CEOInterviews.AI
Start App
Try: AI strategy tariffs earnings guidance layoffs interest rates growth

Austan Goolsbee

President, Federal Reserve Bank Of Chicago

Search every verified Austan Goolsbee interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Austan Goolsbee, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, has spent recent months emphasizing concerns about persistent inflation and the potential for the economy to overheat. In public appearances, he described September's inflation report as "discouraging," noting that services inflation showed little improvement and that monthly core inflation above 4% would be "totally unacceptable" given the Fed's 2% target. He has also expressed growing worry that supply shocks—including tariffs, oil price increases, and the AI data-center buildout—may be more persistent than initially expected, and that cost pressures in sectors like construction and services could signal "aggregate overheating" rather than temporary disruptions. Goolsbee said he is "not comfortable front loading" rate cuts without evidence that inflation is returning to target, and he described the job market as "stable without being good," citing unusually low rates of both hiring and firing. Goolsbee has also discussed the Fed's approach to monetary policy under uncertainty, arguing that central banks should not automatically "look through" supply shocks if they prove large and long-lasting. He has advocated for less forward guidance, saying it can add volatility and tie the Fed's hands, and he has acknowledged the difficulty of responding to "stagflationary shocks" where there is "not an obvious playbook." In conversations with farmers, manufacturers, and business groups across the Seventh District, he said he heard widespread concerns about input costs—such as diesel, fertilizer, and construction labor—rather than weakening demand. He also addressed the gap between consumer sentiment and economic data, noting that low sentiment often coincides with expectations of high inflation, and he discussed the importance of central bank independence amid political pressure.

Recent appearances

  • The Inflation Warning Coming From America’s Farms

    October 17, 2026 · 📺 Bloomberg Television

    Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee traveled to rural Illinois to hear directly from farmers facing lower crop prices and rising costs for fuel, fertilizer and other inputs. Those conversations offer the Fed a ground-level view of inflation pressures that may emerge before they are fully reflected in national data. -------- More on Bloomberg Television and Markets Like this video? Subscribe and turn on notifications so you don't miss any videos from Bloomberg Markets & Finance: https://tinyurl.com/ysu5b8a9 Visit http://www.bloomberg.com for business news & analysis, up-to-the-minute m…

    Watch on YouTube ↗

  • Jon Stewart goolsbee

    October 16, 2026 · 📺 Jon Counterpoint

    Jon Stewart sits down with Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee to pull back the curtain on interest rate hikes, corporate uncertainty, and whether central bankers can actually control inflation without crushing working-class families. In this episode, host Jon Stewart sits down to break down the most urgent political and economic issues shaping the nation. Whether you're a long-time fan of Jon Stewart host on Jon Stewart The Daily Show or tune in weekly to The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart, this deep-dive discussion delivers sharp analysis. From viral political interviews like The Weekly Show…

    Read the verified transcript → Watch on YouTube ↗

  • Why bond yields hit quarter-century highs, according to the Fed's Austan Goolsbee

    October 14, 2026 · 📺 Yahoo Finance

    Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee tells Yahoo Finance's Jennifer Schonberger that September's hotter-than-expected inflation report was discouraging, with services inflation showing little sign of improvement. Goolsbee says business contacts across the Midwest point to demand-side overheating rather than just a supply shock, and that if core inflation keeps running at this pace, that's totally unacceptable. He explains why he won't give forward guidance on rate hikes, why inflation hasn't proved transitory, how hype around AI's future bounty could fuel short-run overheating through data ce…

    Read the verified transcript → Watch on YouTube ↗

  • Austan Goolsbee Is Worried About AI Inflation | Compound Interest

    October 13, 2026 · 📺 Semafor

    The prices of land, power, construction equipment, and the laborers to run them are soaring, thanks to the AI data-center boom. That inflation now threatens to spill over into the rest of the economy, the president of the Chicago Fed warns. Liz and Rohan sit down with Goolsbee to discuss AI inflation, whether the hyperscalers even care about interest rates, and whether the Fed should care about a world where robots do all the jobs. Sign up to get the Semafor Business briefing in your inbox. This season of Compound Interest is in partnership with Amazon Business. Amazon Business is a trusted…

    Read the verified transcript → Watch on YouTube ↗

  • Why Consumers and Economists See Different Economies

    September 30, 2026 · 📺 Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago

    On September 30, 2026, Austan Goolsbee, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, will speak at the event, Why Consumers and Economists See Different Economies, a collaboration between the Chicago Fed and the research organization NORC at the University of Chicago.

    Read the verified transcript → Watch on YouTube ↗

  • The Economy Ahead: A Luncheon with the Chicago Fed

    September 29, 2026 · 📺 Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago

    Chicago Fed President and CEO Austan Goolsbee will participate in a moderated Q&A at the The Economy Ahead: A Luncheon with the Chicago Fed, an Illinois Manufacturers’ Association event occurring on September 29 in Champaign, Illinois. The discussion, moderated by Kara Demirjian Huss, president and founder of DCC Marketing and senior vice president of TCCI Manufacturing.

    Read the verified transcript → Watch on YouTube ↗

  • How Should the Fed Respond to Supply Shocks?

    September 23, 2026 · 📺 Hoover Institution

    Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee sits down with Steven Davis for a conversation about how central banks should respond to supply shocks. Steve also asks Austan for the inside story on what happens at FOMC meetings. Join our newsletter to get more commentary like this from leading experts on economic developments and their ramifications: https://www.hoover.org/podcasts/econo... __________ 🔔 Subscribe for more discussions: ‪@HooverInstitution‬ 👍 Like and share this video! 🌐 Follow us on social media: • Facebook:   / hooverinststanford   • LinkedIn:   / hoover-institution-at-stanford-uni…

    Read the verified transcript → Watch on YouTube ↗

  • In conversation with Austan Goolsbee: Monetary policy in an uncertain world

    September 21, 2026 · 📺 OMFIF

    The US economy continues to face an uncertain outlook as policy-makers balance inflation risks, evolving financial conditions and heightened global uncertainty. Against this backdrop, Austan Goolsbee, president and chief executive officer of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, joins OMFIF to share his perspectives on the US economy, the evolving path for monetary policy and the broader challenges confronting the Federal Reserve in maintaining price stability while supporting economic growth.

    Read the verified transcript → Watch on YouTube ↗

  • Austan Goolsbee Is Worried the Economy Is Overheating

    August 28, 2026 · 📺 Bloomberg Podcasts

    Inflation remains high, and the 2% target is farther away than it was this time last year. There are signs all over that the economy is overheating — the strange labor market where hiring and firing remains low, GDP is growing, but mostly due to AI and the data center buildout — and Chicago Fed President Austan Goolsbee is worried about how uncertain central bankers are about what to do to cool the economy. The next shock, he tells us, could be around the corner. In this conversation, recorded at Jackson Hole, Goolsbee explains why he is skeptical of metrics like r*, why he is embracing Kevin…

    Read the verified transcript → Watch on YouTube ↗

  • Chicago Fed President dishes on inflation, recession and Trump’s attacks (Austan Goolsbee)

    August 27, 2026 · 📺 Rapid Response and Masters of Scale

    Austan Goolsbee, President of the Chicago Fed, joins Rapid Response ahead of the Central Bank’s highly-watched meeting in Jackson Hole, to give his most candid read on what's actually going on with the economy. He explains why tariffs, war in the Middle East, and six years above the 2% inflation target make this the most dangerous inflation environment he's seen, what Kevin Warsh's new leadership means for how the Fed operates, and why he's a "grim optimist" on AI even as the hype keeps outrunning the results. Plus, what business leaders should actually be watching to get ahead of the Fed's ne…

    Read the verified transcript → Watch on YouTube ↗

  • Balancing Act: Austan Goolsbee on the Federal Reserve and the Economy

    June 25, 2026 · 📺 Chicago Council on Global Affairs

    The American economy in 2026 presents a contradictory picture: inflation has cooled, yet prices remain stubbornly high, and unemployment has risen even as some industries struggle to hire. What do these tensions mean for the Federal Reserve? How does it balance national policy with diverging regional realities? And as new forces like artificial intelligence and automation reshape the labor market, are these changes delivering real productivity gains, or is the promise still outpacing the reality? Join Austan Goolsbee, president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, and Brent Neiman f…

    Read the verified transcript → Watch on YouTube ↗

  • Fed's Goolsbee: Inflation has been more disturbing on the services side

    June 25, 2026 · 📺 CNBC Television

    Austan Goolsbee, Chicago Fed president, joins 'Power Lunch' to discuss the Fed President's read on inflation, the latest Fed meeting and much more.

    Watch on YouTube ↗

Verified interview transcripts

Notable quotes

“I attribute that combination to a lot of uncertainty that businesses say yikes. I don't know what the rules are going to be. I don't know what the tariffs are going to be. Okay. I'm not going to get rid of anybody because I might need them. Yeah. Right away. But I'm not going to hire anybody. So that's where my head is now. Your idea is smarter than mine, by the way.”

“Yeah. Look, that that's what I I describe that as the job market is stable without being good. And right, the there's a weird combination that people throw around this phrase low hiring, low firing. It's worth taking a second to realize that's extremely unusual. Usually, if there's low hiring, there's a lot of layoffs. Or if there's low layoffs and low firings, there's a lot of hiring. that both of those are low at t”

“If we get more months like this where you got core inflation on a monthly basis coming in above 4%, that's totally unacceptable. We have a 2% inflation target and we have to get on a path back to 2% and we will get back to 2%. Like I say, I am optimistic looking forward that we can start putting together some data case for getting back on a path to normalization. But if you have inflation well above the target and go”

“Well, I found it discouraging and to pile on last month was also discouraging. I'm a little nervous, not nervous, but I'm concerned related to not just the overall number, but if you break out the components, services inflation shows little sign of improvement. This month's reading over 5% for services inflation and you can't really attribute services inflation to tariffs to oil prices or things like that. I'd say co”

“All of that said, this is starting to feel like aggregate overheating. That the AI data center cost increases are jumping out of its lane. That prices are going up in spaces that are not just components in data centers and the directly adjacent industries to data centers that you're seeing. If you start to see more of this spreading into general services that investment goods are just getting GDP growth up faster tha”

“I don't know the percentages, but in my heart, I've wanted it to be from the supply shocks because they're supposed to go away. The fact that the services inflation is inflated and kind of going the wrong way makes me think there might be more to it than just the supply shocks. And the part that's coming from AI, I'm getting increasingly nervous that that's just straight old-fashioned overheating demand. I don't thin”

The summary and quote tags on this profile are produced with AI assistance from verified, first-person interview transcripts, then checked by our team to confirm the speaker's identity and the accuracy of every quote. See how we verify →