This week, Nick and Goldy have a wide-ranging conversation with Jason Furman, who served as Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers under President Obama. Furman brings a wealth of experience to the discussion, which covers America’s post-

Decoding the Tech Layoff Panic of 2024 (with Jeffrey Shulman)

May 7th, 2024 36m 21s

Even though the American labor market is currently stronger than it has been in decades, earlier this year Big Tech companies were laying off workers at an alarming pace. Economists struggled to understand why some 25,000 tech workers were losi

The True Crime of Wage Theft (with Terri Gerstein)

Apr 9th, 2024 36m 45s

In the shadows of corporate greed and exploitation lies a sinister crime that is silently perpetrated, leaving countless victims in its wake—a crime that affects millions of hardworking Americans every year and sucks billions out of our economy

The Tyranny of Merit (with Michael Sandel)

Sep 26th, 2023 57m 23s

In this wide-ranging conversation with one of our favorite authors, philosopher Michael Sandel explains how the concept of meritocracy has helped to create such a massive divide in American politics and culture. Michael Sandel is a world-reno

It’s not a labor shortage, it’s a wage shortage (with Heidi Shierholz)

May 25th, 2021 30m 42s

You have no doubt seen the scary headlines warning of a “labor shortage” caused by the additional pandemic unemployment insurance payments. The coverage of this story is widespread, even though most economics reporters can find no credible evid

Your non-compete clause is probably illegal (with WA Attorney General Bob Ferguson)

May 18th, 2021 43m

Non-compete clauses, and the lesser-known no-poach agreements between franchises, are shockingly common for low-wage workers. Although these contracts were originally intended to protect trade secrets among high-level executives, they have spir

How banking deregulation makes you unsafe (with Anat Admati)

Jan 5th, 2021 38m 56s

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 b

Why conventional wisdom is finally pushing for higher wages (with Binyamin Appelbaum)

Dec 15th, 2020 39m 1s

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

BONUS: The Haunting of Buchanan Manor

Oct 30th, 2020 12m 45s

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 s

How big pharma keeps drug prices high (with Priti Krishtel and John Arnold)

Jan 7th, 2020 51m 4s

The American pharmaceutical industry is rigged to make a handful people fabulously wealthy while everyone else gets screwed over. Because of intricate patent laws, we pay double what people in 29 other rich countries pay. Experts and change-mak

What is Modern Monetary Theory? (with Stephanie Kelton)

Apr 23rd, 2019 45m 7s

Is government debt real? Is anything real? Professor Stephanie Kelton gives Nick and Goldy a master class on the hottest idea in economics right now: Modern Monetary Theory. Stephanie Kelton is a professor of public policy and economics at Sto

The Failed Southern Economic Development Model (with Chandra Childers)

7 days ago 34m 1s

This week, Goldy and Paul talk to Chandra Childers, a senior policy and economic analyst at the Economic Policy Institute and author of their recent report on the Southern economic development model. Although the Southern economic development m

Democracy in Default (with Brian Judge)

14 days ago 37m 5s

This week, Nick and Goldy are joined by political scientist Brian Judge, author of "Democracy in Default: Finance and the Rise of Neoliberalism in America." They delve into the historical roots of our current democratic crisis, exploring the ro

The FTC's Renewed Fight Against Corporate Power (with Elizabeth Wilkins)

21 days ago 40m 40s

After decades of slow and cautious movement, the Federal Trade Commission has suddenly kicked into overdrive. You’ve likely seen headlines about the FTC challenging corporate mergers and monopolies, loosening Big Tech’s chokehold on our digital

Ours Was the Shining Future (with David Leonhardt)

28 days ago 40m 34s

This week, Nick and Goldy are joined by Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist David Leonhardt to discuss his latest book, Ours Was the Shining Future: The Story of the American Dream. They discuss the relationship between academic economics and the

Unpacking America’s Housing Affordability Crisis (with Whitney Airgood-Obrycki)

May 21st, 2024 37m 54s

This week, Nick and Goldy are joined by Whitney Airgood-Obrycki from the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University to discuss the urgent issue of housing affordability in the United States. Despite its status as the wealthiest coun

Junking Junk Fees (with Rohit Chopra)

May 14th, 2024 38m 28s

This week, Nick and Goldy sit down with Rohit Chopra, the Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, to explore the agency's efforts to lower financial costs for working Americans. From cracking down on credit card late fees to tackl

How to Build a Just Economy (with Nick Romeo)

Apr 30th, 2024 35m 42s

Journalist Nick Romeo joins us to discuss his new book "The Alternative: How to Build a Just Economy." Romeo argues that the conventional economic wisdom has fostered political and economic instability, resulting in widening inequality, environ

The Case Against Extreme Wealth (with Ingrid Robeyns)

Apr 23rd, 2024 45m 23s

This week, Nick and Goldy sit down with ethics professor Ingrid Robeyns to discuss her groundbreaking new book, Limitarianism: The Case Against Extreme Wealth. Robeyns challenges the idea that it’s acceptable to allow extreme wealth concentrati

LIVE from DC: Redefining the Center (with Heather Boushey)

Apr 16th, 2024 31m 41s

This special episode of Pitchfork Economics features a live conversation from the "Redefining the Center: How to Make Middle-Out Economics the New Mainstream" conference hosted by Democracy Journal in Washington, D.C. Heather Boushey, a member

Productivity is a Policy Choice (with Preston Mui)

Apr 2nd, 2024 35m 49s

Preston Mui, Senior Economist at Employ America, recently authored a report titled "The Dream of the 90s is Alive in 2024: How Policy Can Revive Productivity Growth." The report offers a blueprint for policymakers seeking to emulate the success

Why Wages Are Growing From the Bottom Up and Middle Out (with Arin Dube)

Mar 26th, 2024 45m 41s

Today, Arin Dube, Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, joins us to discuss his latest research, which suggests that the American labor market is undergoing a remarkable transformation. The widespread wage inequalit

The True Cost of Trump’s Tax Plan (with Samantha Jacoby)

Mar 19th, 2024 34m 47s

In his State of the Union Address, President Biden made it clear that taxes and tax policy were his next big target for a middle-out makeover. However, we can't talk about the future of taxes without discussing the potential expiration of Trump

Middle Out to Mainstream

Mar 12th, 2024 55m 29s

Eleven years ago, Democracy Journal released a special issue on "The Middle Out Moment" that explored the implications of what was then the brand-new theory of middle-out economics. The moment may not have fully arrived back in 2013, but no dou

Why Americans are so displeased with the economy (with Aaron Sojourner)

Mar 5th, 2024 37m 49s

The latest economic indicators show a historically strong economy. Over the past couple of years, the unemployment rate has consistently stayed below 4%, real wages have been growing faster than they have in decades, and economic growth has bee