Why You Should Care About the Federal Reserve

<p>Look up a definition of the Federal Reserve, and you'll see things like "central bank," "monetary policy," and "regulation and stabilization of the financial system." But what does it mean to have a national bank, and how does this government agency impact your ability to have a job, earn and borrow money,  and afford things like groceries, rent, and pet food? </p><p>In this episode, we'll explain how the Federal Reserve came to be, how it works, and how the actions the Fed takes influence our economy. Our guest is<a href="https://www.brookings.edu/experts/louise-sheiner/"> Louise Sheiner</a>, policy director at the Brookings Institution's Hutchins Center on Fiscal and Monetary Policy. She spoke with Civics 101 in 2017. </p><p>Want to learn more about the financial crisis of 2008? Here's some of our favorite resources: </p><p>PBS has a list of documentaries about the crisis. Christina loved <a href="https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/meltdown/">"Inside the Meltdown"</a> from Frontline. </p><p><a href="https://www.thisamericanlife.org/355/the-giant-pool-of-money">"The Giant Pool of Money,"</a> from This American Life explores the housing crisis. </p><p>Marketplace has a<a href="https://www.marketplace.org/tag/great-recession/"> series of reports on the Great Recession</a>, including its continuing impacts on today's economy. </p>