Tulane University professor Gary Hoover shares how his personal journey to the field of economics shaped his teaching philosophy. Hoover also reflects on the mentors who changed his life, the importance of making economics real and relevant, and the responsibility educators have to meet students where they are. “Hoov,” as he’s known, talks with St. Louis Fed Economic Education Officer Scott Wolla about how economics isn’t just about markets—it’s about people—and how great teaching means equippin...
Jun 26, 2025•32 min
The St. Louis Fed’s Matuschka Lindo Briggs , senior vice president and regional executive of the Little Rock Branch, and Charles Gascon , economist and research officer, discuss economic insights from the latest Beige Book release highlighting the Arkansas region and the Eighth District.
Jun 05, 2025•9 min
The St. Louis Fed’s Matuschka Lindo Briggs , senior vice president and regional executive of the Little Rock Branch, and Charles Gascon , economist and research officer, discuss economic insights from the latest Beige Book release highlighting the Arkansas region and the Eighth District.
Apr 24, 2025•8 min
The St. Louis Fed’s Matuschka Lindo Briggs , senior vice president and regional executive of the Little Rock Branch, and Charles Gascon , economist and research officer, offer economic insights from the latest Beige Book release highlighting the Arkansas region and the Eighth District.
Mar 06, 2025•8 min
How do households react to economic surprises? While inflation affects all consumers, unexpected inflation spikes can have a more significant impact on some households than others. “For some households that find it hard to move resources around or borrow or adjust their savings, unexpected inflation will have a large effect on them,” says St. Louis Fed economist Yu-Ting Chiang. In this episode, Chiang previews his upcoming research on the effects of unexpected inflation shocks and their impact o...
Feb 07, 2025•8 min
The St. Louis Fed’s Matuschka Lindo Briggs , senior vice president and regional executive of the Little Rock Branch, and Charles Gascon , economist and research officer, offer economic insights from the latest Beige Book release highlighting the Arkansas region and the Eighth District.
Jan 16, 2025•8 min
What happens if U.S. dollars are spent overseas and stay there? Senior economic policy advisor Christopher Neely analyzes how much U.S. currency is held abroad and if that’s a problem or an advantage for the U.S. Neely discusses the level of U.S. banknotes kept overseas and explains why those dollars can act as an interest-free loan.
Dec 06, 2024•12 min
The St. Louis Fed’s Matuschka Lindo Briggs , senior vice president and regional executive of the Little Rock Branch, and Charles Gascon , economist and research officer, offer economic insights from the latest Beige Book release with a focus on the Arkansas region and the Eighth District.
Dec 05, 2024•9 min
The St. Louis Fed’s Matuschka Lindo Briggs , senior vice president and regional executive of the Little Rock Branch, and Charles Gascon , economist and research officer, discuss economic insights from the latest Beige Book release with a focus on the Arkansas region and the Eighth District.
Oct 24, 2024•8 min
Even if they have good grades and excellent standardized test scores, are low-income students more or less likely to accept an offer letter from a highly selective college? While the question is simple, the answer is complex and at times surprising. “What we see is that they instead end up enrolling in a less-selective college despite being accepted into a top college,” says St. Louis Fed Economist Ricardo Marto says. In this episode, Marto previews his forthcoming research into how income can a...
Oct 10, 2024•13 min
The St. Louis Fed’s Matuschka Lindo Briggs, senior vice president and regional executive of the Little Rock Branch, and Charles Gascon, economist and research officer, discuss economic insights from the latest Beige Book release with a focus on the Arkansas region and the Eighth District.
Sep 05, 2024•7 min
What is a soft landing, and how do we know if one is possible? In this episode, St. Louis Fed Economic Policy Advisor Paulina Restrepo-Echavarría unpacks that question and explains the importance of the Beveridge curve, an economic indicator that represents the relationship between the unemployment rate and the job openings rate. She’ll also discuss how a historic change in job openings prompted her and a colleague from the Dallas Fed to explore how the Beveridge curve could be expanded to analy...
Aug 29, 2024•15 min
The St. Louis Fed's Matuschka Lindo Briggs , senior vice president and regional executive of the Little Rock Branch, and Charles Gascon , senior economist, discuss economic insights about the Arkansas region and the Eighth District from the latest Beige Book release.
Jul 18, 2024•7 min
What patterns emerge when you zoom out and look at more than 80 years of data on income and housing? The answer is both nuanced and surprising. “Many members of these newer generations seem to be starting off their careers in smaller metro areas,” said St. Louis Fed economist Victoria Gregory. “These early in life location patterns are interesting because location choice is usually driven by job opportunities and affordability concerns.” In this podcast, Gregory reveals what did and didn’t chang...
Jun 14, 2024•8 min
The St. Louis Fed’s Matuschka Lindo Briggs , senior vice president and regional executive of the Little Rock Branch, and Thomas Walstrum , senior business economist at the Chicago Fed, discuss their insights about economic conditions in Arkansas and the Fed’s Seventh District.
May 30, 2024•6 min
How does population decline affect both short- and long-term economic growth? “There is a concern among developed countries that this may have an impact on productivity,” said Juan Sanchez, senior economic policy advisor at the St. Louis Fed. “But there is not a lot of research on that.” In this podcast episode, Sanchez discusses his research about how population decline impacts productivity, a key driver of economic growth.
May 15, 2024•10 min
The St. Louis Fed’s Matuschka Lindo Briggs , senior vice president and regional executive of the Little Rock Branch, and Chad Wilkerson, senior vice president and Oklahoma City Branch executive for the Kansas City Fed, discuss their insights on the Arkansas and Oklahoma regional economies.
Apr 18, 2024•8 min
The St. Louis Fed’s Matuschka Lindo Briggs , senior vice president and regional executive of the Little Rock Branch, and Nathan Jefferson , associate economist, discuss economic insights about the Arkansas region from the latest Beige Book release.
Mar 07, 2024•7 min
The St. Louis Fed's Matuschka Lindo Briggs, senior vice president and regional executive of the Little Rock Branch, and Nathan Jefferson, associate economist, discuss economic insights about the Arkansas region from the latest Beige Book release.
Jan 18, 2024•6 min
Matuschka Lindo Briggs, senior vice president and regional executive of the Little Rock Branch, is joined by Senior Economist Charles Gascon, who helps compile the qualitative summary of economic activity for the Beige Book. They discuss the anecdotal information that is collected and the way it informs how economists think about the economy.
Nov 30, 2023•7 min
St. Louis Fed economist Nathan Jefferson discusses highlights from the national Beige Book summary. An overall summary of the 12 district reports is prepared by a designated Federal Reserve Bank on a rotating basis with the St. Louis Fed responsible for this edition. Also, Matuschka Lindo Briggs, senior vice president and regional executive of the Little Rock Branch, provides highlights and the latest perspectives about the Arkansas economy.
Oct 19, 2023•6 min
In this Timely Topics podcast episode, Matuschka Lindo Briggs, senior vice president and regional executive of the St. Louis Fed's Little Rock Branch, and Nathan Jefferson, associate economist, discuss economic insights about the Arkansas region from the latest Beige Book release.
Sep 07, 2023•7 min
“Although it isn't exactly new, the most alarming recent feature of financial markets may be the inverted yield curve,” says Chris Neely, an economist and vice president at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, explaining that short rates are higher than long rates currently and have been for some time. Neely discusses his research on the yield curve and recession indicators.
Sep 05, 2023•13 min
In this Timely Topics podcast episode, Matuschka Lindo Briggs, senior vice president and regional executive of the Little Rock Branch, and Nathan Jefferson, associate economist, discuss economic insights about the Arkansas region from the July Beige Book.
Jul 13, 2023•8 min
“Of particular concern is the extent to which wages have kept up with the rising cost of living,” says Victoria Gregory, an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, in explaining the distinction between real and nominal wage growth. Gregory discusses her research on inflation and real wages in this podcast episode.
Jul 06, 2023•10 min
“People’s tendency to learn more information about the economy during crisis and downturns can actually lead to greater uncertainty,” says Yu-Ting Chiang, economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, discussing the effect of macroeconomic uncertainty on information consumption and decision making.
Jun 23, 2023•7 min
In this Timely Topics podcast episode, Matuschka Lindo Briggs, senior vice president and regional executive of the Little Rock Branch, and Nathan Jefferson, associate economist, discuss economic insights about the Arkansas region from the May Beige Book.
Jun 01, 2023•7 min
“Wealthy households, by investing mostly in their own businesses … compound their wealth at a much higher rate than the rest of the population,” says Serdar Ozkan, a research officer at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, explaining how the wealthiest people became rich.
May 04, 2023•10 min
In this Timely Topics podcast episode, Matuschka Lindo Briggs, senior vice president and regional executive of the Little Rock Branch, and Nathan Jefferson, associate economist, discuss economic insights about the Arkansas region from the April Beige Book.
Apr 20, 2023•7 min
“The data shows that most of the individuals during the COVID-19 episode—among those who quit—they quit to take another job,” says Serdar Birinci, an economist at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. Birinci discusses his research on job transitions in this podcast episode.
Apr 05, 2023•10 min
