Independent from who exactly? Central banks and democracy (part two)

About this episode

Mark Blyth and Leah Downey discuss the implications of Leah's book on monetary policy and the future of central banks.

This is the second part of a two-part series featuring Leah Downey, a political economist at King’s College London and author of the new book “Our Money: Monetary Policy as if Democracy Matters.” Mark Blyth and Leah discuss what has happened at the Federal Reserve since they first talked about Leah’s book in May, what Leah’s book has to say about it, and what it all means for the future of central banks in the US and beyond. Learn more about and purchase “Our Money: Monetary Policy as if Democracy Matters.”

People in this episode

Host: Mark Blyth

Guest: Leah Downey

Topics covered

• central banks
• democracy
• monetary policy
• political economy
• Federal Reserve
• Leah Downey

Keywords

• central banks
• democracy
• monetary policy
• Leah Downey
• Federal Reserve
• political economy
• Our Money

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: King’s College London, Federal Reserve

Books & works: Our Money: Monetary Policy as if Democracy Matters

More episodes of The Rhodes Center Podcast with Mark Blyth

• Does the US really make the dollar? Has it ever? · June 5, 2026 · 38 min
• How come corporate justice means never having to admit you're guilty? · May 22, 2026 · 31 min
• From competition to monopoly and back again: a political economist's tale · April 13, 2026 · 45 min
• The ‘doom loop’ of global disorder · March 20, 2026 · 34 min
• How authoritarianism went from defense to offense on the world stage · February 23, 2026 · 37 min
• A global history of capitalism · January 26, 2026 · 40 min