Janet Yellen gets candid on weed, gaming and the resilient U.S. economy

What she's saying: "I had never smoked anything in my life," said Yellen. "I said, 'How can I prepare for this experience? Well, why don't I buy a pack of cigarettes and try to smoke them and see if I can inhale?'"

• "All week, preparing for this party, I smoked cigarettes," Yellen said. "I went to the party, smoked a couple of marijuana cigarettes — I never did that again."
• Yellen added that within a couple of months, she was "up to three packs a day as a smoker." (It took her years to quit.)

Yellen also described another addiction, one she hasn't kicked: Between managing the nation's finances and debt obligations, Yellen is a skilled mobile gamer.

• The former Fed chair used to play Brick Breaker. "It started when I had a BlackBerry, if anybody still remembers what they are," Yellen said.

• But a year ago, she began playing Candy Crush. "This morning, I hit level 6,180," Yellen said.

The bottom line: Yellen appeared on the long-running Chicago-based radio show while in town for a major speech that touted the Biden administration's economic success.

• Asked how she would respond to those who believed the U.S. would enter a recession by now: "I told you so," Yellen said.