Economics & Beyond with Rob Johnson

William Spriggs: How Economic Theory and Policy Reinforce Racism

William Spriggs, the AFL-CIO’s chief economist, talks about the inadequacies of the pandemic economic rescue package and how mainstream economic theory continues to fail everyone, but especially Blacks

Thea Lee: The Roots of the Crisis

Thea Lee, President of the Economic Policy Institute, talks to Rob Johnson about the roots of the COVID-19 economic crisis in America’s dysfunctional labor market.

Paul Jay: Can Capitalism Deal with the Climate & Nuclear Threats?

Documentarian Paul Jay talks to Rob Johnson about how major investment fund managers, such as BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street, exercise enormous control over public companies, where they use voting rights to stymie efforts to curb climate change.

David Sirota: Socialism in America

David Sirota, Jacobin Magazine editor-at-large and former speechwriter for Bernie Sanders, talks to Rob Johnson about the future of democratic socialism in America after the Sanders campaign.

Joe Boyd: Music in a Time of Social Change

Rob Johnson talks to music producer Joe Boyd about the musical inflection point of the 1960’s, and how social change affects art and artists.

Cathy O’Neil: Will Colleges Reopen?

Cathy O’Neil, founder of O'Neil Risk Consulting and Algorithmic Audit and author of the book Weapons of Math Destruction, talks to Rob Johnson about the crisis facing universities in the pandemic.

Alex Gibney: The Great Crimes of Our Society

Alex Gibney, documentarian and director of Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, talks to Rob Johnson about the crimes perpetuated by American government and society today, including systemic racism, police brutality, and neglect of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Elaine Brown Pt. 2: Music and Activism in the Struggle for Racial Justice

In the second of a two-part interview, Rob Johnson talks to author, activist, and former Black Panther Party chairwoman Elaine Brown about her music, her housing work and entrepreneurship in Oakland, CA, and the political moment.

Elaine Brown Pt. 1: The 400-year Struggle for Racial Justice in the US

In the first of a two-part interview, Rob Johnson talks to author, activist, and former Black Panther Party chairwoman Elaine Brown about the killing of George Floyd and the protests sweeping the U.S. in the context of the coronavirus pandemic.

Brian Barnier: The Future of the Central Bank

Brian Barnier, Director of Analytics at ValueBridge Advisors, talks to Rob Johnson about how the pandemic could change the mission of central banks.