Uploaded September 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
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Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently announced a plan to buy back tens of billions dollars' worth of long-standing debt. The idea is that this would push down the interest rates on long-standing debt. Treasury markets are the lifeblood of the global financial system. Some of the secretary’s longtime allies, including his former boss and Wall Street powerhouse Stanley Druckenmiller, have roasted the maneuver as a mistake that could push borrowing costs higher, erode guardrails against profligate federal spending, and—over time—undermine confidence in U.S. debt assets. And just this week, the Fed signaled that there is "a lot of work to do" with regard to inflation. Are we in serious hot water right now?
Guest: Catherine Rampell
Podcast production by Rob Gunther, Evan Campbell, Madeline Thames-Ducharme and Patrick Fort. Video production by Madeline Thames-Ducharme.
Paige Osburn is the senior supervising producer of What Next and What Next TBD.
Social:
@maryharris on Bluesky
https://bsky.app/profile/maryharris.bsky.social
Note: Captions are auto-generated by YouTube.
Learn more: slate.com/podcasts/what-next
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If you love What Next, join Slate Plus at slate.com/youtubeplus?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=link&utm_content=What_Next&utm_campaign=show_description&tpcc=youtube-link-show_description-What_Next to unlock weekly bonus episodes. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent recently announced a plan to buy back tens of billions dollars' worth of long-standing debt. The idea is that this would push down the interest rates on long-standing debt. Treasury markets are the lifeblood of the global financial system. Some of the secretary’s longtime allies, including his former boss and Wall Street powerhouse Stanley Druckenmiller, have roasted the maneuver as a mistake that could push borrowing costs higher, erode guardrails against profligate federal spending, and—over time—undermine confidence in U.S. debt assets. And just this week, the Fed signaled that there is "a lot of work to do" with regard to inflation. Are we in serious hot water right now?
Guest: Catherine Rampell
Podcast production by Rob Gunther, Evan Campbell, Madeline Thames-Ducharme and Patrick Fort. Video production by Madeline Thames-Ducharme.
Paige Osburn is the senior supervising producer of What Next and What Next TBD.
Social:
@maryharris on Bluesky
https://bsky.app/profile/maryharris.bsky.social
Note: Captions are auto-generated by YouTube.
Learn more: slate.com/podcasts/what-next
Follow Slate on Social:
Slate on Twitter - twitter.com/Slate
Slate Podcasts on Twitter - twitter.com/SlatePodcasts
Slate on Facebook: facebook.com/slate
Slate on Instagram: instagram.com/slate
