Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer

Nick Hanauer, a venture capitalist and self-described "class traitor," co-hosts this weekly show with David Goldstein. Produced by Civic Ventures, the podcast makes a sustained argument that trickle-down economics has failed and that a middle-out approach -- investing in workers, raising wages, and strengthening the middle class -- is how economies actually grow. Hanauer's background gives the show an unusual vantage point: he is a wealthy entrepreneur who became an early investor in Amazon, yet he has spent years publicly arguing that extreme inequality threatens both democracy and economic stability. Each episode brings on economists, policy researchers, labor organizers, and political figures to examine how economic policy affects working people in concrete terms. The show covers minimum wage debates, corporate consolidation, tax policy, housing affordability, and labor rights with a clear progressive perspective. That point of view is stated upfront rather than disguised as neutrality, which makes the arguments easier to evaluate on their merits. Goldstein, a longtime political strategist and writer, complements Hanauer by grounding policy discussions in political context and historical precedent. Episodes typically run 30 to 45 minutes and release weekly. The production is straightforward -- mostly interview-based with some commentary segments. Pitchfork Economics is not trying to present both sides of every argument; it has a thesis about how the economy should work and builds its case episode by episode. Listeners who share that perspective will find it energizing, and those who disagree will at least encounter well-sourced arguments to push back against.