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Episode 806Nov 1, 2022

We’re (still) not in a recession. Right?

A deep dive on the recession debate.

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NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 14: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on June 14, 2022 in New York City. The Dow was up in morning trading following a drop on Monday of over 800 points, which sent the market into bear territory as fears of a possible recession loom.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - JUNE 14: Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on June 14, 2022 in New York City. The Dow was up in morning trading following a drop on Monday of over 800 points, which sent the market into bear territory as fears of a possible recession loom.
Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images

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Spoiler alert: We’re not in a recession. But maybe one is on the way. 

That debate reignited last week after the yield curve inverted, again. As we’ve talked about on the show, inverted yield curves can be a warning sign. 

“A lot of this is psychological. It’s a lot about what you think is going on, not necessarily what is going on,” said Todd Knoop, professor of economics at Cornell College and author of “Business Cycle Economics: Understanding Recessions and Depressions From Boom to Bust.”

While the National Bureau of Economic Research has the final word on whether we’re in a recession, today we’re asking: If recessions are a regular part of the economy, why are they so hard to predict? Knoop breaks it down. Plus, we dig into the psychology of recessions and why they could become self-fulling prophecies.

In the News Fix, Kai gives a lesson in how to decode the upcoming Federal Reserve meeting. Plus, Kimberly gets an up-close look at the ongoing supply chain crisis.

And for this week’s answer to the Make Me Smart question, a listener explains what potty training her kids taught her about creating new habits.

Here’s everything we talked about today:

Join us for tomorrow for Whaddaya Wanna Know Wednesday. If you have a question you’d like the hosts to answer in a future episode, leave us a voicemail at 508-U-B-SMART or email makemesmart@marketplace.org.

The Team

We’re (still) not in a recession. Right?