The Basic Income Podcast

By The Basic Income Podcast

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What's The Basic Income Podcast about?

A podcast exploring the politics, implications and challenges of the basic income--a policy in which every person would receive a monthly check to cover basic expenses.

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The Basic Income Podcast episodes:

05.05.2020
Jamie Morgan: Improving racial equity by combining basic income and Baby Bonds
One of the proposals championed during the 2020 Democratic primary was a baby bond, which would create steadily growing accounts for each child that they could access when they turn 18. Jamie Morgan, a PhD student at the Heller School...
04.06.2020
The $1200 Check for Every American and What’s Yet to Come
Recently, the CARES Act, the largest coronavirus relief package to date was signed into law, and it included, among many other things, a $1200 check for every legal adult resident making $75,000 (or $150,000 for couples), and $500 for each...
03.24.2020
Basic Income Interest Surges Due To COVID-19 Crisis
While interest in universal basic income has increased steadily over the last five years, it has surged to unprecedented levels over the last five weeks. Cash transfers, either as a one-off or an ongoing program, are being discussed on both...
03.17.2020
Leah Hamilton: Why Basic Income Could Address Issues of Welfare Programs
We often mention that our current welfare programs have serious inefficiencies, bottlenecks and unnecessary filters, and on this episode, we delve into the tragic human toll these bureaucratic issues cause. Dr. Leah Hamilton, author of Welfare Doesn't Work: The Promises of...
03.04.2020
Alex Howlett: Making Basic Income Dynamic and Responsive
The amount that everyone would receive under a basic income is generally stated as $1000 per month, give or take, with any nod to how this amount would change contained in the occasional "chained to inflation" at the end. Our...
02.25.2020
Stacey Rutland: Building a Post-Yang Campaign Basic Income Movement
The Andrew Yang presidential campaign introduced millions of people to the idea of basic income, and galvanized many who are excited by the idea. Income Movement is an organization looking to build on this progress to create a sustained national...
02.16.2020
Jeremie Greer: Designing a Liberation Economy
Most of us recognize that the way our economy operates today is leaving a lot of people behind. But what would it actually look like to have an economy that worked for everyone, and in particular, people of color who...
12.18.2019
Bliss Broyard: An Intimate Look at Basic Income Recipients in Stockton
We have heard much about the basic income trial in Stockton, CA, and finally got some aggregate statistics earlier this year. These averages and other global reports are an important part of the story, but the actual experience of receiving...
11.27.2019
Morgan Harper: Running for Congress in Ohio on Universal Income
While Andrew Yang has brought basic income to the national stage, we are seeing more and more state and local politicians exploring the idea as well. One of them is Morgan Harper, who is seeking to represent Ohio's 3rd Congressional...
11.20.2019
Michael Stynes & Steve Nunez: Designing UBI Pilot Programs
While there is much excitement around the various basic income pilots in progress or under consideration in the U.S. and around the world, it is worthwhile to ask what their value is, and how we can design them to maximize...
11.10.2019
Sukhi Samra: Early Results From The Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration
The Stockton SEED demonstration has drawn national attention as a modern basic income trial. Recently, we got the first reports from basic recipients there, who are receiving $500 a month, funded by the Economic Security Project. The results back up...
11.01.2019
Workers Strength Fund: Providing financial security to precarious American workers
For most of the late 20th century, having a job provided you with enough financial security to have a decent life in the United States. But today, millions of American workers are living in extreme precarity, just one emergency expense...
10.23.2019
Conrad Shaw: The UBI Calculator
If we were to fund a basic income of $1,000 a month with a wealth tax, a carbon tax, some program consolidation and deficit spending, how much would your bank account increase or decrease after your income and current government...
10.08.2019
Basic Income Q&A: Paying for it, Inflation, and the Path Forward
Recently we reached out to our audience asking for questions on basic income. This episode takes on three big ones: will rent and other costs increase, eating up the benefits of the UBI? How could a basic income fit into...
10.01.2019
Rep. Tami Gouveia: Massachusetts Considers a Basic Income Pilot
Recently, legislation was introduced in Massachusetts to launch a state-funded basic income trial. The bill would create a pilot project involving 300 families over three years. We spoke with one of the legislators, Rep. Tami Gouveia, proposing this pilot about...
09.25.2019
Robert Stayton: Could Solar Dividends Provide a Basic Income?
Robert Stayton proposes an outside-the-box idea for how to provide both ample clean energy and a basic income on the local, state or national level: solar dividends. This proposal would leverage the abundance of available solar energy with the regulatory...
09.18.2019
Reverend Liz Theoharis: Building a Movement Centered on Poor People
The favorite basic income advocate of many supporters is Martin Luther King Jr., who led the Poor People's Campaign. This campaign has been revived in modern times by Rev. Liz Theoharis and Rev. Dr. William Barber, which looks at the...
09.11.2019
Basic Income and the Social Safety Net
In this discussion episode, Jim lays out his ideas on how we should think about basic income in relation to other benefit programs like unemployment insurance and the Earned Income Tax Credit. We get into topics like whether basic income...
09.05.2019
Jhumpa Bhattacharya: The Racial Wealth Gap and Basic Income Policy Design
Basic income has been heralded as a policy that can partially address racial inequities in our economy and social benefit system, but how would the goals of racial equity inform basic income policy? Jhumpa Bhattacharya of the Insight Center for...
08.28.2019
Max Ghenis: Evaluating Today’s Basic Income Policies
As basic income gains more recognition and interest, new proposals and ideas for what a basic income should look like are starting to emerge. While these proposals are occasionally studied on a one-off basis, the basic income conversation didn't necessarily...
08.13.2019
Rutger Bregman, Author of Utopia for Realists (rebroadcast)
A conversation with Rutger Bregman, author of Utopia for Realists: The Case for a Universal Basic Income, Open Borders and a 15-Hour Workweek. We discuss what brought him to the basic income movement, some historical basic income experiments, and how a...
08.09.2019
What Basic Income Will And Won’t Solve (Rebroadcast)
Basic income advocates often talk about what a transformative impact universal basic income could have on society — but what issues and challenges will it actually solve? Jim and Owen share their thoughts on whether basic income is the solution...
08.02.2019
Dr. Evelyn Forget on Mincome and Basic Income in Canada (Rebroadcast)
Canada’s basic income trials in trials in the 70s – the “Mincome” experiments – were largely forgotten until Dr. Evelyn Forget found records of the Mincome trials and individuals who had received a basic income. She discusses what she found, and the...
07.25.2019
Why is Interest in Basic Income Surging? (Rebroadcast)
Three years ago, few people had even heard of universal basic income. Now interest is growing across the country, and the idea is getting more exposure and support. What led to this shift? Owen and Jim delve into many of...
07.18.2019
Roy Bahat, Head of Bloomberg Beta, on Innovation and Basic Income (Rebroadcast)
Roy Bahat, Head of Bloomberg Beta, discusses the future of employment and why a universal basic income could spur innovation. He also discusses the mental leaps it requires to wrap our minds around the basic income, and what we can do to help others...
07.09.2019
A Step Forward for Basic Income in the U.K. feat. Jamie Cooke
Recently John McDonnell, shadow chancellor of the U.K.'s Labour Party announced that he would like to see state-funded basic income trials when the Labour Party returns to power. This has triggered an active discussion on basic income in the Labour...
07.03.2019
Basic Income and Cash Dividends at the First Democratic Presidential Debate
On June 26th and 27th, the first Democratic Presidential debates were held in Miami, Florida. The debates gave basic income-focused Andrew Yang a national platform, and several other candidates pushed ideas such as a carbon dividend or expansion of the...
06.28.2019
Cash Transfers for Low Income Expecting Mothers, feat. Zea Malawa
Expecting Justice, a program out of UC San Francisco's Pre-Term Birth Initiative, is spearheading a cash transfer program for low income expecting mothers, with a focus on Black and Pacific Islander women. Zea Malawa, who is leading the initiative joined...
06.19.2019
A Proposed Social Wealth Fund in Maryland, feat. Del. Gabriel Acevero
Maryland Delegate Gabriel Acevero is leading the charge for the creation of a social wealth fund in his state. This fund, which would be seeded with revenue from medical cannabis, would eventually pay out dividends and potentially other benefits to...
06.12.2019
Basic Income Q&A: Taxes, Wages and Systemic Change
We reached out to you for your questions on basic income and you wrote in with many excellent ones. In this Q&A, Owen and Jim discuss whether basic income would be taxable, how a UBI could affect wages and employee...
06.06.2019
A Unique Basic Income Program in South Korea, feat. Juon Kim
The Gyeonggi province, the most populous province in South Korea, has started a unique basic income project. Under the program, 24 year-olds will receive one million Korean Won, about $900, unconditionally in a local currency. Juon Kim, a local basic income...
05.29.2019
Expanding Social Security & Other Programs into a Basic Income
Recently an article in Fast Company proposed reaching a basic income by expanding social security. Owen and Jim dive into the pros and cons of that approach for social security, the earned income tax credit (EITC), child tax credit and...
05.16.2019
India Moves Toward Basic Income, feat. Sarath Davala
The basic income movement in India is growing rapidly. There are proposals for a national basic income, and the state of Sikkim seems likely to introduce a basic income program in the near to mid future. In this episode, Jim...
05.08.2019
Technological Economic Cycles, feat. Carlota Perez
While in many ways it feels like we live in unprecedented economic times, through another lens we have been here before. Dr. Carlota Perez charts economic cycles around technological breakthroughs, and she provides needed clarity on our current economic moment....
05.01.2019
Should Government Programs be Universal or Targeted?
One of the most common questions we get about basic income is, "why should it be universal?" Or put another way, "what's the point of giving Bill Gates $1000 a month?" In this episode, Jim and Owen dive into the...
04.24.2019
The Basic Income Movement in Sri Lanka, feat. Talal Rafi
With India seriously considering basic income proposals, the movement is gaining traction in South Asia. This includes Sri Lanka, which is having a wide reaching political debate in the lead up to its coming elections. We spoke to Talal Rafi,...
04.16.2019
The Great Risk Shift, feat. Jacob Hacker
Since LBJ's Great Society programs revamped America's social safety net, the average American has steadily taken on more and more risk, both through increasing costs of healthcare and education, and the growing precarity of employment, due to globalization, automation and...
04.08.2019
Running for President on Basic Income, feat. Andrew Yang
The basic income movement is gaining national exposure through the presidential campaign of Andrew Yang. Yang has now been interviewed by many major TV networks, magazines and podcasts, and he has qualified for the first two Democratic debates. Owen spoke...
03.30.2019
Preliminary Results from the Finland Basic Income Trial, feat. Ylikännö Minna
Finland recently concluded a nationally funded basic income experiment, focused on people receiving unemployment benefits. We got the first wave of findings from the data, and dove into the results with Ylikanno Minna, Senior Researcher at Kela. We discuss the...
03.12.2019
The Bills in Congress that Would Create New Cash Policies
Recently, a variety of basic income-esque legislation has been introduced at the federal level. Bills from Cory Booker, Kamala Harris, Ro Khanna, Sherrod Brown and others provide cash dividends in some form. Some focus on working people, others on children...
03.01.2019
Unpacking the Data Dividend Concept, feat. Chris Benner
Recently the idea of a "data dividend" has received renewed attention, due to interest from California Governor Gavin Newsom. The idea that people are entitled to a cut of the profits from the data they are producing from their online...
02.20.2019
Is Italy’s Citizen’s Income a Step in the Right Direction?
Italy's Five-Star Movement rose to power campaigning on a host of proposals, chief among them a "citizen's income," a cash assistance program. While there are obvious thing to like about the program, there are problematic elements as well, including the...
02.08.2019
How Would History Have Been Different If We’d Had a Basic Income?
In this discussion episode, Owen and Jim take on some of the major events of the last few decades, asking the question, how would things have been different if we'd had a basic income? The episode examines climate-related disasters, such...
01.30.2019
Germany’s Sanktionsfrei Project, feat. Helena Steinhaus
In Germany, a group called Sanktionsfrei ("sanctions free") is experimenting with a unique intervention into a public program. Germany's unemployment benefit system, often referred to as Hartz IV, contains many punitive sanctions for missed filings, appointments and the like. Sanktionsfrei...
01.23.2019
Basic Income, Jobs, and Joe Biden (rebroadcast)
Owen and Jim discuss Vice President Joe Biden’s recent objections to basic income, and the practical and philosophical points that come up around basic income and employment. They delve into why a basic income could be good for workers and...
01.15.2019
Basic Income and the Disabled Community, feat. Annie Harper (rebroadcast)
How would a basic income impact the disabled community? We delved into this question with social anthropologist Annie Harper of the Program for Recovery and Community Health, Yale School of Medicine. Harper, who works with mentally disabled people, describes the...
01.09.2019
How Much Basic Income Would Really Cost, featuring Karl Widerquist (rebroadcast)
How much would a basic income in the United States actually cost? What are the most common mistakes people make when calculating a basic income? To answer these questions, we spoke with Karl Widerquist, who has been studying and writing...
01.02.2019
Basic Income and Peace of Mind (Rebroadcast)
We often talk about what effect a universal basic income would have on financial stability, but what about our mental state? Jim and Owen delve into the research around poverty and cognition, and explore the differences between an abundance mindset...
12.26.2018
Universal Basic Assets, featuring Marina Gorbis (Rebroadcast)
When considering the impact of basic income, we usually think of it as a standalone policy — but there’s nothing stopping us from imagining UBI as one piece of a larger policy framework. In this episode, Marina Gorbis, Executive Director...
12.18.2018
Rep. Chris Lee on Basic Income Legislation in Hawaii (Rebroadcast)
In 2017, Hawaii became the first state to pass legislation on universal basic income, declaring that everyone in the state deserves basic financial security. The bill’s author, Representative Chris Lee, joined the Basic Income Podcast to discuss the legislation and his...

What's The Basic Income Podcast about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

The Basic Income Podcast episodes:

Jamie Morgan: Improving racial equity by combining basic income and Baby Bonds

The $1200 Check for Every American and What’s Yet to Come

Basic Income Interest Surges Due To COVID-19 Crisis

Leah Hamilton: Why Basic Income Could Address Issues of Welfare Programs

Alex Howlett: Making Basic Income Dynamic and Responsive

Stacey Rutland: Building a Post-Yang Campaign Basic Income Movement

Jeremie Greer: Designing a Liberation Economy

Bliss Broyard: An Intimate Look at Basic Income Recipients in Stockton

Morgan Harper: Running for Congress in Ohio on Universal Income

Michael Stynes & Steve Nunez: Designing UBI Pilot Programs

Sukhi Samra: Early Results From The Stockton Economic Empowerment Demonstration

Workers Strength Fund: Providing financial security to precarious American workers

Conrad Shaw: The UBI Calculator

Basic Income Q&A: Paying for it, Inflation, and the Path Forward

Rep. Tami Gouveia: Massachusetts Considers a Basic Income Pilot

Robert Stayton: Could Solar Dividends Provide a Basic Income?

Reverend Liz Theoharis: Building a Movement Centered on Poor People

Basic Income and the Social Safety Net

Jhumpa Bhattacharya: The Racial Wealth Gap and Basic Income Policy Design

Max Ghenis: Evaluating Today’s Basic Income Policies

Rutger Bregman, Author of Utopia for Realists (rebroadcast)

What Basic Income Will And Won’t Solve (Rebroadcast)

Dr. Evelyn Forget on Mincome and Basic Income in Canada (Rebroadcast)

Why is Interest in Basic Income Surging? (Rebroadcast)

Roy Bahat, Head of Bloomberg Beta, on Innovation and Basic Income (Rebroadcast)

A Step Forward for Basic Income in the U.K. feat. Jamie Cooke

Basic Income and Cash Dividends at the First Democratic Presidential Debate

Cash Transfers for Low Income Expecting Mothers, feat. Zea Malawa

A Proposed Social Wealth Fund in Maryland, feat. Del. Gabriel Acevero

Basic Income Q&A: Taxes, Wages and Systemic Change

A Unique Basic Income Program in South Korea, feat. Juon Kim

Expanding Social Security & Other Programs into a Basic Income

India Moves Toward Basic Income, feat. Sarath Davala

Technological Economic Cycles, feat. Carlota Perez

Should Government Programs be Universal or Targeted?

The Basic Income Movement in Sri Lanka, feat. Talal Rafi

The Great Risk Shift, feat. Jacob Hacker

Running for President on Basic Income, feat. Andrew Yang

Preliminary Results from the Finland Basic Income Trial, feat. Ylikännö Minna

The Bills in Congress that Would Create New Cash Policies

Unpacking the Data Dividend Concept, feat. Chris Benner

Is Italy’s Citizen’s Income a Step in the Right Direction?

How Would History Have Been Different If We’d Had a Basic Income?

Germany’s Sanktionsfrei Project, feat. Helena Steinhaus

Basic Income, Jobs, and Joe Biden (rebroadcast)

Basic Income and the Disabled Community, feat. Annie Harper (rebroadcast)

How Much Basic Income Would Really Cost, featuring Karl Widerquist (rebroadcast)

Basic Income and Peace of Mind (Rebroadcast)

Universal Basic Assets, featuring Marina Gorbis (Rebroadcast)

Rep. Chris Lee on Basic Income Legislation in Hawaii (Rebroadcast)