Think Like An Economist
by Betsey Stevenson & Justin Wolfers
Think Like an Economist and you’ll see the world more clearly, empowering you to make better decisions at work, at home, and in your community. Leading economists Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers will take you on a joyous romp through their field as they introduce you to the big ideas in economics, and show how you can apply them to live in your own life. Their signature approach reveals that every decision is an economic decision and this podcast uncovers the economic forces that shape the world around you. Betsey and Justin believe that economics is a superpower, and they want to teach you to fly.
Episodes
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Blue Wave Economics | The Professor Is In
What did the midterm elections reveal about the economy—and your household budget? Justin Wolfers examines the Democratic sweep through a puzzle: how can the economy grow while people feel so anxious? He contrasts GDP growth of 3.4% at an annual rate with record-low University of Michigan…
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The Hidden Feedback Loop Behind Rising Prices | The Professor Is In
Why did the Fed hold interest rates, and what is it waiting for? Justin Wolfers makes a crucial distinction about the Fed’s decision to hold interest rates: there can be a strong case for delaying a hike, but waiting to see September’s hike in next month’s inflation numbers is a weak one.…
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America's Jekyll-and-Hyde Economy | Off The Clock
The economy is growing — so why does your paycheck feel like it's shrinking? GDP is up 3.4%, unemployment is near record lows, the stock market keeps hitting highs — and yet it doesn't feel good. On this Halloween episode of Off the Clock, Justin Wolfers and journalist Stacey Vanek Smith dig into...
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What the New GDP Report Actually Says | Diving In
GDP grew 3.4% last quarter — so why does inflation still hurt? Justin Wolfers untangles it. The last big data dump before the 2026 midterms just landed, and it's a tangle: GDP grew at a 3.4% annualized rate last quarter — faster than forecasters expected — while the Fed's preferred inflation…
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Did the Midterms Delay a Fed Rate Hike? | Diving In
Why did the Fed hold interest rates steady when inflation is still above 2%? Inflation is running hot by every measure — PCE at 3.4%, core at 3.0%, and the CPI that tracks your actual cost of living at 3.7% — yet the Federal Reserve just chose to do nothing. Justin Wolfers walks you through what...
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The Dilemma Behind Debunking Trump | The Professor Is In
President Trump brags that he's brought $21 trillion in new investment into America. Justin Wolfers already debunked that number (the White House's own list only reaches $11.3 trillion), so in this office-hours episode he answers your questions about what that claim would even mean if it were…
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What Is The State of Your Economy?
Why do strong economic numbers feel so bad? Justin Wolfers says there are three economies, not one. Unemployment is 4.2%, the stock market is near a record, and GDP is growing — so why does your grocery bill, your rent, and your fill-up tell a different story? In this live call-in on NPR's The...
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Trump Says $21 Trillion Is Coming. Is It? | Diving In
President Trump says he’s brought $21 trillion of new investment into America since taking office. Sometimes it’s $18 trillion, sometimes $22 trillion. The exact figure isn’t the problem. All of them are wrong, by a lot. In this episode, Justin Wolfers gives you the questions you need to ask to...
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Why Americans Don't Believe the Good Economic News | The Professor Is In
Unemployment is low, inflation has cooled, and by most hard numbers the economy is doing okay — yet Americans sound miserable. Consumer sentiment this summer sat at 52, roughly where it was in May 1980, when unemployment was nearly twice as high and inflation was running around 14%. Justin…
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Don’t Be Fooled by Trump’s Diesel Gimmicks | The Professor Is In
Tax-free red dye diesel won't make a single extra drop — so who really pays for it? President Trump signed an executive order letting truckers fill up with red dye diesel — the cheaper, untaxed fuel normally reserved for tractors and bulldozers — and the White House says it'll save truckers about...
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What Halloween Candy Reveals About Inflation | Off the Clock
Why is inflation rising faster than your wages? It's a cost-push energy shock, not the good kind. Justin Wolfers and Bloomberg's Stacey Vanek Smith dig into the latest inflation report on Off the Clock, and the news isn't fun: prices are climbing 3.7% while wages crawl along at 3%, which means…
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Why Official Inflation Can Seem Too Low | The Professor Is In
Prices rose 3.7% over the past year, core inflation is stuck around 2.6%, and your paycheck is buying less than it used to — yet it feels like everything costs way more than that. Economist Justin Wolfers sits down with producer Augusta Chapman for office-hours-style answers to your questions…
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The Latest Inflation Report, Explained | Diving In
The latest inflation report just dropped, and Justin Wolfers digs into why it's worse than Wall Street expected. Headline inflation came in at an eye-popping 3.7% — well above the Fed's 2% target — and core inflation is stuck above 2.6%. The really worrying part is the latest month: prices rose...
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The Hidden Force Dragging Down Consumer Sentiment | Diving In
Americans feel almost exactly as gloomy today as they did in 1980 — when inflation was near 14% and unemployment was close to 8%. Today those numbers are a fraction of that, yet consumer sentiment hit an all-time low. Justin Wolfers treats this like a detective case: the standard economic...
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The Nobel-Winning Insight That Made Spending Hard to Predict | Diving In
Why Robert Hall and Michael Woodford won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Economics — explained simply. This morning Robert Hall and Michael Woodford won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Economics, and Justin Wolfers couldn't wait to explain what they figured out — and why it touches how much you spend every…
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The G7’s 100 Million Barrel Announcement Changes Nothing | The Professor Is In
Justin Wolfers takes apart a headline that circled the globe: the G7 announcing it will release 100 million barrels of oil it had already promised to release back in March 2026. On this episode of Diving In, producer Augusta Chapman brings him your questions, office-hours style, and Justin…
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Trump's Red Diesel Order, Explained | Diving In
Justin Wolfers digs into President Trump's new executive order letting truckers fill up with red diesel — the tax-free fuel normally reserved for farmers, construction crews, and miners — and deferring the 24.4-cent federal highway tax until after the election. The White House says it'll save a...
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This Oil Deal Sounds Huge. Until You Do the Math | Diving In
Trump calls it a massive win: 100 million barrels of emergency oil and fuel released to bring diesel prices down. In this episode of Diving In, Justin Wolfers reads the G7 communique line by line and finds something much smaller — an agreement to finally deliver on a release already promised back...
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Why the Jobs Report Keeps Changing | The Professor Is In
The September jobs report landed weak, and the numbers for July and August got quietly revised downward. Economist Justin Wolfers takes your questions on what that actually means — and why a statistical agency that corrects itself is more trustworthy, not less. Subscribe: on YouTube 👉...
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Trump Wants Cheap Money. Why Are Rates Going Up Anyway?
What happens when a president wants lower interest rates—but the economy, inflation, and bond markets are all pushing the other way? In this episode of What Next with Mary Harris from Slate, Justin Wolfers explains why the latest fight over interest rates is about much more than one Federal…
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Why Workers Are Getting Less of What the Economy Produces | Off The Clock
Justin Wolfers and Bloomberg columnist Stacey Vanek Smith slow down to unpack the one number that quietly shapes your paycheck: labor's share of income. For most of modern history, workers took home about two-thirds of the pie. Today it's down to 53% — and the rest goes to the people who own the...
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What September's Employment Numbers Really Say | Diving In
The September jobs report landed with a thud: just 29,000 jobs created, well short of the 80,000–90,000 forecasters expected, with July and August both revised down and unemployment ticking up to 4.2%. In this episode of Diving In, Justin Wolfers walks you through why those numbers are...
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Are Your Financial Mistakes Making Someone Else Rich? | The Professor Is In
Every dollar you spend having your money actively managed by someone in a sports car is paying for that sports car. In this Professor Is In episode, Justin Wolfers takes questions after his keynote at Stanford's Initiative for Financial Decision Making and lands on the core ideas he thinks every...
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Why Good Money Advice Fails to Land | Diving In
Most of us wash our hands even though we've never seen a germ. But when it comes to personal finance, hardly anyone "washes their hands" — and the mistakes are expensive. Justin Wolfers, back from a Stanford keynote to finance educators, argues that ignoring sound financial advice may cost people...
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What Airbags Teach Us About Artificial Intelligence | The Professor Is In
AI safety fears are in the news, so Justin Wolfers sits down with producer Augusta to work through the economics — and the ethics — of building guardrails into AI. Using airbags as the analogy, he shows why a "safe" AI, like a car with airbags, works a little less well than one built with no...
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How Much Should We Spend to Prevent an AI Catastrophe? | Diving In
The people building the most powerful AI see faster science, better medicines, and explosive economic growth. Others see catastrophe. Justin Wolfers steps into that argument with the one tool that can actually weigh the two: economics. Subscribe: on YouTube 👉…
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How Accountability Shapes National Borrowing Rates | The Professor Is In
What's the relationship between journalism and borrowing costs? When a local paper shuts down, something surprising happens: the town starts paying higher interest on its debt. Justin Wolfers sits down with producer Augusta to answer viewer questions about why press freedom isn't just a...
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Why Trump's Diesel Export Ban Could Raise Gas Prices | Diving In
The White House is floating a temporary ban on U.S. diesel exports, and the pitch sounds simple: keep the diesel here, and prices fall for farmers and truckers. In this episode of Diving In, Justin Wolfers walks through why that story falls apart the moment you follow the economics past its first...
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What Would It Take to Eliminate Poverty? | The Professor Is In
In this episode of the Professor Is In, Justin Wolfers answers your questions about poverty in America. Justin walks through the official poverty measure ($32,649 for two adults and two kids), the newer supplemental measure ($41,701 for a renting family that adjusts for local costs and now counts...
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The Economic Cost of Trump's War on The Press | Diving In
When the White House pulled the press badges of CNN, MS Now, and Politico, most of us reached for the First Amendment. Justin Wolfers asks a different question: what does a free press actually DO for us? What happens to your wallet when a president gets leverage over the reporters? Subscribe: on...
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What If We Just Gave Poor People Money?
Official poverty fell to 10.2% — so why does the better measure show almost no change? The new poverty numbers are out, and the headline looks like good news: official poverty dropped to 10.2%, a third straight annual decline. But Justin Wolfers explains why that single statistic hides more than…
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The Fed Raised Rates. Here's What It's Fighting. | Off The Clock
The Fed just raised rates unanimously — and Justin Wolfers explains why that 12-0 vote matters more than the rate itself. Joined by Bloomberg Businessweek's Stacey Vanek-Smith on Off The Clock, Justin unpacks what "Silent Kevin" Warsh actually signaled, why the president's dream of 1% interest...
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The Hawk Behind The Hike | The Professor Is In
The Fed just raised its target rate by a quarter of a percentage point, the first hike since 2023 — but Justin Wolfers argues the number on the front page isn't the real story. In this episode of The Professor Is In, producer Augusta Chapman brings you audience questions, and Justin explains why...
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Understanding The Fed’s Rate Hike Decision | Diving In
Understanding The Fed’s Rate Hike Decision | Diving In The Federal Reserve raised interest rates on Wednesday by a quarter of a percentage point. It’s the first time the Central Bank upped rates since July, 2023. All 12 members of the Federal Open Market Committee, including Fed Chair Kevin…
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The Canadian Boycott is About More than Economics | The Professor Is In
Why an "infinity percent" tariff on Canada may hurt Americans more than Canadians. The U.S.–Canada trade war just got weirder, and Justin Wolfers walks through what actually changed. After Canada answered Washington's tariffs with a measured, dollar-for-dollar response, the White House escalated...
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The Hidden Link Between Government Debt and Everyday Credit | Off the Clock
Why does the bond market matter more than the stock market for your wallet? Justin Wolfers and Bloomberg Businessweek columnist Stacey Vanek Smith take on August's inflation report, the rising odds the Fed hikes rates, and the one market that quietly sets the price of your car loan, your student...
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What August’s Inflation Report Means for You
Inflation is stuck at 3.4% and prices are outrunning your paycheck. Here's what August really showed. The August inflation report just landed, and Justin Wolfers walks you through what it means for your wallet. Plus the all-important burrito price index. Subscribe — it's the one price that isn't...
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Vote Republican, Get $5,000? | Diving In
Is the promise real, and who actually pays for it? At a midterm campaign rally Wednesday night, President Trump promised every adult American citizen a $5,000 check, but only if Republicans win both the House and the Senate. He's calling them "Trump dividends." Justin Wolfers is here with a…
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How Governments Manipulate Statistics Without Lying | Professor Is In
Can you still trust the jobs numbers after Commerce dropped its ban on political interference? In August the Commerce Department quietly crossed out the rules that shielded official statistics from political meddling — meaning reports can now be delayed, buried, reworded, or stripped of their...
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Hidden Ways the Government Manipulates Data | Diving In
How the government can rig official statistics without ever faking a single number. A few sentences vanished from a Commerce Department directive — and almost no one noticed. In this episode of Diving In, Justin Wolfers walks you through what changed on August 19, when the department quietly...
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The U.S. Canada Trade War Casts a Much Longer Shadow | Diving In
Canada just retaliated against President Trump's latest tariffs, and everyone wants to know how big the hit will be. Economist Justin Wolfers walks you through the whole U.S. Canada trade war, and lands on a surprising answer. By the end, you'll understand why this trade war is small on paper,...
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Why Tariffs Can't Rebuild American Manufacturing | The Professor Is In
Why did Trump's tariffs fail? It's a competence problem, not just a trade-theory problem. Economist Justin Wolfers answers your questions about why the Trump administration's tariffs earned straight F's on their own stated goals. His argument: the problem isn't only the economics of tariffs —…
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The Jobs Report Beat Expectations. Will The Fed Care?
The economy added 162,000 jobs in August — far above the 50,000 to 60,000 Wall Street expected — and Justin Wolfers is smiling, because this is genuinely good news. Unemployment sits at a low 4.1%, and we've now had six straight months of job growth, which is what a normal, healthy labor market...
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The Bond Sell-Off Isn’t the Scary Part | Diving In
Everyone's talking about the bond market, and Justin Wolfers is here to explain what's actually going on — without the panic. In this episode of Diving In, he strips the fancy words away: the bond market is just supply and demand for loans, and right now a lot of people want to borrow. When…
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Who Actually Paid for the Trade War? | Diving In
Trump’s tariffs were supposed to do five things. So how did they actually score? Justin Wolfers grades the tariff agenda against the administration’s own goals. Did tariffs create leverage? Did the trade deficit fall? Did factories come home? Did America get safer? Did the revenue deliver? The...
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Can You Sanction a Country That's Already Cut Off? | The Professor Is In
In this episode of the Professor Is In, Justin answers your questions about "Operation Economic Outcast," the White House plan to squeeze Iran by threatening its trading partners with sanctions and loss of dollar access. The catch: the US already has roughly 6,000 sanctions on Iran and a naval...
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The Fed Chair Won't Talk (But Markets Listened Anyway) | Off the Clock
On this Fed-heavy episode of Off the Clock, Justin Wolfers and Bloomberg's Stacey Vanek Smith dig into new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh's argument for a quieter, less transparent central bank — and why it doesn't hold up. Warsh defended saying less, insisting markets should take their cues from the...
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Why the BLS Guardrails Held — and the Census Bureau's Failed | The Professor Is In
In this episode of the Professor Is In, Justin answers your questions from his earlier episode debunking the Census Bureau’s claim that 24,000 noncitizens voted in the 2020 election. He starts by addressing the elephant in the room: even if the faulty claim were true – it couldn’t have swung...
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How To Fake a Voting Scandal | Diving In
The Census Bureau just published a report claiming 24,000 noncitizens illegally voted in the 2020 election. In this episode of Diving In, Justin Wolfers takes the report apart and shows why it reads less like statistics and more like propaganda. The document has no author, no report number, and…
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America Is Reusing Cuba’s Sanctions Strategy on Iran | Diving In
Do sanctions on Iran actually work? Sixty years of the Cuba embargo say probably not. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent just announced what he's calling an "economic D-Day" against Iran — a threat aimed not just at Tehran but at every foreign firm, bank, trader, and shipper that does business with...
About this show
Think Like an Economist and you’ll see the world more clearly, empowering you to make better decisions at work, at home, and in your community. Leading economists Betsey Stevenson and Justin Wolfers will take you on a joyous romp through their field as they introduce you to the big ideas in economics, and show how you can apply them to live in your own life. Their signature approach reveals that every decision is an economic decision and this podcast uncovers the economic forces that shape the world around you. Betsey and Justin believe that economics is a superpower, and they want to teach you to fly.
Hosted by
Betsey Stevenson & Justin Wolfers