194 - What happens now?

For forty years, the software engineer was the hero of the modern economy. That era may now be ending, fast. In this episode, we argue that software engineers are becoming the horses of the 21st century. Just as the steam engine replaced animal labour, AI is now eating the lunch ...  Show more

Credit is the lifeblood of a modern economy. When it expands, ideas turn into companies, small builders become employers, and innovation compounds. When it contracts, the damage is slower, quieter, and far harder to see. In this episode, we trace what happens when banks stop lend ...  Show more

How are people feeling about the economy after the dramatic drop in stocks? They’re “Googling the word ‘recession’ like crazy,” an economics professor told us. On the show today: Why perception is so important in economics. Also: The not-so-bad reasons for the higher unemployment ...  Show more

Every major U.S. stock market plunged on Monday, wiping out billions of dollars in value.

Jeanna Smialek, who covers the U.S. economy for The Times, discusses what was behind the dizzying sell-off — and what it can tell us about whether America is headed for a recession. ...

For months, questions have been swirling about the economy. And last week, we finally got some answers when all kinds of economic data was released. Some of those numbers seemed to say that the economy is headed toward a downward slump, but WSJ’s Jeanne Whalen explains that the p ...  Show more

The collapse of Russia’s wartime economy has long been foretold, yet massive fiscal stimulus has compensated for the effect of sanctions. Though the pinch is now being felt, the labour market is surprisingly resilient. Protesters in China are getting more creative. And why car to ...  Show more