The American Compass Podcast

On this episode, Oren Cass is joined by Harry Marino, founder and president of Sports Solidarity, who led the successful effort last year to unionize Minor League Baseball. The two discuss how Marino's time in the minors made him realize a union was needed, his successful campaign to win recognition for that union from Major League Baseball, and how the lessons he learned can be applied beyond sports.

To learn more about Marino's effort, read this profile of him from the University of Virginia Law School, his alma mater. 

On this episode, University of Winchester professor and economist Richard Werner joins Oren Cass for a discussion on monetary policy. The two discuss where money comes from, the ways that government policy can help and hurt markets, and how to differentiate between productive and non-productive finance.

For more, read his latest book, Where Does Money Come From? A Guide to the UK Monetary and Banking System.

On this episode, Senator Todd Young (R-IN) joins Oren Cass for a conversation about the CHIPS Act on the two-year anniversary of its passage. They discuss its ongoing implementation, where those efforts have fallen short or been supplanted by unrelated policy objectives, and what policymakers need to do to revitalize American manufacturing more broadly.

For more, read our Compass Point essay revisiting the CHIPS Act, by policy director Chris Griswold, "Chipping Away." 

On this episode, author and academic Michael Lind joins Oren Cass for a wide-ranging conversation about the U.S. economy. The two discuss the merits of tariffs, the public purpose of markets and market power, and how best to provide social insurance.

For more, read Lind's recent Compass Point essay, "So What If Tariffs Are Taxes?," and check out his latest book, Hell to Pay: How the Suppression of Wages is Destroying America.

And click here for the "oddly specific Kamala Harris policy generator."

On this episode, author and founder of Breakout Capital Ruchir Sharma joins Oren Cass to discuss the consequences when markets fail. The two walk through the history of government intervention in the market, the problems with over-regulation, and how a more populist economics could provide a corrective.

For more, check out Sharma's latest book, What Went Wrong with Capitalism.

On this episode, Ethics and Public Policy Center senior fellow Henry Olsen joins Oren Cass to discuss the selection of JD Vance as Donald Trump's vice presidential candidate and what the move means for the future of conservatism. Henry and Oren talk through the history of conservative support for government intervention, how Reagan's legacy was co-opted by libertarians, and how Vance can help get American economics back on track.

For more, read Batya Ungar-Sargon's response to the Vance pick on The Commons, "J.D. Vance: The Populist Choice."

On this episode, host Oren Cass takes the guest seat to discuss his recent Compass Point essay about electric vehicles, “The Electric Slide.” 

Cass and managing editor Drew Holden discuss America’s electric vehicle policy and its limitations, the threat of China dominating the global market, and why conservatives—long critical of the technology—should embrace an alternate approach that could help restore American manufacturing, regardless of EV adoption. 

For more, read Oren’s Compass Point essay,  “The Electric Slide.” 

On this episode of the American Compass Podcast, Oren Cass is joined by Dean W. Ball, research fellow at the Mercatus Center's Artificial Intelligence & Progress Project, to discuss the future of American manufacturing. The two evaluate what AI could mean for domestic manufacturing, the prospect of reindustrialization, and how frontier technologies could allow the U.S. to leapfrog China in critical technology.

For more, read Ball's recent Compass Point essay, "Move Fast and Make Things," and subscribe to his newsletter, Hyperdimensional.

On this episode of the American Compass Podcast, Newsweek opinion editor Batya Ungar-Sargon joins Oren Cass for a wide-ranging conversation about the politics of working-class Americans. The two discuss her new book, Second Class: How the Elites Betrayed America’s Working Men and Women, and how the political beliefs of working-class Americans have changed in recent years.

For more, check out Second Class: How the Elites Betrayed America’s Working Men and Women, out now.

On this episode, Wall Street Journal reporter Dana Mattioli joins Oren Cass to discuss her new book about how Amazon has ruthlessly bullied its way to dominating nearly every industry and the implications of its anti-competitive actions on corporate power and regulation, as well as the current Federal Trade Commission case against the company.

For more, check out The Everything War, out now.