We The Podcast

For years, millions of Americans were frightened of two words: pre-existing conditions. Before the Affordable Care Act, private insurance could deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions. That's what Republicans want to return to.

To learn more about about pre-existing conditions and what could happen if the Republican proposal becomes law, I talked with Andy Slavitt, the former Administrator of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services under President Obama.

Music by: Podington Bear

A few weeks ago, we learned that Amazon is buying Whole Foods for $13 billion. When big firms merge, it drives up market concentration. But how does that affect working people or local businesses?

I talked with my friend Rep. Ro Khanna about market concentration and how it hurts working families.

Music by: Podington Bear

Six bucks. That’s all someone working full-time at the federal minimum wage would have left over after paying the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in the United States of America. It’s time to give America a raise. It’s time to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour. And how about a union?

This is the story of the Fight for $15 and a Union.

Music by: Podington Bear

Women experience the economy different than men. They pay more for everything from clothes and hygiene products, to dry cleaning and vehicle repairs. This is called "the pink tax".

Terry O'Neill is the President of the National Organization for Women, one of our oldest and best feminist organizations in this country. She stopped by my office to talk on a number of issues and how we can get women the equality they deserve.

Music by: Keith Ellison and Podington Bear

The transgender community is more visible than ever. But this increased visibility hasn’t improved the lives of all transgender people. Nationwide, violence against trans people – and trans women in particular – is at an all-time high. This sort of violence has far-reaching repercussions – high unemployment, difficulty accessing lifesaving healthcare, housing instability, and educational barriers. And we need to stop thinking of these injustices as separate from our economic lives.

Music by: Keith Ellison and Podington Bear

Unions raise wages and worker protections for everybody – even if you’re not in a union! These jobs aren’t so simple either. It takes a lot of training to do what these men and women do every day. But as our education system becomes more and more out of reach, it’s getting harder and harder for men and women who want to work with their hands to get the training they need. Enter the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades District Council 82.

Music by: Keith Ellison and Podington Bear

There are millions of women around the country fighting for equal pay, for better working conditions, for an end to sexual harassment. But in an age of extreme right wing politics – the age of President Trump – what can we do to make our society better? I talked to some of the women who are leading that fight.

Music by: Podington Bear and Keith Ellison

Millions of Americans lack credit scores or have scores that are too low to gain access to affordable credit. The problem affects young people, African-Americans, Latinos and immigrants, many of whom can't establish a credit score without taking on debt. We can solve that problem by expanding what is on a person's credit report.

Music by: Keith Ellison and Podington Bear

Two years ago, we started We the Podcast so we could tell stories about how people engage with the economy. Twenty-three episodes and 75,000 downloads later, we’ve covered everything from union organizing to payday loans to tax havens. With Election Day right around the corner, I decided to take a look back at past episodes and some of the issues that are at stake on Tuesday.

Music by: Keith Ellison and Podington Bear

Just last month, we found out that Wells Fargo Bank committed a years-long scam that stole from their customers, inflated their stock price, and lined the pockets of their top level executives. Then, those same executives pinned the whole thing on their low-level employees, thousands of whom were fired from their jobs.

I sat down with Ruth Landaverde. She worked at Wells Fargo and Bank of America and saw first hand what a high-pressure sales culture can do to a person.

Music by: Keith Ellison and Poddington Bear