Does Anybody Know How to Solve an American Debt Crisis?

Does Anybody Know How to Solve an American Debt Crisis?

From Plain English with Derek Thompson by The Ringer

May 19, 2026 · 1h 2m

About this episode

Derek Thompson reflects on the changing perspectives around the U.S. national debt and discusses its implications with economist Justin Wolfers.

On his 40th birthday, Derek Thompson takes a step back and looks at how his thinking on the national debt has changed. Back when he first covered fiscal policy, concern about government borrowing was mostly a conservative position, with many liberals arguing it was overblown. That’s starting to shift. The U.S. now spends far more than it brings in, and the gap is still growing. For the first time, interest payments on the debt have surpassed military spending. And deficits that once rose during crises like the Great Recession and the COVID pandemic haven’t really come back down. So what changed, and how worried should we be? Derek is joined by economist Justin Wolfers to walk through the basics of the federal budget, the evolving debate around the national debt, and why more economists are starting to take persistent deficits seriously. Host: Derek Thompson Guest: Justin Wolfers Producer: Devon Baroldi Additional Production Support: Ben Glicksman Visit https://www.uber.com/safety to learn more. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

People in this episode

Host: Derek Thompson

Guest: Justin Wolfers

Topics covered

  • national debt
  • fiscal policy
  • government borrowing
  • deficits
  • economics
  • budget

Keywords

  • national debt
  • fiscal policy
  • government borrowing
  • deficits
  • economics
  • interest payments
  • military spending

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: The Ringer

Places: U.S.

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