In the first episode of a special series on the 2018 midterm elections, Senior Fellow  describes some of the issues shaping the upcoming midterm elections and which common narratives around the elections are not supported by data.   Also in this episode,  explains the Federal Reserve’s recent decision to raise interest rates and the inherent difficulties in forecasting the economy.  Subscribe to Brookings podcasts  or on , send feedback email to , and follow us and tweet us at  on Twitter. The Brookings Cafeteria is a part of the .