Tyler Goodspeed: Why "Pattern-Seeking Mammals" Blame Bankers Instead of Locusts

Today on The Gist, ExxonMobil Chief Economist Tyler Goodspeed discusses his new book, Recession: The Real Reasons Economies Shrink and What to Do About It. Goodspeed argues that we fundamentally misunderstand economic busts. Because we are "pattern-seeking mammals," we try to frame recessions as the inevitable, moral punishments for greedy economic booms. But historically, economic downturns are actually driven by random, unpredictable shocks—from the 2001 dot-com bust to a literal plague of locusts in the 1870s. Plus, breaking down the recent federal court ruling striking down Donald Trump's executive order aimed at defunding NPR, and the painful irony of winning a First Amendment battle while still losing the cash. Produced by Corey Wara Video and Social Media by Geoff Craig Do you have questions or comments, or just want to say hello? Email us at ⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected] For full Pesca content and updates, check out our website at https://www.mikepesca.com/⁠ For ad-free content or to become a Pesca Plus subscriber, check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://subscribe.mikepesca.com/ For Mike's daily takes on Substack, subscribe to The Gist List https://mikepesca.substack.com/ Follow us on Social Media:⁠⁠⁠⁠ YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC4_bh0wHgk2YfpKf4rg40_g⁠⁠⁠⁠ Instagram https://www.instagram.com/pescagist/ X https://x.com/pescami TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@pescagist To advertise on the show, contact ⁠⁠⁠⁠[email protected]⁠⁠⁠⁠ or visit ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://advertising.libsyn.com/TheGist Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.