David Wessel is a senior fellow in economic studies at Brookings and is the director of the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy. In David&#x27;s first appearance on the show, he discusses stories of the Greenspan Fed, what is was like in Europe when the euro was adopted, the legacy of the Powell Fed, his thoughts on the great man theory, the outlook for the Kevin Warsh Fed, the ongoing challenge of Fed independence, and much more. Watch the full length video on our new YouTube Channel! Check out the transcript for this week&#x27;s episode, now with links. Recorded on June 15th, 2026 Subscribe to David&#x27;s Substack: Macroeconomic Policy Nexus Follow David Beckworth on X: @DavidBeckworth Follow David Wessel on X: @DavidMWessel Follow the show on X: @Macro_Musings Check out our Macro Musings merch! Timestamps 00:00:00 - Intro 00:01:48 - David&#x27;s Career 00:19:30 - Legacies of Fed Chairmans 00:31:51 - Kevin Warsh Fed 00:43:34 - Fed Independence 00:55:13 - Outro

David Wessel on the Fed's Current Inflection Point

Macro Musings with David Beckworth

[SPEAKER_A] Welcome to Macro Musings, where each week we pull back the curtain and take a closer look at the most important macroeconomic issues of the past, present, and future. I am your host, David Beckworth, a senior research fellow with the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. And I'm glad you decided to join us. Our guest today is David Wessel. "David is a senior fellow in economic studies at Brookings and is the director of the Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy. He's also a longtime veteran and public intellectual of the Federal Reserve space and is the perfect guest to join us today to discuss this pivotal moment in the Federal Reserve's history." David, welcome to the podcast.

[SPEAKER_B] Good to be with you, finally.

[SPEAKER_A] Great to have you on. This is long overdue. And I have to say that when I think of you, I think of the first time I chatted with you. I don't know if you remember this. This goes way back. I was at Texas State University and I'd just written either a blog post or it was an op-ed, but I had highlighted how Milton Friedman had advocated for a version of QE or large-scale asset purchases for Japan in early 2000. So long before we had this at the Fed, and someone had pointed it out to me, some speech he gave at the Bank of Canada. I dug it up and people were like shocked. Milton Friedman is advocating for something like QE? It just blew their minds, 'cause you remember there are all these op-eds like this is gonna create inflation.

David Wessel on the Fed's Current Inflection Point

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.

David Wessel on the Fed's Current Inflection Point

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast, not the earnings call.

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.