The Pie: An Economics Podcast

The University of Chicago has shaped modern economics more than probably any other institution, and The Pie gives you a direct line into what their faculty are thinking right now. Produced by the Becker Friedman Institute, the show is hosted by Tess Vigeland, who brings a public radio background that keeps episodes grounded and listenable even when the subject matter gets technical. The central metaphor -- the economic pie, how it grows, how it shrinks, who gets the biggest slices -- gives the show a clear through line across its 119 episodes. Recent topics have included the legacy of Adam Smith 250 years on, how China shifted toward centralized economic policymaking, the real costs of tariffs, and banking vulnerabilities that most people are not paying attention to. Episodes run 20 to 50 minutes, with occasional longer Extra Slice conversations that go deeper with prominent economists. The academic rigor is real here -- these are researchers presenting their own findings, not commentators riffing on headlines. But Vigeland does the hard work of translating that rigor into plain language, asking the follow-up questions a non-specialist would want answered. The show launched during the pandemic in 2020 and has been a biweekly fixture since. It is particularly strong on topics where Chicago-school thinking bumps up against real-world policy outcomes. If you appreciate economics grounded in serious research but presented without academic stuffiness, The Pie earns its spot.