We just came through the eighth “technical” recession over the past 50 years and many predict that another is around the corner. Depending upon who you believe we might already be in one, we are about to drop off a cliff or it’s only smooth sailing ahead. Today we talk about how to measure a recession, the different character of prior downturns and why it doesn’t really fucking matter to most of us. 

Chapters

Intro: 00:00:51

Prologue: 00:01:48

Chapter One: Recessions Defined: 00:05:08

Chapter Two: Recessions of the Modern Era: 00:09:20

Coffee Break: 00:22:33

Chapter Three: Thwart. Mitigate. Or Fuck it. 00:23:43

Chapter Four: Yo Max, we gonna be okay or what? 00:36:01

Post Show Musings: 00:46:20 

Outro: 01:03:13

Resources

National Bureau of Economic Research: Business Cycle Dating

The Balance: How Does the Fed Funds Rate Work, and What Is Its Impact?

CBS: Mortgage rates jump above 4% — prompting borrowers to return to a staple of the housing bubble

Macrotrends: Federal Funds Rate - 62 Year Historical Chart

The Conference Board: US Leading Indicators

St. Louis Fed: Personal Saving Rate 

Federal Reserve: Distribution of Household Wealth in the U.S. since 1989

Pod Love

The Economist Asks: How will the war in Ukraine change the world economy?

The David McWilliams Podcast: Living with inflation, the story of Turkey

UNFTR Episode Resources

Capitalism.

Corporate (Ir)Responsibility (Part I).

Corporate (Ir)Responsibility (Part II).

F*ck Milton Friedman.

Modern Monetary Theory.

Peak Oil.

Immigration Nation.

Student Debt.

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