Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer

By Civic Ventures

What's Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer about?

Any society that allows itself to become radically unequal eventually collapses into an uprising or a police state—or both. Join venture capitalist Nick Hanauer and some of the world’s leading economic and political thinkers in an exploration of who gets what and why. Turns out, everything you learned about economics is wrong. And if we don’t do something about rising inequality, the pitchforks are coming.

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The economic challenges Bid...

01.19.2021

Idrees Kahloon from The Economist joins us for inauguration week to assess the daunting economic challenges that the Biden-Harris administration will face the second they take office. Idrees Kahloon is the Washington correspondent for The Economist. He covers US policy, ...

Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer episodes:

01.19.2021 The economic challenges Biden faces (with Idrees Kahloon) Idrees Kahloon from The Economist joins us for inauguration week to assess the daunting economic challenges that the Biden-Harris administration will face the second they take office. Idrees Kahloon is the Washington correspondent for The Economist. He covers US policy, ...
01.12.2021 The case for a True New Deal (with Bharat Ramamurti) In a recent report, The Roosevelt Institute called for a new set of policies to mitigate the economic suffering caused by the pandemic. Taken all together, these policies are as sweeping as the New Deal was—but unlike the New Deal, ...
01.05.2021 How banking deregulation makes you unsafe (with Anat Admati) No matter what some politicians may claim, there’s actually no such thing as ‘less regulation’ — there are only regulations that favor the powerful, and those that don’t. Stanford economist Anat Admati walks us through the deregulation of the banking ...
12.29.2020 Tax me more, I’m rich (with Abigail Disney and Chye-Ching Huang) Trickle-down economics would have you believe that the rich are job creators. For decades we’ve been told that the more money the wealthy have to invest in creating jobs, the better the economy will be for everybody. This lie has ...
12.22.2020 Why should we cancel student debt? (with Fenaba Addo) The CARES Act delayed student loan payments as a form of stimulus, raising an important question: if forgiving student loan debt is good policy and broadly popular with Americans, should we just cancel student debt altogether? University of Wisconsin Madison ...
12.15.2020 Why conventional wisdom is finally pushing for higher wages (with Binyamin Appelbaum) Six years after the beginning of the Fight for $15 movement, conventional wisdom is finally waking up to economic reality. How do we know? Because the New York Times recently published an editorial titled ‘Let’s Talk About Higher Wages’ calling ...
12.08.2020 Author Interview: Competition is Killing Us (with Michelle Meagher) Neoliberal economics says free trade is always good, and its followers try to lower trade barriers without discretion. Freedom is an essential ingredient for successful international trade—but that doesn’t mean all trade should be unregulated. Competition law expert Michelle Meagher ...
12.01.2020 Restoring conservative economics (with Oren Cass) “Conservative economics” in the U.S. has become synonymous with libertarian principles. But that’s not what American conservatism was originally about. Oren Cass, the executive director of a new think tank called American Compass, is on a mission to restore conservative ...
11.27.2020 What would you do if you were benevolent dictator? We’re continuing to celebrate our 100th episode this week with another compilation — the best of the benevolent dictator question. What would you do to fix the world’s most intractable problems if you had no restraints? Our guests from over ...
11.24.2020 Why do you do this work? It’s our 100th episode! To celebrate, we pulled together some of our favorite answers to the question we love to ask our guests: Why do you do this work? Plus, Nick answers the question too. We’re thankful this week for ...
11.17.2020 What happens when unemployment benefits run out? (with Ioana Marinescu) Right now, 26.3 million workers are either on unemployment or waiting to be approved for unemployment benefits. But for many of these jobless workers, the clock is running out on their eligibility to receive unemployment — and with no stimulus ...
11.13.2020 Who is Ron Klain? In the first major staffing announcement of his incoming administration, President-elect Biden named Ron Klain, Obama’s ebola czar, as his chief of staff. We had a great conversation with Klain back in April, in which he argued that leadership failure ...
11.10.2020 The case for a millionaires tax (with Governor Phil Murphy) This September, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy enacted a budget deal with his legislature that increased state taxes on incomes over $1 million. As the country’s second-richest state, this is a big win for progressive taxation. Governor Murphy explains what ...
11.03.2020 Election Day AMA Special (with Cristina Uribe) When are we going to know the results of this election? What can we do about voter suppression? And are Democrats finally giving up on trickle-down economics? Zach and political strategist Cristina Uribe answer these questions and more as they ...
10.30.2020 BONUS: The Haunting of Buchanan Manor This strange Halloween, we bring to you the harrowing tale of two young trick-or-treaters who dare to stop at James Buchanan’s house. To learn more about the real-life horrors of Buchanan, read Jane Mayer’s ‘Dark Money’ — the spooky real-life ...
10.27.2020 The real looting in America (with Robert Reich) The real looting in America is the looting of the wages and savings of the bottom 90% by the wealthiest 1%. And although it’s not in the news nearly as much as other types of looting recently, our rigged economic ...
10.20.2020 The pro-business case for reimagining capitalism (with Rebecca Henderson) Harvard Business School professor Rebecca Henderson tells Nick and Goldy why businesses should reject the idea that the sole purpose of the corporation is to maximize shareholder value, and how businesses can help reform the market system. Rebecca Henderson is ...
10.13.2020 Author Interview: How to rebuild the middle class (with Jim Tankersley) Why did the American middle class boom after WWII, and how do we get it booming again? New York Times economics reporter Jim Tankersley joins Paul to lay out the thesis of his new book, ‘The Riches of This Land’—that ...
10.06.2020 Ask Nick Anything What’s the opposite of neoliberal economics? What would the manifesto of the perfect political party look like? How much money do corporations spend lobbying against taxes, and is it even worth it? Nick and Goldy answer these questions (and more!) ...
09.29.2020 The future of health care (with Abdul El-Sayed) This week, Biden-Sanders unity task force appointee Dr. Abdul El-Sayed walks Nick and Goldy through the Biden transition team’s health care plan. Abdul El-Sayed is a physician, epidemiologist, public health expert, and progressive activist. He is the Chair of Southpaw ...
09.22.2020 The powerlessness of forced labor (with Suresh Naidu) This week, labor market economist Suresh Naidu explains how his field attempts to account for the influence of power while studying employee/employer relationships, and unveils the hidden tricks of the coercive labor market. Suresh Naidu is a professor of economics ...
09.15.2020 Inequality is costing workers $50 trillion (with Carter Price) Yesterday, a groundbreaking study by the RAND Corporation put the first-ever price tag on how much income inequality costs American workers. The bill? $50 trillion. You read that right: $50 trillion has been diverted from working Americans to the wealthiest ...
09.08.2020 Redefining rural America (with Olugbenga Ajilore) Economist Olugbenga Ajilore explains how policymakers should be thinking about rural America (it’s not a monolith), and what interventions we should pursue to provide what he calls a “different kind of help.” Olugbenga Ajilore is a senior economist at the ...
09.01.2020 Coercion in the workplace (with Elizabeth Anderson) What would the workplace look like if workers were truly free? Elizabeth Anderson, a leading theorist of democracy and social justice, joins Nick and Goldy for an exploration of the ethical limits of market, theories of value and rational choice, ...
08.28.2020 Winning on growth (with Michael Linden) In this special bonus episode, Zach talks to political expert Michael Linden about the message that progressives can, and must, hammer home to win. Michael Linden is the Executive Director of the Groundwork Collaborative, an organization working to advance an ...
08.25.2020 Author Interview: Money, Democracy, and the Life of John Maynard Keynes (with Zachary Carter) Neoliberalism arose in the 1970s as a response to the failure of Keynesianism to deal with the effects of stagflation. But what is Keynesianism—and who is John Maynard Keynes? In this author interview, Goldy learns from the Keynes expert, HuffPost ...
08.18.2020 A long walk off a short economic cliff (with Trevon Logan) Recessions are inevitable—but the complete economic catastrophe that we’ve experienced for the last five months was not. Professor Trevon Logan explains where we went wrong, debunks myths about the federal unemployment benefit (no, it doesn’t disincentivize people from returning to ...
08.14.2020 You can’t starve your way out of a recession (with Kitty Richards) We know that state budget cuts and other austerity policies worsened the 2008 recession and led to a prolonged, uneven recovery. With state and local leaders already clamoring to meet the impending revenue shortfall caused by the COVID crisis, what ...
08.11.2020 Care work is more valuable than ever (with Kate Bahn) Child care in the U.S. has been in crisis mode for a long time. It’s wildly expensive for families to afford, and difficult for providers to make ends meet. But now, in the age of COVID-19, even the future existence ...
08.04.2020 It’s time to stop relying on crisis legislation (with Lindsay Owens) In 12 years, we’ve seen two economic crises with devastating long-term impacts. It seems by now we should be prepared to expect the unexpected… but instead, we’re relying on hastily prepared crisis legislation to save our economy. Again. Economist Lindsay ...
07.28.2020 2020 Election AMA (with Cristina Uribe) It’s less than 100 days until Election Day. What are the chances of political realignment? Is vote-by-mail a panacea? And how can despairing citizens contribute to real change? Civic Ventures President and campaign expert Zach Silk and veteran political strategist ...
07.24.2020 BONUS: Nancy MacLean - Unedited Conversation Enjoy the full conversation with historian Nancy MacLean, with an extra twelve minutes that didn’t make it into this week’s episode. Nancy MacLean is an award-winning scholar of the twentieth-century U.S. and the William H. Chafe Distinguished Professor of History ...
07.21.2020 How the radical right weaponized ideology (with Nancy MacLean) If it seems to you like the ultimate goal of the most extreme conservatives is to undermine democracy and cripple democratic institutions—well, according to historian Nancy MacLean, you’re right. This week, MacLean unpacks the meteoric rise in popularity of the ...
07.14.2020 How Econ 101 upholds racist systems (with Joelle Gamble) The foundational metaphor of neoliberalism is that a rising tide lifts all boats. But, like many other assumptions in economic thought, that idea willfully ignores racism. Economist Joelle Gamble joins Jessyn and Nick to explain that when economists fail to ...
07.07.2020 There’s no herd immunity to greed (with Thomas Friedman) Our global system is fragile because we made decisions that made it that way. Where did we go wrong? This week, New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman joins Nick and Goldy to suggest that greed and unfettered globalization are to ...
06.30.2020 Debunking deficit myths (with Stephanie Kelton) Modern Monetary Theory is an attempt to accurately describe how government debt and complex financial systems actually work. MMT can help us responsibly use our resources, and no one is more knowledgeable on the subject than our returning guest this ...
06.23.2020 People are basically good (with Rutger Bregman) The fundamentals of economic thought are built on the idea that humans are fundamentally self-interested. But, according to historian Rutger Bregman, that’s a misconception — in fact, humans are fundamentally good, and if we want to realistically address our greatest ...
06.16.2020 Vaccine development needs new incentives (with Tahir Amin) COVID-19 has exposed the limits of the pharmaceutical market model. This week, patent law expert Tahir Amin joins the show to explain why vaccine development needs new incentives. Tahir Amin is an attorney dedicated to reshaping patent law to better ...
06.12.2020 Re-imagining public safety (with King County Councilmember Girmay Zahilay) Budgets are a reflection of our values, and the money we budget for the police is no exception. Our state and local budgets for what we call “safety” are not getting outcomes that reflect our morals. Seattle-area King County Councilmember ...
06.02.2020 Podcast Blackout This week, we are participating in #PodcastBlackout to amplify the seriousness of the need for action to address institutional racism and police violence. After a brief note from Nick, this episode will air 8 minutes and 46 seconds of silence. ...
05.26.2020 Why Wall Street gets a bailout and you don’t (with Matt Stoller) Why are rich corporations getting more stimulus money from the government, and getting it faster, than small businesses and individuals? Matt Stoller returns to the show to explain how recovery funds are distributed: Money isn’t neutral, and how money travels ...
05.19.2020 Why the market fails in a crisis (with Joseph Stiglitz) One of the central theories of classical economics is that markets respond quickly and efficiently to changes in demand. But the pandemic clearly demonstrates that the markets aren’t the efficient adapters that classic economists believe them to be. Nobel laureate ...
05.15.2020 Author Interview: Inside the Secret War on Voting with Thom Hartmann Paul is joined this week by radio host Thom Hartmann to introduce Thom’s most recent book, ‘The Hidden History of the War on Voting: Who Stole Your Vote and How to Get It Back’. In this poignant interview, Thom explains ...
05.12.2020 Inequality and coronavirus (with Heather Boushey and Michelle Holder) The burdens of this pandemic are not borne equally. Economists Heather Boushey and Michelle Holder join the show this week to expose how the coronavirus is exacerbating the already-deep inequalities in our society. Heather Boushey is the President & CEO ...
05.05.2020 Austerity will make this recession worse (with Mike Konczal) When revenues and expenses don’t add up in times of crisis, governments often turn to budget cuts and other austerity measures to balance their accounts. But economists widely agree that the most valuable lesson from the Great Recession is that ...
05.01.2020 Labor regulations in the gaming industry (with Jennifer Hale) Prolific voice actor Jennifer Hale joins Paul and Stephen to discuss her work in two very different fields: the video game industry, which largely isn't unionized, and the animated film industry, which enjoys strong union protections. Jennifer Hale is a ...
04.28.2020 Leadership failure made the U.S. pandemic worse (with Ronald Klain) Pathogens are inevitable—but the scale of disaster accompanying this pandemic was not. Ronald Klain, President Obama’s Ebola czar, joins Nick and Goldy to discuss why the extent of economic collapse and deaths we’ve seen from COVID-19 is borne of government ...
04.21.2020 What’s happening in professional sports right now? (A curiosity break with Andrew Brandt) What does the future of American sports look like? Okay, okay—we know this is out of our wheelhouse. But this week, we’re examining how the global pandemic has affected one very specific corner of the economy: professional sports leagues. Expert ...
04.17.2020 What’s changed since the 1918 pandemic? (A history lesson with Nancy Bristow) How does our response to the coronavirus pandemic compare to our response 100 years ago, when what is commonly known as the “Spanish Flu” swept through America? Historian Nancy Bristow helps Annie understand the lessons American society learned from the ...
04.14.2020 Understanding the CARES Act (with Heidi Shierholz) The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) is big—but not big enough to protect working people. Economist Heidi Shierholz joins the show to explain where CARES falls short, and to recommend the safeguards we need to include in ...

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