Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer

This week, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed joins Nick and Goldy to discuss how the recent assassination of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson has thrown a harsh spotlight on the public's visceral anger toward our exploitative healthcare system. Dr. El-Sayed outlines the stark contrasts between the profit-driven U.S. healthcare system and those of other developed nations, arguing that we need a public option to alleviate the burdens of skyrocketing costs and access issues. Goldy also explains how the warnings from Nick’s viral POLITICO piece from 10 years ago, “The Pitchforks Are Coming For Us Plutocrats,” feel eerily prescient, as the public reaction to Thompson’s death was a mix of hailing the shooter as a hero, outrage, and people sharing their personal healthcare horror stories online. Is it possible that America’s healthcare system is having its own pitchforks moment? Dr. Abdul El-Sayed is a physician, epidemiologist, and public servant whose work focuses on health equity, resiliency, and environmental justice. He is the host of America Dissected, Crooked Media’s podcast that explores the intersection of health and society with leading experts in science, public health, and policy. Abdul is also the author of Healing Politics and Medicare for All: A Citizen’s Guide, and he serves as a visiting scientist at Harvard’s FXB Center for Health & Human Rights, as well as a Scholar in Residence at Wayne State University and American University. Social Media BlueSky: @abdulelsayed.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/abdulelsayed.bsky.social] Instagram: abdulelsayed [https://www.instagram.com/abdulelsayed] Threads: abdulelsayed [https://www.threads.net/@abdulelsayed] Twitter:  @AbdulElSayed [https://x.com/AbdulElSayed] Further reading:  America Dissected  [https://crooked.com/podcast-series/america-dissected/] Healing Politics: A Doctor's Journey Into the Heart of Our Political Epidemic [https://bookshop.org/a/101360/9781419747908] Medicare for All: A Citizen's Guide [https://bookshop.org/a/101360/9780190056629]    Nick’s OpEd in POLITICO: The Pitchforks Are Coming… For Us Plutocrats [https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/06/the-pitchforks-are-coming-for-us-plutocrats-108014/] Nick’s Ted Talk: Beware, fellow plutocrats, the pitchforks are coming [https://www.ted.com/talks/nick_hanauer_beware_fellow_plutocrats_the_pitchforks_are_coming?subtitle=en] 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/]

This week, Nick and Goldy interview a Pitchfork Economics first: a sitting President of the United States. President Joe Biden joins the podcast for a conversation about the transformative economic vision at the heart of his presidency. Biden shares how his groundbreaking middle-out economic policies—investing in workers, rebuilding infrastructure, and revitalizing American industries—are reshaping the economy and creating a legacy of shared prosperity. From empowering unions to creating good-paying jobs and boosting wages, the President underscores why a thriving middle class isn’t just the foundation of a strong economy—it’s the engine that drives it. This is an insightful discussion with the leader who has helped turn the page on five decades of failed economic theory, breaking the suffocating DC economic consensus in favor of prioritizing working Americans. Joseph R. Biden is the 46th President of the United States.  Social Media: Facebook: Joe Biden [https://www.facebook.com/joebiden] Instagram: joebiden [https://www.instagram.com/joebiden/] Threads: joebiden [https://www.threads.net/@joebiden] Twitter: @JoeBiden [https://x.com/JoeBiden] Further reading:  President Biden in The American Prospect: From the Middle Out and Bottom Up [https://prospect.org/economy/2024-12-16-biden-from-the-middle-out-and-bottom-up/] A New Economics Takes Hold [https://democracyjournal.org/magazine/72/a-new-economics-takes-hold/] 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/]

This week, Nick and Goldy explore why the market alone can’t solve the U.S. housing crisis with Sandeep Vaheesan and Brian Callaci from the Open Markets Institute. The guests discuss their recent article in the Harvard Business Review, which explains how profit-driven private markets fail to address housing affordability, particularly for lower-income individuals. Their discussion underscores the drawbacks of deregulation and the need for strong antitrust enforcement, second-generation rent controls, enhanced tenant protections, and a public option for housing to ensure stability and affordability. Vaheesan and Callaci also stress the significance of understanding the interconnected issues of supply, demand, and the socioeconomic factors driving the crisis, arguing that without proactive governmental intervention the housing market cannot effectively meet the needs of those seeking affordable housing. Sandeep Vaheesan is the legal director at the Open Markets Institute. He leads the institute’s legal advocacy and research on a range of anti-monopoly topics, including antitrust law’s role in structuring labor markets and promoting fair competition. Before working at the Open Markets Institute, he served as regulations counsel at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, where he helped develop rules on payday and title lending and debt collection practices.  Brian Callaci is the chief economist at the Open Markets Institute. He researches and writes about market structure, antitrust law, and their relationship to worker and employer power. In addition to peer-reviewed academic research, he publishes articles in news outlets such as The Atlantic, Harvard Business Review, and The New Republic. Before working at the Open Markets Institute, he worked at the Strategic Organizing Center and Workers United/SEIU. Social Media:  Sandeep Vaheesan on Twitter: @sandeepvaheesan [https://x.com/sandeepvaheesan] Brian Callaci on Twitter: @brian_callaci [https://x.com/brian_callaci] Open Markets Institute on BlueSky: @openmarkets.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/openmarkets.bsky.social] Open Markets Institute on Twitter: @openmarkets [https://x.com/openmarkets] Further reading:  The Market Alone Can’t Fix the U.S. Housing Crisis [https://hbr.org/2024/09/the-market-alone-cant-fix-the-u-s-housing-crisis] Zoning change: Upzonings, downzonings, and their impacts on residential construction, [https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/2023-04/Zoning%20Change%20pre%20print%20version.pdf] housing costs, and neighborhood demographics [https://www.urban.org/sites/default/files/2023-04/Zoning%20Change%20pre%20print%20version.pdf] 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/]

This week, Gregg Colburn, co-author of "Homelessness is a Housing Problem," joins Nick and Goldy to dissect the complex factors fueling America’s homelessness crisis. Colburn presents compelling evidence that challenges common misconceptions around homelessness, revealing that it stems primarily from the rising costs of housing rather than issues like addiction or mental illness. He explains that evidence shows comprehensive strategies—combining affordable housing, rental assistance, and supportive services—can meaningfully reduce numbers in the unhoused population. While acknowledging the long-term nature of the challenge, Colburn reframes housing as essential infrastructure, calls for big investments in building more housing units, and offers a compelling, data-driven case for rethinking America’s approach to homelessness and housing affordability. Gregg Colburn is an associate professor of real estate at the University of Washington’s College of Built Environments. He publishes research on topics related to housing and homelessness and is co-author of the book Homelessness is a Housing Problem: How Structural Factors Explain U.S. Patterns. Professor Colburn is co-chair of the University of Washington’s Homelessness Research Initiative and is a member of the National Alliance to End Homelessness Research Council. Further reading:  Homelessness is a Housing Problem: How Structural Factors Explain U.S. Patterns  [https://bookshop.org/a/101360/9780520383784] 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/]

This week, Nick and Goldy discuss the concept of social housing with Vox Policy Correspondent Rachel Cohen. They explore how local government investments in mixed-income housing can keep cities affordable for the middle class. Drawing from her reporting, Cohen spotlights the innovative social housing experiment in Montgomery County, Maryland, which demonstrates how well-designed public housing can rival private market options without falling prey to stigma or inefficiency. They also explore the financial benefits of publicly owned housing and its potential to alleviate the widespread housing crisis by providing a sustainable, scalable solution that benefits low- and middle-income earners by delivering lasting affordability. Rachel Cohen is a policy correspondent for Vox Media. She focuses on U.S. social policy, covering issues such as education, abortion, economic policy, and housing. Rachel has been covering social policy issues for more than a decade, with her reporting published in more than two dozen national outlets, including the New York Times, the Atlantic, Bloomberg, the Daily Beast, and the Washington Post. Social Media: @rmc031 [https://twitter.com/rmc031] @rachelmcohen.bsky.social [https://bsky.app/profile/rachelmcohen.bsky.social] Further reading:  What if public housing were for everyone? [https://www.vox.com/policy/2024/2/10/24065342/social-housing-public-housing-affordable-crisis] One possible housing crisis solution? A new kind of public housing for all income levels [https://www.npr.org/2024/10/07/nx-s1-5119633/housing-crisis-solution-public-housing-mixed-income-maryland] An Innovative Financing Model for Affordable Housing [https://www.probuilder.com/design/house-styles/multifamily/article/55229177/an-innovative-financing-model-for-affordable-housing] 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/]