollars around the global, how we know how much currency is held overseas, why money doesn't matter anymore, the problem with cashless societies, how to understand TIC data, the promise of dollar backed stablecoins, 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 March 4th, 2026
Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus
Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth
Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings
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Timestamps
00:00:00 - Intro
00:01:13 - Ruth at the Fed
00:08:09 - Currency
00:31:29 - Counterfeits
00:39:00 - TIC Data and Safe Assets
00:44:18 - Dollar-Based Stablecoins
00:49:55 - Outro

Bill Nelson is a chief research officer and chief economist at the Bank Policy Institute. In Bill's 10th appearance on the show he discusses his infamous email list, the ratchet effect from QE, his congressional testimony, the BPI's Bank Treasurers Survey, how he thinks the Fed should shrink the balance sheet, whether the Fed is profitable, 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 March 3rd, 2026
Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus
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Timestamps
00:00:00 - Intro
00:02:00 - Quantitative Easing Ratchet Effect
00:16:31 - Bill's Congressional Testimony
00:31:12 - BPI's Bank Treasurers Survey
00:37:37 - How To Shrink the Balance Sheet
00:48:44 - The Fed's Profits
00:54:50 - Outro

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Neha Narula is the director of the Digital Currency Initiative which is based out of the Media Lab at MIT. Anders Brownworth is veteran software engineer in the crypto space and is a Senior Research Advisor at DCI. Daniel Aronoff is Research Affiliate in the MIT Department of Economics and a Collaborator at DCI. Neha, Anders, and Daniel join the show to discuss their work at DCI, the current state of stablecoins, their paper on the hidden plumbing of stablecoins, the basic mechanics of stablecoins, the technical and operational risks of stablecoins, the implications for the treasury market, interoperability between blockchains, and much more.  
Check out the transcript for this week's episode, now with links.
Recorded on February 27th, 2026
Subscribe to David's Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus
Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth
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Timestamps
00:00:00 - Intro
00:01:41 - Background of the Group
00:03:11 - Digital Currency Initiative
00:05:36 - State of Stablecoins
00:10:42 - Hidden Plumbing of Stablecoins
00:15:42 - Basic Mechanics of Stablecoins
00:26:07 - Technical and Operational Risks of Stablecoins
00:39:09 - Implications for the Treasury Market
00:48:18 - Business Model of Stablecoins
00:49:24 - Interoperability Between Blockchains
00:52:53 - What's the Deal with Tether?
00:56:23 - Outro