Generation after generation seem to pine for “the good old days,” an elusive time when many of us think morals, institutions, and the quality of life, in general, were higher. Americans are no exception to this rule, but there’s something unique about American nostalgia. While we reminisce about the past, we also owe much of our success as a nation to our forward-thinking culture that embraces the possibility of the American Dream. Today on Political Economy, I talk with Karlyn Bowman about the way Americans view their nation, and the tensions between their love of their past and their strong hope for the future.

Bowman is a distinguished senior fellow emeritus here at AEI, where she specializes on American public opinion. In 1982, she founded “Election Watch,” the longest-running political analysis program in Washington. She has also been a Forbes columnist since 2008.

Medicare is a trillion-dollar federal health insurance program designed to meet the medical needs of senior citizens and Americans with disabilities. Yet, despite its staggering amount of funding, Medicare is far from a perfect system. Here on Political Economy, I sit down with Joe Antos to discuss the current state of Medicare and its systemic challenges.

Antos is a senior fellow here at AEI where he studies the economics of health policy. He is currently Vice Chair and serving a third term as commissioner at the Maryland Health Services Cost Review Commission. He is also a professor of emergency medicine at George Washington University.

Milton Friedman was one of the most influential economists of the 20th century, right alongside John Maynard Keynes. His work pushed economic thought toward free markets in the 1970s and 1980s. His passionate defense of capitalism and economic freedom had global appeal right through the present day. As such, the closing decades of the 20th century have been termed "The Age of Friedman," yet commentators have sought to hold him responsible for both the rising prosperity and rising inequality of recent times.

Jennifer Burns is a professor at Stanford University, where she teaches 20th century American history. Her research focuses on how capitalism and the power of the market have influenced the American Political Economy. Burns' new book is Milton Friedman: The Last Conservative.

Over the past 40 years, children born to parents without college degrees have become less and less likely to grow up with the advantages of a two-parent home. This trend is perpetuating inequality between college-educated and non-college-educated families. To talk about this issue, I’ve invited on Melissa Kearney.

Melissa is the Neil Moskowitz Professor of Economics at the University of Maryland and a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institute. Her new book is The Two-Parent Privilege: How the Decline in Marriage Has Increased Inequality and Lowered Social Mobility, and What We Can Do about It.

From the dawn of agriculture in Jericho to the artistic achievements of the Italian Renaissance in Florence, what lessons can we learn from great cities throughout history? What factors give rise to periods of innovation and creativity? In this episode of Political Economy, Chelsea Follett previews her new book, Centers of Progress: 40 Cities That Changed the World.

Chelsea is a policy analyst at the Cato Institute and managing editor of HumanProgress.org.

In the early 20th century, the idea that "big is bad" drove a muscular federal antitrust policy that viewed large corporations with suspicion. Then, in the 1980s, the Federal Trade Commission began to incorporate the lessons of economics, considering the welfare of consumers. Today, the Biden FTC wants to undo the last 40 years of antitrust policy, which it sees as a "failed experiment." Is the Biden administration right? To answer that question, I've brought on Timothy J. Muris.

Tim is a visiting senior fellow here at the American Enterprise Institute and foundation professor at the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University. He served as chairman of the Federal Trade Commission under President George W. Bush. Tim's latest report for AEI is "Neo-Brandeisian Antitrust: Repeating History’s Mistakes."

Does the typical American family today enjoy better living standards compared to 1985? We may have bigger TVs in our living rooms and smartphones in our pockets, but a recent report from Washington, DC, think tank the American Compass suggests the cost of a thriving, middle-class lifestyle has risen over the past generation. To discuss what that report gets right and where it falls short, I'm joined today by Jeremy Horpedahl.

Jeremy is an associate professor of economics at the University of Central Arkansas. He's also the co-author, along with AEI's Scott Winship, of the recent report, "The Cost of Thriving Has Fallen: Correcting and Rejecting the American Compass Cost-of-Thriving Index." That report argues a better methodology shows modest gains for the typical American family.

Recent results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, often called “the nation’s report card,” reveal the dire state of American education. The pandemic hit students hard, but it also presents educators and policymakers with an opportunity to rethink our schools. To discuss that, I’ve brought my colleague Rick Hess back on Political Economy.

Rick is a Senior Fellow and Director of Education Policy Studies here at the American Enterprise Institute. He’s also the author of several fantastic books, the latest of which is the recently released The Great School Rethink.

In this episode of Political Economy, I sit down with economist Leah Boustan to explore the truth behind the prevailing narratives that surround America's immigration policy debates. Are immigrants truly responsible for job loss among native-born Americans? Does immigration burden the US economy? And do today's immigrants assimilate less rapidly than their predecessors? We'll delve into those questions and more.

Leah is a Professor of Economics at Princeton University, where she also serves as the Director of the Industrial Relations Section. Last year, she and Ran Abramitzky wrote the fantastic book Streets of Gold: America's Untold Story of Immigrant Success.

Republicans in the House recently struck a deal with the Biden administration to raise the debt ceiling. But Washington debates over discretionary spending shouldn't overshadow the hard conversations we need to have about America's entitlement spending. Andrew Biggs joins this episode of Political Economy to discuss his ideas for Social Security reform.

Andrew is a senior fellow here at the American Enterprise Institute, where he studies Social Security reform, state and local government pensions, and public sector pay and benefits.