Jon Hilsenrath, former journalist at the Wall Street Journal, joins the Inside Economics crew to discuss the December jobs report and the Fed. The team breaks down the latest employment data and debates whether the report is “fine” or “anemic”. The focus then shifts to the Fed for a wide-ranging conversation about where interest rates are headed and whether Fed independence is in doubt. Jon argues that independence is already compromised and likely to get worse.

The team reunites in 2026 and reflects on the economy's performance in 2025 and looks ahead to the New Year. Mark reviews the forecast accuracy for the past year and is surprised by the results. Mark and Cris quibble over how to characterize the economy in 2025, and the team shares its predictions for 2026, along with the probabilities of the base cases, upside, and downside forecasts.

Mark and Cris are joined by Natalie Gochnour, associate dean in the David Eccles School of Business and director of the Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute at the University of Utah, and Moody’s Analytics’ head of regional economics Adam Kamins to learn some of the secrets behind one of the nation’s most successful states. From demographics to governance to the ski slopes, Natalie shares lessons learned from her decades working in and for Utah, including what to call residents of the Beehive State (hint: don’t even think about adding a second “a.”). The gang also talks about newly-released third quarter GDP data and The Conference Board’s most recent consumer confidence survey. Finally, Mark capitalizes on his knowledge of Cris’s mannerisms to claim victory in the stats game.

Moody’s Analytics economist Matt Colyar weighs in on the government-shutdown flawed consumer price data for October and November, and teases his own CPI that will better represent what’s happening with inflation. Stay tuned. And Robert Dietz, chief economist of the National Association of Homebuilders, joins the conversation to provide his outlook on the housing market. Housing will have another tough year, but Rob finds some bright spots.

Dante joins Mark and Cris for an unusual jobs Tuesday podcast to break down the November employment report. Due to the prolonged government shutdown, the report delivered two months of payroll data, which continues to signal that the labor market is grinding to a halt. With the unemployment rate on the rise, the team discusses their updated recession probabilities, and Marisa’s absence is felt as they struggle through the stats game.

The Inside Economics team unpacks the Federal Reserve's latest rate decision and the divergence of views among policymakers as they navigate the final stretch of 2025. Mark, Cris, and Marisa debate whether the FOMC's messaging was hawkish or dovish, assess whether a labor market shedding jobs can avoid recession, and explore what it all means for the path of interest rates in the year ahead. After a quick stats game, the trio tackles a few provocative listener questions.

Welcome to a bonus episode of Inside Economics. This is a recording that took place between Mark Zandi and our most recent podcast guest, Daleep Singh at the Aspen Ideas Festival a couple of months ago.

Daleep Singh, Vice Chairman and Global Chief Economist of investment manager PGIM, joins the Inside Economics team to discuss the seismic shifts occurring in the global economy and financial system. The unipolar global economy, which the U.S. dominated for decades after the collapse of the Soviet Union, has given way to the old normal, a world much like that of the Gilded Age that only ended with World War I. Listen in to hear if Daleep believes this time will be different.

The Inside Economics team laments the lack of a November jobs report but dives into the wealth of data released this week about the labor market, income, and consumer spending. The discussion then turns to affordability and whether it’s a con job or whether households are feeling a real financial pinch. A listener question turns the conversation toward Federal Reserve independence and whether Jerome Powell’s successor is likely to have outsize influence on interest rate decisions.

Scott Hoyt joins the podcast to provide a look into the holiday retail season and to discuss the state of the U.S. consumer more broadly. The team reviews the downbeat data on consumer confidence, the labor market, inflation and housing, and contemplates the implications for consumer spending this Christmas. The team remembers to take a listener question on income inequality and the mood gets even darker. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

The Inside Economics crew welcomes Alan Blinder back to the podcast. The Princeton University economics professor and former Vice Chair of the Fed offers his perspective on the outlook for artificial intelligence, the risk of a bubble in equity markets, and the potential implications of current threats to Fed independence. The team also breaks down the much-delayed September employment report.

The Inside Economics team records a rare Saturday podcast. They consider the fallout from the just-ended government shutdown on the broader economy and the economic data. It’s not good, but it ended just before it did serious damage. The team also takes up the Trump administration’s pivot to addressing affordability, including scaling back tariffs, most important for the group, those on pasta and bananas. And they introduce a new regular segment of the podcast – listener questions. So, keep them coming.

Mark, Cris and Marisa discuss the trajectory of the alternative labor market data on what is yet another “jobs” Friday with no official labor market data release. They discuss various outcomes around the federal government shutdown, how and when it may end, and what that means for the backlog of economic data releases. The trio concludes by answering several thought-provoking listener questions.

Fellow Moody's colleague Chris Lafakis joins Mark, Marisa, and Cris as they discuss current economic trends and Chris's recent study on the macroeconomic consequences of hurricanes. Mark starts the conversation by sharing his questions about the latest data on layoffs and how AI is influencing the economy. The team members share their different perspectives before shifting the discussion to the economic toll of Hurricane Melissa and how storms can affect regional economies.

Claudia Sahm, Chief Economist at New Century Advisors, joins Inside Economics to discuss a bevy of topics, including today’s belated Consumer Price Index release, the lack of other government data, AI and the labor market, stock market valuations, and the risks to the economy that are top of mind for her. Mark teases a new esoteric vocabulary word but fails to reveal it…stay tuned.

Colleague Matt Colyar joins Cris and Mark on the podcast to discuss the prospects for inflation and the threat posed by subprime consumer credit problems to the banking system and broader economy. They discuss all of this through the prism of concerns raised by clients in their travels this past week: Mark was out West, Matt in Texas, and Cris in Bermuda.

Justin Begley and Brendan LaCerda join Inside Economics to discuss the federal government shutdown and its macroeconomic consequences. First, the crew discusses how the shutdown is preventing the release of federal economic statistics, and Justin runs through a bunch of private data sources that can be used to gauge the health of the labor market in the absence of the BLS reports. The conversation then turns to the shutdown itself. Brendan and Justin opine on when and how the stalemate might end and the macro consequences of an extended shutdown. Finally, the team breaks tradition with the stats game.

The Inside Economics team welcomes Lisa Simon, Chief Economist at Revelio Labs, for an unusual jobs Friday podcast as the ongoing government shutdown prevented the release of the September employment report. Lisa details the new public labor statistics data that Revelio Labs began publishing recently in the wake of turmoil at the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The team discusses how private data sources can help fill in the gaps left by the temporary absence of government data and also dissects the current state of the labor market.

Mastercard Chief Economist Michelle Meyer joins the Inside Economics team to debate the health of the American consumer and the economy’s prospects. The team pushes hard on Michelle’s sanguine perspective, but she holds her ground—and then some. Listen in if you want a preview of the strength of holiday sales and what will power that growth.

Heather Long, Chief Economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, joins the Inside Economics team to discuss what she dubbed the K-Shaped Economy. She describes the reasons why the well-to-do are thriving and the bottom 80% of the income distribution is struggling to make ends meet. The team discusses the origins of this skewing in the income distribution and why we should care about it.