The Federal Reserve is in the news constantly these days. Beyond the regular will-they-or-won’t-they question on interest rates, there are multiple legal battles with implications for the central bank’s independence, President Trump’s nominee for chairman may (or may not) get a hearing in the Senate soon, and Jerome Powell's may (or may not) leave when his term as chair ends in May. So let’s try to demystify the Fed. How does it stop bank panics? How did it make the Great Depression worse? What is a Fed Note exactly? And is the discount window a metaphor? From Glass-Steagall to the dual mandate to quantitative easing, here’s a crash course.

• Watch video clips from this episode at the Optimist Economy YouTube channel⁠⁠.
• Follow us on Instagram at ⁠⁠@optimist_economy.
• Follow us on TikTok at ⁠⁠@optimist_economy.
• Chat with Optimists on our Substack chat.
• Consume leisure in an Optimist hat or shirt: https://merch.ambientinks.com/collections/optimisteconomy
• Support us and our tireless editors and producers by donating: https://optimisteconomy.com

And send your economic questions, concerns, or executive orders to optimist.economy@gmail.com