Over at Russ Roberts podcast interview with Tyler Cowen

Cowen: "I've met many journalists who understand microeconomics. I've hardly met any journalists who understand macroeconomics."

Me: do any economists understand macroeconomics? Is there a consensus on what causes business cycles (let alone the ability to predict)? Is there a consensus on the essentials for growth? To the degree there are popular theories, how do they compare to the popular ideas from 25 years ago?