What happens when an unprecedented power struggle erupts between the president and the nation’s central bank over the independence of the institution?

For five years running, inflation has remained stubbornly above target levels, leaving the Federal Reserve trapped in a complicated bind of economic and political pressures. This episode of The FRONTLINE Dispatch features excerpts from filmmaker James Jacoby’s rare and wide-ranging interview with Neel Kashkari, the president and CEO of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank. The interview was conducted in March 2026, and Kashkari’s voice is key in FRONTLINE’s recent film The President vs. the Fed.

The edited conversation captures a central bank navigating a 3% inflation rate, a weakening labor market and intense political pressure. As President Donald Trump works to actively reshape Federal Reserve leadership, Kashkari offers an insider’s take on an institution in uncharted waters: “If Fed independence and central bank independence is lost, how will the American people feel it? They will feel it in higher inflation year in, year out.”

A video version of this interview is available on our YouTube channel.

The President vs. the Fed is available to stream now on FRONTLINE’s website, FRONTLINE’s YouTube channel, the PBS App and PBS Documentaries on Prime.