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Jesús Fernández-Villaverde is a professor of economics at the University of Pennsylvania. Jesús returns to the show to discuss his rise on X, how to frame global demographic decline, the three accelerants of demographic decline, the role of housing in family size, how AI will play a role in global demographics, what we know about AGI, the question of dollar dominance, and much more.

Check out the transcript for this week's episode, now with links.

Recorded on February 20th, 2026

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Follow Jesús Fernández-Villaverde on X: @JesusFerna7026

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Timestamps

00:00:00 - Intro

00:07:22 - Demographics

00:39:28 - Artificial Intelligence

00:54:07 - Currency Dominance

01:03:20 - Outro

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Chris Meissner is a professor of economics at University of California at Davis and is the author of the recent book One from the Many: The Global Economy Since 1850. In Chris's first appearance on the podcast he discusses the historical bend towards greater globalization, how we should really define the global economy, the impact of the Great Financial Crisis on globalization and populism, the scope of globalization from the 1820's to today, the validity of the China Shock, the United States' current move away from globalization, and much more.

Check out the transcript for this week's episode, now with links.

Recorded on February 19th, 2026

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Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth

Follow Chris Meissner on X: @CmicMeissner

Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings

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Timestamps

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:50 - History Tends Toward Globalization

00:05:55 - What Is the Global Economy?

00:19:08 - Great Financial Crisis

00:22:15 - First Wave of Globalization: 1820–1914

00:29:42 - Interwar Period: 1918–1938

00:40:51 - Post-War Bretton Woods Arrangement

00:49:36 - The China Shock

00:55:40 - Detour from Globalization

00:59:44 - Outro

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Raghuram Rajan is a finance professor at the University of Chicago and leads the Group of 30. Previously he was the chief economist at the IMF and the governor of the Reserve Bank of India. In Raghuram's first appearance on the show, he discusses his famous 2005 Jackson Hole speech, how he righted the ship on India's emerging economy, the consequences of zero-sum thinking, the differences between being a policymaker and an academic, the ratcheting effect of QE on the Fed's balance sheet, and much more.

Check out the transcript for this week's episode, now with links.

Recorded on January 20th, 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

00:01:58 - Raghu's Career

00:22:20 - Policymaker Versus Academic

00:29:00 - Ratcheting Effect of Quantitative Easing

01:01:06 - Outro