What The Fed Was Designed To Do

By Bronson Arcuri

Published March 24, 2020 at 8:15 AM CDT

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COVID-19 isn't the first natural disaster to shake the world economy, but today we're more prepared for one than ever.

In 1906, an earthquake in San Francisco started a chain of events that destroyed the U.S. economy by 1907. It also led to the creation of the country's most powerful economic tool: the Federal Reserve.

Listen to the original Planet Money podcast episode here! Subscribe to our video series here — and while you're at it, subscribe to our podcast.

Economy

Bronson Arcuri

Bronson Arcuri is a video producer at NPR, where he directs the "Planet Money Shorts" video series and helps out with Tiny Desk Concerts from time to time. He also produced "Elise Tries" and "Ron's Office Hours" along with the "Junior Bugler" series, which he still insists was "pretty good for what it was."

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