Best of: Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) Explained. (I finally understand.)

We speak with Gerald Epstein about MMT. Gerald Epstein is Professor of Economics and a founding Co-Director of the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Epstein has written articles on numerous topics including financial crisis and regulation, alternative approaches to central banking for employment generation and poverty reduction, economists’ ethics and capital account management and capital flows and the political economy of financial markets and institutions.

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A note from Lev:

I am a high school teacher of history and economics at a public high school in NYC, and began the podcast to help demystify economics for teachers.  The podcast is now within the top 2% of podcasts worldwide in terms of listeners (per Listen Notes) and individual episodes are frequently listed by The Syllabus (the-syllabus.com) as among the 10 best political economy podcasts of a particular week.  The podcast is reaching thousands of listeners each month.  

The podcast seeks to provide a substantive alternative to mainstream economics media; to communicate information and ideas that contribute to equitable and peaceful solutions to political and economic issues; and to improve the teaching of high school and university political economy.  

Best,

Lev

Margot Luftig Interviews Lev Moscow about Media, Technology and Teaching

This is a very special episode. Margot was Lev’s student and is now attending Northwestern University. She is the host of the excellent podcast Not An Expert: A Teen's Take On Life, Identity, and Politics. Margot has generously allowed us to post her most recent episode here. It is a lot of fun!

A note from Lev:

I am a high school teacher of history and economics at a public high school in NYC, and began the podcast to help demystify economics for teachers.  The podcast is now within the top 2% of podcasts worldwide in terms of listeners (per Listen Notes) and individual episodes are frequently listed by The Syllabus (the-syllabus.com) as among the 10 best political economy podcasts of a particular week.  The podcast is reaching thousands of listeners each month.  

The podcast seeks to provide a substantive alternative to mainstream economics media; to communicate information and ideas that contribute to equitable and peaceful solutions to political and economic issues; and to improve the teaching of high school and university political economy.  

Best,

Lev

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Best of: Peter Hudis on How Rosa Luxemburg Can Help Us Understand Racial Capitalism

Peter Hudis is Professor of Philosophy and Humanities at Oakton Community College and author of Marx's Concept of the Alternative to Capitalism (Brill, 2012) and Frantz Fanon: Philosopher of the Barricades (Pluto, 2015). He edited The Rosa Luxemburg Reader (Monthly Review Press, 2004) and The Letters of Rosa Luxemburg (Verso, 2013).

Police with dogs guard the grounds at the new Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg. 1/Jan/1982. UN Photo/DB.

Police with dogs guard the grounds at the new Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg. 1/Jan/1982. UN Photo/DB.

Best of: Lauren Sandler on Homelessness

Lauren Sandler is an award-winning journalist and author based in Brooklyn. Her most recent book is the bestselling This Is All I Got: A New Mother’s Search for Home, a work narrative nonfiction about a young homeless mother in New York. It was named a Notable book of 2020 by the New York Times. Lauren is the author of two previous books, the bestselling One and Only: The Freedom of Having an Only Child, and the Joy of Being One and Righteous: Dispatches from the Evangelical Youth Movement.  

Lauren's essays and features have appeared in dozens of publications including Time, The New York Times, Slate, The Atlantic, The Nation, The New Republic, The Guardian, New York Magazine, and Elle.  She has been on staff at Salon and at NPR, where she worked on All Things Considered, Morning Edition, Weekend Edition, and the Cultural Desk. 

In addition to her journalism, Lauren has lead the OpEd Project’s Public Voices Fellowships at Yale, Columbia, UVA, and Dartmouth, and has taught in the graduate journalism program at NYU, where she has also been Visiting Scholar. She was a regular commentator for the BBC and has been interviewed nationally and internationally on many networks including CNN, PBS, CBS, NBC, and throughout public radio.

Best of: Arun Kumar on Philanthrocapitalism

Arun Kumar is a Lecturer in International Management at the University of York.

Previously trained in architecture and development management, he worked for a number of years as an independent researcher and consultant/advisor with leading aid agencies, NGOs, independent research centres, policy think-tanks, and human rights activists in South Asia. Tired of travelling and writing reports, he returned to academia in 2012. After completing his PhD at the Department of Organisation, Work and Technology at Lancaster University and working, briefly, in France, he joined the University of York in 2016 as a Lecturer. He is also involved with the Interdisciplinary Global Development Centre at York.

Photo by Peggy Anke on Unsplash

Photo by Peggy Anke on Unsplash

Best of: Fiori Berhane on the Mediterranean Sea as A Nowhere Space

We talk with Fiori Berhane about migration. Fiori Berhane broadly researches the ways in which African refugees challenge discursive and legal-juridical frameworks that undergird the Central Mediterranean crossing. In particular, she studies the ways in which Eritrean refugee activists engage with colonial, post-colonial and neo-colonial policies and embedded histories in Italy within efforts to redress multi-modal violence– that which takes place in their country of origin, transit and settlement. She is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at USC.

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Best of: Nathan Nunn on The Roots of Global Inequality

We speak with Nathan Nunn about the historical origins of inequality. Nathan Nunn is Frederic E. Abbe Professor of Economics at Harvard University. Professor Nunn’s primary research interests are in political economy, economic history, economic development, cultural economics, and international trade.

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A note from Lev:

I am a high school teacher of history and economics at a public high school in NYC, and began the podcast to help demystify economics for teachers.  The podcast is now within the top 2% of podcasts worldwide in terms of listeners (per Listen Notes) and individual episodes are frequently listed by The Syllabus (the-syllabus.com) as among the 10 best political economy podcasts of a particular week.  The podcast is reaching thousands of listeners each month.  

The podcast seeks to provide a substantive alternative to mainstream economics media; to communicate information and ideas that contribute to equitable and peaceful solutions to political and economic issues; and to improve the teaching of high school and university political economy.  

I am looking to be able to raise money in order to improve the technical quality of the podcast and maintain the website. I am also hoping to hire an editor, buy books and subscribe to digital libraries. 

Best,

Lev

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Joseph Margulies Has a Plan to Stop Gentrification

Joseph Margulies is Professor of Law and Government at Cornell University. He was Counsel of Record in Rasul v. Bush (2004), involving detentions at the Guantánamo Bay Naval Station, and in Geren v. Omar and Munaf v. Geren (2008), involving detentions at Camp Cropper in Iraq. His books include Guantánamo and the Abuse of Presidential Power and What Changed When Everything Changed: 9/11 and the Making of National Identity.

A note from Lev:

I am a high school teacher of history and economics at a public high school in NYC, and began the podcast to help demystify economics for teachers.  The podcast is now within the top 2% of podcasts worldwide in terms of listeners (per Listen Notes) and individual episodes are frequently listed by The Syllabus (the-syllabus.com) as among the 10 best political economy podcasts of a particular week.  The podcast is reaching thousands of listeners each month.  

The podcast seeks to provide a substantive alternative to mainstream economics media; to communicate information and ideas that contribute to equitable and peaceful solutions to political and economic issues; and to improve the teaching of high school and university political economy.  

I am looking to be able to raise money in order to improve the technical quality of the podcast and maintain the website. I am also hoping to hire an editor, buy books and subscribe to digital libraries. 

Best,

Lev

DONATE TODAY