Yes, This Economy Is Confusing

Audie is joined by longtime friend and former NPR colleague Ari Shapiro for a special episode they’re calling Engagement Party – a chance to finally talk on-mic about the culture stories they’ve been obsessing over. They kick things off with the question of the moment: Can the He ...  Show more

Arguably the first viral moment of 2026 is an essay about a “toxic” group of mom friends. Actor and singer Ashley Tisdale French wrote an essay for New York Magazine’s The Cut about being iced out of her circle of fellow moms and – celebrity intrigue aside – it struck a nerve. Dr ...  Show more

The US economy has so far withstood the effects of higher interest rates a lot better than expected. Unemployment is still at historic lows, even while inflation has cooled and the Federal Reserve has hiked rates for about 18 months. That's not how things are supposed to work acc ...  Show more

Why is the economic recovery from the pandemic so uneven? Why are companies finding it hard to hire? And why are the prices of used cars surging?

Recent economic reports have commentators scratching their heads. We dig into the theories behind this strange moment for the ...

Neil Dutta, the top economist over at Renaissance Macro, has generally been sunny and optimistic about the economy over the last four years or so. But now he's warning of a possible mistake by the Federal Reserve. In his view, the central bank is waiting too long to get confirmat ...  Show more

Gas prices are high, unemployment is low and the tools the federal government has to fight inflation could cause a recession. So how should we think about the economy right now? We asked our econ reporters and a personal finance columnist for advice. 

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