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America’s national debt recently hit a new milestone of $40 trillion. It is estimated that interest payments on the national debt are now the second largest expense in the US government budget, trailing only social security. How was the US able to borrow so much and for so long? One answer, according Harvard economist Kenneth Rogoff, is the US dollar’s status as the world’s reserve currency.
In this episode, Rogoff, former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund, explains how the US dollar came to enjoy this hegemonic status, what being the world’s reserve currency actually means in practice, and why he believes the dollar is now in decline.
(Photo: An Asian-American man passes by the passes by the National Debt Clock in New York City, US, 19 August, 2026. It is a digital display screen that shows the National Debt figures 39, 393, 882, 535, 284 against a background of dollar notes. Credit: Brendan McDermid/Reuters)
Producer: Valerio Esposito, Aron Keller and Lucy Pawle
Executive producer: James Shield
Sound engineer: Travis Evans
Senior news editor: China Collins
