About this podcast
About Decode Econ: The Podcast
The economy touches everything — from the price of your morning coffee to the decisions shaping our future. Decode Econ breaks it all down. Hosted by Dr. Abdullah Al Bahrani (“Dr. A”), economist, educator, and storyteller, this podcast makes economics personal, practical, and easy to understand.
Each episode explores the trends behind the headlines — inflation, jobs, technology, policy, and the everyday decisions that drive them. Through stories, data, and conversations with thinkers, entrepreneurs, and community leaders, you stay informed.
Episodes
The newest 20 of 88 episodes
- The power of mentorship in education · 47 minThis is our monthly Office Hours episode, and this time we talk about mentorship. I taught Brooklyn, Brooklyn taught Frannie, and we cover mentorship and student development. We…
- The Leaky Cup: Teaching Economics at Community Colleges, with Meena Beri and Brian Lynch · 57 minHow do you explain inflation to a student who is working two jobs and raising kids? Brian Lynch hands them a cup of water with holes in it. This week I sit down with Brian Lynch…
- Money Habits Start at the Kitchen Table with Stephen Day · 37 minAfter eight years of apps, podcasts, finance influencers, and new high school requirements, the average American adult still gets about half of basic personal finance questions…
- What Students Bring to Day One, with Brandon Sheridan · 39 minABOUT THIS EPISODE Brandon Sheridan is back on the show. In August, he told us the economy was moving sideways. A month and a half later, I asked him if anything had changed…
- It's a Cold Labor Market · 45 minHere’s my takeaway up front: in this job market, you have to prove yourself more than ever. Friday’s jobs report was the last one before the midterm elections, and it was boring…
- Is Econ Worth It? What do econ majors do and what do they earn? · 38 minThis week on the Decode Econ Podcast, I sat down with Matt Holian, an economics professor at San Jose State. When Matt was department chair, he needed an honest answer to the…
- How Studying Abroad Changes the Way You See Economics · 35 minIn a classroom, I can teach you how the world is supposed to work. Study abroad shows you how it actually works. Dr. Darshak Patel joins me to talk about taking students to Kenya…
- Development Economics: Micro vs Macro · 45 minDevelopment economics explained simply: what's the difference between the macro and micro sides of the field? Development economics sounds like a topic for "somewhere else."…
- AI in the Classroom: One Professor's Radical Teaching Experiment · 44 minNo homework. No midterms. No final exam. In this episode of Decode Econ, I sit down with Dr. Shishir Shakya, an economist at Appalachian State University, who redesigned his…
- The Economics of Entrepreneurship · 50 minStartups just had a record funding quarter — $285 billion in Q1 2026. Here's what the headline doesn't tell you: 43% of that went to one company's raise, and the rest of the…
- Bond Market Warning Signs Explained By Miami Professor Ej Ume · 40 minThe bond market has been sending us warning signs. I sat down with Monetary Economist EJ Ume from Miami University’s Farmer School of Business to explain what is happening and…
- You can't cut taxes and raise spending forever— Brandon Sheridan and Abdullah Al Bahrani · 48 minIs the economy stalled, or are we about to hit a wall? Dr. Abdullah Al-Bahrani and Elon University's Dr. Brandon Sheridan break down a week of noisy data — and land on the one…
- Should the Fed provide forward guidance? · 27 minIn this conversation, Jack Marx and Dr. Al Bahrani discuss the Federal Reserve and the recent changes being proposed by Fed Chair Kevin Warsh. Jack and Dr. A have different views…
- ClaudeFishing- Will this be the death of the newsletter? · 7 minLast week, Substack released a new feature to detect AI-written text. They partnered with Pangram to let readers scan a post and see how much of it is AI-generated. I both love…
- Learning Economics at a Startup · 34 minDecode Econ is a startup. Our goal is to help you see the economy clearly — and your place in it. It is a media firm with a mission to improve economic understanding. It is fun…
- Dr. Jose Saavedra on the Importance of Trust in Influencer Marketing · 41 minToday’s episode is a special one. It’s a cross-collaboration with Beyond the Degree, the podcast from Haile Graduate Programs — so if you like hearing how executives and…
- Why Saving Money in Your 20s Might Be a Mistake · 38 minHere's what the data doesn't say: saving for retirement at 22 has an opportunity cost. Every $7,500 someone parks in a Roth IRA is $7,500 that isn't going toward tuition, a…
- The Economics of FIFA · 23 minWednesday's digest flagged the Levi's logo story in two sentences. This week's episode is the full decode — and it's worth watching, not just reading about. Quick recap of where…
- We Recorded This One In Person — And Brought Someone New to the Table · 26 minThis week’s episode looked different. For the first time, Jack and I sat down at a table together instead of across the internet, and we brought a second student voice into the…
- Is a Recession Coming? Savings Rates, Childcare Costs, and the Cracking Consumer · 26 minThe savings rate just hit 2.6%. Disposable income dropped for the second straight month. And somewhere under all the tariff headlines, a quiet shift in American family life is…
