kyla scanlon
@kyla.bsky.social
wrote a book called "in this economy?" | chair of the federal reserve | writing and youtube @ http://kyla.substack.com
Betting on Jesus returning by 2027 and the Backstreet Boys singing about crypto are kind of the same thing. Speculation and nostalgia are both exit strategies from the present, and neither provides answers.
New piece on what happens when the economy grows without… people.
New piece on what happens when the economy grows without… people.
February 12, 2026 at 3:44 PM
Betting on Jesus returning by 2027 and the Backstreet Boys singing about crypto are kind of the same thing. Speculation and nostalgia are both exit strategies from the present, and neither provides answers.
New piece on what happens when the economy grows without… people.
New piece on what happens when the economy grows without… people.
Opinion | The Dangerous Power of Prediction Markets
www.nytimes.com
January 23, 2026 at 8:26 PM
HOW BETTING BECAME POLITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE
In today's New York Times piece, I wrote about how prediction markets validate political events before Congress can respond, and how those market outcomes can end up deciding what's legitimate.
In today's New York Times piece, I wrote about how prediction markets validate political events before Congress can respond, and how those market outcomes can end up deciding what's legitimate.
January 23, 2026 at 8:26 PM
HOW BETTING BECAME POLITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE
In today's New York Times piece, I wrote about how prediction markets validate political events before Congress can respond, and how those market outcomes can end up deciding what's legitimate.
In today's New York Times piece, I wrote about how prediction markets validate political events before Congress can respond, and how those market outcomes can end up deciding what's legitimate.
Audio version open.spotify.com/episode/2mGf...
January 22, 2026 at 2:53 PM
Audio version open.spotify.com/episode/2mGf...
New piece attempting to synthesize the past few weeks: media logic, market structure, geopolitical trust, and lessons from history. The bond market, the Fed, Japan, AI hype vs. energy reality, and what happens when the infrastructure that made the show possible starts changing channels.
The Great Entertainment
Can you govern the world like a reality TV show?
kyla.substack.com
January 21, 2026 at 5:02 PM
New piece attempting to synthesize the past few weeks: media logic, market structure, geopolitical trust, and lessons from history. The bond market, the Fed, Japan, AI hype vs. energy reality, and what happens when the infrastructure that made the show possible starts changing channels.
Transcript: kyla.substack.com/p/san-franci...
San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly and Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin on What's Actually Happening in the Economy
Now vs the 1970s/1990s, the persistence of uncertainty, and why cranes matter
kyla.substack.com
January 9, 2026 at 2:57 PM
Transcript: kyla.substack.com/p/san-franci...
NEW INTERVIEW
I sat down with San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly and Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin to talk about what really matters in 2026. Are we headed for the 1970s or the 1990s? Why does the economy keep not breaking? And why should we count cranes?
I sat down with San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly and Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin to talk about what really matters in 2026. Are we headed for the 1970s or the 1990s? Why does the economy keep not breaking? And why should we count cranes?
January 9, 2026 at 2:57 PM
NEW INTERVIEW
I sat down with San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly and Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin to talk about what really matters in 2026. Are we headed for the 1970s or the 1990s? Why does the economy keep not breaking? And why should we count cranes?
I sat down with San Francisco Fed President Mary Daly and Richmond Fed President Tom Barkin to talk about what really matters in 2026. Are we headed for the 1970s or the 1990s? Why does the economy keep not breaking? And why should we count cranes?
WHY YOUNG PEOPLE ARE BETTING ON EVERYTHING
In today’s Wall Street Journal, I wrote about how an economy with fewer stable paths is pushing young people toward low probability, high payoff bets in search of upside - even though this is not what people actually want.
In today’s Wall Street Journal, I wrote about how an economy with fewer stable paths is pushing young people toward low probability, high payoff bets in search of upside - even though this is not what people actually want.
December 19, 2025 at 7:31 PM
WHY YOUNG PEOPLE ARE BETTING ON EVERYTHING
In today’s Wall Street Journal, I wrote about how an economy with fewer stable paths is pushing young people toward low probability, high payoff bets in search of upside - even though this is not what people actually want.
In today’s Wall Street Journal, I wrote about how an economy with fewer stable paths is pushing young people toward low probability, high payoff bets in search of upside - even though this is not what people actually want.
In today's newsletter, I wrote about why everyone is gambling and why no one is happy
December 11, 2025 at 5:33 PM
In today's newsletter, I wrote about why everyone is gambling and why no one is happy
Reposted by kyla scanlon
I wrote about the burning Waymos and gentle singularity and ragebait and how everything is coalescing into a giant contradiction kyla.substack.com/p/everything...
Everything Feels Like It Doesn't Make Sense
Immigration, incentives, and the contradiction of Gentle Singularity
kyla.substack.com
June 11, 2025 at 4:08 PM
I wrote about the burning Waymos and gentle singularity and ragebait and how everything is coalescing into a giant contradiction kyla.substack.com/p/everything...
If anyone cares about the flight update, it got cancelled so I decided that I'd rent a car and just fly out of Nashville but turns out all the rental cars companies were out of cars (Even if you Reserved) so I have rebooked myself to fly out of this airport haha
June 11, 2025 at 4:08 PM
If anyone cares about the flight update, it got cancelled so I decided that I'd rent a car and just fly out of Nashville but turns out all the rental cars companies were out of cars (Even if you Reserved) so I have rebooked myself to fly out of this airport haha
But one could argue that the systems that profit by drowning us in information and platforms that make money by making everyone confused and angry are even scarier. The panopticon perhaps is less frightening than the slot machine.
June 11, 2025 at 4:08 PM
But one could argue that the systems that profit by drowning us in information and platforms that make money by making everyone confused and angry are even scarier. The panopticon perhaps is less frightening than the slot machine.
Most dystopian narratives focused on authoritarian control like Big Brother watching, governments suppressing information, which we are increasingly experiencing.
June 11, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Most dystopian narratives focused on authoritarian control like Big Brother watching, governments suppressing information, which we are increasingly experiencing.
I wrote about the burning Waymos and gentle singularity and ragebait and how everything is coalescing into a giant contradiction kyla.substack.com/p/everything...
Everything Feels Like It Doesn't Make Sense
Immigration, incentives, and the contradiction of Gentle Singularity
kyla.substack.com
June 11, 2025 at 4:08 PM
I wrote about the burning Waymos and gentle singularity and ragebait and how everything is coalescing into a giant contradiction kyla.substack.com/p/everything...
In dialogue with Jon Cohen, the author of Losing Big, about sports betting in the United States of America. We talk about the past, the present, and the future, and how we increasingly are turning psychological vulnerabilities into financial infrastructure. Enjoy!
kyla.substack.com/p/gamblemeri...
kyla.substack.com/p/gamblemeri...
Gamblemerica: How Sports Betting Apps Rewired a Generation's Relationship to Risk
In dialogue with Jon Cohen on sports betting, dopamine, and the strange ways we turn human vulnerability into infrastructure
kyla.substack.com
June 4, 2025 at 1:30 PM
In dialogue with Jon Cohen, the author of Losing Big, about sports betting in the United States of America. We talk about the past, the present, and the future, and how we increasingly are turning psychological vulnerabilities into financial infrastructure. Enjoy!
kyla.substack.com/p/gamblemeri...
kyla.substack.com/p/gamblemeri...
From rubbery crypto steaks to disappearing universities in Rust Belt towns, from robots named Ruby that know where they’re going (Mar Vista, to deliver exactly one KitKat) to humans idling in parking lots - we are all living inside a phase transition right now. But what happens next?
May 29, 2025 at 3:14 PM
From rubbery crypto steaks to disappearing universities in Rust Belt towns, from robots named Ruby that know where they’re going (Mar Vista, to deliver exactly one KitKat) to humans idling in parking lots - we are all living inside a phase transition right now. But what happens next?
We are living through massive technological change and are actively dismantling the very systems that are supposed to help us adapt.
kyla.substack.com/p/the-four-p...
kyla.substack.com/p/the-four-p...
The Four Phases of Institutional Collapse in the Age of AI
How democracy, expertise, and institutional memory are eroding during technological change - or @grok is this true?
kyla.substack.com
May 29, 2025 at 3:14 PM
We are living through massive technological change and are actively dismantling the very systems that are supposed to help us adapt.
kyla.substack.com/p/the-four-p...
kyla.substack.com/p/the-four-p...
Rejection, convenience, and predictability are all core parts of the economy - think college kids trying to get jobs right now, Klarna and DoorDash and the defaulting NACHOs, and the downfall of Cartoon Network. What would CS Lewis think about where we are now? kyla.substack.com/p/economic-l...
Economic Lessons from the Screwtape Letters
Rejection, Convenience, and the Budget Deficit
kyla.substack.com
May 21, 2025 at 2:30 PM
Rejection, convenience, and predictability are all core parts of the economy - think college kids trying to get jobs right now, Klarna and DoorDash and the defaulting NACHOs, and the downfall of Cartoon Network. What would CS Lewis think about where we are now? kyla.substack.com/p/economic-l...
Sticker drop! All stickers designed by me! Put them everywhere. On your dog. On your friend. On your friend's dog. Enjoy! Proceeds support independent economics education (aka my next big project 🙂). Link in next post!
April 27, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Sticker drop! All stickers designed by me! Put them everywhere. On your dog. On your friend. On your friend's dog. Enjoy! Proceeds support independent economics education (aka my next big project 🙂). Link in next post!
The American economy isn’t built to think - it’s built to comply. Risk aversion is reshaping our politics, our education system, and our global standing. We’re raising a generation that’s optimized for survival, not innovation - and it’s costing us everything. kyla.substack.com/p/compliance...
Compliance is the New American Dream
How risk aversion has shaped our schools, our government, and our global standing
kyla.substack.com
April 16, 2025 at 2:38 PM
The American economy isn’t built to think - it’s built to comply. Risk aversion is reshaping our politics, our education system, and our global standing. We’re raising a generation that’s optimized for survival, not innovation - and it’s costing us everything. kyla.substack.com/p/compliance...