Economist Milton Friedman published an essay in 1970 arguing that the job of a corporation was solely to make money for its shareholders. General Electric CEO Jack Welch pushed that idea about as far as it would go — and broke capitalism.
This episode was produced by Miles Bryan, edited by Matt Collette, fact-checked by Laura Bullard, engineered by Patrick B ... Show More
Jan 2023
Revisiting the "father of capitalism"
Sean Illing talks with Glory Liu, the author of Adam Smith’s America: How a Scottish Philosopher became an Icon of American Capitalism. Smith is most well-known for being the “father of capitalism,” but as Liu points out in her book, his legacy has been misappropriated — especial ... Show More
51m 34s
Jul 2022
How middlemen took over the economy
Vox's Emily Stewart talks with Kathryn Judge, professor at Columbia Law School and author of the new book Direct: The Rise of Middleman Economy and the Power of Going to the Source. They discuss how middlemen — which include real estate agents, stock brokers, but also Amazon and ... Show More
1h 4m
Mar 2023
How corporations got all your data
Sean Illing speaks with Matthew Jones, historian of science and technology, and co-author (with data scientist Chris Wiggins) of the new book How Data Happened. They discuss the surprisingly long history of data from the 18th century to today, in service of explaining how we woun ... Show More
52m 50s
Aug 2023
If The Economy Is So Good, Why Are People So Mad?
Inflation is way down, the U.S. is faring better than other major economies, and people broadly say their own personal financial situation is good. So why are people so down on the economy?This episode: voting correspondent Miles Parks, White House correspondent Tamara Keith, and ... Show More
10m 16s