Olivier Blanchard on the State of Macroeconomics Olivier Blanchard joins the show to discuss working at the IMF in the midst of the 2008 financial crisis and Great Recession. He also shares his thoughts on the limitations of current-day macroeconomic models as well as some suggestions to improve them.

JW Mason on Potential GDP and the Recovery JW Mason joins the show to discuss his recent paper, “What Recovery? The Case for Continued Expansionary Policy at the Fed?” JW argues that the recovery from the Great Recession was unusually weak. Furthermore, the American economy is still not at full employment, and, as a result, potential GDP is continually underestimated. In order to get the economy back to full employment, JW argues greater monetary expansion is needed.

Larry Summers on Secular Stagnation, Fiscal Policy, and Fed Policy Lawrence Summers is the Charles W. Eliot University Professor and President Emeritus of Harvard University. Previously, he served as U.S. Treasury Secretary under President Bill Clinton and Director of the National Economic Council under President Obama. He joined the show to discuss his work as both an academic and a policymaker. He also shares his thoughts on monetary and fiscal policy since the recent financial crisis and Great Recession. Finally, he explains why he has recently become more open to nominal GDP targeting.

Eric Hilt is a professor of economics and economic historian at Wellesley College. He joined the show to discuss his new journal article *Economic History, Historical Analysis, and the “New History of Capitalism,”* which examines the growing debate between economic historians and historians of capitalism over issues such as slavery and economic growth. Eric also shares his thoughts on the “Cliometric Revolution,” which transformed the way many economic historians conduct their analysis.

JW Verret is an associate law professor at the Antonin Scalia School of Law at George Mason University and a senior affiliated scholar at the Mercatus Center. Previously, he served as the chief economist on the House Financial Services Committee. He joined the show to discuss his experience working on Capitol Hill and his thoughts on the CHOICE Act, the current legislation designed to replace the Dodd-Frank Act.

Adam Millsap is an assistant director at the L. Charles Hilton Center at Florida State University and a senior affiliated scholar at the Mercatus Center. He joined the show to discuss how different regional economies can lead to business cycles at the regional and state levels, rather than the federal level. This creates difficulty for monetary policy at the federal level as looser monetary policy may be appropriate for states like West Virginia, but may not be appropriate for states like California. He and David also discuss the decline of inter-state labor mobility and how bad regulation deters people from moving to areas with better job prospects.

My latest guest is Betsey Stevenson. Betsey is an associate professor of public policy at the University of Michigan and previously served as the chief economist at the U.S. Labor Department. She joined me to discuss her experience working at the Labor Department at a time of high unemployment as well as her more recent research on challenges in the U.S. labor market. Specifically, she talks about the problem of decreased male labor force participation and why “manly men need to do more girly jobs.”

Greg Mankiw, professor of economics at Harvard University and former chair of the Council on Economic Advisers under President George W. Bush, joined me to discuss the history of macroeconomics and how macroeconomists function as both scientists, who formulate and test theories, and as engineers, who set out to solve real world problems. Greg also shared his thoughts on the debate between the New Keynesian School and New Classical School and how that debate has shaped how we think about economics.

My latest podcast is with Edward Harrison. Edward is a consultant with Global Macro Advisers and founder of the investment news blog Credit Writedowns. He joined me to discuss the political forces that led to the establishment of the Eurozone and the turmoil that has plagued it since the Great Recession. Edward also shares his thoughts on whether the Eurozone will survive.