2/28/23, The Indicator (9:13)
Link: https://www.npr.org/2023/02/28/1160197163/is-price-gouging-a-problem
Summary: Recent surges in prices for important commodities like eggs and oil have led to a flurry of politicians and advocacy groups decrying “price-gouging.” But what exactly is price-gouging? As the podcast highlights, most economists would argue that it is a highly subjective concept, rather than a technical economic term.
If you’re a regular follower of audioecon, you’ll notice some updates to our site this month (March 2023). We recognize that, while students are increasingly eager to connect the classroom with current events, incorporating interesting, relevant daily or weekly news can be a heavy lift for professors.
We’ve often included ‘teaching ideas’ in the past to ease the load for instructors wanting to incorporate relevant podcast content into classroom learning and assignments through discussions, reflections, etc. (see the ‘teaching ideas’ category for a full list). Based on feedback, we’ll now be including teaching ideas with every new Audioecon.com post. Follow the ‘teaching ideas’ link on each new post to find :
This will facilitate your efforts to help students digest the podcast content and merge it meaningfully with class concepts. We hope this helps you easily infuse fresh examples and applications into your curriculum!
P.S. if you’re a subscriber to audioecon, you may get a few extra email updates in the coming week or so as we add a healthy dose of fresh content. After that things will go back to normal! Apologies and thanks for your patience.
1/25/23, The Indicator (9:05)
Link:https://www.npr.org/2023/01/25/1151551484/want-a-balanced-federal-budget-itll-cost-you
Summary: As policy makers grapple with the debt ceiling, the podcast digs into the notion of a balanced budget. While tying the debt ceiling limit to a balanced is an appealing to some fiscal conservatives, in reality “extreme” fiscal responsibility is likely impractical, and getting to balanced budget will require deeper structural changes to the government budget.
Also: The episode “What is the Deal with the Platinum Coin” from 1/26/23 looks into an interesting solution to circumvent the debt ceiling kerfuffle #minthecoin
1/12/23, The Indicator (9:29)
Link: https://www.npr.org/2023/01/12/1148895861/jobs-vs-prices-the-feds-dueling-mandates
Summary: As the Federal Reserve targets higher interest rates to stabilize prices, they also want to keep unemployment low. The Indicator speaks with a Fed President about this dual mandate– its history, the trade-offs it involves and how it makes sense.
2/14/23, The Indicator (9:04)
Link: https://www.npr.org/2023/02/14/1156876594/unwinding-the-wage-price-spiral
Summary: New inflation numbers are out. Inflation is not increasing steadily like it was a few months ago, but it still remains stubbornly high, much higher that Fed’s ideal 2% rate. Today’s show examines whether the “wage-price spiral”–a feedback loop between rapidly increasing prices and wages like we saw in the 1970s- is still a threat in the macroeconomy. Or are they days of the “doom loop” past us and we are in a wage-price paradigm?
Link: https://www.npr.org/2022/04/15/1093113723/the-student-loan-paaaaauuuuuse
For some, the student loan repayment pause that started in 2020 has allowed people to purchase houses, cars, and have babies. Most student loan borrowers have not made any payment towards their loans because there is no incentive to; especially with the Biden Administration promising $10,000 of loan forgiveness. If loan repayments were to resume it could be detrimental to those that are not prepared to start making those payments again.
Original Air Date: April 15, 2022
Length: 22 Minutes 44 Seconds
Discussion Prompt: What do you think the macroeconomic consequences would be if the government resumed loan payments?
If you use podcasts for teaching economics, you may find a new audioecon.com resource useful. Check out the new ‘Listening to Podcasts for Learning‘ page for tips to share with your students who may be used to listening to podcasts for pleasure, but could use some guidance in listening to learn. We also have a downloadable PowerPoint slide deck available for you to share in your classes or on your learning platform. Thanks to audioecon.com contributors and Emmanuel College students Olivia Fiorini and Eliana Falleur for putting these resources together.
On this episode from Planet Money, they discuss the events and people that led the creation of the Fed, relevant in 2022 in light of the pressure the Fed is facing in as inflation continues to rise. A quick guide to J.P. Morgan’ s influence and help with founding the Fed so big bailouts no longer had to fall on his pockets.
Original Air Date: December 20, 2013
Length: 17 minutes 10 seconds
Economists Justin Wolfers and Betsey Stevenson discuss insurance and risk and how it is related to economics.
Original Air Date: August 26, 2020
Length: 27 Minutes 27 Seconds
At the end of each semester students in Econ 1101 Principles of Microeconomics at Emmanuel College create their own podcast to demonstrate their ability to apply microeconomic concepts to their world and to use those terms, theories and tenets of micro to understand and evaluate the world around them. Each semester I pick a few of my favorites to post here on AudioEcon. Check out the ‘Podlearning: Student podcast‘ page to listen and learn for yourself. This semester’s star topics include vaccine externalities, the economics of food banks and food insecurity, and a bartender’s eye view of the elasticity of alcohol.
Econ educators, check out the Podlearning page for assignment descriptions and tips to implement student-created podcasts in your classes!
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