Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer

The morning after a historic midterm, Richard and Zach ask what Democrats actually learned. Their answer is bigger than a blue tsunami: working- and middle-class voters moved sharply, cost-of-living proved powerful, and candidates who connected economic policy to everyday life broke through. But, as Republicans just learned the hard way, winning those voters once is not the same as owning them. The harder governing question is whether Democrats can turn affordability into durable gains in voter trust through paychecks, worker power, and broadly shared prosperity.

What was mentioned in this episode:

Civic Ventures

Middle Out Center

The Washington Post, 2026 Election Trends

CBS News, 2026 Exit Polls

What’s the Matter with Kansas? by Thomas Frank

Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer

The Pitch: Zach Silk’s newsletter/Substack, promoted at the close.

Pitchfork Politics Substack

New York Times election maps

Main Street Alliance

If you steal from your employer, you could end up in jail. But what happens when your employer steals from you?

Every year, employers steal billions of dollars from American workers through unpaid wages, overtime violations, and other illegal practices. Yet the consequences for employers are often little more than the cost of doing business.

On Election Day, we're revisiting our 2024 conversation with labor law enforcement expert Terri Gerstein about one of the most widespread and overlooked crimes in the American economy. Why is wage theft so common? Why are employers so rarely held criminally accountable? And what would it take to change that?

Because building an economy that works for working people isn't just about passing better laws. It's about having a government willing to enforce them.

This episode originally aired April 9, 2024

Terri Gerstein is the director of the NYU Wagner Labor Initiative and a leading expert on wage theft and workers’ rights enforcement. She previously served as Labor Bureau Chief in the New York Attorney General’s Office and Deputy Commissioner of the New York State Department of Labor.

Social Media:

@terrigerstein.bsky.social

@TerriGerstein

Further reading:

The Regulatory Review - A Resilient Web of State and Local Enforcers

More than $1.5 billion in stolen wages recovered for workers between 2021 and 2023

How district attorneys and state attorneys general are fighting workplace abuses

How to File a Wage Complaint

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We're bringing you something new from the Pitchfork universe!

Today, we're sharing the debut episode of Pitchfork Politics, a new podcast hosted by Civic Ventures President Zach Silk and Middle Out Center Executive Director Richard Trent, exploring how to run and win on the economy.

In this first episode, Zach and Richard ask a question that could reshape how we think about American elections: Who are the new swing voters?

Today's most politically volatile voters are increasingly working-class Americans who want to know whether their paychecks can keep up with the cost of living.

From Alaska and Texas to Kansas and Maine, Zach and Richard explore what decades of political realignment can tell us about the coming election, why economic dissatisfaction keeps reshaping the electorate, and what it takes to turn electoral victories into lasting political power.

Enjoy this special preview, and be sure to follow Pitchfork Politics wherever you get your podcasts for more conversations about the economic ideas, messages, and campaigns shaping American politics.

You got a raise. So why does it feel like you’re still struggling?

New research finds that rising debt payments have swallowed more than half of real income gains for a typical one-earner household since late 2022. Angela Hanks of The Century Foundation joins Goldy and Paul to explain how debt is deepening America's affordability crisis, trapping workers in bad jobs, and weakening their bargaining power. And why fixing the problem requires more than just getting people out of debt.

Angela Hanks is Chief of Policy Programs at The Century Foundation and a coauthor of the report: Half of Every Dollar: How Household Debt Eats Into Workers’ Income Gains.

Social Media:

@angelanhanks.bsky.social

@AngelaHanks

@TCFdotorg

@tcfdotorg.bsky.social

Further reading:

Half of Every Dollar: How Household Debt Eats Into Workers’ Income Gains

Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett

Sam Vimes ‘Boots’ Theory of Socio-Economic Unfairness

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com

Facebook: Pitchfork Economics Podcast

Bluesky: @pitchforkeconomics.bsky.social

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Threads: pitchforkeconomics

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LinkedIn: Pitchfork Economics

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon, @NickHanauer

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Nick’s Substack: NickHanauer.Substack.com

What happens to democracy when people can no longer afford the basics of everyday life?

Economist Isabella Weber argues that the affordability crisis isn't just an economic problem—it's a threat to democracy itself. Drawing on her new book, Anti-Fascist Economics, she joins Nick and Goldy to explore how inflation, austerity, and corporate profiteering fuel the rise of the far right, and why protecting democracy requires more than defending its institutions. From housing and groceries to energy and healthcare, Weber makes the case for an economy that puts people's livelihoods, dignity, and democratic power ahead of corporate profits.

Isabella Weber is an associate professor of economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and founding director of Essential Economics. Her research focuses on inflation, corporate pricing power, and economic policy. She is the author of Anti-Fascist Economics: In Defense of Affordability, Dignity, and Democracy and How China Escaped Shock Therapy.

Social Media:

@isabellamweber.bsky.social

@isabella_m_weber

@IsabellaMWeber

www.isabellaweber.com

Further reading:

Anti-Fascist Economics: In Defense of Affordability, Dignity, and Democracy

Best of Times, Worst of Times: Record Fossil-Fuel Profits, Inflation and Inequality

How China Escaped Shock Therapy

The Wall Street Journal - America Made Me Very Rich. There's a Pro-Market Way to Give Back.

Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com

Facebook: Pitchfork Economics Podcast

Bluesky: @pitchforkeconomics.bsky.social

Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics

Threads: pitchforkeconomics

TikTok: @pitchfork_econ

YouTube: @pitchforkeconomics

LinkedIn: Pitchfork Economics

Twitter: @PitchforkEcon, @NickHanauer

Substack: The Pitch

Nick’s Substack: NickHanauer.Substack.com