EconBuff Podcast #50 with Alex Salter Dr. Alex Salter talks with me about his book Money and the Rule of Law. Dr. Salter explains the major problems with current monetary policy execution. Dr. Salter argues that central banks struggle to implement monetary policy effectively because of discretion on the part of the central bank. We explore Salter’s main argument in the book, that the Federal Reserve should not make its own goals, but that the democratic process should more ti

EconBuff Podcast #49 with Fernando Colunga Dr. Fernando Colunga talks with me about using Divisia monetary aggregates to measure how much money is in the economy. Dr. Colunga explains the central problems with current money measurement. We discuss simple sum measures and Dr. Colunga argues that simple sums can be improved upon by weighting the different types of money. We explore liquidity, with Dr. Colunga explaining how Divisia monetary measures apply weights to various cat

EconBuff #45 with Eric McKee Dr. Eric McKee talks with me about the recent events at Silicon Valley Bank. Dr. McKee walks us through what...

EconBuff #43 with Ryan Mattson Dr. Ryan Mattson talks with me about recent changes at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors. Dr. Mattson...

Part Two Econ Buff Podcast #42 with Rex Pjesky and Ryan Mattson Dr. Ryan Mattson and Dr. Rex Pjesky continue the discussion with me about...

EconBuff Podcast #33 with Rex Pjesky and Ryan Mattson Dr. Rex Pjesky and Dr. Ryan Mattson talk with me about inflation and the current...

EconBuff Podcast #30 with Ryan Mattson Dr. Ryan Mattson does a question and answer session with me in response to questions generated by his past Econ Buff episode on Cryptocurrency. Dr. Mattson answers questions about the ease of trading between cryptocurrencies. He defends the credibility of the Federal Reserve based on its historical performance in containing inflation. I push back on this defense, criticizing the FED’s performance since the early 2000s and question him on

EconBuff Podcast #28 with Ryan Mattson Dr. Ryan Mattson talks with me about cryptocurrency. Dr. Mattson walks us through what...

EconBuff Podcast #24 with Eric McKee Dr. Eric McKee talks with me about the short squeeze with GameStop stock happened. Dr. McKee walks us through what short trading is. We discuss the details of how short squeezes happen. We explore how hedge funds work and Dr. McKee explains why hedge funds use shorts. Dr. McKee argues the confluence of zero dollar commissions, the pandemic, stimulus checks, and a little bit of good news for GameStop caused the short squeeze event. Dr. McKe

EconBuff Podcast #23 with Ryan Mattson Dr. Ryan Mattson talks with me about the GameStop short squeeze episode. Dr. Mattson walks us through the four potential narratives surrounding RobinHood's decision to shut down trading. We discuss the mechanical explanation, where RobinHood, is forced to stop trading for reasons related to clearinghouse and collateral constraints. We explore the trading curb narrative, and Dr. Mattson explains how the stock exchange often halts trading