The Stand-Up Economist Who Helped Obama Get Elected and Led Us out of Recession

Austan Goolsbee is former Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers for President Obama and led the Economic Recovery Advisory Board after the 2008 financial crisis. In this interview, he talks about how he first got involved advising Obama’s Senate campaign in 2004 as a fellow UChicago professor, the critical decision-making moments to save the economy from recession, his reasons of endorsing Pete Buttigieg for President, the efficacy of UBI in an AI economy, and his potential prospects as a stand-up comedian…

Prof. Goolsbee is currently the Robert P. Gwinn Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business. His research has earned him recognition as a Fulbright Scholar and an Alfred P. Sloan fellow. In prior years he was named one of the 100 Global Leaders for Tomorrow by the World Economic Forum, and one of the six "Gurus of the Future" by the Financial Times. His ability to explain economics clearly has made Goolsbee popular in the media. Jon Stewart describes him as "Eliot Ness meets Milton Friedman,” and he has twice been named as a "star" professor by BusinessWeek's "Guide to the Best Business Schools."

But perhaps just as importantly, some of the other distinguished titles he’s received include “Salon.com’s one the 15 Sexiest Men of 2010,” “the funniest celebrity in Washington,” etc. WSJ once described him as a “stand-up economist,” and his charisma and thoughtfulness have truly shined through in this podcast interview as he banters with Arjun & Tiger about his career and economic insights.

Prof. Goolsbee now serves on the Economic Advisory Panel to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and has previously served on the Panel of Economic Advisors to the Congressional Budget Office, the U.S. Census Advisory Commission and as a special consultant for Internet Policy to the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice. He joined Chicago Booth in 1995.

Prof. Austan Goolsbee