Inequality Archives - The Podcast Browser

Eric Zwick – The Everywhere Millionaire

Who Is Really Rich in America and How They Got There

Interview with Eric Zwick about his book The Everywhere Millionaire: Who Is Really Rich in America and How They Got There, co-authored with Owen Zidar. Argues the American rich are far more numerous, dispersed, and ordinary, comprising ‘main street millionaires’ – owners of private businesses with $5–100 million in net worth, not just media-covered billionaires. Wealth is often accumulated through everyday businesses – like car dealerships or dental practices – benefiting from restrictive practices, anti-trust failures, and political influence in tax policy and local regulations. Suggests room for upward mobility through entrepreneurship, whilst highlighting significant policy problems including tax loopholes and local market power that enable wealth concentration.

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John Campbell & Tarun Ramadorai – Fixed

Why Personal Finance Is Broken and How to Make It Work for Everyone

Interview with John Campbell and Tarun Ramadorai about their book Fixed: Why Personal Finance Is Broken and How to Make It Work for Everyone. Argues the financial system is rigged against ordinary households, exploiting cognitive biases and product complexity for profit, exacerbating inequality. Many make costly mistakes in areas like mortgages and retirement savings, unknowingly subsidising others. Education alone is insufficient; instead, simpler, standardised financial products, like those in the pharmaceutical market, and clear government regulation are vital. Suggests this systemic failure contributes to widespread distrust in institutions and the market economy.

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Gregory Clark – A Farewell to Alms and The Son Also Rises

A Brief Economic History of the World

Interview with Gregory Clark about his books A Farewell to Alms and The Son Also Rises. Discusses why the Industrial Revolution didn’t create global economic equality, citing significant labour productivity differences, even under similar institutions (e.g., British India vs. England). Argues that local culture and aspirations crucially influence output. Uses surname data to show that English social mobility has been consistently low and unchanged since 1300, irrespective of social interventions. Interprets this as evidence of a slow-moving, generational meritocracy. Concludes many top-down interventions are ineffective, advocating for humility in policy and stressing individual agency and societal contentment.

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Lane Kenworthy – Is Inequality the Problem?

The Argument | 1 December 2025 | 0h 56m | Listen Later | Podcasts | Spotify
Interview with Lane Kenworthy about his book Is Inequality The Problem? Argues that inequality is overrated as “the” cause of our problems – and discusses why the data pushes him toward a different set of priorities. Digs into the data on happiness, health, and populism, and explores why expanding the social welfare state might matter more than obsessing over the 1%.

Gary Hoover – Ladder or Lottery

The Truth About Bullsh*t | 20 April 2026 | 1h 16m | Listen Later | Podcasts | Spotify
Interview with Gary Hoover about his book Ladder or Lottery: Economic Promises and the Reality of Who Gets Ahead. Examines a variety of case studies exploring whether economic conditions look more like a ladder or more like a lottery. Argues that when enough people feel that the system is more like a lottery than a ladder, social order breaks down, protests erupt, and, on occasion, revolutions take place.

Gregory Clark on Social Mobility, Migration, and Assortative Mating

Conversations with Tyler | 19 February 2025 | 1h 23m | Listen Later | Podcasts | Spotify
Interview with Gregory Clark about his work on social mobility. Draws from his forthcoming book For Whom the Bell Curve Tolls. Discusses relative mobility vs growing the size of the pie, how physical mobility does and doesn’t matter, why England was a meritocracy by 1700, how assortative mating affects economic and social progress, why India industrialized so late, a new potential explanation why Britain’s economic performance has been lukewarm since WWI, Malthusian societies then and now, whether a “hereditarian” stance favors large-scale redistribution or a free-market approach, the dynamics of assimilation within Europe and the role of negative selection in certain migrations, the challenge of accurately measuring living standards, the neighborhood-versus-family debate over what drives mobility, whether we need datasets larger than humanity itself to decode the genetics of social outcomes, and more.

See also other episodes with Greg Clark.

Peter Lindert: How Government Social Spending Works

The Dissenter | 12 December 2024 | 0h 53m | Listen Later | Podcasts | Spotify
Interview with Peter Lindert about his book Making Social Spending Work. Discusses what social spending is, and addresses the main arguments for and against government social spending; the conditions that allow for government social spending to take off; why Northwest Europe led the way; the importance of universal education, the shift in spending toward the powerful and the elderly since 1910; the “free lunch puzzle”; the benefits of universal healthcare and welfare programs’ social spending in developing countries, autocracies, and democracies, and trends since 1980; the impact of immigration on the economy, the pension system and the sustainability of social security; examples of wrong social spending, and the biggest threats to social programs until 2050.

See also the Economic History Podcast interview.

Building a Wealthier, Fairer Society

The Michael Shermer Show | 7 December 2024 | 1h 23m | Listen Later | Podcasts | Spotify
Interview with Daniel Waldenström about his book Richer and More Equal: A New History of Wealth in the West. Discusses how wealth accumulation patterns have shifted since the 1800s, emphasising the significant role of increased access to education, property ownership, and pensions. Advocates for policies that promote wealth creation across all social tiers, ensuring sustainable growth and financial security for future generations.