Matt Bruenig, founder of the People's Policy Project, joins We The Podcast to discuss wealth inequality and a potential solution: a social wealth fund. With similar concepts already implemented in Alaska and Norway, is a social wealth fund the

Nancy Altman - Medicare For All

Jul 27th, 2018 16m 29s

Social Security Works' Nancy Altman joins Rep. Keith Ellison remotely to discuss why Medicare for All is more efficient than the privatized health insurance status quo, and the idea's deep roots in America's own history.

We The Podcast - Dream Act Now with Erika Andiola

Feb 7th, 2018 18m 47s

We need a DREAM Act to protect 800,000 Dreamers whose lives were thrown into turmoil by Donald Trump. Dreamer activist Erika Andiola put her body on the line for this movement and joins us to discuss next steps.

Taking on Amazon with Lina Khan and Stacy Mitchell

Dec 15th, 2017 30m 56s

On this We The Podcast, we sit down with Lina Khan (Open Markets Institute) and Stacy Mitchell (Institute for Local Self-Reliance) on the monopolistic rise of the Amazon corporation and what it means for workers, small business and local power.

Franchising: Part II

Oct 27th, 2017 12m 8s

This week, Keith revisits the topic of franchising, with former guest Megan Edwards, who joined with other franchisees to successfully sue Curves Gym for unfair treatment of franchisees.

Racism and Economic Hardship with Keri Leigh Merritt

Oct 16th, 2017 45m 10s

Keri Leigh Merritt is the author of Masterless Men: Poor Whites and Slavery in the Antebellum South. Keith and Keri Leigh Merritt discuss the link between economic hardship and the spread of racism throughout American history.

Market Concentration with Barry Lynn from Open Markets Institute

Oct 1st, 2017 41m 2s

Barry Lynn is the head of the Open Markets Institute, a think tank that examines the problem of corporate consolidation, market concentration, and monopoly power. These issues make it hard for workers to find jobs, take power away from working

Labor Day with Lee Saunders

Sep 4th, 2017 43m 4s

On this special Labor Day episode of We The Podcast, Keith interviews Lee Saunders, President of AFSCME, about the history and future of labor rights in America.

Framing the Message with Professor George Lakoff

Aug 10th, 2017 44m 11s

George Lakoff is a professor of cognitive linguistics and philosophy at the University of California at Berkeley. Now, you might be asking yourself, “what does cognitive science, linguistic science, and phenomenology have to do with working f

Voting Rights/Ari Berman

Jul 20th, 2017 25m 41s

The Republican Party talks about "voter fraud" all the time. President Trump even claims he lost the popular vote because more than 3 million people voted illegally. Sounds like a big deal. But how common is voter fraud? And what might Republic

Pre-Existing Conditions

Jul 16th, 2017 40m 23s

For years, millions of Americans were frightened of two words: pre-existing conditions. Before the Affordable Care Act, private insurance could deny coverage to people with pre-existing conditions. That's what Republicans want to return to. T

Market Concentration

Jul 6th, 2017 26m 23s

A few weeks ago, we learned that Amazon is buying Whole Foods for $13 billion. When big firms merge, it drives up market concentration. But how does that affect working people or local businesses? I talked with my friend Rep. Ro Khanna about

The Fight for $15 and a Union

Jun 27th, 2017 44m 4s

Six bucks. That’s all someone working full-time at the federal minimum wage would have left over after paying the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in the United States of America. It’s time to give America a raise. It’s time to raise th

The Gender Lens

Jun 14th, 2017 22m 24s

Women experience the economy different than men. They pay more for everything from clothes and hygiene products, to dry cleaning and vehicle repairs. This is called "the pink tax". Terry O'Neill is the President of the National Organization f

The Transgender Community and The Economy

May 10th, 2017 34m 35s

The transgender community is more visible than ever. But this increased visibility hasn’t improved the lives of all transgender people. Nationwide, violence against trans people – and trans women in particular – is at an all-time high. This sor

Unions Leading in Education

Apr 29th, 2017 17m 56s

Unions raise wages and worker protections for everybody – even if you’re not in a union! These jobs aren’t so simple either. It takes a lot of training to do what these men and women do every day. But as our education system becomes more and mo

Women In the Age of Trump

Mar 30th, 2017 30m 14s

There are millions of women around the country fighting for equal pay, for better working conditions, for an end to sexual harassment. But in an age of extreme right wing politics – the age of President Trump – what can we do to make our societ

Credit Access

Dec 19th, 2016 16m 43s

Millions of Americans lack credit scores or have scores that are too low to gain access to affordable credit. The problem affects young people, African-Americans, Latinos and immigrants, many of whom can't establish a credit score without takin

Best of We the Podcast (Special Election Day Episode)

Nov 4th, 2016 45m 47s

Two years ago, we started We the Podcast so we could tell stories about how people engage with the economy. Twenty-three episodes and 75,000 downloads later, we’ve covered everything from union organizing to payday loans to tax havens. With Ele

Bank Workers

Oct 24th, 2016 34m 19s

Just last month, we found out that Wells Fargo Bank committed a years-long scam that stole from their customers, inflated their stock price, and lined the pockets of their top level executives. Then, those same executives pinned the whole thing

Minnesota Nurses Strike

Oct 1st, 2016 13m 26s

We spend a lot of time talking about how important unions are. On this episode, we’re going to see organized labor in action on the streets of my home city, Minneapolis. Right now, almost 5,000 Minnesotan nurses are on strike. I went down to th

Overtime Pay

Sep 30th, 2016 24m 1s

How many of you work 40 hours a week? If you’re a salaried worker, guess what: your employer is pretty happy. After all, they’re getting free work. That’s right. Millions of salaried workers are essentially working for free once they pass 40 ho

Tax Havens with Frank Clemente

Sep 7th, 2016 39m 44s

Let’s be honest, few people enjoy paying their taxes. But most of us understand that taxes serve a critical purpose—the public good. And since we all benefit from these things, you’d figure that we would all contribute. Unfortunately, that’s no

The Housing Crisis with Matthew Desmond

Aug 8th, 2016 36m 32s

What does "home" mean to you? For millions of people in America, a safe and stable home is something they dream about but is out of reach. There is a housing crisis in this country. To get a better understanding of this problem, I talked with M

The Woman Behind the New Deal

Jul 21st, 2016 25m 3s

Every single American has felt the benefits of the New Deal – and for low-income folks, working families, and seniors, the New Deal has been the difference between security and poverty. A lot of the credit for the New Deal goes to President Fr