Are we in an economic 'doom loop'?

🎙️ The Speakers & Context

• The Format: Interview with hosts and guest expert.
• The Key Players:
  • Hosts: Darian Woods and Adrian Ma from NPR's Planet Money / The Indicator—podcasters known for accessible economics storytelling, providing cheerful counterpoint to grim topics.
  • Guest: Ishwar Prasad, Professor of Economics and Trade Policy at Cornell University; author of The Doom Loop. Credible as a global trade expert whose research shifted his own optimistic worldview to pessimism.
• The Vibe: Somber and reflective, blending NPR's light delivery with Prasad's data-driven bleakness on systemic economic failure.

🎣 The Executive Hook

• The "One Big Idea": The global economy is trapped in a doom loop where globalization, weakening institutions, and disruptive technologies—originally stabilizing forces—now amplify economic discontent, populist resentment, and geopolitical fragmentation, spiraling toward disorder. Prasad argues these create self-reinforcing cycles: uneven gains breed politics of blame, eroding shared rules and fostering conflict. Escaping requires radical shifts in citizenship, leadership, and institutions for shared prosperity.
• Why It Matters: Amid Fed tightening, US-China decoupling, and AI wealth concentration, this warns executives of brittle supply chains and policy volatility—pivoting capit