Swamp Notes: Is the US economy really K-shaped?
Political Fix
Financial Times
4.2 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 2 January 2026
⏱️ 19 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Imagine a graph with one line going up over time. Below it, another line does just the opposite. It kind of looks like the letter K. On the FT's Swamp Notes podcast, Claire Jones and Rob Armstrong break down why people are saying that letter represents the state of the economy and what it means for the White House.
Mentioned in this podcast:
Does the K-shaped economy theory even make sense?
Email Marc with your questions (Marc.Filippino@FT.com)
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This is a repeat of an episode published on Swamp Notes, a sister podcast of Political Fix, on Nov. 28, 2025. Follow the Swamp Notes podcast to hear more.
Swamp Notes is hosted by Marc Filippino, and produced by Henry Larson. This week’s show was mixed by Sam Giovinco. The FT’s acting co- head of audio is Topher Forhecz. Special thanks to Pierre Nicholson.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi, it's George Parker, the F.T.'s political editor. Hope you're having a happy holiday. |
| 0:05.8 | The political fixed panel is taking a much-needed week off, so we're bringing you an episode of |
| 0:10.0 | our sister podcast from Across the Pond, Swamp Notes. They cover politics and the economy from |
| 0:15.9 | Washington, D.C. The episode we're airing came out in November on Black Friday, right after Americans celebrated Thanksgiving. |
| 0:24.6 | It's all about how the global economy is changing in a unique way for consumers and businesses. |
| 0:30.3 | And of course, what the Trump administration is doing about it. |
| 0:34.0 | Hope you enjoy it and we'll be back next week. |
| 0:39.3 | Everyone is talking about the economy. |
| 0:42.4 | We're bringing prices down, but they came up with the new word, affordability. |
| 0:47.9 | And there's been one way a lot of people have been describing that economy lately. |
| 0:53.0 | K-shaped economy.. K-shaped economy. |
| 0:54.4 | The K-shaped economy idea. |
| 0:57.0 | The letter K. |
| 0:58.6 | We're going to get into that K-shaped economy and unpack what it means for Washington. |
| 1:08.4 | This is Swamp Notes, the weekly podcast from the Financial Times, where we talk about all the things happening in U.S. politics, finance, and the economy. I'm Mark Filipino, and I hope you had a great Thanksgiving if you're joining us from the States. This week, we're asking, who is doing well in U.S. President Donald Trump's economy? Here with me to discuss is Rob Armstrong. He's the FTs U.S. financial |
| 1:28.8 | commentator. Hi, Rob. Hey, it's great to be on the show. And we've also got Claire Jones, the FTs |
| 1:34.7 | U.S. economics editor. Hi, Claire. Hello, Morg. So can we start with a definition? This show is |
| 1:40.9 | brought to you by the letter K. What is a K-shaped economy? I think the best way to say |
| 1:48.8 | is a K-shaped economy is one where inequality between the haves and the have-nots is rising, hence the |
| 1:55.5 | K, it's kind of you've got the top half of the K moving further out from the bottom half. And that, I think since the |
| 2:04.0 | pandemic, if not before, is how a lot of people have discussed the U.S. economy. Right. There was a time, |
| 2:09.8 | if I remember correctly, that things were a V, right? There was a V-shaped economy where the economy |
... |
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