Heather McGhee made her career in pushing for economic policy changes at the think tank Demos. But she couldn't help but feel that something was missing from her work. So she embarked on a cross-country road trip to understand what's at the heart of what ails America's economy and our democracy. The result is her book The Sum of Us, which she joins us to talk about in this episode.
In the book, McGhee explores what we lose when we buy into the zero-sum paradigm—the idea that progress for some of us must come at the expense of others. She details how public goods in this country—from parks and pools to functioning schools—have become private luxuries; of how unions collapsed, wages stagnated, and inequality increased; and of how this country, unique among the world’s advanced economies, has thwarted universal healthcare.
Finally, she offers examples of how this paradigm is changing in communities across the country when people work across differences to achieve a shared goal.
At the beginning of the episode, we reference our conversation with Rhiana Gunn-Wright, one of the architects of the Green New Deal.
Separating news from noise
What we learned from our guests in 2022
Where do the parties go from here?
The real free speech problem on campus
Jamelle Bouie makes the case for majoritarianism
Our conversation with Josh Shapiro [rebroadcast]
States united for democracy
Celebrating democracy's small victories
Climate change is everyone's fight
Francis Fukuyama on the promise and peril of liberalism
The backbone of democracy is now the face of fraud
How Democrats can harness grassroots energy
When should the states decide?
Chris Beem on the seven democratic virtues
Rural broadband and the politics of "good enough"
A deep dive into the administrative state
Reflecting on the January 6 hearings and what's happened since
A new approach to breaking our media silos
Laboratories against democracy [rebroadcast]
How positive and negative freedoms shape democracy
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free
City Manager Unfiltered
Potencial Americano
The ASIC Podcast
The Chris Plante Show
Red Eye Radio