About This Episode
If you have a credit card, hope to buy a house, or just want stable grocery prices – let’s talk about the future of Fed independence!<br /><br />It’s impossibly important for the Federal Reserve to steer monetary policy without political interference – an ideal pushed to its brink during Jerome Powell’s time as Fed Chair.<br /><br />Powell’s Fed faced a once-in-a-century pandemic, oversaw the economy as inflation spiked to about 9 percent … went back down to nearly 2 percent … and has started to go back up as the U.S. has gone to war and continued to try and implement the most comprehensive tariffs since the early 1900s.<br /><br />But perhaps Powell will be best remembered as a target – of angry tweets, speeches, and ultimately a criminal investigation, by the very president who nominated him in the first place.<br /><br />On Powell’s last day as chair, we ask where his story fits into the sweep of history. We’ll hear from someone who was on the Fed Board when Powell was appointed … and when President Trump started to pressure Powell. Plus, we learn what to watch for to see if Fed Independence is crumbling – or holding – as a new Fed Chair nominated by President Trump takes office.<br /><br />Recommend Listening:<br /><br /> - <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/money/2019/03/01/699546781/episode-898-happy-fed-independence-day" target="_blank">Happy Fed Independence Day</a><br /> - <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/01/10/1223918033/richard-nixon-arthur-burns-fed-independence" target="_blank">The case for Fed independence in the Nixon tapes</a><br /> - <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/04/23/1246593555/federal-reserve-independence" target="_blank">A primer on the Federal Reserve's independence</a><br /> - <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/08/26/nx-s1-5518335/trumps-unprecedented-attack-on-the-fed" target="_blank">Trump's unprecedented attack on the Fed</a><br /> - <a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/08/14/1197968126/should-presidents-have-more-of-a-say-in-interest-rates" target="_blank">Should presidents have more of a say in interest rates?</a><br /> - <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/08/29/nx-s1-5522330/lisa-cook-trump-lawsuit-federal-reserve-independence" target="_blank">Lisa Cook and the fight for the Fed</a><br /> - <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/09/05/nx-s1-5532144/central-bank-independence-federal-reserve" target="_blank">What happens to central banks under pressure?</a><br /><br /><a href="https://www.planetmoneybook.com" target="_blank"><em>Book info.</em></a><em> / </em><a href="https://n.pr/3HlREPz" target="_blank"><em>Subscribe to Planet Money+</em></a><br /><br /><em>Listen free: </em><a href="http://n.pr/PM-digital" target="_blank"><em>Apple Podcasts</em></a><em>, </em><a href="https://n.pr/3gTkQlR" target="_blank"><em>Spotify</em></a><em>, </em><a href="https://n.pr/3Bkb17W" target="_blank"><em>the NPR app</em></a><em> or anywhere you get podcasts.</em><br /><br /><a href="https://n.pr/3h92GwS" target="_blank"><em>Facebook</em></a><em> / </em><a href="https://n.pr/3FqLuws" target="_blank"><em>Instagram</em></a><em> / </em><a href="https://n.pr/3sGZdrq" target="_blank"><em>TikTok</em></a><em> / Our weekly </em><a href="https://n.pr/3zrFvUB" target="_blank"><em>Newsletter</em></a><em>.</em><br /><br /><em>This episode was hosted by Kenny Malone and Erika Beras. It was produced by Sam Yellowhorse Kesler, edited by Jess Jiang, fact-checked by Sierra Juarez, and engineered by Robert Rodriguez and Cena Loffredo. </em>Planet Money<em>’s executive producer is Alex Goldmark. </em><br /><br />See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.<br /><br /><a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>