In case you haven’t heard, Donald Trump wants the Federal Reserve to lower interest rates. But the Fed’s chair, Jerome Powell, has resisted. When the world’s central bankers gathered for this year’s Jackson Hole conference, Mr Powell was given a standing ovation—an act of solidarity, perhaps. Mr Trump may soon get his way, but in the long run, his interest-rate crusade will be self-defeating.

Those central bankers in Jackson Hole no doubt remember how covid-19 fed a global surge in inflation. The pandemic also led to a breakdown of trust in experts and an aggravation of political polarisation. We review two books that look at covid’s far-reaching and unexpected consequences.