kyla scanlon

Can you still get lucky in your career? Kai’s career went backwards, forwards, sideways, and forwards again. I wanted to talk to him about whether that kind of trajectory is still possible in the modern economy and what we *can* control right now. Watch it here! www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kh_...

CHICAGO FED PRESIDENT AUSTAN GOOLSBEE ON VIBES VS DATA I interviewed Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee on: (1) inflation and sentiment (2) the disconnect between sentiment + data (3) our low-fire, low-hire job market and (4) whether the Al buildout is overheating the economy

THE SHRUGFLATION TRIANGLE I wrote about what happens when the two biggest borrowers in the economy seemingly stop caring what money costs: (1) oil, AI, and Treasuries feeding into each other (2) who ends up paying for it (people) and (3) why nobody seems to be able to stop it

HOW TO GET RICH IN AMERICA In today's piece, I wrote about what happens when owning things is rewarded over doing things, the generational divides it creates, the casino economy that emerges from it, specifically the yolofolio, and how it's changing the way we think about work.

We've built an entire economy around selling people the feeling of control through bets, hacks, subscriptions, and optimization. But the model only works if people stay desperate. New essay on control and agency, financial nihilism, belief markets, the manosphere, and spectacle during war.

Some exciting public events over the next few weeks!! Come hang out if you can! 🙂 March 29th, Los Angeles: with Kai Ryssdal and David Brancaccio at the Aratani Theater April 19th, Boulder CO: with Planet Money at Boulder Theater April 20th, Albuequerque, New Mexico: with Planet Money Links ⬇️

Betting on Jesus returning by 2027 and the Backstreet Boys singing about crypto are kind of the same thing. Speculation and nostalgia are both exit strategies from the present, and neither provides answers. New piece on what happens when the economy grows without… people.

HOW BETTING BECAME POLITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE In today's New York Times piece, I wrote about how prediction markets validate political events before Congress can respond, and how those market outcomes can end up deciding what's legitimate.

NEW INTERVIEW I sat down with San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly and Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin to talk about what really matters in 2026. Are we headed for the 1970s or the 1990s? Why does the economy keep not breaking? And why should we count cranes?

Transcript: kyla.substack.com/p/san-franci...

WHY YOUNG PEOPLE ARE BETTING ON EVERYTHING In today’s Wall Street Journal, I wrote about how an economy with fewer stable paths is pushing young people toward low probability, high payoff bets in search of upside - even though this is not what people actually want.

In today's newsletter, I wrote about why everyone is gambling and why no one is happy

I wrote about the burning Waymos and gentle singularity and ragebait and how everything is coalescing into a giant contradiction kyla.substack.com/p/everything...

But one could argue that the systems that profit by drowning us in information and platforms that make money by making everyone confused and angry are even scarier. The panopticon perhaps is less frightening than the slot machine.

I wrote about the burning Waymos and gentle singularity and ragebait and how everything is coalescing into a giant contradiction kyla.substack.com/p/everything...

We are living through massive technological change and are actively dismantling the very systems that are supposed to help us adapt. kyla.substack.com/p/the-four-p...

Sticker drop! All stickers designed by me! Put them everywhere. On your dog. On your friend. On your friend's dog. Enjoy! Proceeds support independent economics education (aka my next big project 🙂). Link in next post!