August 26, 2025· 58 min

Adam Posen on a Surreal Jackson Hole in a Post-American World

Orality
Model
50%

Speaker Breakdown

HostJoe Weisenthal(1,829 words)
M:29%
HostTracy Alloway(1,380 words)
M:29%
GuestAdam Posen(6,814 words)
M:29%

Oral Indicators

Agonistic29%
very, obviously, literally
Engagement65%
you, our, your
Memory Aids100%
listen, now, like
Repetition100%
like (92x), it's (85x), about (77x)
Parallelism74%
And I'm Tracy Alloway...., So I think there's, like, an e..., And yet, the big story is real...
Sound Patterns38%
45 question(s), alliteration: "markets move", alliteration: "barclays brief"
Formulaic Phrases5%
you know what, i mean, the thing is

Literate Indicators

Hedging7%
may, could, maybe
Passive Voice7%
be allowed, is compromised, be tied
Abstract Nouns18%
investment, business, chase.com/business
Subordination9%
because, until, since
Sentence Length43%
Avg: 15.7 words/sentence
Word Complexity50%
investment, analyze, anticipate
Academic Markers0%
Impersonal Style35%
767 personal pronouns found
Descriptive Style79%
apply, internationally, really

Description

The annual Jackson Hole symposium is, formally speaking, an academic conference. Economists and central bankers gather to discuss the most important, cutting edge ideas in monetary policy. But there was certainly a different feel this year because of the relentless attacks on Fed Chairman Jerome Powell coming from President Trump. The whole premise of central bank independence is becoming a live question again. And without central bank independence, almost all of the more academic discussions feel like a waste of time. That makes for a surreal environment. On this episode of the podcast, we speak with Adam Posen, a former member of the BoE's Monetary Policy Committee, who now serves as President of the Peterson Institute for International Economics. He's the author of a recent Foreign Affairs article titled, "The New Economic Geography: Who Profits in a Post-American World." We talk about the shifting tectonic plates occurring domestically and internationally, what he sees as the folly of Trump's approach to trade and international relations, and how that intersects with the discourse among Central Bankers. Read more: What’s at Stake in the Fight Over Fed Independence Former ECB Chief Says ‘Illusion’ of EU as a Global Power Dashed Only http://Bloomberg.com subscribers can get the Odd Lots newsletter in their inbox each week, plus unlimited access to the site and app. Subscribe at  bloomberg.com/subscriptions/oddlots See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.