Economics For the People

In our April episode, we spoke with Rajeev Ravisankar, a researcher and journalist whose work focuses on the political economy of media — specifically on labor organizing in newsrooms and the growing movement toward worker-run media cooperatives. Rajeev brings a political economy framework to questions that mainstream media criticism rarely asks: who owns the news, under what conditions is it produced, and what happens when journalists organize to change those conditions. We were delighted to have him join us for a conversation about the economics and politics of the media industry. In our Dollars and Sense debrief, Chris Sturr interviews economist John Miller about the macroeconomic impacts of the war in Iran.

#media #news #iran #unions

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Taki and Sirisha interview Rajeev Ravisankar - 2:20 minutes

Dollars and Sense Debrief with Chris Sturr and John Miller - 28:30 minutes

In our March episode, Sirisha and Taki dissect the 2026 Missouri Budget. It is necessary to understand that any state budget is a document that reflects our values as a society. On the revenue side, the budget proposes to slash the progressive income tax and increase regressive sales tax. On the spending side, there would be across the board cuts except for public safety. In our Dollars and Sense debrief, Chris Sturr interviews Professor Sasha Breger Bush about U.S. foreign policy under the Trump Administration. In a key insight, Professor Bush highlights that power and access to trade routes are just as important as raw materials like oil or critical minerals. And finally, we have an extra this month: Sirisha speaks with local organizer Zachary Mueller about how to fight fascism and cultivate democracy.

#mobudget #greenland #foreignpolicy

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Segment with Zach Mueller - 1:40 minutes

Taki and Sirisha discuss the 2026 Missouri Budget - 19:15 minutes

Dollars and Sense Debrief with Chris Sturr and Sasha Breger Bush - 38:20 minutes

In our February episode, we discuss the mushrooming of data centers in the Midwest. The growth of artificial intelligence is driving demand for computational power and the construction of data centers across the United States. Yet these data centers require massive amounts of water and electricity, which has led to concerns among impacted communities. We speak with Professor Madhumita Dutta of the Ohio State University, along with local activists Katie Currid, and Rachel Gonzalez, to better understand their growth. In our Dollars and Sense Debrief, Chris Sturr interviews Stephen Barton about all things rent control, which will be on the ballot in Massachusetts in November 2026. Tune in.

#rentcontrol #ai #datacenters

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Dollars and Sense Debrief with Chris Sturr and Stephen Barton - 1:50 minutes

Feature interview with Professor Madhumita Dutta, along with local activists Katie Currid, and Rachel Gonzalez - 21:47 minutes

In our January episode, we engage in a dialogue with Professor Pavlina Tcherneva about formulating a winning policy agenda. What is the role of vision in elections and the policy process? Our Dollars & Sense Debrief this month focuses on the impact of climate change on insurance markets. Chris Sturr talks to Kenny Stancil, a senior researcher at the Revolving Door Project, about how insurance companies are "mitigating risk."

#elections #voting #insurance #climate

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Feature interview with Professor Pavlina Tcherneva - 2:15 minutes

Dollars and Sense Debrief with Chris Sturr and Kenny Stancil - 35:55 minutes

In our December episode, we converse with Professor Neni Panourgia about the Greek military dictatorship of 1967-1974, known in Greece simply as the Junta. Professor Panourgia grew up during the Junta years and she shares with us her experiences of life under a military dictatorship. Does it hold any lessons for those of us living in the United States today? In our Dollars & Sense debrief, Chris Sturr interviews journalist Kalena Thomhave about the importance of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and what changes are on the way for SNAP after the passage of the Trump administration's "Big, Beautiful Bill."

#fascism #junta #greece #snap #foodstamps

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Feature interview with Professor Neni Panourgia - 3:20 minutes

Dollars and Sense Debrief with Chris Sturr and Kalena Thomhave - 34:20 minutes

‘Tis the season to advertise! In our Special Feature this month, we replay Prof. Zoe Sherman's segment from November 2023. Zoe helps us peel back the glittering layers of advertising and the holiday season where capitalism meets celebration. Our Dollars & Sense Debrief features an interview of Rob Larson about the consumer credit industry. This is especially important as credit scores are utilized increasingly across the economy and not only in loan applications (e.g., by landlords and employers).

#blackfriday #consumerism #advertising #creditscores

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Feature interview with Zoe Sherman - 3:15 minutes

Dollars and Sense Debrief with Chris Sturr and Rob Larson - 35:37 minutes

In the October episode of our podcast, we discuss the economics of the government shutdown and the situation of unhoused deportees in Tijuana Mexico. First, in our Dollars and Sense Debrief, Chris Sturr interviews photojournalist David Bacon. In the U.S. media there is very little attention to what happens to most people when they’re deported. Many who are deported go home to communities far south of the border. But the people who are just dumped through the border gate and have no home to go to find themselves in cities like Tijuana. David documents their living conditions in detail. In our feature segment, Sirisha and Taki are in conversation with Professor Mathew Forstater from the University of Missouri Kansas City about the federal government shutdown. As of early November, approximately three million federal government employees have been directly impacted by the shutdown as most are on furlough. In addition, over 40 million food stamp recipients are impacted as SNAP benefits are significantly curtailed. Listen to Professor Forstater provide crucial insights as we move into the second month of the shutdown.

#shutdown #immigration #mexico

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Dollars and Sense Debrief with Chris Sturr and David Bacon - 2:20 minutes

Feature interview with Mat Forstater - 23:20 minutes

In the September episode of our podcast, we focus American cities. In our first segment, Chris Sturr interviews Professor Shel Stromquist about the history of municipal socialism in the United States. He reminds us that in the early 20th century there were over 150 municipalities across the country with socialist governments. He also emphasized that these socialist governments were directly responsible for improving the material conditions of the working class by constructing key infrastructure projects like drainage systems and clean drinking water. In our feature segment, we spoke with Professor John Willoughby about the situation in Washington DC. As of early October, the Trump administration has dispatched the National Guard to Chicago and is attempting to do so in other cities like Portland. In this context, we zoom in on DC and have a wide-ranging conversation about the repression, the organized and spontaneous resistance to what can only be called a military occupation, and the history of the movement for self-determination since the 1860s.

#DC #MunicipalSocialism #occupation #FreeDC

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Dollars and Sense Debrief with Chris Sturr and Shel Stromquist - 2:23 minutes

Feature interview with John Willoughby - 17:46 minutes

In the August episode of Economics for the People, we interview Professor Vamsi Vakulabharanam about his book Class and Inequality in India and China, 1950-2010. On the eve of Indian Independence from British rule, and upon the conclusion of the Chinese Civil War, both countries were similar in economic terms. However, their trajectories diverged significantly over the period of time under investigation. Why? In our regular Dollars and Sense segment, Chris Sturr interviews Richard Wolff about Military Keynesianism: how it ended the Great Depression, its impact on the US economy over the 20th century, and why the ruling class continues to support it.

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Feature interview with Vamsi Vakulabharanam - 2:07 minutes

Dollars and Sense Debrief with Chris Sturr and Richard D. Wolff - 36:32 minutes

Our July episode is all about crypto. We present two different perspectives on how to understand cryptocurrency. In our Dollars & Sense Debrief, Chris Sturr interviews economist Gerald Epstein from the University of Amherst, who talks about the risks of crypto to the financial system as a whole. Our feature interview is with Professor Rohan Grey, in which we discuss crypto in detail. What is it? How does it affect the working class? What is the future of crypto? Rohan also dissects the crypto legislation that passed in Congress and was signed by President Trump this month. Additionally we converse about the STABLE Act (2020) proposed by Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, which Professor Grey helped design, which would have provided an alternative regulatory framework for crypto.

#crypto #finance

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Dollars and Sense Debrief with Chris Sturr and Gerald Epstein - 3 minutes

Feature interview with Rohan Grey - 21:30 minutes