RadCasts

Things aren’t looking so good for the U.S. dollar. Though it’s spent decades as the world’s reigning reserve currency, it’s been weakening lately thanks to tariffs and uncertainty in the U.S. economy.

But its declining value, has been in the making for a while, according to Harvard economist and author of the new book, “Our Dollar, Your Problem,” Kenneth Rogoff.

“The problem we’re facing is that, independent of this dollar phenomenon, interest rates are going up,” said Rogoff. “And if you’re the world’s biggest debtor, that’s tough.”

Rogoff joins Kai and Kimberly to unpack how the greenback became the world’s go-to currency, what a reserve currency actually is, why it’s been losing some of its value lately and what might take its place. Plus, how does military power tie into all this? 

We’ll also get into some potential cryptocurrency regulation coming down the pipeline and discuss the troubling parallel between Trumpism and Brexit. 

Then, you tell us what books help you reset – from classic literary romances to an apocalyptic sci-fi tale. And, our intern, Zoha Malik (hi!) shares her answer to the Make Me Smart question. 

Here’s everything we talked about today:

• “Our Dollar, Your Problem,” by Kenneth Rogoff from Yale University Press
• “How Trump Could Dethrone the Dollar” from Foreign Affairs
• “Why Is The US Dollar Weakening? Trump’s Tariffs Push Dollar Index To 3-Year Low.” from Forbes
• “Senate advances landmark crypto bill with Democrats divided” from Politico
• “Senate Advances Crypto Regulation Bill With Bipartisan Support” from The New York Times
• “Senate advances a major crypto regulation bill on a bipartisan vote” from NBC News
• “Brexit’s Failures Could Foreshadow Trump’s. Just Not in the Way You Might Think.” from The New York Times

Got a question or comment for the hosts? Email makemesmart@marketplace.org or leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART.