Pitchfork Economics

This is an emergency. In a month, health premiums are going to go up by 75%, ruining families' lives. What's happening in Chicago, where people's rights are being obliterated, is an emergency. What the FCC is doing - censoring our political speech - is an emergency.

Economist Mark Zandi warns that 22 states and D.C. are already showing signs of recession — with California and New York “treading water.”

Trump’s tariffs, layoffs, and deportations are hitting farm and factory states hardest.
buff.ly/QCQi2JO

What did “free trade” really do for North America?

Journalist and author @lukewsavage.bsky.social says it made both countries more unequal —empowering corporations while weakening workers and democracy.

🎧 Episode 5 of our Trade series is live ➡️ buff.ly/qOfLlTR

If someone could let the White House know, by making imports more expensive with new tariffs, all you’ve done is actually made things worse for people by increasing their taxes.

🎧 ➡️ buff.ly/vinrKSa

The future of white-collar work may be unionized Law firms, banks and tech companies are seeing an uptick in employees choosing to join unions.

White-collar workers are done with burnout, layoffs, and corporate spin. They’re organizing for fair pay and real power on the job. Union strength isn’t just for one class of worker—it’s for all workers. 💪 https://seiu.co/47qitOb

The 400 richest Americans are now worth a record $6.6 trillion.

The entire bottom 50% of America is worth just $4.2 trillion.

Read that back.

When 400 people control more wealth than half a country’s population, we have a very serious problem.

This was good and the parts about China were revealing and a lot of the left that knee jerk approval of that state should listen. If you’re pro worker.

Globalization wasn’t workers competing—it was elites extracting.

When profits got funneled to wealthy shareholders instead of into workers' paychecks, everyone lost.

🎧 👉 buff.ly/vinrKSa

The same people who just gave billionaires tax breaks have shut down the government rather than keeping our healthcare premiums from spiking.

Tells you everything you need to know.

The extractive nature of bailouts, explained in a single post ⬇️

Every time you spend a dollar, it ripples through the global economy. Everything we do—work, save, buy—links us together.

That’s not abstract—That’s the reality of a truly global economy.

🎧 👉 buff.ly/vinrKSa

Trade wars aren’t really about countries—they’re about classes.

Economist Matthew C. Klein joins Nick & Goldy to expose how elites suppress wages, hoard profits, and rig the global economy against workers everywhere.

🎧 Episode 4 of our Trade series ➡️ buff.ly/vinrKSa

They've been saying Social Security is broken for decades...now they're actually going to break it—for real.

Trade debates still obsess over steel and tariffs, while the U.S. quietly runs a $700 billion digital trade surplus. That’s the size of all of France’s exports, but traditional trade stats don’t show it.

🎧 ➡️ buff.ly/91gHB84

Prosperity follows complexity. Societies that build sophisticated things thrive. Those that don’t—stagnate.

🎧 ➡️ buff.ly/91gHB84

Languages like Spanish and French distinguish between knowledge and know-how. Maybe our economic debates should, too.

These are the dividends of the information age. Higher productivity but the gains not shared equitably with workers. This is what happened during the Industrial Revolution as well. Imagine how many multiples worse this will be made by AI.

What drives economic growth?

Not elites hoarding wisdom or wealth, but the messy, beautiful web of knowledge shared across workers, cities, and communities.

🎧 ➡️ buff.ly/91gHB84

🚨 New data: CEOs at the 350 biggest firms took home $23 million on average in 2024—that’s 281x what the typical worker makes.
Since 1978:
📈 CEO pay up 1,094%
📉 Worker pay up 26%
This is what a rigged economy looks like.

Read the full report: buff.ly/6Z9VnYy

🚨 New data: CEOs at the 350 biggest firms took home $23 million on average in 2024—that’s 281x what the typical worker makes!

80% of it is stock—taxed at lower rates than workers’ wages. That’s how the richest get richer while paying less in taxes than their secretaries.
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Tariffs won’t save America’s economy—knowledge will.

This week, Nick & Goldy talk with physicist @cesifoti.bsky.social about why prosperity depends on knowledge, know-how, and investing in people—not trade wars.

🎧 Listen here or wherever you get your podcasts: buff.ly/91gHB84

The trade deals of the 1990s weren’t neutral—they created a system rigged to supercharge corporate profits while handcuffing governments.

🎧 👉 buff.ly/jQUTct6

At the time of its original airing, in 2019, we believe he was working on a book based on this piece, but we can't find a record of it being published, unfortunately.

Why Poverty Is Like a Disease Emerging science is putting the lie to American meritocracy.

Sorry about that! We're working to tame the digital gremlins causing issues with our site. If we recall correctly, that episode mentioned an article written by Christian H. Cooper titled, "Why Poverty Is Like a Disease."
nautil.us/why-poverty-...

Me talking about David Ricardo & comparative advantage on the excellent @pitchforkeconomics.bsky.social pod

Vaguely right > exactly wrong, right? Too much of economics is built on the illusion of precision—and people are paying the price.

Listen to the second episode in our trade series here: buff.ly/jQUTct6

Think the collapse in trust in expertise was random? Nope.
It’s the direct result of the economics profession.

🎧 👉 buff.ly/jQUTct6

“Free trade is always a win-win!”

Except… Ricardo’s famous example leaves out the exploitation, slavery, and mountains of stolen Brazilian gold that made it work.

Listen to the full episode here: buff.ly/jQUTct6

Thanks for the mention and highlight! We appreciate it! We've got several more trade-related episodes coming out in the next few weeks, so watch this space!

Trade Wars, Class Wars & Globalization: Unpacking The Truth About Trade (featuring David Autor & Marc Palen) Podcast Episode · Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer · 16/09/2025 · 48m

Exposing a class war waged through trade policy, this conversation argues the rules of globalization were written to shield corporate power, offloading risk onto workers and draining communities.

With @davidautor.bsky.social & @mwpalen.bsky.social on @pitchforkeconomics.bsky.social

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