What actually happens if the nation defaults on its debt? Planes fall out of the sky, the streets run red with blood — OK, not literally. But the reality could be economic catastrophe: "Market chaos, economic chaos, all for absolutely no good reason," explains POLITICO’s Ben White. After a week of debt-ceiling drama in D.C., Ben joins Playbook co-author Eugene Daniels to unpack the partisan fights, doomsday hypotheticals and one of the most absurd twists so far: a trillion-dollar coin.

Eugene Daniels is a co-author of POLITICO Playbook.
Ben White is chief economic correspondent for POLITICO.
Carlos Mucha is an attorney who popularized the idea of minting a trillion-dollar coin.
Adrienne Hurst is a producer for POLITICO audio.
Annie Rees is a producer for POLITICO audio.
Jenny Ament is senior producer for POLITICO audio.
Irene Noguchi is the executive producer of POLITICO audio.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN Faces ALL-OUT WAR! | Pals Pulls 7/30/2025