The Pie: An Economics Podcast

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Economists are always talking about The Pie – how it grows and shrinks, how it’s sliced, and who gets the biggest shares. Join host Tess Vigeland as she talks with leading economists from the University of Chicago about their cutting-edge research and key events of the day. Hear how the economic pie is at the heart of issues like the aftermath of a global pandemic, jobs, energy policy, and more.

Recent Episodes
  • War Economies: How Ukraine and Russia Are Adapting in Year Three
    Apr 15, 2025 – 24:58
  • Crypto’s Fatal Flaw: Trust, Scale, and the Economics of Blockchain
    Apr 1, 2025 – 46:00
  • Will They or Won't They? A Former Fed Official on This Week’s Interest Rate Decision
    Mar 18, 2025 – 31:26
  • Should Performance Reviews Be Scrapped?
    Mar 14, 2025 – 27:50
  • The Future of U.S. Energy Policy Under Trump
    Mar 4, 2025 – 30:53
  • The Economics of Health Insurance: Denials, Pre-Authorizations, and Cost Control
    Feb 18, 2025 – 42:55
  • Powering Innovation: How Government Subsidies Accelerate Electric Vehicle Breakthroughs
    Feb 4, 2025 – 26:08
  • Five Years Later: How COVID-19 Reshaped Our Economy and Lives
    Jan 21, 2025 – 30:07
  • Unlocking Higher Education: Undergraduate Re-Enrollment and Graduate Student Lending
    Jan 7, 2025 – 36:15
  • What Economics Taught Us in 2024
    Dec 24, 2024 – 27:28
  • Choosing with Uncertainty
    Dec 19, 2024 – 48:40
  • Balancing Purse and Peace: Tax Collection, Public Goods, and Protests
    Dec 10, 2024 – 37:55
  • Pricing Pollution: Measuring Carbon Externalities for US Corporations
    Nov 26, 2024 – 23:44
  • Deadly Prescriptions: What Happens When Doctors Compete for Patients
    Nov 12, 2024 – 26:15
  • An Extra Slice of the Pie, with James Robinson: History, Politics, and the Road to an Economics Nobel
    Nov 5, 2024 – 01:34:02
  • Economics Meets Ecology: The Huge Costs of Ecosystem Declines
    Oct 29, 2024 – 24:06
  • How Do Buyouts Impact Hospital Performance? Evaluating the Role of Private Equity in Healthcare
    Oct 15, 2024 – 20:07
  • What Can the North Dakota Railroad War of 1905 Tell Us About Regulating Modern Monopolies?
    Oct 1, 2024 – 29:28
  • Understanding the Fed: How Perception Drives Market Reactions
    Sep 17, 2024 – 25:15
  • Promises Delivered? The Economic Effects of the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act
    Sep 5, 2024 – 24:55
  • Creative Destruction: Why Innovation is Crucial for Growth
    Aug 20, 2024 – 25:29
  • Using Machine Learning to Predict—and Prevent—Police Misconduct
    Aug 6, 2024 – 26:57
  • What Went Wrong With Federal Student Loans?
    Jul 23, 2024 – 25:41
  • The Uncertainties of Climate Change
    Jul 15, 2024 – 44:48
  • Using Cellphone Data to Observe Religious Worship in the United States
    Jun 25, 2024 – 20:32
  • India’s Economic Future
    Jun 11, 2024 – 30:40
  • ChatGPT: Who’s Adopting, Who’s Abstaining, and Why?
    May 28, 2024 – 24:07
  • Is College Worth It? Measuring the Returns to Higher Education
    May 14, 2024 – 26:27
  • Fighting Traffic in Chicago: Lower Fares, More Trains, Fewer Buses
    Apr 30, 2024 – 24:11
  • Which Companies Discriminate Most? Experimental Evidence on Callback Rates by Applicant Race and Gender
    Apr 16, 2024 – 27:11
  • Recessions: What Are They Good For? Possibly Your Health
    Apr 2, 2024 – 26:38
  • Knowing When to Stop: The Unintended Consequences of Monetary Policy
    Mar 19, 2024 – 36:17
  • From Authoritarianism to Democracy: The Political Economy of Latin America
    Mar 5, 2024 – 29:40
  • Closing the Achievement Gap: Is There an App for That?
    Feb 20, 2024 – 27:07
  • Two Economies, Two Years of War: An Update on Economic Conditions in Russia and Ukraine
    Feb 6, 2024 – 18:55
  • Conflict-Free or Conflict Displaced? Mine Certifications and Conflict in the Congo
    Jan 23, 2024 – 21:21
  • Tearing Down Healthcare to Rebuild it for Everyone: A Panel on the Economics of Insurance Reform
    Jan 9, 2024 – 39:56
  • 12 Months of Economics: Vultures, ChatGPT, Student Loans, and the Social Safety Net
    Dec 26, 2023 – 24:28
  • The Economics of Reproductive Choice
    Dec 12, 2023 – 23:19
  • Are you Trapped on Social Media?
    Nov 28, 2023 – 22:52
  • The New Normal: Working from Home in 2023
    Nov 14, 2023 – 29:50
  • The Price of Crime: What Time Behind Bars Does to Earning Potential on Release
    Oct 31, 2023 – 26:17
  • Restorative Justice: What Happened When Chicago Public Schools Replaced Suspensions with Restitution?
    Oct 17, 2023 – 21:38
  • A New Tactic for Police Reform: Using Behavioral Economics to Curb Unnecessary Arrests
    Oct 3, 2023 – 29:40
  • How Much Would it Cost to Save the Rainforest?
    Sep 19, 2023 – 22:46
  • Lessons from Pandemic Unemployment Benefits: When Government Generosity Becomes Necessity
    Sep 5, 2023 – 27:29
  • The Hidden Economic Forces That Determine How Much You Earn
    Aug 22, 2023 – 20:49
  • A Case for Public School Choice? Lessons from Los Angeles
    Aug 8, 2023 – 23:09
  • Do You Even Crypto, Bro?
    Jul 25, 2023 – 23:35
  • Social Distancing in 2023: The Economic Costs of Lingering COVID Fears
    Jul 11, 2023 – 19:52
Recent Reviews
  • not quite Publius
    I’m done
    I started listening from episode 1 to see the take on the Pandemic from this group. It had been ok, not great. This episode, about climate change and Indian development, had nothing to do with the pandemic. Besides, why did nuclear energy not even get mentioned. It seems like the only viable way through this and not a peep.
  • Gleestr
    Filter
    You have to learn to filter the bias. Sometimes they do better than others. Episode 20 was a love fest with former Obama economist. The first part was informational and interesting. Then the decline into tribalism at the end. I think working together we can solve problems. If we try only what is tribal truth, we will fail. There are multiple stakeholders and everyone should have a voice. Neither party had foolproof answers for everything, just like economics.
  • dmann1000
    Normally great, but
    Episode 14 is a total miss. A bit less partisan policy and a bit more economics would fit with the premise-
  • Mandelman
    Outstanding and Important.
    I have to tell you that finding this podcast was like finding water in the desert. It has helped me in so many ways to better understand what has happened and may happen. I’ve never reviewed a podcast before, but this one deserves to be noticed.
  • Rihanna2773dndj
    Review for this episode
    4 stars for podcast overall so far just because this podcast was overall good and freakonomics gave it a good plug. Still wish there was slightly less of an interviewy commentary vibe and more of a learn economics vibe like with Freakonomics. I still like how it’s different though so I will happily keep listening and see where it goes from here 😊 But about the cost of a life episode: I’ve heard similar points of view to this episode, and am always left wondering... what is the total blow to the economy because of social distancing? If you added up the amount lost from GDP (from the start of social distancing to October 1) would that be a good estimate of the fallout? Or is there more loss than that? And does all that loss add up to less than $8 trillion, which is what this podcast estimates the cost of social distancing to be from start until October 1?
  • Not a politics junkie
    It’s like a meteor knocking us on our...
    How much is a life worth and what are the true costs of a pandemic? When I saw the explicit podcast rating, I was hoping for a Lenny Bruce teaches economics type show but aside from a sound bite in the in the first 30 seconds of the first intro/episode, I only heard professional commentators and guests. I’ll keep listening anyway.
  • TiffBAA
    Some people still care about language
    I was looking forward to listening to this podcast. How disappointing to see the explicit rating. There are some that still care about this. I guess I’ll just stay with Freakonomics until I find another group who will hold themselves to the same professional standards.
  • pdxaty
    Having trouble with the interface of COVID19 news and data? Listen to this.
    Vigeland and Porter bring a much-needed tool to processing this pandemic’s battle between money and lives in this first episode of their new podcast. Their combined expertise gives a clear-eyed look at the realities we are facing in both the near and long term, refreshing without sugarcoating. Very much looking forward to their continued insight in the weeks and months ahead.
  • podcast kween
    This is the podcast I’ve been needing!
    This is a guiding light in these uncertain times!!!
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