Best Econ 101 Podcasts (2026)

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The Story That Built Today’s Economy (with George Monbiot and Binyamin Appelbaum) 1:00:59

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2d ago1:00:59

1:00:59

Most people buy the fiction that markets are “natural,” inequality is inevitable, and government should step aside — but where did that idea come from? In this episode from 2019, Nick and Goldy talk with English journalist George Monbiot and American journalist and author Binyamin Appelbaum about how neoliberalism was deliberately built and sold — …

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Conversation, Interintellect, and Arcadia (with Anna Gat) 1:22:15

1d ago1:22:15

1:22:15

If technology is ruining the art of conversation, maybe it can save it, too. Anna Gat--poet, screenwriter, playwright, and founder of Interintellect--talks with EconTalk's Russ Roberts on how she's reviving the French salon in the digital age. They discuss why authority, moderation, and clear formats make conversation freer, not more constrained. T…

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How Economists Cause Harm Even as They Aspire to Do Good (with George DeMartino) 39:23

9d ago39:23

39:23

For more than a century, economists have told us they’re simply “describing the world as it is.” But what if their theories aren’t neutral — and are quietly doing enormous harm? This week, we’re joined by economist George DeMartino, author of The Tragic Science, who makes a devastating case that modern economics has helped legitimize policies that …

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In Defense of Intuition (with Gerd Gigerenzer) 58:16

8d ago58:16

58:16

Psychologist Gerd Gigerenzer explains the power of intuition, how intuition became gendered, what he thinks Kahneman and Tversky's research agenda got wrong, and why it's a mistake to place intuition and conscious thinking on opposing ends of the cognition spectrum. Topics he discusses in this wide-ranging conversation with EconTalk's Russ Roberts …

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If America Is “Winning,” Why Does the Economy Feel Like This? (with Talmon Joseph Smith) 40:58

16d ago40:58

40:58

America has never been wealthier—so why does it feel so hard to get by? New York Times economics reporter Talmon Joseph Smith joins Nick and Goldy this week to unpack the growing gap between economic headlines and the lived reality of most Americans. With nearly $200 trillion in national wealth and half the country holding just a sliver of it, they…

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David Deutsch on the Pattern 1:26:16

15d ago1:26:16

1:26:16

A world-class physicist makes a shocking claim: across 2,500 years and every kind of society, there has been a recurring moral exception carved out just for Jews--the idea that hurting Jews is, in some sense, legitimate. Most of the time, this doesn't erupt into pogroms. Instead, it lives as a background permission: a readiness to excuse, minimize,…

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The Right of the People: Democracy and the Case for a New American Founding (with Osita Nwanevu) 43:07

23d ago43:07

43:07

Extreme inequality and democratic decline aren’t separate crises—they’re the same crisis. This week, Osita Nwanevu joins Paul and Goldy to explain how America’s constitutional design, corporate power, and decades of upward redistribution have eroded both political and economic freedom. He outlines what real democratic governance would mean inside g…

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Free Will Is Real (with Kevin Mitchell) 1:32:27

22d ago1:32:27

1:32:27

Are we truly characters with agency, or are we just playing out our programming in the great video game of life? Contrary to those in his field who claim that free will is an illusion, neuroscientist Kevin Mitchell insists that we're agents who wield our decision-making mechanism for our own purposes. Listen as the author of Free Agents: How Evolut…

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From Abundance to Enshittification: 2025’s Must-Read Economics Books 31:14

29d ago31:14

31:14

This week, Paul and Goldy look back at the most notable economics books of the year. They discuss Ezra Klein and David Thompson’s Abundance, Cory Doctorow’s blistering Enshittification, Thomas Piketty’s new works on inequality, Diane Coyle’s fresh take on GDP, and the overlooked history behind the Garland Fund. Whether you’re hunting for a holiday …

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Colonialism, Slavery, and Foreign Aid (with William Easterly) 1:04:02

1M ago1:04:02

1:04:02

Can the promise of economic progress ever justify conquest, coercion, and control over other people’s lives? Economist William Easterly joins EconTalk's Russ Roberts to argue no--and to rethink what "development" really means in theory, in history, and in our politics today. Drawing on his new book, Violent Saviors: The West's Conquest of the Rest,…

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CORE Econ: Rewriting Econ 101 for the Real World (with Suresh Naidu and Wendy Carlin) 36:54

1M ago36:54

36:54

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 rea…

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The Perfect Tuba: How Band, Grit, and Community Build a Better Life (with Sam Quinones) 1:00:43

1M ago1:00:43

1:00:43

Journalist and author Sam Quinones talks about his newest book, The Perfect Tuba: Forging Fulfillment from the Brass Horn, Band, and Hard Work with EconTalk's Russ Roberts. Known for his reporting on the opioid crisis, Quinones turns to a more uplifting subject--the world of tuba players and high school marching bands. What begins as curiosity abou…

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Fullerton’s journey from Wall Street to Regenerative Economics 1:18:03

1M ago1:18:03

1:18:03

In this episode of Economics and Beyond, Rob Johnson and John Fullerton discuss his new book, Regenerative Economics which explores flaws in traditional economic thinking, and the need for a new framework that views the economy as a living system. They discuss the contradictions in financial theory, the role of chaos and stability, and the import…

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The Quiet Coup: Neoliberalism and the Looting of America (with Mehrsa Baradaran) 48:25

1M ago48:25

48:25

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 p…

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The Status Game (with Will Storr) 1:01:11

1M ago1:01:11

1:01:11

Will Storr talks about his book The Status Game with EconTalk host Russ Roberts, exploring how our deep need for respect and recognition shapes our behavior. The conversation delves into how we constantly judge others and compare ourselves to them, the pain of losing status, and the freedom of escaping judgment. Storr and Roberts discuss how status…

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The Measure of Progress: Counting What Really Matters (with Diane Coyle) 36:00

2M ago36:00

36:00

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 d…

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The Wonder of the Emergent Mind (with Gaurav Suri) 1:39:40

2M ago1:39:40

1:39:40

How is your brain like an ant colony? They both use simple parts following simple rules which allows the whole to be so much more than the sum of the parts. Listen as neuroscientist and author Gaurav Suri explains how the mind emerges from the neural network of the brain, why habits form, why intuition often knows before language does, and why our …

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Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud (with Ben McKenzie) 32:52

2M ago32:52

32:52

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 “…

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Shampoo, Property Rights, and Civilization (with Anthony Gill) 1:08:19

2M ago1:08:19

1:08:19

Why is it okay to take the little shampoo bottles in hotels home with you but not the towels? And what stops people from taking the towels? Listen as political scientist Anthony Gill discusses the enforcement of property rights with EconTalk's Russ Roberts. Backing up their observations with insights from Adam Smith, Friedrich Hayek, and our everyd…

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Stock Buybacks and the Trillion Dollar Heist (with Senator Cory Booker) 39:42

2M ago39:42

39:42

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 exe…

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Primal Intelligence (with Angus Fletcher) 1:20:41

2M ago1:20:41

1:20:41

What do Shakespeare, Hollywood storytelling, and military special operations have in common? They all excel at inventing new plans, or improvising when we're facing radical uncertainty. Listen as professor of story science Angus Fletcher tells EconTalk's Russ Roberts how we've misdefined intelligence, equating it with data--driven reasoning in plac…

Econ 101 Podcasts

1
Think Like An Economist

Betsey Stevenson & Justin Wolfers

1
EconTalk

Russ Roberts

1
Economics & Beyond with Rob Johnson

Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET)

1
Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer

Civic Ventures

1
Business 101

University of Oregon Lundquist College of Business

1
The Story That Built Today’s Economy (with George Monbiot and Binyamin Appelbaum) 1:00:59

1
Conversation, Interintellect, and Arcadia (with Anna Gat) 1:22:15

1
How Economists Cause Harm Even as They Aspire to Do Good (with George DeMartino) 39:23

1
In Defense of Intuition (with Gerd Gigerenzer) 58:16

1
If America Is “Winning,” Why Does the Economy Feel Like This? (with Talmon Joseph Smith) 40:58

1
David Deutsch on the Pattern 1:26:16

1
The Right of the People: Democracy and the Case for a New American Founding (with Osita Nwanevu) 43:07

1
Free Will Is Real (with Kevin Mitchell) 1:32:27

1
From Abundance to Enshittification: 2025’s Must-Read Economics Books 31:14

1
Colonialism, Slavery, and Foreign Aid (with William Easterly) 1:04:02

1
CORE Econ: Rewriting Econ 101 for the Real World (with Suresh Naidu and Wendy Carlin) 36:54

1
The Perfect Tuba: How Band, Grit, and Community Build a Better Life (with Sam Quinones) 1:00:43

1
Fullerton’s journey from Wall Street to Regenerative Economics 1:18:03

1
The Quiet Coup: Neoliberalism and the Looting of America (with Mehrsa Baradaran) 48:25

1
The Status Game (with Will Storr) 1:01:11

1
The Measure of Progress: Counting What Really Matters (with Diane Coyle) 36:00

1
The Wonder of the Emergent Mind (with Gaurav Suri) 1:39:40

1
Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud (with Ben McKenzie) 32:52

1
Shampoo, Property Rights, and Civilization (with Anthony Gill) 1:08:19

1
Stock Buybacks and the Trillion Dollar Heist (with Senator Cory Booker) 39:42

1
Primal Intelligence (with Angus Fletcher) 1:20:41