Six Hundred Atlantic
38 episodes - English - Latest episode: 2 months ago - ★★★★★ - 21 ratingsSix Hundred Atlantic tells the stories of the people of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston and their work to shape the historic region they serve. The podcast explores the trends, challenges, and insights uncovered by the Boston Fed’s economists, researchers, and analysts, and it reports on how the Bank is working to strengthen the New England and national economies and make sure economic opportunity is open to all.
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Episodes
New England’s opioid crisis with Amanda Blanco and Steve Osemwenkhae
February 20, 2024 22:24 - 12 minutes - 17.1 MBThe Boston Fed has long studied New England’s opioid crisis because of its economic impacts. In this episode, Boston Fed writer Amanda Blanco and photographer Steve Osemwenkhae discuss what they learned from talking with people fighting addiction and helping others overcome it.
Episode 2: Dirty? Fake? How the Fed keeps cash clean
January 31, 2024 14:08 - 14 minutes - 19.8 MBThe condition of U.S. currency–including whether it’s genuine–is the business of the Federal Reserve because healthy currency is essential to keep the economy moving. But how does the Fed know when notes aren’t “fit for commerce?” Or when they’re fake?
Has Cash Been Cancelled?
January 23, 2024 18:10 - 14 minutes - 22.3 MBThe pandemic could have wiped out cash, as people increasingly turned to online and touch-free transactions. Instead, cash usage fell, then held steady. Why? In this episode, we examine cash’s future and the Fed’s role in keeping it available.
Inheritances and racial wealth gaps with Jeff Thompson
December 18, 2023 14:00 - 19 minutes - 26.5 MBResearchers have long investigated why some races have more wealth than others, and inheritances and other forms of intergenerational wealth are often seen as major factors. But Federal Reserve Bank of Boston economist Jeff Thompson says they play a minor role.
Interview: The fate of pandemic-era personal savings with Omar Barbiero
November 29, 2023 15:22 - 12 minutes - 17.6 MBPersonal excess savings in the U.S. reached extraordinarily high levels during the pandemic, peaking between $2.0 – $2.6 trillion in 2021. That’s equal to 10% of the nation’s gross domestic product. Economists believe these savings helped keep the economy moving during post-pandemic inflation because consumers could use that money to keep spending. But there’s wide disagreement about how much of these excess savings is left – and what happens when it’s gone. In this episode of Six Hundred ...
Interview: Opioid addiction meds and the labor force with Mary Burke
August 02, 2023 19:16 - 12 minutes - 16.6 MBOpioid-related deaths spiked more than 60% in two years during the pandemic, and that intensified the focus on treating opioid use disorder. But do some treatments impact employment prospects more than others? In this episode of Six Hundred Atlantic, Boston Fed senior economist Mary Burke discusses certain opioid use disorder medications and how they affect job prospects for patients and reduce the economic burden on society.
Did a pandemic revive the U.S. entrepreneurial spirit?
June 20, 2023 18:39 - 15 minutes - 20.9 MBIn the season’s final episode, we’re looking at two ongoing pandemic-era trends. One is the unexpected surge in startups. The other is the increasing influence of automation. What do these trends and others tell us about what’s ahead for labor markets?
Is remote work here to stay?
June 14, 2023 13:30 - 14 minutes - 20.4 MBSome economists say the rise of remote work may be the pandemic era’s most lasting trend. And they say it comes with big benefits, like better work-life balance. But a drop in commuters could hurt cities. And others predict a remote work pullback is coming soon.
Did the Great Resignation actually happen?
June 06, 2023 14:13 - 13 minutes - 19 MBThe headlines during the pandemic spoke of a Great Resignation. And millions of “missing jobs.” And a mass and permanent exodus of women from the workforce. But during the pandemic, things weren’t always what they first appeared to be.
How did labor markets rebound from epic COVID-19 collapse?
May 31, 2023 18:00 - 14 minutes - 20.2 MBSome thought the 20 million jobs lost in the first month of the COVID-19 lockdowns was the start of a brutal downturn. But labor markets somehow quickly bounced back. In this overview, we examine fears that weren’t realized and changes that look lasting.
Interview: Housing and rent prices with Paul Willen
April 18, 2023 17:35 - 12 minutes - 16.6 MBFederal Reserve Bank of Boston senior economist and policy advisor Paul S. Willen, co-author of the 2023 working paper “House Prices and Rents in the 21st Century,” discusses key ways that the housing booms of the 2000s and 2020s differ.
Interview: Climate Change and Municipal Spending with Bo Zhao
March 09, 2023 15:31 - 13 minutes - 18.3 MBBoston Fed economist Bo Zhao discusses the potential financial impacts of climate change in New England, including projections from his report, “The Effects of Weather on Massachusetts Municipal Expenditures: Implications of Climate Change for Local Governments in New England.”
Interview: The growing ransomware threat with Anjan Bagchee
January 24, 2023 21:25 - 13 minutes - 18.6 MBThe Boston Fed’s chief of information security, Anjan Bagchee, is constantly monitoring the growing ransomware threat. Bagchee discusses the increasing sophistication of the attacks, their economic implications, and how organizations can protect themselves.
Inside a child-care void: What about parents working “nontraditional” hours?
November 15, 2022 13:52 - 18 minutes - 25.5 MBThe nation’s child-care sector is in crisis because affordable, high-quality care is so hard to find. But this care is even more scarce for those who don’t work 9-to-5. In a bonus episode, we hear from four moms and get insight from Boston Fed expert Sarah Savage.
A conversation about racism, narratives, and backlash
October 20, 2022 21:01 - 18 minutes - 24.8 MBThere’s agreement on the need to close racial disparities, but it’s fair to ask if solutions are even possible in today’s polarized environment. So we did. Georgetown’s Harry Holzer and Brown’s Glenn Loury discuss racism, narratives, and backlash.
Racially sorted: Segregated by choice?
October 20, 2022 21:01 - 15 minutes - 21.8 MBThe country’s sharp geographic segregation is fueling racial disparities, and our racist past has helped create divides. But researchers say a voluntary phenomenon called “racial sorting” may be playing an underappreciated role.
Crime thrives, disparities grow where there is “concentrated disadvantage”
October 20, 2022 21:01 - 12 minutes - 17.8 MBResearchers say even in high-crime areas, it’s usually just a few streets segments causing the problems. And they say that focusing on lowering crime in these areas of “concentrated disadvantage” can have a major impact on closing racial disparities.
Complex, controversial, relentless: The nation’s damaging racial wealth gaps
October 20, 2022 21:00 - 16 minutes - 22.9 MBRacial disparities in wealth are jarringly sharp. Asians and whites are the nation’s highest-wealth groups, and they are trailed significantly by Hispanics and Blacks. Closing wealth gaps is a priority, but the gaps are both complex and controversial.
What is “a sharecropper’s education?” And when will it finally be gone?
October 20, 2022 21:00 - 14 minutes - 20.2 MBDisparities in academic achievement across racial groups exist at all levels, and they aren’t closing. No one really knows how to narrow the gaps, which defy easy diagnosis. But experts say that even if there aren’t “silver bullets,” there is hope.
How much time do you want for your “progress?”
October 20, 2022 20:59 - 14 minutes - 19.9 MBThe nation’s enduring racial disparities are highly politicized and emotional. Some say racism entirely explains the gaps. Others say that’s too narrow – numerous factors are at play. In this overview, we discuss what’s at stake as these gaps persist.
Six Hundred Atlantic Season 3 Trailer
October 17, 2022 13:56 - 1 minute - 2.66 MBRacial disparities in the U.S. have persisted for decades – in wealth, in education, in crime, in neighborhoods. Their impacts are profound, their causes hotly debated. This season, we seek insight in research, data, and a mix of perspectives.
60 Days In With President Susan M. Collins
September 06, 2022 19:26 - 12 minutes - 17.9 MBSusan M. Collins talks about taking over as president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston during a busy time for the Bank and an important and challenging time for the Federal Reserve.
Interview: Racial Wealth Gap Study With Prabal Chakrabarti
June 22, 2022 16:48 - 12 minutes - 17.4 MBThe Boston Fed’s Prabal Chakrabarti is helping direct a new 3-year research effort into racial wealth disparities in Massachusetts. He discusses the project’s ambitious aims and how it expands on the Bank’s impactful “The Color of Wealth” report.
Interview: Inflation and consumer inattention with Jenny Tang
May 24, 2022 20:28 - 13 minutes - 19.1 MBThe focus across the Federal Reserve System is curbing inflation, which just hit a 40-year high. Evidence of inflation’s effects on consumers is everywhere – in the media, in stores, at gas stations, and beyond. That’s made Americans increasingly aware of rising inflation, and according to a new study published by the Boston Fed, that can make it more difficult to rein it in. Boston Fed Senior economist Jenny Tang is co-author of the paper called “Inflation Levels and (In)attention,” which...
A Conversation About Child Care in Crisis
October 29, 2021 18:35 - 26 minutes - 36.2 MBSeason 2 of Six Hundred Atlantic looked at a broken child care sector, including hopes the pandemic would trigger reform by highlighting child care’s problems and importance. In a bonus episode, experts Beth Mattingly and Tom Weber discuss the evolving crisis.
What’s the true cost of child care reform? Change v. the status quo
June 22, 2021 14:44 - 24 minutes - 34.2 MBSomething is different these days in the push for child care reform. There’s momentum. Some say right now is the best window for reform in decades. But others are skeptical, citing its massive costs and a spending-weary public.
Women’s work: Women bear the brunt of the child care crisis
June 22, 2021 14:39 - 19 minutes - 26.3 MBThe American ideal once saw women at home, while men went to work. But cultural expectations have changed, and for many women that’s not possible or desirable. Still, women say the child care system hasn’t adjusted, and they bear the brunt of its problems.
The shared burden of a broken child care system falls on parents, providers, workers
June 15, 2021 15:08 - 21 minutes - 29 MBSteep child care costs matter, and not just to the parents who pay them. Those fees are also the sector’s main source of revenue. Advocates see this as one of the system’s major flaws, and they say parents, providers, and workers all suffer for it.
U.S. history hides clues about child care and the fight for reform
June 08, 2021 14:21 - 17 minutes - 24.3 MBPolls indicate strong support for investing in a better child care system. Actual legislative results tell another story. Does history offer clues about why comprehensive reform has been so elusive, even though – on the surface – the idea is popular?
What’s the real economic impact of child care?
May 28, 2021 20:38 - 14 minutes - 19.9 MBChild care follows a familiar storyline in the U.S.: Crisis comes, people act. Then momentum fades, and the system limps ahead. What’s preventing lasting reform? Advocates say many underestimate the sector’s broad impacts on the economy and the future.
Six Hundred Atlantic Season 2 Trailer
May 20, 2021 17:53 - 1 minute - 2.31 MBThe nation’s struggling child care system follows a familiar storyline: Crisis comes, people act. Then momentum fades, and the flawed sector limps forward. What is the cost to our economy and our families? This season, Six Hundred Atlantic looks at child care’s difficult present and uncertain future. Is major change ahead? Or will the story stay the same?
Today, Tomorrow, and COVID-19 – A Conversation
September 21, 2020 14:25 - 23 minutes - 32.6 MBThis season of Six Hundred Atlantic focuses on growing regional gaps in variables such as income or health – trends that are decades in the making. Now, they’re being shaped by the global COVID-19 pandemic. Are cities in trouble? Are rural areas poised for a rebound? Urbanist Richard Florida and economist Edward Glaeser join Six Hundred Atlantic for a conversation about our post-pandemic future.
Time for Place?
September 21, 2020 14:24 - 17 minutes - 24.5 MBThe blunt truth is this: Many communities that were struggling economically decades ago are still struggling now. Existing policies simply aren’t working. Is it time to think about “place?” Economists traditionally have focused on policies aimed at improving an individual’s prospects and been skeptical about policies that focus on helping particular places. But some say it’s time for a new way of thinking.
Life, Death, and Your Address
September 21, 2020 14:22 - 17 minutes - 23.8 MBResearch shows that where people are from can be extremely important to their health, including how long they’ll live. But why? As economists try to make sense of this, some are exploring regional levels of sentiments like hope, purpose, and happiness. They say these subjective feelings can be measured with hard data, and they have undeniable impacts on how long – and how well – people live.
Go West, No Longer
September 21, 2020 14:22 - 17 minutes - 23.9 MBFor decades, Americans took this famous advice: “Go West, young man!” But fewer are today. Interstate migration has been dropping for decades. People aren’t moving, even from bad economic situations or places with no future. The question is whether the unwillingness or inability of people to move is worsening regional economic and social divisions.
Superstars Rise, Others Stall
September 21, 2020 14:22 - 19 minutes - 27.4 MBRural areas are by no means the only places struggling in America, but there’s no denying their problems. Decades-long trends show despair is up in rural America and economic growth is down. Meanwhile, “superstar cities” are headed in exactly the opposite direction. These high-demand locales with high incomes offer a stark contrast to places in long decline and accent an urban-rural divide that policymakers say must be closed.
A House Divided
September 21, 2020 14:21 - 15 minutes - 21 MBDoes where you are born and live matter when it comes to educational opportunity? To how much money you’ll make? To how long you’ll live? The answer to all those questions is yes, and these regional disparities are only getting worse. Why is this happening, what can be done, and how do policymakers need to think differently?
Six Hundred Atlantic Season 1 Trailer
September 08, 2020 19:09 - 2 minutes - 3.41 MBThe American story tells us our possibilities are limited only by our aspirations. But what if when it comes to our financial, physical, and emotional well-being, where we were born and live is more important than ever? This season, Six Hundred Atlantic takes a look at “geographic disparities” – widening gaps in economic and social well-being between regions.