Aging populations in many advanced and emerging market economies mean shrinking workforces, weighing on growth. However, the opposite is true in low-income countries where populations are growing, and the expanding workforce may lack the skills for the job market. How can these two scenarios offset each other? Lisa Kolovich says women hold the key.…

Nigeria’s new administration has set out on an ambitious reform path to stabilize its currency, regain market confidence, and tame inflation. In this podcast, Governor Olayemi Cardoso and IMF Africa Department head, Abebe Aemro Selassie discuss the role of Nigeria’s central bank in restoring macroeconomic stability. The conversation took place as p…

In the final episode of our "marriage plot" season, we welcome fan favorite Dave Housley (author, most recently, of The Other Ones, and founding editor of Barrelhouse Magazine) to talk about a book that updated the 19th-century marriage plot novel for the 1990s: Helen Fielding's Bridget Jones's Diary. Dave had seen the movie version of the novel mu…

A book full of weird little guys and the too-relevant harnessing of small-minded resentfulness in the cause of a harmful power play. We discuss why Lady Sybil is great, the difference between a reign of terror and keyhole surgery of terror, and how the best employee perks are simply more money and more time off. You can find the Podcast on: Faceboo…

We couldn't do a season on "the marriage plot" in literature without reading the Jeffrey Eugenides novel that's literally titled The Marriage Plot. Guest Lucas Mann (author, most recently, of the essay collected Attachments, and co-owner of Riffraff Bookstore and Bar in Providence, Rhode Island) joins us to discuss Eugenides' novel, which contains …

Economic growth is often seen as the core ingredient to social development, but it’s a relatively new idea. So what did pre-growth society look like and how much growth can modern society sustain? In his latest book, Daniel Susskind argues that economic policy should consider the costs of growth more carefully and realign the drivers to better fit …

Poet and novelist Beth Ann Fennelly (Heating & Cooling, The Tilted World) joins us to talk about an unconventional love story, Harrison Scott Key's How to Stay Married: The Most Insane Love Story Ever Told. We talk about learning life lessons from memoirs, how to write about difficult relationships--especially when you're still in them--and Beth An…

Central banks worldwide share common practices in how they operate, but the UK’s central bank is unique in how it makes its rate decisions. Catherine Mann is a Professor of the Practice at Brandeis University and one of four external voting members of the Monetary Policy Committee at the Bank of England. In this podcast, Mann says the pickup in cap…

It’s no mystery where the IMF was born but its origin story might surprise you. While the spotlight was on the charismatic British economist John Maynard Keynes during the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference, a little-known American economist was working in the shadows. Harry Dexter White’s plan would lead to the creation of the IMF and forever change th…

We continue our "marriage plot" season with guest Curtis Sittenfeld (Prep, American Wife, Romantic Comedy) who talks us through one of her favorite Alice Munro stories, why she admires it, and how it's influenced her own work. Plus: Are trains romantic? Is some writing trying too hard to be sexy? And what's the ideal bathroom situation for a marria…

While African countries have little to do with what’s causing the climate crisis, they are feeling the brunt of the extreme weather patterns and left footing a climate-mitigation bill they can’t afford. Michael Olabisi is an assistant professor at Michigan State University and studies sustainable development in low-income countries. In this podcast…

Our "marriage plot" season continues, but with a twist: on this episode, novelist Peter Ho Davies introduces us to "the parent plot," which he argues is a contemporary successor to all those 19th-century novels about choosing a mate. For many, becoming a parent is not only one of life's biggest choices, but also a cultural marker of adult responsib…

An interesting story with good riffing on popular ancient history, but doesn't feel like Pratchett is railing against anything. Featuring various tangents about ancient Egyptian history, and a flashback to watching 10,000 BC (a deeply incorrect film). Plus timey wimey stuff and mathsy words. You can find the Podcast on: Facebook: www.facebook.com/D…

When disaster strikes, the knee-jerk reaction is to seek public funds for support, but private donors have the agility that governments often don’t. And while capital flows to Africa slowed to a trickle during the pandemic, philanthropy and remittances held steady. Una Osili is the Associate Dean for Research and International Programs at Indiana U…

Our season on "the marriage plot" continues, with author Tyrese Coleman (How to Sit) joining us to talk about the first book in the Outlander series, which is one of the most popular historical fantasy romance novels ever written. She tries to help us understand why people find it sexy, rather than tedious. We also talk about the book's relationshi…

Conflict disrupts lives and economies everywhere, but recent IMF analytical work suggests the economic impact of conflict in the Middle East and Central Asia has proven larger and more persistent than in other regions. In this podcast, Ghassan Salamé (SciencesPo Paris), Mark Malloch-Brown (Open Society Foundations), and Rola Dashti (UNESCWA) discus…

Our "marriage plot" season continues, with freelance writer and podcaster Catherine Nichols joining us to talk about the "least fun" Bronte sister, and her novel about what happens when you marry a drunken frat boy (or whatever the 19th-century equivalent of a frat was). Check out Catherine's podcast, Lit Century, in which she and author Sandra New…

We kick off our new, 8-episode season on "the marriage plot" in literature with guest Adelle Waldman (The Love Affairs of Nathaniel P., Help Wanted) talking to us about one of her favorite authors, Jane Austen. You can learn more about Adelle and her books at her website: https://adellewaldman.com/ If you like the podcast, and want more of it in yo…

The World Economic Outlook is more than projected growth rates. The research behind those projections tells the story of how 190 countries, slowly but steadily, found their way through the fog of the past few years to emerge a testament to the resilience of the global economy. Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas is IMF Chief Economist and brings together the…

This time we are talking about Wryd Sisters. Find out which witch Cathy finds most relatable, what wyrd actually means, and how a storm gets it's big break (by breaking something big). You can find the Podcast on: Facebook: www.facebook.com/DiningTableDiscworld BlueSky: dtdiscworld.bsky.social Our intro and outro music is Beyond Infinity by user Bl…

Sub-Saharan Africa is slowly emerging from four turbulent years with higher growth expected for nearly two thirds of countries in the region. But while inflation has almost halved and debt has broadly stabilized, economies are still grappling with financing shortages and impending debt repayments. Wenjie Chen is deputy head of the team that publish…

As inflation slowly subsides and optimism pervades financial markets, the latest Global Financial Stability Report (GFSR) warns of potential setbacks. Fabio Natalucci and Jason Wu head the GFSR team. In this podcast, they discuss risks associated with debt and the private credit market, struggling real estate sectors in China and the US, cybersecur…

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva kicks off the 2024 IMF-World Bank Spring Meetings from the Atlantic Council in Washington, DC, with her customary curtain raiser speech. Go to IMF.org to follow the Spring Meetings and find all the IMF flagship reports, including the World Economic Outlook, the Global Financial Stability Report, and the Fi…

Even optimal economic policies create winners and losers, and that’s where politics steps in. Trade liberalization is an example of a policy that can make a country better off as a whole, but what happens to workers who lose out to cheaper goods? Jeffry Frieden says while politics is often messy, it’s how society puts a value on things economists c…

For decades, the standard labor market model has been ruled by supply and demand, but a younger generation of labor economists is questioning that approach. Suresh Naidu is a Professor of Economics and International Public Affairs at Columbia University. He says while the supply and demand model is not wrong, it only tells part of the story. In thi…

It wasn’t that long ago when retiring in one’s 50s was an achievable goal. But with life expectancy steadily rising and pension systems doomed to fall short, the prospects for an early retirement are fading fast. Olivia Mitchell wrote the book on retirement and modern pension research and has spent her career helping people improve their financial …

In this episode, we discuss Sourcery, where Rincewind pre-emptively runs from a sourceror bringing reality-bending amounts of power to the Unseen University. Find out why the villain acts as a dark mirror of Rincewind and why we weren't so impressed with his travelling companions. You can find the Podcast on: Facebook: www.facebook.com/DiningTableD…