Kris Mitchener is a professor of economics at Santa Clara University and is an economic and monetary historian. In Kris's first appearance on the show, he discusses how he fell in love with building data sets out of old dusty archives, the origins and fall of bimetallism, the pros and cons of the gold standard, the problem of operating losses on the Fed's balance sheet, what truly anchors the price level, and much more.
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Recorded on March 4th, 2026
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Timestamps
00:00:00 - Intro
00:01:33 - Kris' Career Path
00:06:32 - What Is Bimetallism?
00:14:41 - The Gold Standard
00:28:55 - Disinflation Policies and Central Bank Finances
00:49:25 - What Anchors the Price Level
00:55:22 - Outro
