Paul Blustein is a former Washington Post and Wall Street Journal journalist who has authored several acclaimed books on global economic institutions. In Paul’s first appearance on the show, he discusses the historical rise of the dollar, it’s present-day power, how it compares to other global currencies, current challenges to its power, the rise of crypto, and much more.

Check out the transcript for this week’s episode, now with links.

Recorded on March 26th, 2025

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Timestamps:

(00:00:00) – Intro

(00:00:52) – Paul’s Books

(00:05:08) – Motivations for King Dollar

(00:09:02) – History of the Dollar

(00:12:57) – Nixon Shock of 1971

(00:23:36) – Paul Volcker

(00:33:14) – Dollar Dominance and Statecraft

(00:40:46) – What About the Euro?

(00:44:42) – Cryptocurrency as a Rival to the Dollar

(00:47:54) – Drawbacks of Dollar Dominance

(00:57:03) – Outro

Bill Nelson is a Chief economist and an executive vice president at the Bank Policy Institute. Bill returns to the show to discuss the changes at many central banks around the world from a supply-driven floor system to a demand-driven floor system and how the Fed has been resistant to this change.

Check out the transcript for this week’s episode, now with links.

Recorded on March 6th, 2025

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Timestamps:

(00:00:00) – Intro

(00:01:35) – Trend Toward a Demand-Driven Ceiling System

(00:07:32) – Will the Fed Follow Suit?

(00:13:11) – Bank of England’s New Policy Implementation Framework

(00:21:33) – Bill’s Suggestions for the Fed’s Implementation Framework

(00:39:18) – Responding to Lorie’s Case for the Floor System

(00:59:11) – Outro

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Scott Lincicome is the vice president of general economics and trade at Cato. Scott returns to the program to discuss the past, present, and future of Trump’s trade war, the impact of tariffs on the US consumer, myths about globalization, the state of globalization worldwide, and much more.

Check out the transcript for this week’s episode, now with links.

Recorded on March 19th, 2025

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Timestamps:

(00:00:00) – Intro

(00:01:01) – Cato’s Trade Center

(00:04:06) – Current State of Trump’s Trade War

(00:14:09) – Trade War Strategy

(00:20:48) – Break in the Globalization Trend

(00:29:51) – Bilateral Trade Deficit View

(00:54:01) – Comparative Advantage

(01:00:30) – How to Support Free Trade

(001:01:44) – Outro