# How the Federal Reserve Works **URL:** **By** George Selgin, Tom Clougherty, Trevor Burrus **Published:** December 29, 2017 --- George Selgin joins us again on Free Thoughts for a conversation about the origins and role of the Federal Reserve. George Selgin joins us again on Free Thoughts for a conversation about the origins and role of the Federal Reserve. What is the Federal Reserve? What does it do, and what authority does it have? Why was the Fed created, and what was it's role in the 2008 financial crisis? **Show Notes and Further Reading** [Here is Selgin's newest study on the founding of the Federal Reserve](https://www.cato.org/publications/policy-analysis/new-yorks-bank-national-monetary-commission-founding-fed). Here are our previous Free Thoughts episodes with Selgin: - [The Story of Money in the United States](https://www.libertarianism.org/podcasts/free-thoughts/the-story-of-money-in-the-united-states) - [The Gold Standard Won't Be Coming Back](https://www.libertarianism.org/podcasts/free-thoughts/the-gold-standard-wont-be-coming-back)