Erika Bell and Hunter Jones describe the importance of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond connecting with small towns and rural communities throughout the Fifth District, including those in western North Carolina recovering from Hurricane Helene. Bell is a community development regional manager and Hunter is a senior business analyst. In addition, Russ Harris of the Southwestern Commission Council of Governments and Nathan Ramsey of the Land of Sky Regional Council reflect on the value of their partnerships with the Richmond Fed and other regional organizations, both before and after the hurricane.

Full transcript and related links: https://www.richmondfed.org/podcasts/speaking_of_the_economy/2025/speaking_2025_12_10_partnerships_wnc

John Bailey Jones and Urvi Neelakantan discuss the decline in the movement of workers from one place to another, and possible explanations and policy solutions for the decline. Jones is vice president of microeconomic analysis and Neelakantan is a senior policy economist, both at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.

Full transcript and related links: https://www.richmondfed.org/podcasts/speaking_of_the_economy/2025/speaking_2025_12_03_geographic_mobility

Alexander Wolman discusses the Federal Reserve's recent unveiling of its revised Statement of Policy Goals, highlighting what has changed and what has remained consistent with past statements. Wolman is vice president for monetary and macroeconomic research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.

Full transcript and related links: https://www.richmondfed.org/podcasts/speaking_of_the_economy/2025/speaking_2025_11_19_fed_framework_followup

Daniel Davis talks about the importance of understanding the economies of small towns and rural areas. He also discusses the work that the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond has done to examine these economies and connect with community leaders, including the recent launch of the Richmond Fed's Center for Rural Economies and Investing in Rural America webinar series. Davis is group vice president for regional economics at the Richmond Fed and director of the center.

Full transcript and related links: https://www.richmondfed.org/podcasts/speaking_of_the_economy/2025/speaking_2025_11_12_rural_center

Andy Bauer, Renee Haltom, and Matt Martin share what they are hearing about economic conditions from their business contacts in the Fifth District. They also discuss variations in conditions by sector and region as well as how businesses currently view labor markets and price levels. Bauer, Haltom, and Martin are regional executives at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.

Full transcript and related links: https://www.richmondfed.org/podcasts/speaking_of_the_economy/2025/speaking_2025_11_05_what_biz_are_saying

Surekha Carpenter and Taylor Pessin share their initial learnings about community development financial institutions that responded to the 2025 CDFI Survey, which is conducted every other year by the Federal Reserve. Carpenter is a senior research analyst and Pessin is an intermediate research analyst, both on the Regional and Community Analysis team at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.

Full transcript and related links: https://www.richmondfed.org/podcasts/speaking_of_the_economy/2025/speaking_2025_10_22_cdfi_survey

Thomas Lubik discusses how inventories are tracked at the firm and aggregate levels and what fluctuations in these levels over time tell us about the health of the overall economy. Lubik is a senior advisor at the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.

Full transcript and related links: https://www.richmondfed.org/podcasts/speaking_of_the_economy/2025/speaking_2025_10_15_inventories

Bethany Greene describes the flow of federal funds into Fifth District communities as transfer payments, from healthcare and Social Security benefits to unemployment insurance payments. In particular, she discusses regional variances in communities' reliance on this funding, especially those in rural areas. Greene is a regional economist at the Charlotte branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.

Full transcript and related links: https://www.richmondfed.org/podcasts/speaking_of_the_economy/2025/speaking_2025_10_08_federal_transfer_payments