Pushkin.

It's hard to read the news these days without asking yourself, how did we get here?

Fiasco is a history podcast for the co-creators of Slow Burn.

In our first season, Bush v. Gore, we examine an unmistakable turning point in American politics, the 2000 election, which resulted in a high-stakes stalemate, ended with one of the most controversial rulings in Supreme Court history.

So if you're trying to make sense at the present moment, check out Fiasco, Bush v. Gore. Listen on theHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

From Pushkin Industries, this is deep background, the show where we explore the stories behind

the stories in the news. I'm Noah Feldman. Our country is facing a genuinely challenging historical moment.

There are two major stories that are proceeding right now.

The first is the protests, the demonstrations, and in some instances looting,

triggered by the tragic death of George Floyd.

We talked about that earlier this week with Vanita Gupta,

and we're going to continue to cover that story. The second story, which has not gone away,

is the coronavirus pandemic and its consequences for the world. Today, we're going to focus on

that story. The federal government has said that it's planning to borrow

nearly $3 trillion between April and June of this year to help businesses and workers affected

by the coronavirus shutdown. That's a record-breaking amount of money. Think of it this way. During the

entirety of last year, the government borrowed $1.28 trillion.

That's compared to $3 trillion in three months. How worried do we need to be about the remarkable,

indeed astonishing scope of our emerging national debt? In order to explore answers to this question, both mainstream and otherwise,

I'm joined by Professor Jason Furman of the Harvard Kennedy School. Jason served as President

Obama's chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors, from 2013 to 2017, effectively serving as the president's chief economist and a member

of the cabinet. He's also the best macroeconomist at explaining things that I have ever met.

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