Platypus Economics with Justin Wolfers

Episodi

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  Trump Wants Cheap Money. Why Are Rates Going Up Anyway? 04.10.2026 24min

  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 Reserve meeting.Subscribe:on YouTube 👉 https://youtube.com/platypuseconomicson Substack 👉 https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.comthe Podcast 👉 https://platypuseconomics.com/podcastFollow on Social Media @PlatypusEconomics and @JustinWolfers
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  Why Workers Are Getting Less of What the Economy Produces | Off The Clock 03.10.2026 45min

  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 companies, not the ones who show up to work. Then the stakes get bigger.Justin argues that past $100 million, the only thing money buys is power — and in an election decided by 115,000 votes, one billionaire's checkbook could theoretically swing thousands more. The same logic drives the AI question: the same technology makes your life utopian if you own the robot and dystopian if your boss does.From the first-ever live edition of Off the Clock, recorded at Stanford.Subscribe:on YouTube 👉 https://youtube.com/platypuseconomicson Substack 👉 https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.comthe Podcast 👉 https://platypuseconomics.com/podcastFollow on Social Media @PlatypusEconomics and @JustinWolfers
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  What September's Employment Numbers Really Say | Diving In 02.10.2026 18min

  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 disappointing by historical standards — yet why unemployment can still stay low and stable at the same time.Then there's your paycheck. Wage growth has slumped to around 3% — slower than prices — so if you feel like you can't keep up, you're not imagining it. Justin explains what weak wages mean for the Fed, why a rate hike now looks more likely in December than October, and why Wall Street shrugged.Subscribe:on YouTube 👉 https://youtube.com/platypuseconomicson Substack 👉 https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.comthe Podcast 👉 https://platypuseconomics.com/podcastFollow on Social Media @PlatypusEconomics and @JustinWolfers
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  Are Your Financial Mistakes Making Someone Else Rich? | The Professor Is In 01.10.2026 33min

  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 personal finance course must teach.Subscribe:on YouTube 👉 https://youtube.com/platypuseconomicson Substack 👉 https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.comthe Podcast 👉 https://platypuseconomics.com/podcast Follow on Social Media @PlatypusEconomics and @JustinWolfers
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  Why Good Money Advice Fails to Land | Diving In 30.09.2026 19min

  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 somewhere between 2% and 10% of their lifetime consumption — putting it in the same neighborhood as the welfare cost of climate change, and dwarfing the 0.1–1% economists usually assign to business cycles.So why won't people listen? Because the public doesn't trust economists: surveys show they rank barely above politicians in favorability. Justin makes the case that the fix isn't more experts screaming about interest rates — it's using plainer speech, telling better stories, showing real empathy, and laying out one clear action at a time. Here's what's in it for you: the employer match you're leaving on the table, the credit card interest compounding daily while your cash sits in savings, the actively managed fund quietly skimming your returns. Small mistakes, moved across a lifetime, add up to real money — yours.Subscribe:on YouTube 👉 https://youtube.com/platypuseconomicson Substack 👉 https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.comthe Podcast 👉 https://platypuseconomics.com/podcastFollow on Social Media @PlatypusEconomics and @JustinWolfers
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  What Airbags Teach Us About Artificial Intelligence | The Professor Is In 28.09.2026 14min

  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 precautions — and why that tradeoff is worth taking when the downside isn't a fender bender but the electricity grid, a biological weapon, or human extinction.Subscribe:on YouTube 👉 https://youtube.com/platypuseconomicson Substack 👉 https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.comthe Podcast 👉 https://platypuseconomics.com/podcastFollow on Social Media @PlatypusEconomics and @JustinWolfers
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  How Much Should We Spend to Prevent an AI Catastrophe? | Diving In 26.09.2026 29min

  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 👉 https://youtube.com/platypuseconomicson Substack 👉 https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.comthe Podcast 👉 https://platypuseconomics.com/podcastFollow on Social Media @PlatypusEconomics and @JustinWolfers
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  How Accountability Shapes National Borrowing Rates | The Professor Is In 25.09.2026 24min

  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 civics-class ideal — it's an economic force that touches your mortgage rate, your government's bond yields, and the whole institutional plumbing that keeps prosperity running. Subscribe:on YouTube 👉 https://youtube.com/platypuseconomicson Substack 👉 https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.comthe Podcast 👉 https://platypuseconomics.com/podcastFollow on Social Media @PlatypusEconomics and @JustinWolfers
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  Why Trump's Diesel Export Ban Could Raise Gas Prices | Diving In 24.09.2026 17min

  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 sentence.Subscribe:on YouTube 👉 https://youtube.com/platypuseconomicson Substack 👉 https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.comthe Podcast 👉 https://platypuseconomics.com/podcastFollow on Social Media @PlatypusEconomics and @JustinWolfers
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  What Would It Take to Eliminate Poverty? | The Professor Is In 23.09.2026 23min

  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 internet and phone as essentials), and why the two disagree about how many people are poor.Justin also digs into the hard questions: is redistribution always a leaky bucket, or can fairness make the pie bigger? Why don't we just end poverty with a universal basic income? Subscribe:on YouTube 👉 https://youtube.com/platypuseconomicson Substack 👉 https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.comthe Podcast 👉 https://platypuseconomics.com/podcastFollow on Social Media @PlatypusEconomics and @JustinWolfers
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  The Economic Cost of Trump's War on The Press | Diving In 22.09.2026 18min

  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 YouTube 👉 https://youtube.com/platypuseconomicson Substack 👉 https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.comthe Podcast 👉 https://platypuseconomics.com/podcastFollow on Social Media @PlatypusEconomics and @JustinWolfers
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  What If We Just Gave Poor People Money? 21.09.2026 26min

  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 it reveals — and why the broader "supplemental" measure tells a very different story.Subscribe:on YouTube 👉 https://youtube.com/platypuseconomicson Substack 👉 https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.comon Apple Podcasts 👉 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/platypus-economics-with-justin-wolfers/id1523898793on Spotify 👉 https://open.spotify.com/show/4sOVMPFJmCROADLMDdDwjsFollow on Social Media @PlatypusEconomics and @JustinWolfers
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  The Fed Raised Rates. Here's What It's Fighting. | Off The Clock 19.09.2026 58min

  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 rates would light a fire under inflation, and why even a government that repays its debts can end up unable to borrow again.Then, Justin and Stacey debate whether "the feelings are the data," and Stacey builds the whole global economy into one bacon cheeseburger.Finally, Justin turns thousands of YouTube comments into a data set to show Americans something the U.S. media keeps missing: just how angry Canadians are, and why they'll accept real economic pain.Subscribe:on YouTube 👉 https://youtube.com/platypuseconomicson Substack 👉 https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.comthe Podcast 👉 https://platypuseconomics.com/podcastFollow on Social Media @PlatypusEconomics and @JustinWolfers
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  The Hawk Behind The Hike | The Professor Is In 18.09.2026 18min

  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 the bigger signal was new Fed chair Kevin Warsh convincing markets he's a genuine inflation hawk.Subscribe:on YouTube 👉 https://youtube.com/platypuseconomicson Substack 👉 https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.comthe Podcast 👉 https://platypuseconomics.com/podcastFollow on Social Media @PlatypusEconomics and @JustinWolfers
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  Understanding The Fed’s Rate Hike Decision | Diving In 16.09.2026 13min

  Understanding The Fed’s Rate Hike Decision | Diving InThe 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 Warsh, voted in favor of a rate hike. Justin Wolfers, professor of economics and founder of Platypus Economics, breaks down the Fed’s decision, and unpacks how it’ll impact your life.Subscribe:on YouTube 👉 https://youtube.com/platypuseconomicson Substack 👉 https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.comon Apple Podcasts 👉 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/platypus-economics-with-justin-wolfers/id1523898793on Spotify 👉 https://open.spotify.com/show/4sOVMPFJmCROADLMDdDwjsFollow on Social Media @PlatypusEconomics and @JustinWolfers
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  The Canadian Boycott is About More than Economics | The Professor Is In 14.09.2026 20min

  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 again. They proposed an outright import ban on things like Canadian alcohol, dairy, and auto products. His point: banning a product punishes the American buyers who wanted it most and now can't get it at any price.That’s not the only way Americans are getting hurt. Canadian consumers are boycotting anything U.S. You can see it in the empty hotel rooms in Las Vegas and half-full convention centers. Canadians are "speaking from their heart" about sovereignty and dignity. No handshake between leaders will make that disappear.Why should you care? Because the price of the clowning around lands in your pocket. This could look like a lost bonus, a thinner paycheck, or your employer's shrinking income. If Canada decides it can't trust its neighbor and diversifies toward Europe and Asia, that shift outlasts any single election.Chapters:0:00 Jazz hands and an update1:00 What's changed since the last video3:19 Meet the "infinity percent" tariff4:30 Why a ban punishes American buyers5:30 Do consumer boycotts actually work?9:07 The real cost is the clowning around11:07 How big a hit is this, really?12:10 Should Canada diversify away from the U.S.?Subscribe — it's the one relationship with the U.S. that comes with zero tariffs:on YouTube 👉 https://youtube.com/platypuseconomicson Substack 👉 https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.comFollow on Social Media @PlatypusEconomics and @JustinWolfers
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  The Hidden Link Between Government Debt and Everyday Credit | Off the Clock 12.09.2026 50min

  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 loan, and your mortgage.Subscribe — it's the one interest rate that never rockets up on you:on YouTube 👉 https://youtube.com/platypuseconomicson Substack 👉 https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.comFollow on Social Media @PlatypusEconomics and @JustinWolfers
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  What August’s Inflation Report Means for You 11.09.2026 14min

  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 rocketing up this month:on YouTube 👉 https://youtube.com/platypuseconomicson Substack 👉 https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.comFollow on Social Media @PlatypusEconomics and @JustinWolfers
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  Vote Republican, Get $5,000? | Diving In 10.09.2026 17min

  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 reality check, on Diving In.Subscribe — I'll owe you $5,000, and I promise about as much as the President does:on YouTube 👉 https://youtube.com/platypuseconomicson Substack 👉 https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.comFollow on Social Media @PlatypusEconomics and @JustinWolfers
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  How Governments Manipulate Statistics Without Lying | Professor Is In 10.09.2026 19min

  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 uncertainty. So can you still trust the numbers that shape your paycheck, your mortgage rate, and the price of your groceries? In this episode of The Professor Is In, Justin Wolfers answers the question a whole audience asked: in light of this, why should we believe the latest jobs numbers?Most useful of all, Justin hands you a rule of thumb for telling independent statistics from political claims — trust the official statistical agencies, be wary of anything from 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, and remember that someone who lied to you once will lie to you again.Chapters:0:00 An expensive way to make propaganda0:56 Can we still trust the jobs numbers?1:56 Which agencies are actually at risk2:50 Why the jobs data is still protected3:50 How statistics really get manipulated6:22 The one report that was a lie9:11 The tin-pot dictator club10:02 Why propaganda destroys data's value13:12 A rule of thumb for reading statistics15:39 Official agencies vs. 1600 Pennsylvania AveSubscribe — it's one number you can trust to go up honestly:on YouTube 👉 https://www.youtube.com/platypuseconomicson Substack 👉 https://newsletter.platypuseconomics.comFollow on Social Media @PlatypusEconomics and @JustinWolfers