Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer

CORE Econ: Rewriting Econ 101 for the Real World (with Suresh Naidu and Wendy Carlin)

Econ 101 shapes how millions of people understand the economy—but what if the textbooks are teaching a worldview that’s outdated, oversimplified, and in some cases flat-out wrong?  This week, Nick and Goldy talk with economists Wendy Carlin and Suresh Naidu, leaders of CORE Econ, the global project rewriting introductory economics to reflect the real world. They explain why the old curriculum failed during the 2008 financial crisis, how CORE foregrounds issues students actually care about—inequality, climate change, and the future of work—and why teaching economics without talking about innovation or power is like teaching physics without gravity. If you’ve ever walked out of an Econ 101 class thinking, “That can’t be how the economy really works,” this episode is your vindication—and your alternative. Suresh Naidu is a professor of economics and international and public affairs at Columbia University, known for his work on labor markets, political economy, and power in the economy. He is a key contributor to CORE Econ, helping shape its emphasis on real-world data, inequality, and institutions. Wendy Carlin is a professor of economics at University College London and one of the world’s leading experts in economic education and the future of macroeconomic policy. She is the co-founder and director of CORE Econ, the global curriculum reform project now used in universities across more than 60 countries. Social Media: @coreeconteam [https://x.com/coreeconteam] @columbia_econ [https://x.com/columbia_econ] Further reading:  CORE - Economics for a changing world [https://www.core-econ.org/] About Core Econ CORE (Curriculum Open-access Resources in Economics) Econ CORE Econ’s vision is that a radically transformed economics education can contribute to a more just, sustainable, and democratic world in which future citizens are empowered by a new economics to understand and debate how best to address pressing societal problems. Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com [http://pitchforkeconomics.com/] Facebook: Pitchfork Economics Podcast [https://www.facebook.com/pitchforkeconomics] Bluesky: @pitchforkeconomics.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/pitchforkeconomics.bsky.social] Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics [https://www.instagram.com/pitchforkeconomics/?hl=en] Threads: pitchforkeconomics [https://www.threads.net/@pitchforkeconomics] TikTok: @pitchfork_econ [https://www.tiktok.com/@pitchfork_econ] YouTube: @pitchforkeconomics [https://www.youtube.com/@pitchforkeconomics] LinkedIn: Pitchfork Economics [https://www.linkedin.com/company/pitchfork-economics/] Twitter: @PitchforkEcon [https://twitter.com/PitchforkEcon], @NickHanauer [https://twitter.com/nickhanauer?lang=en] Substack: ⁠⁠The Pitch⁠⁠ [https://civicventures.substack.com/]

The Quiet Coup: Neoliberalism and the Looting of America (with Mehrsa Baradaran)

Law professor Mehrsa Baradaran joins Nick and Goldy to reveal how neoliberalism wasn’t just a misguided economic theory—it was a “quiet coup” that rewired our laws, courts, and institutions to elevate capital above democracy. Drawing from her new book The Quiet Coup, Professor Baradaran explains how this ideology became like the air we breathe: a pervasive worldview that shapes our politics, our markets, and even the way we understand ourselves. They explore how elite power captured the machinery of government, why the market has become a runaway algorithm fueling inequality, and what it will take to break free from an ideology so deeply embedded we mistake it for common sense. Mehrsa Baradaran is a professor of law at the University of California, Irvine, and one of the nation’s leading experts on banking law, inequality, and the racial wealth gap. She is the author of The Quiet Coup: Neoliberalism and the Looting of America, The Color of Money, and How the Other Half Banks. Her research traces how financial policy, legal structures, and political power shape inequality in the United States. Social Media: @mehrsab.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/mehrsab.bsky.social] Mehrsabaradaran [https://www.instagram.com/mehrsabaradaran/] @MehrsaBaradaran [https://x.com/MehrsaBaradaran] Further reading:  The Quiet Coup: Neoliberalism and the Looting of America [https://bookshop.org/a/101360/9781324091165] The Color of Money [https://bookshop.org/a/101360/9780674237476] How the Other Half Banks [https://bookshop.org/a/101360/9780674983960] Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com [http://pitchforkeconomics.com/] Facebook: Pitchfork Economics Podcast [https://www.facebook.com/pitchforkeconomics] Bluesky: @pitchforkeconomics.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/pitchforkeconomics.bsky.social] Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics [https://www.instagram.com/pitchforkeconomics/?hl=en] Threads: pitchforkeconomics [https://www.threads.net/@pitchforkeconomics] TikTok: @pitchfork_econ [https://www.tiktok.com/@pitchfork_econ] YouTube: @pitchforkeconomics [https://www.youtube.com/@pitchforkeconomics] LinkedIn: Pitchfork Economics [https://www.linkedin.com/company/pitchfork-economics/] Twitter: @PitchforkEcon [https://twitter.com/PitchforkEcon], @NickHanauer [https://twitter.com/nickhanauer?lang=en] Substack: ⁠The Pitch⁠ [https://civicventures.substack.com/]

The Measure of Progress: Counting What Really Matters (with Diane Coyle)

For nearly a century, GDP has been the world’s go-to measure of economic success—but what if it’s been telling us the wrong story? It treats cigarette sales and cancer treatments as equally “good” for the economy, while caring for your kids, volunteering, or creating art don’t count at all. This week, economist Diane Coyle joins Nick and Goldy to discuss her new book, The Measure of Progress, and explain why GDP increasingly fails to capture the reality of modern economies—and how we can measure real progress instead. Diane Coyle is the Bennett Professor of Public Policy at the University of Cambridge. She is also the Research Director at the Bennett School of Public Policy, a member of the UK Government’s Industrial Strategy Council, and author of the new book, The Measure of Progress: Counting What Really Matters [https://bookshop.org/a/101360/9780691179025]. Social Media: @dianecoyle1859.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/dianecoyle1859.bsky.social] @DianeCoyle1859 [https://x.com/dianecoyle1859?lang=en] Further reading:  The Measure of Progress: Counting What Really Matters [https://bookshop.org/a/101360/9780691179025] Beyond GDP? Welfare across Countries and Time [http://klenow.com/Jones_Klenow.pdf] The Economics of Care with Nancy Folbre [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vZEJV3kBQH0] Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com [http://pitchforkeconomics.com/] Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics [https://www.instagram.com/pitchforkeconomics/?hl=en] Threads: pitchforkeconomics [https://www.threads.net/@pitchforkeconomics] Bluesky: @pitchforkeconomics.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/pitchforkeconomics.bsky.social] Twitter: @PitchforkEcon [https://twitter.com/PitchforkEcon], @NickHanauer [https://twitter.com/nickhanauer?lang=en], @civicaction [https://twitter.com/civicaction] YouTube: @pitchforkeconomics [https://www.youtube.com/@pitchforkeconomics] LinkedIn: Pitchfork Economics [https://www.linkedin.com/company/pitchfork-economics/] Substack: The Pitch [https://civicventures.substack.com/]

Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud (with Ben McKenzie)

Actor and author Ben McKenzie didn’t set out to become one of crypto’s fiercest critics—but when the pandemic hit and Hollywood shut down, his curiosity turned into a full-blown investigation. The result was the bestselling book, Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud, a blistering exposé of the crypto craze as “casino capitalism” at its dumbest. In this episode, McKenzie joins Nick and Goldy to explain how the industry turned hype and libertarian fantasy into a trillion-dollar bubble, why the true believers won’t let go, and how fake “innovation” and corporate lobbying are putting the entire financial system at risk. They dig into the cult psychology of crypto, the rise of legalized gambling as an addiction economy, and why letting corporations issue their own “money” could end in disaster. Ben McKenzie is an actor, author, and director best known for his roles on The O.C., Southland, and Gotham. He holds a degree in economics and foreign affairs from the University of Virginia. McKenzie has become one of the most prominent critics of the cryptocurrency industry, co-authoring the book Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud with journalist Jacob Silverman. The premiere of Everyone is Lying to You For Money [https://www.docnyc.net/film/everyone-is-lying-to-you-for-money/] is on Sunday, November 16, 2025, in New York City. Get tickets at DOCNYC.net [https://www.docnyc.net/film/everyone-is-lying-to-you-for-money/]. Social Media: @benmckenzie.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/benmckenzie.bsky.social] mrbenmckenzie [https://www.instagram.com/mrbenmckenzie/] @ben_mckenzie [https://x.com/ben_mckenzie?lang=en] Further reading:  Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud [https://bookshop.org/a/101360/9781419766404] When Prophecy Fails [https://bookshop.org/a/101360/9798880924769] Mistakes Were Made (but Not By Me) [https://bookshop.org/a/101360/9780358329619] New York Magazine: ⁠Congress Just Injected Crypto Directly Into the Most Stable Part of the Economy What could go wrong? [https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/crypto-bill-stablecoins-treasuries-bitcoin-congress-tether-terra-circle.html] Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com [http://pitchforkeconomics.com/] Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics [https://www.instagram.com/pitchforkeconomics/?hl=en] Threads: pitchforkeconomics [https://www.threads.net/@pitchforkeconomics] Bluesky: @pitchforkeconomics.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/pitchforkeconomics.bsky.social] Twitter: @PitchforkEcon [https://twitter.com/PitchforkEcon], @NickHanauer [https://twitter.com/nickhanauer?lang=en] YouTube: @pitchforkeconomics [https://www.youtube.com/@pitchforkeconomics] LinkedIn: Pitchfork Economics [https://www.linkedin.com/company/pitchfork-economics/] Substack: ⁠The Pitch⁠ [https://civicventures.substack.com/]

Stock Buybacks and the Trillion Dollar Heist (with Senator Cory Booker)

Corporations are on track to spend more than $1.3 trillion on stock buybacks this year—money that could have gone toward higher wages, innovation, or community investment. That’s the real-life Trillion Dollar Heist at the center of our new comic from Civic Ventures, which follows Marta, a janitor who interrupts a corporate board meeting just as executives plot their next billion-dollar buyback spree. This week, we’re resharing our 2019 conversation with Senator Cory Booker, who explains how stock buybacks went from illegal market manipulation to one of the biggest drivers of inequality.  Read the Trillion Dollar Heist Comic: https://bindings.app/read/7mINYO2H [https://bindings.app/read/7mINYO2H] This episode originally aired February 26, 2019.  Senator Cory Booker is a Democratic lawmaker from New Jersey who has served in the U.S. Senate since 2013. A Rhodes Scholar and Yale Law graduate, he began his career on the Newark City Council before serving as mayor from 2006 to 2013. In the Senate, Booker has focused on criminal justice reform, economic opportunity, climate action, and protecting civil and LGBTQ+ rights. Social Media: Marta  [https://www.instagram.com/marta_heist/] Paul Constant  [http://paulconstant.com/] Sarah Star Litt [https://www.instagram.com/sarahstarlitt] Alan Robinson [https://linktr.ee/alanrobinsonr]  Pippa Bowland [https://www.instagram.com/pippabowland] AndWorld Design [https://www.instagram.com/andworlddesign] Mary P. Traverse [https://www.instagram.com/maryptraverse] Further reading:  Trillion Dollar Heist Comic [https://bindings.app/read/7mINYO2H] Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com [http://pitchforkeconomics.com/] Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics [https://www.instagram.com/pitchforkeconomics/?hl=en] Threads: pitchforkeconomics [https://www.threads.net/@pitchforkeconomics] Bluesky: @pitchforkeconomics.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/pitchforkeconomics.bsky.social] Twitter: @PitchforkEcon [https://twitter.com/PitchforkEcon], @NickHanauer [https://twitter.com/nickhanauer?lang=en], @civicaction [https://twitter.com/civicaction] YouTube: @pitchforkeconomics [https://www.youtube.com/@pitchforkeconomics] LinkedIn: Pitchfork Economics [https://www.linkedin.com/company/pitchfork-economics/] Substack: ⁠The Pitch⁠ [https://civicventures.substack.com/]