Excuseflation

Our emotional relationships with our pets have only grown since the pandemic — and so has the financial price we pay. This episode was produced by Peter Balonon-Rosen, edited by Jenny Lawton, fact-checked by Melissa Hirsch, engineered by Bridger Dunnagan, and hosted by Jonquilyn ...  Show more

Most of the focus in this year’s midterms is naturally on Congress. But the battle to control state legislatures matters just as much, if not more. This show was edited by Kasia Broussalian, fact checked by Esther Gim, mixed by Shannon Mahoney, video edited by Christopher Snyder, ...  Show more

The persistence of inflation is a bit of a mystery to economists. Many of the shocks of the last few years have faded. And the Fed has raised rates aggressively, with seemingly only a modest impact. So why are companies still raising prices? If you listen, they actually explain a ...  Show more

The UK British Retail Consortium's shop price index rose on food prices. The accompanying commentary was textbook for profit-led inflation. Poor harvests and sugar prices were blamed. When profits (rather than demand) lead inflation, retailers need to have a story that convin ...  Show more

If it seems like everyday items from gasoline to groceries are costing more these days, it’s because they are. A government report released last week showed consumer price inflation reaching levels not seen in 30 years. We dig into what’s causing the spike and how long we can exp ...  Show more

Today on the Brief: Elon Musk saves an SNL flop with a dogecoin satellite  Growing interest in Ethereum  UBS explores offering crypto to wealthy clients Our main discussion:The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg are both running headlines about increasing consumer prices. Fo ...  Show more