Economics For the People

‘Tis the season to advertise! In our Special Feature this month, we replay Prof. Zoe Sherman's segment from November 2023. Zoe helps us peel back the glittering layers of advertising and the holiday season where capitalism meets celebration. Our Dollars & Sense Debrief features an interview of Rob Larson about the consumer credit industry. This is especially important as credit scores are utilized increasingly across the economy and not only in loan applications (e.g., by landlords and employers). #blackfriday #consumerism #advertising #creditscores *** Feature interview with Zoe Sherman - 3:15 minutes Dollars and Sense Debrief with Chris Sturr and Rob Larson - 35:37 minutes [audio mp3="https://kkfi.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/upload_e4p_nov2025-1.mp3"][/audio]

In the August episode of Economics for the People, we interview Professor Vamsi Vakulabharanam about his book Class and Inequality in India and China, 1950-2010. On the eve of Indian Independence from British rule, and upon the conclusion of the Chinese Civil War, both countries were similar in economic terms. However, their trajectories diverged significantly over the period of time under investigation. Why? In our regular Dollars and Sense segment, Chris Sturr interviews Richard Wolff about Military Keynesianism: how it ended the Great Depression, its impact on the US economy over the 20th century, and why the ruling class continues to support it. *** Feature interview with Vamsi Vakulabharanam - 2:07 minutes Dollars and Sense Debrief with Chris Sturr and Richard D. Wolff - 36:32 minutes

Our July episode is all about crypto. We present two different perspectives on how to understand cryptocurrency. In our Dollars & Sense Debrief, Chris Sturr interviews economist Gerald Epstein from the University of Amherst, who talks about the risks of crypto to the financial system as a whole. Our feature interview is with Professor Rohan Grey, in which we discuss crypto in detail. What is it? How does it affect the working class? What is the future of crypto? Rohan also dissects the crypto legislation that passed in Congress and was signed by President Trump this month. Additionally we converse about the STABLE Act (2020) proposed by Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, which Professor Grey helped design, which would have provided an alternative regulatory framework for crypto. #crypto #finance *** Dollars and Sense Debrief with Chris Sturr and Gerald Epstein - 3 minutes Feature interview with Rohan Grey - 21:30 minutes

In our June episode, we spoke with Kshama Sawant about her campaign to win the House seat in Seattle's 9th Congressional district. Kshama was a member of city council in Seattle for about a decade, helping to win important victories for the working class such as the highest minimum wage in the US, the Amazon tax, and stronger protections for tenants. She is also co-founder of the organization Workers Strike Back. Additionally, we discussed tariffs, imperialism, and working class unity. In the Dollars and Sense Debrief, Chris Sturr interviewed economist Amanda Page-Hoongrajok about the recent history of wildcat strikes in the garment industry of Vietnam, China, and Bangladesh. #wildcatstrikes #fightback #socialism #kshamasawant *** Dollars and Sense Debrief with Chris Sturr and Amanda Page-Hoongrajok - 3 minutes Feature interview with Kshama Sawant - 18:25 minutes

In the May edition of our podcast, Chris Sturr speaks with Mike Prokosch about the widespread practice of short staffing, which is basically polite language for work intensification. Mike gives an insightful policy recommendation that can be deployed b...