It’s Paul and Goldy’s summer reading list! In this week’s special episode, Civic Ventures Senior Fellow David “Goldy” Goldstein and Civic Ventures Writer Paul Constant recommend some of the hottest new economic and political books for your beach reading pleasure.
We want to know what you’re reading, too. Leave us a comment on Instagram, Twitter, Threads or ... Show More
Apr 28
Crypto, Cryptocurrency Scams, and the Illusion of Easy Money (with Ben McKenzie)
Crypto is back—new hype cycles, rising prices, and fresh promises that this time cryptocurrency is changing the financial system for good. But the questions haven’t changed: is this innovation or just another wave of speculation, scams, and financial fraud? That’s why we’re revis ... Show More
33m 20s
Aug 2025
Escape the EU Bubble: Expert Summer Book Picks
This week, we’re taking a breath. EU Confidential is stepping away from summits, trade battles, and late-night trilogues — and turning to something more refreshing: books. Host Sarah Wheaton is joined by audio producer (and self-confessed book nerd) Dionisios Sturis for this spec ... Show More
35m 28s
Dec 2023
Milton Friedman and the Making of Our Times (w/ Jennifer Burns)
<p>In this episode, Matt and Sam are joined by Stanford historian Jennifer Burns to discuss her new biography of Milton Friedman, the Nobel Prize-winning economist whose influence would reach far beyond the academy when, during his last decades, he became one of the most effectiv ... Show More
1h 37m
Nov 2023
Economic fact in literary fiction
Some of the most influential and beloved novels of the last few years have been about money, finance, and the global economy. Some overtly so, others more subtly. It got to the point where we just had to call up the authors to find out more: What brought them into this world? Wha ... Show More
26m 22s
Mar 2025
Ep105. Neoliberalism: The Ultimate Disorderer? With George Monbiot
Forget Christianity, Judaism, New Age Spirituality, and Buddhism, a new type of religion drives 21st century Western thought. It goes by the shadowy name of Neoliberalism: the commodification of everything; Markets and the private sector ascendent; The deliberate attempt to reduc ... Show More
53m 40s
Jul 2025
Best Of: Barbara Kingsolver on ‘Urban-Rural Antipathy’
<p>“It’s so insidious, people don’t realize it,” Barbara Kingsolver told me, describing the prejudice against “country people.” Kingsolver is one of those “country people,” as well as a literary legend in her own time, who set out to write the “great Appalachian novel.” And I thi ... Show More
1h 1m
<p>Plus, what's so hard about building trains? </p><p><strong>On Today’s Episode:</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/02/business/trump-tariffs-global-stock-markets.html" target="_blank"><strong>Trade War Sets Off ‘Max Pessimism’ in Global Markets as Stocks Pl ... Show More
