b'This is a strange moment in the economy. Wages are up, but so is inflation. Jobs are growing, but maybe not fast enough. Quit rates are at a 21st-century high. It isn\\u2019t clear what\\u2019s a trend, what\\u2019s a blip, what\\u2019s a transition and what\\u2019s now normal. And all this as the virus continues to stalk us and we process the trauma of the last 18 months.\\n\\n\\u201cWe all will have various times in our life where we\\u2019ll stop and say, \\u2018Whoa \\u2014 am I going in the right direction? Is this the right occupation for me? Should I do something differently?\\u2019\\u201d says Betsey Stevenson. \\u201cBut I can\\u2019t think of any other time when it\\u2019s been a correlated shock across the entire country, where we\\u2019ve all been faced \\u2014 no, forced \\u2014 to ask questions.\\u201d\\n\\nStevenson is an economist, and a highly accomplished one at that. She served as the chief economist of Barack Obama\\u2019s Department of Labor and later a member of Obama\\u2019s Council of Economic Advisers. Now she\\u2019s a professor of public policy and economics at the University of Michigan, as well as co-host of the podcast \\u201cThink Like an Economist.\\u201d She has a rare talent to blend a rigorous approach to labor market economics with a recognition that people \\u2014 our psychologies and fears and dreams \\u2014 matter, and they shape our economic decisions. Particularly now.\\n\\nSo I invited Stevenson on the show to discuss the big picture of what\\u2019s happening right now in the U.S. economy \\u2014 wages, employment, inflation and the animal spirits driving much of it. She didn\\u2019t disappoint. I came away from this conversation far less confused than when I walked into it.\\n\\nMentioned in this episode: \\n\\n\\u201cThe Jobs Report Takeaway: A Huge Reallocation of People and Work Is Underway\\u201d by Betsey Stevenson \\n\\n\\u201cExamining the uneven and hard-to-predict labor market recovery\\u201d by Lauren Bauer, Arindrajit Dube, Wendy Edelberg, and Aaron Sojourner\\n\\n\\u201cWhy we got more inflation than I expected\\u201d by Matt Yglesias\\n\\n\\u201cDo Hiring Headaches Imply a Labor Shortage?\\u201d by Paul Krugman\\n\\nRecommendations: \\n\\nKlara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro\\n\\nThe Undercover Economist Strikes Back by Tim Hartford \\n\\nCareer and Family by Claudia Goldin\\n\\nIf you enjoyed this episode, check out our previous podcast \\u201cEmployers Are Begging for Workers. Maybe That\\u2019s a Good Thing\\u201d with Cornell political scientist Jamila Michener \\n\\nYou can find transcripts (posted midday) and more episodes of "The Ezra Klein Show" at nytimes.com/ezra-klein-podcast, and you can find Ezra on Twitter @ezraklein.\\n\\nThoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at ezrakleinshow@nytimes.com.\\n\\n\\u201cThe Ezra Klein Show\\u201d is produced by Annie Galvin, Jeff Geld and Rog\\xe9 Karma; fact-checking by Michelle Harris; original music by Isaac Jones; mixing by Jeff Geld, audience strategy by Shannon Busta. Special thanks to Kristin Lin.'