Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer

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

  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 gift for the wonk in the family or looking to understand the ideas driving today’s political economy, this episode is full of must-reads.  Must-Read Economics Books 2025 Abundance by Ezra Klein and David Thompson Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It by Cory Doctorow Equality Is a Struggle by Thomas Piketty Nature, Culture, and Inequality by Thomas Piketty Equality: What It Means and Why It Matters by Thomas Piketty and Michael J. Sandel The Measure of Progress: Counting What Really Matters by Diane Coyle The Radical Fund: How a Band of Visionaries and a Million Dollars Upended America by John Fabian Witt Honorable Mention Ricardo’s Dream: How Economists Forgot the Real World and Led Us Astray By Nat Dyer  Why Information Grows: The Evolution of Order, from Atoms to Economies by Cesar Hidalgo  Coming Up Short: A Memoir of My America by Robert Reisch  Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist Liz Pelly  Other Books Mentioned in Episode Homelessness is a Housing Problem by Greg Colburn & Clayton Page Aldern Why Nothing Works: Who Killed Progress--And How to Bring It Back by Marc Dunkelman Capital in the 21st Century by Thomas Piketty The Gardens of Democracy: A New American Story of Citizenship, the Economy, and the Role of Government by Nick Hanauer & Eric Liu  Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx  Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com Facebook: Pitchfork Economics Podcast Bluesky: @pitchforkeconomics.bsky.social Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Threads: pitchforkeconomics TikTok: @pitchfork_econ YouTube: @pitchforkeconomics LinkedIn: Pitchfork Economics Twitter: @PitchforkEcon, @NickHanauer Substack: ⁠The Pitch⁠

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

  Econ 101 shapes how millions of people understand the economy—but what if the textbooks are teaching a worldview that’s outdated, oversimplified, and in some cases flat-out wrong?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 real world. They explain why the old curriculum failed during the 2008 financial crisis, how CORE foregrounds issues students actually care about—inequality, climate change, and the future of work—and why teaching economics without talking about innovation or power is like teaching physics without gravity. If you’ve ever walked out of an Econ 101 class thinking, “That can’t be how the economy really works,” this episode is your vindication—and your alternative. Suresh Naidu is a professor of economics and international and public affairs at Columbia University, known for his work on labor markets, political economy, and power in the economy. He is a key contributor to CORE Econ, helping shape its emphasis on real-world data, inequality, and institutions. Wendy Carlin is a professor of economics at University College London and one of the world’s leading experts in economic education and the future of macroeconomic policy. She is the co-founder and director of CORE Econ, the global curriculum reform project now used in universities across more than 60 countries. Social Media: @coreeconteam @columbia_econ Further reading:  CORE - Economics for a changing world About Core Econ CORE (Curriculum Open-access Resources in Economics) Econ CORE Econ’s vision is that a radically transformed economics education can contribute to a more just, sustainable, and democratic world in which future citizens are empowered by a new economics to understand and debate how best to address pressing societal problems. Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com Facebook: Pitchfork Economics Podcast Bluesky: @pitchforkeconomics.bsky.social Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Threads: pitchforkeconomics TikTok: @pitchfork_econ YouTube: @pitchforkeconomics LinkedIn: Pitchfork Economics Twitter: @PitchforkEcon, @NickHanauer Substack: ⁠⁠The Pitch⁠⁠

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

  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 pervasive worldview that shapes our politics, our markets, and even the way we understand ourselves. They explore how elite power captured the machinery of government, why the market has become a runaway algorithm fueling inequality, and what it will take to break free from an ideology so deeply embedded we mistake it for common sense. Mehrsa Baradaran is a professor of law at the University of California, Irvine, and one of the nation’s leading experts on banking law, inequality, and the racial wealth gap. She is the author of The Quiet Coup: Neoliberalism and the Looting of America, The Color of Money, and How the Other Half Banks. Her research traces how financial policy, legal structures, and political power shape inequality in the United States. Social Media: @mehrsab.bsky.social Mehrsabaradaran @MehrsaBaradaran Further reading:  The Quiet Coup: Neoliberalism and the Looting of America The Color of Money How the Other Half Banks Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com Facebook: Pitchfork Economics Podcast Bluesky: @pitchforkeconomics.bsky.social Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Threads: pitchforkeconomics TikTok: @pitchfork_econ YouTube: @pitchforkeconomics LinkedIn: Pitchfork Economics Twitter: @PitchforkEcon, @NickHanauer Substack: ⁠The Pitch⁠

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

  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 discuss her new book, The Measure of Progress, and explain why GDP increasingly fails to capture the reality of modern economies—and how we can measure real progress instead. Diane Coyle is the Bennett Professor of Public Policy at the University of Cambridge. She is also the Research Director at the Bennett School of Public Policy, a member of the UK Government’s Industrial Strategy Council, and author of the new book, The Measure of Progress: Counting What Really Matters. Social Media: @dianecoyle1859.bsky.social @DianeCoyle1859 Further reading:  The Measure of Progress: Counting What Really Matters Beyond GDP? Welfare across Countries and Time The Economics of Care with Nancy Folbre Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Threads: pitchforkeconomics Bluesky: @pitchforkeconomics.bsky.social Twitter: @PitchforkEcon, @NickHanauer, @civicaction YouTube: @pitchforkeconomics LinkedIn: Pitchfork Economics Substack: The Pitch

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

  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 “casino capitalism” at its dumbest. In this episode, McKenzie joins Nick and Goldy to explain how the industry turned hype and libertarian fantasy into a trillion-dollar bubble, why the true believers won’t let go, and how fake “innovation” and corporate lobbying are putting the entire financial system at risk. They dig into the cult psychology of crypto, the rise of legalized gambling as an addiction economy, and why letting corporations issue their own “money” could end in disaster. Ben McKenzie is an actor, author, and director best known for his roles on The O.C., Southland, and Gotham. He holds a degree in economics and foreign affairs from the University of Virginia. McKenzie has become one of the most prominent critics of the cryptocurrency industry, co-authoring the book Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud with journalist Jacob Silverman. The premiere of Everyone is Lying to You For Money is on Sunday, November 16, 2025, in New York City. Get tickets at DOCNYC.net. Social Media: @benmckenzie.bsky.social mrbenmckenzie @ben_mckenzie Further reading:  Easy Money: Cryptocurrency, Casino Capitalism, and the Golden Age of Fraud When Prophecy Fails Mistakes Were Made (but Not By Me) New York Magazine: ⁠Congress Just Injected Crypto Directly Into the Most Stable Part of the Economy What could go wrong? Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Threads: pitchforkeconomics Bluesky: @pitchforkeconomics.bsky.social Twitter: @PitchforkEcon, @NickHanauer YouTube: @pitchforkeconomics LinkedIn: Pitchfork Economics Substack: ⁠The Pitch⁠

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