21 CHAPTERS. A NEW WAY TO LISTEN.

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From rising living standards to recessions and inflation, explore the ideas behind the whole economy. Listen at your own pace, jump to a section, or follow the conversation word by word.

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21 English episodes467 minutes of listeningRead along as you listen
YOUR FIRST LISTENCHAPTER 01 · 22:01
Introduction to Macroeconomics: the chapter mind map

Income. Jobs. Prices.
Start with the questions that connect them.

THE LISTENING COLLECTION

One chapter. One big question.

Explore the facts. Follow the model.
Connect the reasoning to the real world.

Make it your conversation. Change the speed, revisit a section, or select Read along to follow the transcript. Each episode also opens on Spotify.

LISTEN · PAUSE · REFLECT

Chapter 01 / Introduction to Macroeconomics

What can we learn by looking at the whole economy?

◷ 22:01
Introduction to Macroeconomics mind mapExplore the mind map

Start with income, jobs, and prices. Discover how economists move from facts to models, then use those models to ask new questions.

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  • The questions & the facts
  • How a model works
  • Long run, short run & policy
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AI podcast · 22 min

Chapter 1 · Introduction to Macroeconomics

Now: Opening

Chapter 02 / Measuring the Macroeconomy

How do we measure an entire economy?

◷ 22:28
Measuring the Macroeconomy mind mapExplore the mind map

Follow production, spending, and income through the national accounts. Learn what GDP measures, how prices change, and what the headline numbers leave out.

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  • The facts
  • The accounting framework
  • Uses and limits
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AI podcast · 22 min

Chapter 2 · Measuring the Macroeconomy

Now: Opening

Chapter 03 / An Overview of Long-Run Economic Growth

How did the world become so much richer?

◷ 22:02
An Overview of Long-Run Economic Growth mind mapExplore the mind map

Trace living standards across countries and centuries. Explore the power of compounding and the striking differences in when sustained growth began.

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  • The long-run facts
  • The mathematics of growth
  • Across countries & people
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AI podcast · 22 min

Chapter 3 · An Overview of Long-Run Economic Growth

Now: Opening

Chapter 04 / A Model of Production

Why do some economies produce so much more?

◷ 22:30
A Model of Production mind mapExplore the mind map

Build a production model from capital, labor, and productivity. Compare its predictions with the data to see how much of the income gap it can explain.

Listen for

  • The production model
  • The model meets the data
  • TFP and institutions
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AI podcast · 23 min

Chapter 4 · A Model of Production

Now: Opening

Chapter 05 / The Solow Growth Model

Can saving more make a country richer?

◷ 22:09
The Solow Growth Model mind mapExplore the mind map

Operate the Solow model and watch capital accumulate. Explore steady states, transition dynamics, and the limits of growth driven by investment alone.

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  • The Solow model
  • Experiments
  • The model meets the data
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AI podcast · 22 min

Chapter 5 · The Solow Growth Model

Now: Opening

Chapter 06 / Growth and Ideas

What keeps economic growth going?

◷ 22:55
Growth and Ideas mind mapExplore the mind map

Ideas can be used by many people at once. Explore how this changes the economics of production and why research can sustain rising living standards.

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  • Why ideas are different
  • The Romer model
  • Ideas in the data
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AI podcast · 23 min

Chapter 6 · Growth and Ideas

Now: Opening

Chapter 07 / The Labor Market, Wages, and Unemployment

Why are some people unemployed even when jobs exist?

◷ 22:07
The Labor Market, Wages, and Unemployment mind mapExplore the mind map

Connect wages and employment to labor supply and demand. Then follow workers into and out of jobs to understand persistent unemployment.

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  • Who works, and at what wage
  • Unemployment
  • Wages, skills and inequality
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AI podcast · 22 min

Chapter 7 · The Labor Market, Wages, and Unemployment

Now: Opening

Chapter 08 / Inflation

Why does money lose its purchasing power?

◷ 22:45
Inflation mind mapExplore the mind map

Measure inflation in the data and connect prices to money and output. Explore the quantity theory, real interest rates, and the costs of inflation.

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  • Measuring inflation
  • Money and prices
  • Interest rates and deficits
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AI podcast · 23 min

Chapter 8 · Inflation

Now: Opening

Chapter 09 / An Introduction to the Short Run

Why does the economy move in ups and downs?

◷ 22:38
An Introduction to the Short Run mind mapExplore the mind map

Separate the long-run path of output from short-run fluctuations. Use data on output, jobs, and inflation to describe what happens in a recession.

Listen for

  • Measuring the cycle
  • The Phillips curve
  • Okun's law and policy
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AI podcast · 23 min

Chapter 9 · An Introduction to the Short Run

Now: Opening

Chapter 10 / The Great Recession and the Covid-19 Pandemic: A First Look

What made the financial crisis and pandemic so disruptive?

◷ 21:37
The Great Recession and the Covid-19 Pandemic: A First Look mind mapExplore the mind map

Compare two very different downturns. Trace housing, financial markets, output, and employment to see how each shock spread through the economy.

Listen for

  • The crash of 2007–09
  • Why a housing bust broke banks
  • Two recessions compared
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AI podcast · 22 min

Chapter 10 · The Great Recession and the Covid-19 Pandemic: A First Look

Now: Opening

Chapter 11 / The IS Curve

How do interest rates change spending and output?

◷ 21:57
The IS Curve mind mapExplore the mind map

Build the IS curve from the national income identity. Change demand and borrowing costs to see why short-run output moves.

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  • Building the IS curve
  • Moving along or shifting
  • Consumption and fiscal policy
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AI podcast · 22 min

Chapter 11 · The IS Curve

Now: Opening

Chapter 12 / Monetary Policy and the Phillips Curve

How can a central bank bring inflation down?

◷ 21:49
Monetary Policy and the Phillips Curve mind mapExplore the mind map

Connect monetary policy to the IS and Phillips curves. Follow the path of output and inflation when the central bank changes the interest rate.

Listen for

  • The central bank's lever
  • IS, MP and the Phillips curve
  • Disinflation and the Great Inflation
Read the chapter

AI podcast · 22 min

Chapter 12 · Monetary Policy and the Phillips Curve

Now: Opening

Chapter 13 / Stabilization Policy and the AS/AD Framework

Can policy cushion an economic shock?

◷ 21:54
Stabilization Policy and the AS/AD Framework mind mapExplore the mind map

Bring the short-run model together in the AS/AD diagram. Explore how policy rules, expectations, and different shocks shape the adjustment.

Listen for

  • A rule and one diagram
  • Three events
  • Rules meet the data
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AI podcast · 22 min

Chapter 13 · Stabilization Policy and the AS/AD Framework

Now: Opening

Chapter 14 / Financial Crises and the Short-Run Model

What happens when the financial system stops working?

◷ 21:40
Financial Crises and the Short-Run Model mind mapExplore the mind map

Add risk premiums and financial frictions to the short-run model. Examine how a credit crisis, deflation, and policy constraints can deepen a recession.

Listen for

  • The crisis in the data
  • Friction, deflation and the zero lower bound
  • Policy and the aftermath
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AI podcast · 22 min

Chapter 14 · Financial Crises and the Short-Run Model

Now: Opening

Chapter 15 / DSGE Models: The Frontier of Business Cycle Research

How do modern models explain business cycles?

◷ 22:56
DSGE Models: The Frontier of Business Cycle Research mind mapExplore the mind map

Meet the agents, shocks, and frictions inside DSGE models. Explore how productivity, labor markets, and sticky prices shape the economy’s response.

Listen for

  • Real business cycles
  • The labor market block
  • Frictions, money and numbers
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AI podcast · 23 min

Chapter 15 · DSGE Models: The Frontier of Business Cycle Research

Now: Opening

Chapter 16 / Consumption

How do households decide what to spend today?

◷ 22:00
Consumption mind mapExplore the mind map

Spread income and wealth across a lifetime. Use a two-period model to explore consumption smoothing, patience, and the role of interest rates.

Listen for

  • A lifetime budget
  • The Euler equation and its lessons
  • Debt, saving and wealth in the data
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AI podcast · 22 min

Chapter 16 · Consumption

Now: Opening

Chapter 17 / Investment

What makes a new investment worthwhile?

◷ 21:31
Investment mind mapExplore the mind map

Compare the return on capital with its cost. Connect firms’ investment choices to interest rates, taxes, stock prices, and housing.

Listen for

  • Investment swings
  • The user cost of capital
  • Stocks, houses and policy
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AI podcast · 22 min

Chapter 17 · Investment

Now: Opening

Chapter 18 / The Government and the Macroeconomy

How do today’s deficits shape tomorrow’s choices?

◷ 22:14
The Government and the Macroeconomy mind mapExplore the mind map

Follow government spending, taxes, and borrowing through the budget constraint. Explore debt dynamics and the choices involved in financing public spending.

Listen for

  • Spending, taxes and debt
  • The budget arithmetic
  • The fiscal problem ahead
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AI podcast · 22 min

Chapter 18 · The Government and the Macroeconomy

Now: Opening

Chapter 19 / International Trade

Why do countries trade—and who gains?

◷ 22:23
International Trade mind mapExplore the mind map

Work through comparative advantage and the gains from exchange. Connect trade balances to saving, investment, and borrowing from the rest of the world.

Listen for

  • The facts of trade
  • Why countries trade
  • Deficits, debt & policy
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AI podcast · 22 min

Chapter 19 · International Trade

Now: Opening

Chapter 20 / Exchange Rates and International Finance

What moves a currency’s value?

◷ 22:32
Exchange Rates and International Finance mind mapExplore the mind map

Compare purchasing power across countries and returns across currencies. Explore exchange rates, international finance, and policy in an open economy.

Listen for

  • The long run: prices set the rate
  • The short run: interest rates move the rate
  • Regimes, crises and the euro
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AI podcast · 23 min

Chapter 20 · Exchange Rates and International Finance

Now: Opening

Chapter 21 / Parting Thoughts

What have we learned—and what remains unresolved?

◷ 22:21
Parting Thoughts mind mapExplore the mind map

Bring the book’s main lessons together. Revisit living standards, growth, inflation, and stabilization, then consider the questions macroeconomics still needs to answer.

Listen for

  • The long run
  • The short run
  • The frontier
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AI podcast · 22 min

Chapter 21 · Parting Thoughts

Now: Opening

AI-generated discussions accompany the book. Check explanations against the chapter and its sources. Transcript timing is approximate.

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