Author Jonathan D. Cohen talks about state lotteries, promoted as a source for revenue in lieu of taxes, and the outsized appeal they have to poor populations.
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Universal basic income works, but it’s not cheap
Journalist Megan Greenwell talks about programs that offer monthly stipends with no strings attached with the hopes of lifting people out of poverty, and why the movement now finds itself at a crossroads.
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Can central banks fix inflation this time?
Harvard economist Kenneth S. Rogoff talks about the politics that have seeped into the Federal Reserve’s role since the crash of 2008 and why that might make stifling inflation this time around a problem.
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Why China’s slowing growth makes it more dangerous
Associate Professor Michael Beckley joins us to talk about why he believes competition between America and China will peak in the 2020s – setting up a showdown between authoritarianism and democracy.
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How the heck are you supposed to pay for college?
Ron Lieber, a columnist for The New York Times, talks about the complicated financial aid process and ways to tap into merit aid and similar discounts. Plus, get extra information from a bonus blog about this episode.
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Child poverty has plummeted, but most people haven’t heard
Jason DeParle of The New York Times discusses the reasons why childhood poverty figures have plummeted.
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Why Black Americans live sicker and die quicker
Professor Linda Villarosa joins us to talk about why Black Americans are dying sooner and have worse health outcomes than their white counterparts.
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Should America stop trying to rule the world?
Prof. Daniel Bessner joins guest host Courtney Collins to discuss if the U.S. should continue to try to rule the world through force – or if recent history suggests it’s time to back off.
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How to make the most of your time in prison
Meet the coaches who offer advice for those up against jail time for white-collar crimes and learn how this signals a shift in the justice system.
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When you need your job and your kids need you
Psychologist Maureen Perry-Jenkins discusses the working conditions of parents who must return to work weeks after giving birth and the challenges they face raising healthy children.
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Money and magnetism: Inside the lives of door-to-door salespeople
Tad Friend, a staff writer at the New Yorker, discusses the tactics of today’s D2D salesmen and how they perfect their pitches for what might be one of the hardest jobs in the world.
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What the Fed can do about inflation
Sebastian Mallaby talks about the reasons the Federal bank lost control of monetary policy, lessons in supply and demand, and why handing out money to revive a struggling economy might not be used again for a long time.
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