Episode 7: Jon Hilsenrath

The seventh episode of Read The Bull is a topical and wide-ranging conversation with Wall Street Journal senior writer Jon Hilsenrath about his book "Yellen: The Trailblazing Economist Who Navigated an Era of Upheaval." Hilsenrath is the perfect person to write a book about Yellen. He's written about economics and finance since 1997, and he's covered Yellen, her predecessors at the U.S. Federal Reserve and many of the economists that appear in the book. Jon discusses his focus on Yellen's marriage to George Akerloff, himself an economist who has a Nobel Prize to his credit. Jon uses their relationship to tell a much bigger story about modern economics and how it has evolved. Jon uses their relationship and the marriage between markets and democratic government to show how the application of economics is a messy process and one that is managed and held together by institutions. If you enjoy economics and the debate between free markets and government intervention, you'll love this conversation. And even if you're not a fan, you'll find it fascinating how Jon explains how economics touches every aspect of our lives.