All versions of the podcast link back to this article (hopefully!) which provides some background and further reading suggestions.

In this week’s conversation, Gary Gensler and I (Simon Johnson) discuss about the recent history of the Federal Reserve System and review how thinking about monetary policy has shifted in recent decades.

We share our perspectives on what happened before, during, and after the Global Financial Crisis of 2008. Has the Fed found a new, better way to run monetary policy? Or have they become trapped into some problematic ways of thinking and operating?

Are short-term interest rates likely now to rise or fall? And what will happen to the yield curve (the different between short- and long-term rates)?

Below are some readings that we draw upon and recommend for your consideration, starting with three (free) chapters from the CEPR volume that we helped edit in 2025.

‘The Financial Sector and Global Dollar System’, Gary Gensler, Lev Menand, and Joshua Younger, in ‘The Economic Consequences of The Second Trump Administration: A Preliminary Assessment’, CEPR Press, December 1, 2025. The authors feel strongly that we should think about the dollar in the full global context. (The embedded link takes you to an easy-to-access free version on ssrn.com.)

‘The Federal Reserve, the New Administration, and the Outlook for the Economy and Monetary Policy’, William B. English, in ‘The Economic Consequences of The Second Trump Administration: A Preliminary Assessment’, CEPR Press, December 1, 2025. A former top Fed official offers his views on what has and has not changed since early 2025.

‘Dollar Dominance and the Trump Administration’, Steven B. Kamin, in ‘The Economic Consequences of The Second Trump Administration: A Preliminary Assessment’, CEPR Press , December 1, 2025. Another former Fed official offers an international perspective. Can the dollar really retain its global predominance?

‘Monetary Policy: What Are Its Goals? How Does It Work?’, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve. A helpful review of the basics.

‘Will the Fed Be Allowed to Do Its Job?’, Gary Gensler, Project Syndicate, December 15, 2025. Gary expands on his concerns. (Project Syndicate has a paywall, but you are allowed a limited number of views without subscribing.)

‘What’s Ahead for the Fed—and All of Us?’, A Fireside Chat with Peter Fisher and Andrew Lo, MIT Laboratory for Financial Engineering, November 19, 2025. Two experienced MIT colleagues expand on their concerns.

And, as promised in the podcast, here’s a link to William Jennings Bryan’s Cross of Gold Speech, from the 1896 Democratic National Convention. Kudos to the folks at George Mason University for including some original audio alongside the text.

And here’s a link to Citrini Research’s The 2028 Global Intelligence Report. When equity markets move, for example because expectations about the future change dramatically, what should the Federal Reserve do?

This episode of Power and Consequences was recorded on February 27, 2026, but we do discuss the history and potential consequences of oil price shocks…

Also available on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

In Episode Zero of Power and Consequences, Gary Gensler and I (Simon Johnson) introduce ourselves, explain why we are launching this podcast, and elaborate on how it is related to our course, Public Policy and the Private Sector, currently running at MIT Sloan.

Here are some readings related to the episode, including items to which we refer directly (the CEPR publications) and useful background material (on the Overton Window). We’ll use this substack to provide similar links for all episodes.

The Economics of the Second Trump Administration, Gary Gensler, Simon Johnson, Ugo Panizza, & Beatrice Weder di Mauro, CEPR VoxEU, December 4, 2025, second (!) edition.

The Second Trump Administration: Consequences for the ‘Rest of Us’, Gary Gensler, Simon Johnson, Ugo Panizza, & Beatrice Weder di Mauro, CEPR VoxEU, December 8, 2025.

A Brief Explanation of the Overton Window, Joseph Lehman, Mackinac Center, 2017.

We recorded this episode early on Friday, February 20th. Since that time, there have been several significant shifts — on tariffs and on TSA PreCheck/Global Entry. We’ll provide updated reactions in this newsletter and in future podcasts.

As mentioned in the podcast, we would like to express our thanks and appreciation to our co-editors Beatrice Weder di Mauro and Ugo Panizza, as well as Tessa Ogden and everyone else at the Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR), including the 50+ authors and amazing team we worked with to produce two editions of The Economics of the Second Trump Administration in 2025. We would also like to emphasize that all the views expressed in this newsletter (as in the podcast) are those of Gary and Simon alone - we are not here representing any organizations or any other individuals.