War

Prof. Jonathan Gruber joins Edgar B. Herwick III, host of GBH’s “The Curiosity Desk” to discuss what factors into the U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision to raise interest rates for the first time since 2023. Federal Reserve members “are looking at things like tariffs, the tax on goods coming into this country. They’re looking at the war,” says Gruber. “We have, basically, these underlying forces driving inflation. In that case, the Fed has a mandate. The Fed’s job is to balance two forces: economic growth and inflation, and the way they balance them is by trying to keep inflation near a target of two percent.”  

Prof. Kristin Forbes speaks to Associated Press reporter Christopher Rugaber about the continued impact of the Iran war on oil and gas prices in the U.S.. “I don't see any end to the war in Iran right now,” says Forbes. “Given what everyone has been through in the last few years of high inflation, consumers are more sensitive, companies are more sensitive, they raise prices faster ... The risks are much more on more persistent inflation than it falling quickly.”  

Research fellow Maham Javaid writes for The Boston Globe about the impact TikTok has played in the Russian invasion of Ukraine. “TikTok is undoubtedly playing multiple roles in this war,” writes Javaid. “One of which is that the war and its accompanying acts of brutality are being documented and disseminated across the world.”