Macro Musings with David Beckworth

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Neha Narula is the director of the Digital Currency Initiative which is based out of the Media Lab at MIT. Anders Brownworth is veteran software engineer in the crypto space and is a Senior Research Advisor at DCI. Daniel Aronoff is Research Affiliate in the MIT Department of Economics and a Collaborator at DCI. Neha, Anders, and Daniel join the show to discuss their work at DCI, the current state of stablecoins, their paper on the hidden plumbing of stablecoins, the basic mechanics of stablecoins, the technical and operational risks of stablecoins, the implications for the treasury market, interoperability between blockchains, and much more.  
Check out the transcript for this week's episode, now with links.
Recorded on February 27th, 2026
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Timestamps
00:00:00 - Intro
00:01:41 - Background of the Group
00:03:11 - Digital Currency Initiative
00:05:36 - State of Stablecoins
00:10:42 - Hidden Plumbing of Stablecoins
00:15:42 - Basic Mechanics of Stablecoins
00:26:07 - Technical and Operational Risks of Stablecoins
00:39:09 - Implications for the Treasury Market
00:48:18 - Business Model of Stablecoins
00:49:24 - Interoperability Between Blockchains
00:52:53 - What's the Deal with Tether?
00:56:23 - Outro

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Jesús Fernández-Villaverde is a professor of economics at the University of Pennsylvania. Jesús returns to the show to discuss his rise on X, how to frame global demographic decline, the three accelerants of demographic decline, the role of housing in family size, how AI will play a role in global demographics, what we know about AGI, the question of dollar dominance, and much more. 
Check out the transcript for this week's episode, now with links.
Recorded on February 20th, 2026
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Timestamps
00:00:00 - Intro
00:07:22 - Demographics
00:39:28 - Artificial Intelligence
00:54:07 - Currency Dominance
01:03:20 - Outro

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Chris Meissner is a professor of economics at University of California at Davis and is the author of the recent book One from the Many: The Global Economy Since 1850. In Chris's first appearance on the podcast he discusses the historical bend towards greater globalization, how we should really define the global economy, the impact of the Great Financial Crisis on globalization and populism, the scope of globalization from the 1820's to today, the validity of the China Shock, the United States' current move away from globalization, and much more.
Check out the transcript for this week's episode, now with links.
Recorded on February 19th, 2026
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Timestamps
00:00:00 - Intro
00:01:50 - History Tends Toward Globalization
00:05:55 - What Is the Global Economy?
00:19:08 - Great Financial Crisis
00:22:15 - First Wave of Globalization: 1820–1914
00:29:42 - Interwar Period: 1918–1938
00:40:51 - Post-War Bretton Woods Arrangement
00:49:36 - The China Shock
00:55:40 - Detour from Globalization
00:59:44 - Outro

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Raghuram Rajan is a finance professor at the University of Chicago and leads the Group of 30. Previously he was the chief economist at the IMF and the governor of the Reserve Bank of India. In Raghuram's first appearance on the show, he discusses his famous 2005 Jackson Hole speech, how he righted the ship on India's emerging economy, the consequences of zero-sum thinking, the differences between being a policymaker and an academic, the ratcheting effect of QE on the Fed's balance sheet, and much more.
Check out the transcript for this week's episode, now with links.
Recorded on January 20th, 2026
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Timestamps
00:00:00 - Intro
00:01:58 - Raghu's Career
00:22:20 - Policymaker Versus Academic
00:29:00 - Ratcheting Effect of Quantitative Easing
01:01:06 - Outro

Andrew Martinez is a former Treasure economist and currently is an assistant professor of economics at American University. In Andrew's first appearance on the show, he discusses his career as a forecaster, the current state of forecasting, the intersection of AI and forecasting, the role of the SEP and monetary policy surprises, his work with David on the NGDP Gap measure, and much more.    
Check out the transcript for this week's episode, now with links.
Recorded on January 13th, 2025
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Timestamps
00:00:00 - Intro
00:01:20 - Andrew's Career
00:08:36 - State of Forecasting
00:20:19 - AI and Forecasting
00:29:34 - The SEP and Monetary Policy Surprises
00:41:07 - Nominal GDP/Expectations Gap
00:54:56 - Outro