January 5, 2026· 42 min

What Really Happens at a Fed Research Conference

Orality
Model
59%
Mixed oral/literate (blogs, casual essays)

Speaker Breakdown

HostTracy Alloway(1,683 words)
M:28%
HostJoe Weisenthal(1,263 words)
M:29%
GuestLudwig Straub(755 words)
M:26%
GuestSusan Collins(723 words)
M:28%
GuestOmar Barbiero(1,013 words)
M:29%

Oral Indicators

Agonistic47%
literally, completely, clearly
Engagement77%
you, our, your
Memory Aids100%
listen, now, okay
Repetition100%
know (88x), right (46x), like (43x)
Parallelism73%
So, thank you all...., And then, I guess, adjacent to..., And everybody knows that....
Sound Patterns65%
54 question(s), alliteration: "markets move", alliteration: "barclays brief"
Formulaic Phrases7%
you know what, i mean, to be honest

Literate Indicators

Hedging11%
may, quite, probably
Passive Voice8%
were involved, are invited, being presented
Abstract Nouns13%
investment, recommendation, business
Subordination6%
therefore, because, while
Sentence Length29%
Avg: 12.3 words/sentence
Word Complexity50%
investment, analyze, anticipate
Academic Markers7%
according to, theoretical framework
Impersonal Style23%
639 personal pronouns found
Descriptive Style100%
literally, completely, apply

Description

Every year, regional Federal Reserve banks host some of the most substantive — and under-the-radar — events in the central banking world: research conferences. Behind the formal papers and dense macro models, this is where much of the Fed’s intellectual groundwork for monetary policy first starts to take shape. On this episode, we take you inside the Boston Fed's 69th annual Economic Conference to hear what the economists are actually debating, how they choose the questions that matter most, and what happens when the evidence — or egos — clash. Along the way, we talk to Fed researchers, outside academics, and Boston Fed President Susan Collins about how this kind of work influences policy in the real world. Watch all the presentations at the Boston Fed's website Subscribe to the Odd Lots Newsletter Join the conversation: discord.gg/oddlots See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.