Mark Zandi, who has been an economist for more than three decades, says he’s never seen so many people convinced that a recession is imminent. And while he believes the US economy can still avoid an economic downturn, sentiment is so poor that it poses its own risks. 

Zandi, the chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, joined the “What Goes Up” podcast to discuss his outlook after government data this week showed the highest level of inflation in almost 41 years. “I talk to CEOs, CFOs, investors, friends, family—to the person, they think we're going into recession. I've never seen anything like it,” Zandi says. “When sentiment is so fragile, it’s not going to take a whole lot to push us in.”