When the federal government shut down this fall, economists suddenly lost access to key data — just as questions about the economy’s health were heating up. Host Chris Conetzkey sits down with NPR’s Scott Horsley and the University of Iowa’s Anne Villamil to make sense of what we can see — and what uncertainty still clouds the picture.

In this episode:

• How the government shutdown is blinding economists to critical data.
• Why consumer spending and sentiment tell different stories.
• The mixed signals in GDP, inflation, and employment.
• How tariffs and trade volatility are hurting Iowa’s manufacturing and agriculture sectors.
• What to watch next: policy uncertainty, productivity, and population trends shaping long-term growth.

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