Podcast Episodes

Immigration in America: Data and Myths, Revisited With Leah Boustan

Season 2 Episode 107

If democracy is a social contract, why don’t we allow everybody who is willing to sign it? Why don’t we have open borders for immigration?

In their book "Streets of Gold: America's Untold Story of Imm…

Published on 1 year, 5 months ago

Joseph Stiglitz's Vision of a New Progressive Capitalism

Season 2 Episode 106

In the last 60 years, few economists have contributed more to exposing the failures of capitalism than Joseph Stiglitz. Formerly the chief economist of the World Bank and chair of the U.S. Council of…

Published on 1 year, 5 months ago

Capitalism-Was: What Happened to the American Dream? With David Leonhardt

Season 2 Episode 105

Is the famed American Dream still attainable for the immigrants and working class of today? What made America the land of opportunity — and if it isn't the same anymore, what happened to it?

Joining c…

Published on 1 year, 6 months ago

The Money Behind Ultra-Processed Foods, with Marion Nestle

Season 2 Episode 104

Critics of the food industry allege that it relentlessly pursues profits at the expense of public health. They claim that food companies "ultra-process" products with salt, sugar, fats, and artificia…

Published on 1 year, 6 months ago

The Economics of Student Protests

Season 2 Episode 103

Over the last few weeks, university politics has captured headlines as students across the country occupy sections of their campuses and demand that their schools divest from Israel in protest of its…

Published on 1 year, 7 months ago

Is Private Credit In The Public Interest? with Jim Grant

Season 2 Episode 102

The meteoric rise of private credit over the last decade has raised concerns among banks about unfair competition and among regulators about risks to financial stability. 

Historically, regulated bank…

Published on 1 year, 7 months ago

Ralph Nader's Capitalism

Season 2 Episode 101

"The only true aging is the erosion of one's ideals," says Ralph Nader, the former third-party presidential candidate who just turned 90 after more than 60 years of consumer advocacy and fighting for…

Published on 1 year, 8 months ago

The New Business Of News, with Ben Smith

Season 2 Episode 100

Given the recent mass layoffs, acceleration of media consolidation, continued decline of local journalism, and rapid uptake of generative AI, the news industry—fundamental to institutional accountabi…

Published on 1 year, 8 months ago

Poverty in America: Terrible Scourge or a Measurement Error?

Season 2 Episode 99

Perhaps the biggest evidence that capitalism in America doesn’t work, at least not for everyone, is growing income inequality and the persistence of poverty. But what is the current state of poverty …

Published on 1 year, 9 months ago

When a Few Financial Institutions Control Everything, with John Coates

Season 2 Episode 97

In his recent book, "The Problem of Twelve: When a Few Financial Institutions Control Everything," Harvard law professor John Coates sheds light on the secrecy, lack of public accountability, concent…

Published on 1 year, 9 months ago