Audio Mises Wire - Powell Should Be A Great American Villain. DC Will Make Him a Hero

The current Washington tiff between Donald Trump and Jerome Powell is being reframed as Powell heroically defending the Fed’s “independence.” In truth, the Fed has always done the administration’s dirty work and pursued inflation when it might temporarily boost the economy.

Original article: https://mises.org/mises-wire/powell-should-be-great-american-villain-dc-will-make-him-hero

More or Less - Have more than 100 private schools been forced to close because of VAT?

Tim Harford investigates some of the numbers in the news. This week: A headline in the Mail says more than 100 private schools have closed since Labour came to power and ended the VAT exemption for private schools. Is that number right?

Is it true that when Covid hit the UK, a one-week delay in imposing lockdown led to 23,000 deaths?

Do 10 million families rely on X as their main source of news? That’s what government spokesperson Baroness Ruth Anderson said in the House of Lords, but is it correct?

s there really a “quiet revival” of Christian worship? Two YouGov polls found churchgoing had gone up by 50% between 2018 and 2024 in England and Wales. New polling data suggests otherwise.

If you’ve seen a number in the news you want the team on More or Less to have a look at, email moreorless@bbc.co.uk

Contributors: Professor Sir David Spiegelhalter, Emeritus Professor of Statistics in the Statistical Laboratory, University of Cambridge Professor Sir John Curtice, Senior Research Fellow at the National Centre for Social Research

Credits: Presenter: Tim Harford Reporters: Tom Colls and Nathan Gower Producers: Charlotte McDonald and Lizzy McNeill Production co-ordinator: Brenda Brown Sound mix: Gareth Jones Editor: Richard Vadon

The Indicator from Planet Money - Can a good story change economic reality?

Economic decisions aren’t only driven by hard data. A compelling story can change economic behavior and outcomes. In today’s episode, we explore real-world examples of “narrative economics” like how the Suez Canal ended up getting built. And we ask: why do narratives sometimes matter more than truth or data? 

Related episodes: 
This indicator hasn’t flashed this red since the dot-com bubble 
Tariffs. Consumer sentiment. Cape Ratio. Pick The Indicator of The Year! 
The Beigie Awards: Manufacturing takes center stage 

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.  


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The Indicator from Planet Money - One Fed battle after another

Over the weekend, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the Department of Justice served the Fed with grand jury subpoenas. Powell says it’s all a sham. But the stakes are unprecedented: A potential criminal indictment. Central bank independence. Today on the show, the administration’s case against the Fed. How did we get here? And what comes next?

Related episodes: 
Lisa Cook and the fight for the Fed
Trump's unprecedented attack on the Fed  
A primer on the Federal Reserve's independence
Why Is The Fed So Boring?

For sponsor-free episodes of The Indicator from Planet Money, subscribe to Planet Money+ via Apple Podcasts or at plus.npr.org. Fact-checking by Sierra Juarez. Music by Drop Electric. Find us: TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, Newsletter.

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