Best Microeconomics Podcasts (2025)

1
Hidden Brain: Theory Vs. Reality: Why Our Economic Behavior Isn't Always Rational 50:24

Play Pause

8h ago50:24

50:24

From Hidden Brain: We don't always behave the way economic models say we will. We don't save enough for retirement. We order dessert when we're supposed to be dieting. We give donations when we could keep our money for ourselves. Again and again, we fail to act rationally and selfishly — the way traditional economics expects us to. We've seen this …

1
How to Stop “Ensh*ttification” Before It Kills the Internet - ft. Cory Doctorow 56:10

5d ago56:10

56:10

There’s a word that’s gained a lot of popularity in the last year: “ensh*ttification”. It refers to a trajectory many see with digital platforms: they initially offer immense value to users, only to systematically degrade that quality over time in order to extract maximum surplus for shareholders. We invited the coiner of this term, science fiction…

1
Why Matthew Yglesias Is Skeptical Of Anti-Monopoly Policies 57:48

11d ago57:48

57:48

A recent proposal by Lina Khan, co-chair of Zohran Mamdani's mayoral transition team, to cap the price of beer at stadiums in New York City sparked a debate on X last month. At the center of that debate was Matthew Yglesias, editor and author of the Slow Boring newsletter, who argued that the modern antitrust movement has become "slipshod" and is i…

1
Is the neutral rate of interest going to start climbing after years of decline? 32:43

1d ago32:43

32:43

Monetary and fiscal policymakers use a variety of metrics to inform their decisions, but among the most important is the neutral rate of interest, also known by economists as "r*," a number that isn't directly observable. It represents the prevailing rate of interest in a smooth-running economy, and can be thought of as a target for policymakers. A…

1
Econtalk: Robert Frank on Inequality 1:01:37

6d ago1:01:37

1:01:37

From Econtalk: Robert Frank of Cornell University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about inequality. Is there a role for public policy in mitigating income inequality? Is such intervention justified or effective? The conversation delves into both the philosophical and empirical evidence behind differing answers to these questions. Ultimately, …

1
Throughline: Lives Of The Great Depression 47:37

17d ago47:37

47:37

From Throughline: The Great Depression was a revolutionary spark for all kinds of things — health insurance, social safety nets, big government — all of which were in response to a national crisis. Through the personal accounts of four people who lived during the Great Depression, we look back at what life was like back then and what those stories …

1
Are Big Tech’s Regulators “Cowards”? ft. Tim Wu 1:02:13

26d ago1:02:13

1:02:13

Did you know Amazon makes $37 billion a year—more than double the revenue of all the newspapers in the world combined—from its sponsored results alone? Yes, the same, spammy, sponsored results at the top of a search that bilk shoppers with fake or low-quality items and can starve legitimate businesses of traffic and revenue. This is one of the many…

1
What jobs will be most affected by AI? 37:46

15d ago37:46

37:46

Throughout history, human work has been augmented by technology. But the emergence of artificial intelligence tools have led many to ask whether an unprecedented shift in how we work with technology is imminent. In a new study, researchers used modern AI tools to look back at the recent history of technology's impact on work—which jobs were replace…

1
Vox Talks: Climate shock: the economic consequences of a hotter planet 9:19

22d ago9:19

9:19

From Vox Talks: At the heart of policy debates about our collective responses to climate change is the issue of risk and uncertainty - ‘unknown unknowns’ about the impact of global warming. In this Vox Talk, Gernot Wagner - co-author with Harvard’s Martin L. Weitzman of 'Climate Shock: The Economic Consequences of a Hotter Planet’ - argues for Pigo…

1
Planet Money: Quit Threat 22:37

23d ago22:37

22:37

From Planet Money: On today's show, we ask: What does full employment really look like? NPR sent reporters across the country, including to Ames, Iowa, the city with the lowest unemployment rate, to find out. The unemployment rate is just 3.6% in the U.S., a 50-year low. People think we are at, or near, full employment. That's the lowest the unempl…

1
Why Economists Should Care About Inequality, with Branko Milanovic 46:41

1M ago46:41

46:41

Recently, Bethany and Luigi joined economist and wealth inequality expert Branko Milanovic in front of a live audience at the Aspen Ideas Festival to explore how capitalism, democracy, and income inequality interact. Together, the three discussed the pervasiveness of income inequality around the world, its connections with democracy and political s…

1
Are fertility rates falling because of social comparisons? 22:42

1M ago22:42

22:42

Fertility rates are falling in many countries around the world, with births failing to keep pace with deaths in nearly half of countries. Researchers believe it's possible that the world's population will start shrinking in the near future, and the effects could be catastrophic for institutions like Social Security. A new paper explores a novel exp…

1
Econtalk: Noah Smith on Worker Compensation, Co-determination, and Market Power 1:15:17

1M ago1:15:17

1:15:17

From Econtalk: Bloomberg Opinion columnist and economist Noah Smith talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about corporate control, wages, and monopoly power. Smith discusses the costs and benefits of co-determination--the idea of putting workers on corporate boards. The conversation then moves to a lively discussion of wages and monopoly power and …

1
Nobel Economist Reveals Why Economic Models Keep Failing Us, ft. Richard Thaler 45:59

2M ago45:59

45:59

Standard economic theory informs how we think about business strategy and the economy and presumes that people are selfish, have well-defined preferences, and consistently make welfare-maximizing choices. In other words, we are rational. But what if that is not the case? Nobel Prize-winning economist Richard Thaler is out with an updated edition of…

1
How much is climate change costing US households? 23:04

1M ago23:04

23:04

Studies of the economic impacts of climate change often look at long-term, national costs. A new BPEA study takes a different approach, focusing on the current household level costs attributable to changing weather. The report authors examine a range of impacts, from mortality costs due of wildfire smoke to rising insurance costs along coastlines, …

1
Freakonomics radio: The Most Interesting Fruit in the World (Ep. 375) 41:22

1M ago41:22

41:22

From Freakonomics radio: The banana used to be a luxury good. Now it’s the most popular fruit in the U.S. and elsewhere. But the production efficiencies that made it so cheap have also made it vulnerable to a deadly fungus that may wipe out the one variety most of us eat. Scientists do have a way to save it — but will Big Banana let them?…

1
What Everyone’s Getting Wrong About AI, with Arvind Narayanan 48:30

2M ago48:30

48:30

Every major technological revolution has come with a bubble: railroads, electricity, dot-com. Is it AI’s turn? With investments skyrocketing and market valuations reaching the trillions, the stakes are enormous. But are we witnessing a genuine revolution—or the early stages of a spectacular crash? Princeton professor Arvind Narayanan joins Luigi Zi…

1
How do tariffs hurt the dollar? 25:51

2M ago25:51

25:51

Roughly two thirds of countries on Earth stabilize their currency against the U.S. dollar. The relationship has benefits in both directions: Smaller countries enjoy better stability for their national currencies, and U.S. companies and government get low borrowing rates, among other benefits. But a new BPEA paper, "Trade War and the dollar anchor,"…

1
Freakonomics radio: Why Rent Control Doesn’t Work (Ep. 373) 51:55

2M ago51:55

51:55

From Freakonomics radio: As cities become ever-more expensive, politicians and housing advocates keep calling for rent control. Economists think that’s a terrible idea. They say it helps a small (albeit noisy) group of renters, but keeps overall rents artificially high by disincentivizing new construction. So what happens next?…

1
Why Capitalism Stopped Working In Japan, with Takeo Hoshi 47:55

2M ago47:55

47:55

The Japanese economy was once the envy of the world. By the 1980s, it looked set to surpass the United States in size. Real estate prices were high, the stock market was booming—the entire world was asking if Japan had found a superior model of economic growth and recovery after World War II, one grounded in industrial policy. However, the bubble b…

1
Planet Money: A Bet On The Future Of Humanity (Ep508) 20:31

2M ago20:31

20:31

From Planet Money: A famous biologist, Paul Ehrlich, predicts that overpopulation will lead to global catastrophe. He writes a bestselling book — The Population Bomb — and goes on the Tonight Show to make his case.An economist, Julian Simon, disagrees. He thinks Ehrlich isn't accounting for how clever people can be, and how shortages can lead to ne…

1
WSJ - The Journal: The World Has Too Much Oil 15:06

2M ago15:06

15:06

From WSJ - The Journal: Demand for oil has plummeted as the coronavirus has shut down much of the world, but most producers are still pumping. WSJ's Russell Gold explains the global game of chicken inside the oil industry.

1
How Profit and Politics Hijacked Scientific Inquiry, with John Ioannidis 48:10

3M ago48:10

48:10

Why does a podcast about capitalism want to talk about science? Modern capitalism and science have evolved together since the Enlightenment. Advances in ship building and navigation enabled the Age of Discovery, which opened up new trade routes and markets to European merchants. The invention of the spinning jinny and cotton in the 18th century spu…

1
Planet Money: Why The Price of Coke Didn't Change For 70 years 20:34

3M ago20:34

20:34

From Planet Money: Prices go up. Occasionally, prices go down. But for 70 years, the price of a bottle of Coca-Cola didn't change. From 1886 until the late 1950s, a bottle of coke cost just a nickel. On today's show, we find out why. The answer includes a half a million vending machines, a 7.5 cent coin, and a company president who just wanted to g…

1
Today in Focus (The Guardian): The global race for face masks 27:07

3M ago27:07

27:07

From Today in Focus (The Guardian): The world economy may have dramatically dipped and the price of oil crashed, but one commodity is seeing an unprecedented boom: the face mask. Samanth Subramanian explores the newly distorted marketplace for masks and the lengths some will go to get them When the coronavirus began spreading beyond China in Januar…

1
Will Privatizing The Mortgage Giants Solve The Housing Crisis? 44:58

3M ago44:58

44:58

This week, the Trump administration announced it would sell around 5% of mortgage giants and government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The sale would begin to reintroduce the two firms to private markets after 17 years of government conservatorship. The decision to re-privatize two of the largest mortgage firms in the worl…

1
Planet Money: The Pickle Problem 31:19

3M ago31:19

31:19

From Planet Money: In our second class, we find markets everywhere and discuss what makes them work and when they fail. We start off with the basic tools to understand a market: supply and demand. We find that the price of an item isn't just about money; a price reflects all the information inside a market, from a buyer's willingness to pay to a su…

1
Planet Money: Big Government Cheese 20:14

4M ago20:14

20:14

From Planet Money: In 1976, Jimmy Carter made a campaign promise: I'm giving dairy farmers a break. And after he won, he set out to raise the price of milk. But that's easier said than done. The government couldn't just buy milk. They had to buy something storable that used a lot of milk. So the government started buying up as much cheese as people…

1
Trump's Great Private Equity Bailout, with Dan Rasmussen 54:04

4M ago54:04

54:04

For decades, private equity has been the darling of pension funds, university endowments, and sovereign wealth funds, promising high returns and low volatility. Now, President Donald Trump has made it possible for everyday investors to get in on the magic with his executive order, "Democratizing Access to Alternative Assets for 401(k) Investors.” T…

1
Should Chatbots Teach Our Children? With Khan Academy CEO Sal Khan 44:38

4M ago44:38

44:38

What is the right way, if there is one at all, to integrate artificial intelligence (AI) technology into our education system? For Sal Khan, CEO of one of the world’s largest nonprofit education technology platforms, the answer is to take a step back and ask: Where can AI best complement current pedagogy? If a problem can be solved by pencil and pa…

1
Can The Dollar Be Dethroned?, with Ken Rogoff 57:42

5M ago57:42

57:42

Americans are often told that they benefit from the privilege of the dollar serving as the world's currency. A strong dollar makes imports cheaper, facilitates demand for American companies, and is tied to cheap government borrowing. But what happens when this powerful privilege weakens? What does it even mean for the dollar to be “strong” or “weak…

1
Revealing the Secret Architects of Capitalism, with Chris Hughes 49:27

5M ago49:27

49:27

After the 2008 financial crisis, and especially after the COVID pandemic of 2020, an increasing number of Americans are questioning the wisdom of unregulated markets and envisioning a more active role for the state. Scholars have coined a panoply of neologisms to capture this view of the political economy, including political scientist Steven Vogel…

1
How The Democrats Lost Labor And Found Capital, with David Sirota 49:36

6M ago49:36

49:36

The Democratic Party has become too focused on appeasing its billionaire donors and has failed to communicate its commitment to the working class, argues long-time political journalist David Sirota. The question moving forward, he says, is if the party can ever refocus its brand orthodoxy from prioritizing social and cultural issues to economic pop…

1
Why Cliff Asness Believes Markets Are Getting Dumber 51:24

6M ago51:24

51:24

Are financial markets becoming less efficient? Famous investor Cliff Asness certainly thinks so. In his paper published last year, “The Less-Efficient Market Hypothesis,” Asness argues that social media and low interest rates, among other factors, have distorted market information so that stocks have become disconnected from their true values. This…

1
Do American workers still move to find work? 21:37

6M ago21:37

21:37

Interstate migration has declined in the U.S. in recent decades, suggesting that workers are less likely to move in order to find employment. Such a trend would have significant policy implications for state and local governments, as well as at the federal level. But new research by Andrea Foschi, Christopher L. House, Christian Proebsting, and Lin…