Platypus Economics with Justin Wolfers

In this episode of Off the Clock, Justin unwinds the week’s economic news with his friend, Stacey Vanek Smith—senior writer for Bloomberg Businessweek and cohost of the Everybody’s Business podcast. The goal of this series is to help you understand what to actually be concerned about, what you can safely ignore, and where there’s room for a bit of hope.
They dig into May’s better-than-expected jobs report, the stock market’s confusing reaction, and the recent concert cancellations for Trump’s Freedom 250 celebration. Justin argues there’s an economic story here—especially when you compare the rational choices of these artists to the tech industry’s relentless political brown-nosing.
Then—in a new segment—Justin and Stacey take a step back from the grind of a daily news cycle to appreciate larger economic trends that give us much more fodder for optimism. First up—inflation (yes, really!).
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Editor’s Note: In this conversation, we mistakenly refer to Freedom 250 as America250. America250 is a bipartisan initiative established by Congress in 2016 to commemorate America’s 250th birthday. Freedom 250 is a separate, public-private initiative established by the Trump administration via executive order earlier this year.
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Since the start of President Trump’s second term, women have received 86% of net new payroll jobs and now hold slightly more non-farm payroll jobs than men. In this episode, Justin Wolfers explains why that shift is happening and what it says about our modern U.S. economy. This trend is not driven by employers suddenly preferring women over men, but by which parts of the economy are actually growing. The industries adding jobs are disproportionately female-heavy – especially healthcare and education.
Nevertheless, much of our economic policy continues to center an outdated image of work: factory floors, hard hats, and a romanticized industrial past. But if policy keeps looking backward, it will miss where real opportunity is being created. And if leaders steer training, subsidies, and political attention toward yesterday's jobs instead of tomorrow's, workers will be left less prepared for the labor market that actually exists.
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What happens when politicians try to look like they’re fixing high gas prices without actually fixing them? Justin Wolfers explains why a federal gas tax holiday is bad economics, good theater, and a gift to oil companies.
In a follow-up to his explainer episode, Justin answers audience questions about windfall taxes, what smarter relief could look like, whether a diesel tax holiday make any more sense, and why gas prices carry so much psychological weight in American politics.
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A gas tax holiday sounds like relief, but gets the economics wrong in almost every direction.
Today’s high prices are a war problem — not a tax problem. And cheaper gas is the exact wrong response to a shortage. When something is scarce, higher prices send a signal to conserve, but a tax cut blunts that signal and encourages more demand at exactly the wrong moment. It's akin to subsidizing showers in a drought.
Even more frustrating, the difference between impact and incidence means that much of the benefit would bypass drivers completely — fattening the profits of oil companies instead.
📈 Key takeaway: If you want to help families during an energy shock, target the hardship—not the gasoline.
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Justin Wolfers is back with Stacey Vanek Smith to break down three of the biggest stories in economic news. Starting with the arrival of new Fed Chair Kevin Warsh — and the question of which Kevin Warsh will show up for the job: the inflation hawk from the Great Recession, or a more political figure likely to echo President Trump's calls for lower interest rates. Next, Justin and Stacey cover Bond Market 101, with Justin explaining why the U.S. government sells Treasury bonds, why investors buy them, and what rising long-term yields signal about inflation, oil prices, and the national debt.
Finally, they dig into the stunning collapse in consumer sentiment, and why Justin believes these historically bleak numbers reflect something deeper than a bad economy — namely, a crisis of confidence in the people managing U.S. economic policy. At the same time, Stacey points out the affordability crunch is very real, with inflation hitting some summertime staples especially hard.
If you enjoy this episode, please rate and review — and check out the link below to weigh in on Justin and Stacey's bet about midterm gas prices on Manifold Markets!
Link to Justin & Stacey's bet: https://manifold.markets/StaceyVanekSmith/will-national-gas-prices-in-the-us
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