Podcast Episodes
Back to Search
America at 250: Case for the Defense
Season 2 Episode 23
It’s the United States’ semiquincentennial … and one of us is not feeling it. The other is literally carrying a flag in her bag — and that’s just her…
3 hours ago
Optimist Q&A: The AI Bubble, the Rapture, and Free Lunch
Season 2 Episode 22
We can’t give financial advice. Or feedback on your 20-page tax proposal. But economist Kathryn Edwards did take a run at nearly 20 listener question…
1 week ago
Inflation Risk is the Wrong Recession Lesson
Season 2 Episode 21
This might be the most dangerous economic assertion circulating today: the high inflation from 2021-2023 was caused by government stimulus. The talki…
2 weeks ago
Make the Economy Work for Freelancers, Too (#askingforafriend)
Season 2 Episode 20
Thirty million Americans, more or less, work for themselves. They freelance, do gig work, have solo LLCs, or — as a certain economist says — particip…
3 weeks ago
About That College Grad Who Can’t Find a Job…
Season 2 Episode 19
(Originally aired 7/1/2025) Newly minted college graduates are having a harder time landing that first job than in recent years. Is it AI? Is college…
4 weeks ago
Should We Cherish the Ultra-Wealthy? (a.k.a. ‘The Cornfield’)
Season 2 Episode 18
A certain kind of wealthy American has been griping out loud lately — about taxes, about progressive cities, about how unappreciated they are for the…
1 month ago
No Overtime for the Supervisor of Sandwiches
Season 2 Episode 17
It wasn’t just hourly factory jobs that were supposed to come with a 40-hour workweek. Even salaried jobs were supposed to get overtime pay, though v…
1 month, 1 week ago
Can the U.S. Go ‘Cashless?’
Season 2 Episode 16
Cash is dirty, inconvenient, and so last century. Some 70% of Americans under age 50 think its days are numbered. But we still need those greenbacks,…
1 month, 2 weeks ago
The 2026 Economy: Make it Make Sense
Season 2 Episode 15
Consumer sentiment is in the basement. Jobs aren't being added. Prices keep climbing. GDP barely grew at the end of 2025, and a ‘meh’ 2% last quarter…
1 month, 3 weeks ago
Progress is a Long Game
Season 2 Episode 14
(Originally aired 5/06/25) What sparks progress? The right political conditions? Social pressure? Economic upheaval? In response to two listeners’ qu…
2 months ago