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Latest Podcasts

F&D Magazine

Amadou Sy on Why Africa is Keeping its Debt Closer to Home

AMADOU SY

March 12, 2026

F&D Magazine

The Debt Reckoning: Rodrigo Valdés and Era Dabla-Norris

RODRIGO VALDES, ERA DABLA-NORRIS

March 2, 2026

F&D Magazine

Johan Norberg on What Makes and Breaks Golden Eras

JOHAN NORBERG

February 5, 2026

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F&D Magazine

Amadou Sy on Why Africa is Keeping its Debt Closer to Home

AMADOU SY March 12, 2026

Surging interest rates on dollar- and euro-denominated loans in recent years have prompted countries to turn to domestic markets for their borrowing needs. Amadou Sy heads the IMF Regional Studies division. In this podcast, he says there are benefits to issuing debt in local markets and in local currency.

F&D Magazine

The Debt Reckoning: Rodrigo Valdés and Era Dabla-Norris

RODRIGO VALDES, ERA DABLA-NORRIS March 2, 2026

Unprecedented debt levels are pressing governments to make tough choices. While aging populations demand more public spending, resources are stretched thin, and the days of cheap borrowing are behind us. In this podcast, the IMF's Rodrigo Valdés and Era Dabla-Norris say the erosion of public trust is a factor in reconciling competing fiscal priorities.

F&D Magazine

Johan Norberg on What Makes and Breaks Golden Eras

JOHAN NORBERG February 5, 2026

The most prosperous of civilizations were the most open. The Romans, for example, expanded their empire by integrating the populations they conquered, creating a melting pot of new ideas. Johan Norberg’s latest book, Peak Human, examines the rise and fall of seven golden age civilizations. In this podcast, he says that if openness to learning and trade are what great societies make, building walls to protect their dominance often sparks their demise.

F&D Magazine

Claudia Sahm on how Private Data can Augment Official Statistics

CLAUDIA SAHM December 18, 2025

While official statistics compiled by government agencies are still considered the most reliable, policymakers are increasingly using private data to get around their limitations. Former Federal Reserve economist Claudia Sahm says the immediacy and granularity of private company data should serve as a complement to traditional data, not as a substitute.

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ECONOMIC OUTLOOK

Outlooks

Holding Steady: Athene Laws on sub-Saharan Africa’s Outlook

Athene Laws November 20, 2025

Sub-Saharan Africa is holding its own despite a deteriorating global trade and aid landscape. The latest outlook projects growth to remain steady at 4.1 percent this year with a modest pickup in 2026. In this podcast, IMF economist Athene Laws says removing barriers to private firm growth is crucial for providing the jobs needed by the region’s young and rapidly expanding labor force.

Outlooks

Recovery Interrupted: Sub-Saharan Africa’s Outlook

ANDREW TIFFIN June 12, 2025

After four long years of numerous crises, sub-Saharan Africa’s hard-won recovery has been disrupted by yet another shock. Economist Andrew Tiffin and his team produce the IMF Regional Economic Outlook for sub-Saharan Africa. In this podcast, Tiffin says the current shake-up in global value chains, while disruptive, can create new trade and investment opportunities.

Outlooks

Reforms amid Great Expectations: Sub-Saharan Africa’s Outlook

WENJIE CHEN, ANDREW TIFFIN November 13, 2024

With sub-Saharan Africa soon to have one of the largest working-age populations in the world, removing barriers to business growth and encouraging higher productivity industries will help provide the employment opportunities it needs. Wenjie Chen and Andrew Tiffin produce the Regional Economic Outlook for sub-Saharan Africa. In this podcast, they say implementing reforms that create suﬃcient jobs will improve prospects for the region.

Outlooks

Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas on the Global Outlook: Steady but Slow

Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas May 2, 2024

The World Economic Outlook is more than projected growth rates. The research behind those projections tells the story of how 190 countries, slowly but steadily, found their way through the fog of the past few years to emerge a testament to the resilience of the global economy. IMF Chief Economist Pierre-Olivier Gourinchas says the fears of a global recession have not materialized but the path ahead is not without obstacles.

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Women in Economics

Women In Economics

Women in Economics: Stefanie Stantcheva on Thoughts that Matter

STEFANIE STANTCHEVA July 15, 2025

Public resistance to new policies often leaves policymakers scratching their heads. Stefanie Stantcheva’s multidisciplinary approach to research digs deep into the minds of people at the receiving end to help design better policies. Stantcheva sat down with journalist Rhoda Metcalfe to discuss how tax policy impacts innovation.

Women In Economics

Women in Economics: Kate Raworth on Economics for the Living Planet

KATE RAWORTH August 29, 2024

Kate Raworth talks with journalist Rhoda Metcalfe about her alternative economic model Doughnut Economics, which places economic objectives within the social and ecological boundaries of the living planet. Raworth is an ecological economist and the author of Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st Century Economist.

Women In Economics / Development

Women in Economics: Una Osili on the Resilience of Philanthropy and Why so Few African Women Economists

Una Osili May 21, 2024

When disaster strikes, the knee-jerk reaction is to seek public funds for support, but private donors have the agility that governments often don’t. Una Osili holds the Efroymson Chair in Philanthropy at Indiana University and believes Africa would benefit from more private donors and more African women to manage it. In this podcast, Rhoda Metcalfe asks Dr. Osili about her work and why there aren’t more women economists on the continent.

Women In Economics

Women in Economics: Olivia Mitchell on Retirement Reality

March 28, 2024

With life expectancy steadily rising and pension systems doomed to fall short, the prospects for an early retirement are fading fast. Olivia Mitchell wrote the book on retirement and modern pension research and has spent her career helping people improve their financial literacy. Mitchell is a Professor of Economics and Public Policy at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. She sat down with journalist Rhoda Metcalfe to discuss the challenges of today’s economy for Americans planning their golden years.

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Governor Talks

RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das on the New Frontier for Central Banks

Shaktikanta Das November 9, 2023

The world of money is changing fast and central banks are at the very center of that change. Shaktikanta Das is the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India, which is responsible for regulating currency and securing monetary stability for the world’s 5th largest economy. In this podcast, Das sits down with IMF Asia and Pacific Department head, Krishna Srinivasan, to discuss RBI’s strategy for today and for the future.

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Women-Led Development Economics from the Ground Up

Driving Change / Development

Driving Change: Rumana Huque on the Real Costs of Bangladesh’s Tobacco Dependency

Rumana Huque February 28, 2025

The International Economic Association’s Women in Leadership in Economics Initiative (IEA-WE) connects women economists worldwide and helps showcase their important empirical research, especially in developing countries. IMF Podcasts has partnered with the IEA-WE to produce a special series featuring the economists behind the invaluable local research that informs policymakers in places often overlooked.

Driving Change / Data collection

Driving Change: Rose Ngugi on how Indices are giving Kenya an Edge

ROSE NGUGI December 4, 2024

Driving Change: Women-Led Development Economics from the Ground Up is an IMF / IEA-WE collaborative podcast series. This episode features Kenyan economist Rose Ngugi whose indices are helping local counties design better policies.

Driving Change / Development

Driving Change: Marcela Eslava on Latin America’s Social Security Woes

MARCELA ESLAVA December 4, 2024

Driving Change: Women-Led Development Economics from the Ground Up is an IMF / IEA-WE collaborative podcast series. This episode features Colombian economist Marcela Eslava, whose research looks to fix Latin America’s dysfunctional social security network.

Driving Change / Inclusion and gender

Driving Change: Ipek Ilkkaracan on Why Investing in Care Pays Off

IPEK ILKKARACAN December 4, 2024

Driving Change: Women-Led Development Economics from the Ground Up is an IMF / IEA-WE collaborative podcast series. This episode features Turkish economist Ipek Ilkkaracan, who makes a strong business case for investing in social care infrastructure.

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Fintech

Technology

Simon Johnson on Technology, Institutions and Prosperity

SIMON JOHNSON February 14, 2025

Countries with better institutions are more prosperous. A truism perhaps, but then why are they so hard to build and sustain? That is the question that Simon Johnson has sought to explain since the fall of communism and the basis for the research that won him the 2024 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences. In this podcast, Johnson discusses the interdependence of institutions and technology, the topic of his latest book Power and Progress.

Technology / Artificial intelligence

Yuval Noah Harari on Human Evolution and the AI Revolution

Yuval Noah Harari October 1, 2024

Stories can unify or divide but our ability to imagine them is uniquely human. Cooperation and trust, built through shared stories and narratives, are the foundation of human societies and economies. So what happens when humans no longer hold the pen? Yuval Noah Harari is a historian, philosopher, and author. In this podcast, Harari says artificial intelligence is a risk to humankind’s most valuable resource, trust.

Technology / Fintech

Measuring Money in the Digital Age: Jim Tebrake

Jim Tebrake January 23, 2024

As the global economy becomes increasingly digitalized, effective policy and regulation are critical to ensure a stable and equitable financial system. Jim Tebrake is Deputy Director and heads the data and methodology efforts in the IMF Statistics Department. In this podcast, Tebrake says the world of digital money is changing quickly and statisticians should be prepared to provide the data that policymakers need to respond effectively.

Technology / Artificial intelligence

AI’s Real Risk to Wages: Andrew Berg and Maryam Vaziri

MARYAM VAZIRI, ANDREW BERG December 7, 2023

The pace at which artificial intelligence is transforming jobs is astounding, but while it boasts higher productivity AI is also increasing wage inequality. When workers are replaced by machines, real wages decline, and the owners of capital prosper. So who owns AI and how should its benefits be distributed? The IMFs Andrew Berg and Maryam Vaziri discuss AI’s inequality problem.

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BEHIND THE MIC

Bruce Edwards

International Monetary Fund

Bruce Edwards produces the IMF podcast program. He's an award-winning audio producer and journalist who's covered armed conflicts, social unrest, and natural disasters from all corners of the world. He believes economists have an important role in solving the world's problems and aspires to showcase their research in every IMF podcast.

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