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RE-AIR: Robert Samuelson on Paul Volcker and the Great Inflation

Release Date: 12/11/2019

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

Macro Musings with David Beckworth

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 on our new YouTube Channel! Check out the for this week’s episode, now with links....

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

Macro Musings with David Beckworth

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 on our new YouTube Channel! Check out the for this week’s episode, now with links. Recorded on September 8th, 2026...

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

Macro Musings with David Beckworth

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 on our new YouTube Channel! Check out the for this week’s episode, now with links. Recorded on July 28th, 2026 Subscribe to David's Substack: Follow David...

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

Macro Musings with David Beckworth

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 on our new YouTube Channel! Check out the for this week’s episode, now with links. Recorded on September 4th, 2026 Subscribe to David's Substack: Follow David Beckworth on X: Follow the show on...

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

Macro Musings with David Beckworth

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 on our new YouTube Channel! Check out the for this week’s episode, now with links. Recorded on August 19th, 2026 Subscribe to David's...

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

Macro Musings with David Beckworth

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 on our new YouTube Channel! Check out the for this week’s episode, now with links. Recorded on August 18th, 2026 Subscribe to David's Substack: Follow David Beckworth on X: Follow the show on X: ...

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

Macro Musings with David Beckworth

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 on our new YouTube Channel! Check out the for this week’s episode,...

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

Macro Musings with David Beckworth

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 on our new YouTube Channel! Check out the for this week’s episode, now with links. Recorded on July 22nd, 2026 Subscribe to David's Substack: Follow...

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

Macro Musings with David Beckworth

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 on our new YouTube Channel! Check...

Bill Nelson on Shrinking the Fed’s Balance Sheet and Reviving Interbank Markets

Macro Musings with David Beckworth

Bill Nelson is chief research officer and chief economist at the Bank Policy Institute and a former deputy director of the Division of Monetary Affairs at the Federal Reserve Board. In Bill’s 11th appearance on the show, he discusses how central banks are rethinking their operating systems, the case for a smaller Fed balance sheet and more routine discount window borrowing, the revival of interbank markets, lessons from Silicon Valley Bank, and much more. Watch the on our new YouTube Channel! Check out the for this week’s episode, now with links. Recorded on July...

More Episodes

Robert Samuelson is an economics columnist for the Washington Post and spent several decades working at Newsweek, where he wrote on various economic topics. Robert is the author of several books, including *The Good Life and Its Discontents: The American Dream in the Age of Entitlement* and *The Great Inflation and Its Aftermath: The Past and Future of American Affluence*. He joins the show today to talk about the latter and its implications for today. David and Robert go in-depth about the Great Inflation, as they discuss the disagreement within macroeconomics during the 60s and 70s, the history and significance of the period, and how Ronald Reagan and Paul Volcker sought to end the inflation.

Tributes to Paul Volcker:

*Remembering Paul Volcker, The Man Who Tamed Inflation* by Scott Sumner

https://thehill.com/opinion/finance/473963-remembering-paul-volcker-the-man-who-tamed-inflation

*Paul Volcker’s Legacy* by Scott Sumner

https://www.econlib.org/paul-volckers-legacy/

*How Paul Volcker Beat Inflation and Saved an Independent Fed* by Roger Lowenstein

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/how-paul-volcker-beat-inflation-and-saved-an-independent-fed/2019/12/10/7e58d7ae-1b64-11ea-87f7-f2e91143c60d_story.html

*Paul Volcker Was Inflation’s Worst Enemy* by John Taylor

https://www.wsj.com/articles/paul-volcker-was-inflations-worst-enemy-11575937617

*Paul A. Volcker, Fed Chairman Who Waged War on Inflation, Is Dead at 92* by Binyamin Appelbaum and Robert D. Hershey Jr.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/09/business/paul-a-volcker-dead.html

Transcript for the episode: https://www.mercatus.org/bridge/podcasts/12112019/robert-samuelson-paul-volcker-and-great-inflation

Robert’s Washington Post profile & bio: https://www.washingtonpost.com/people/robert-j-samuelson/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.6e300b47761d

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