Podcasts · Plain English with Derek Thompson

Does Anybody Know How to Solve an American Debt Crisis?

19 May 2026 · 1 h 02 min

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

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