The Pie: An Economics Podcast

The Pie: An Economics Podcast

Becker Friedman Institute at UChicago

Episodes 128
Avg. Duration 28m
Activity Highly Active
Apple Rating 4.1 (176)
Since Nov 2020
Latest Episode Jun 2026

Publishing Details

Schedule
Every 2 Weeks
Format
Episodic
Consistency
54%
Hosting
feeds.megaphone.fm

Contact & Outreach

About This Podcast

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.

Explore Statistics

Recent Episodes

How Should Parents Respond When Grades are Good, But Test Scores are Bad?

Jun 09, 2026 47m

When a child brings home good grades but low standardized test scores, which signal should parents pay attention to? In this episode, Ariel Kalil of the UChicago Harris School of Public Policy…

Tied to the Job: The Gains from Permanent Residency

May 26, 2026 25m

When immigrant workers come to a country on a visa tied to a single employer, what is it worth to be free to switch jobs? In this episode, Chicago Booth economist Matt Notowidigdo discusses new…

Life as a Lab: John List on the Art and Ethics of Field Experiments

May 05, 2026 58m

Have you taken a Lyft, shopped at Walmart, or used Facebook in the last decade? If so, you've likely been a participant in one of John List's experiments. In this episode of The Pie, List, Professor…

Wealth of Institutions: Randall Kroszner on Why Markets Stayed Calm While the Fed Came Under Fire

Apr 28, 2026 1h 17m

Earlier this year, former Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen warned that political pressure on the Federal Reserve could turn the U.S. into "a banana republic." And yet long-term interest rates,…

A Conversation with Raghuram Rajan: Corporate Governance, Community, and Political Economy

Apr 21, 2026 58m

In this Extra Slice of The Pie, guest host Ben Krause sits down with Raghuram Rajan, Katherine Dusak Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at Chicago Booth, for a wide-ranging…

The Uneven Promise of School Choice: Who Applies vs. Who Benefits

Apr 14, 2026 24m

When public school districts offer options like magnet schools and dual-language programs, families who are richer, whiter, and higher-achieving are more likely to opt in. Meanwhile, students who…

The War in Iran: Oil, Cyber Warfare, and Alliances

Mar 31, 2026 43m

On February 28, the US and Israel launched airstrikes against Iran. Four weeks later, the conflict shows no signs of ending. Iran has blocked the Strait of Hormuz, taking roughly 10% of global oil…

The Geography of Human Capital: Why Rich Regions Stay Rich

Mar 17, 2026 49m

People in the Netherlands average nearly 11 years of schooling, compared to about 2.5 for those in the Central African Republic. Why don't these gaps close? In this episode, Esteban Rossi-Hansberg of…

Eugene Fama on 60 Years of Finance Research, Index Funds, and Market Efficiency

Mar 12, 2026 48m

If you have money in an index fund, you are benefiting from Eugene Fama's work. In this Extra Slice of The Pie, the Nobel laureate and "father of modern finance" reflects on a career that reshaped…

The Transformation of Capitalism: 250 Years After Adam Smith

Mar 03, 2026 47m

Two hundred fifty years after The Wealth of Nations, capitalism looks nothing like Adam Smith imagined (and nothing like Karl Marx predicted, either). Smith envisioned small, decentralized producers,…

Laboratories of Autocracy: What Happens When China Shuts Down Its Policy Experiments

Feb 17, 2026 21m

The common perception of Chinese governance is a strong, centralized state. For decades, however, the vast majority of the country's policies  originated with local governments, as officials…

Who Really Paid for the Tariffs? Brent Neiman on Liberation Day's Economic Aftermath

Feb 03, 2026 29m

Who bore the cost of 2025's sweeping tariffs? UChicago economist Brent Neiman returns to The Pie to discuss his new research with co-author Gita Gopinath examining the effects of last year's tariffs.…

Venezuela After Maduro: What Comes Next?

Jan 20, 2026 44m

Days after the Trump administration's surprise military operation captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, a panel of UChicago scholars gathered to make sense of what it means for Venezuela, the…

Why Banks Exist and Why They Fail: Douglas Diamond on Runs, Regulation, and the Risks of Short-Term Debt

Jan 13, 2026 1h 6m

Financial crises are "everywhere and always" a problem of short-term debt. In this Extra Slice of The Pie, Nobel laureate Douglas Diamond explains his groundbreaking research on why banks exist in…

At What Age Does Family Income Most Shape Your Future? Timing and Intergenerational Mobility

Jan 06, 2026 44m

Standard measures of intergenerational mobility treat parental income as a single average across childhood. In this episode, Steven Durlauf, Frank P. Hixon Distinguished Service Professor at the…

The Pie, Wrapped: Innovation, Faith, Purpose, and Market Power

Dec 23, 2025 34m

As we close out 2025, host Tess Vigeland highlights research from UChicago scholars. Hyuk Su Kwon, Assistant Professor at the Harris School of Public Policy, explains the design of electric vehicle…

A Conversation with Roger Myerson: Harmonicas, Xenophon, and Why Your Mayor Matters More Than You Think

Dec 16, 2025 1h 50m

In this wide-ranging conversation, Nobel Prize–winning economist Roger Myerson reflects on a career studying how rules shape human behavior, from optimal auction design to Ukraine's decentralization…

Chat2Learn: Using Simple Conversation Prompts to Boost Early Childhood Development

Dec 09, 2025 51m

Large gaps in language skills between children from different socioeconomic backgrounds emerge early and persist throughout schooling. In this episode, Ariel Kalil, Professor of Public Policy at…

Human Capital for Humans: An Accessible Introduction to the Economic Science of People

Nov 25, 2025 57m

What's the greatest driver of economic growth? Love. In this episode, UChicago economist Pablo Peña presents his new book Human Capital for Humans, inspired by Nobel laureate Gary Becker's legendary…

Liberalism and the Great Enrichment: Why Ideas, Not Capital, Made the Modern World

Nov 18, 2025 1h 4m

Deirdre McCloskey argues the world's jump from $2 to $50 per day in average income came from a radical 18th-century shift: equality of permission, or letting ordinary people have a go at bettering…

Frequently Asked Questions

How many episodes does The Pie: An Economics Podcast have?

The Pie: An Economics Podcast has published 128 episodes since November 2020, covering topics in Education, News.

Is The Pie: An Economics Podcast still active?

The Pie: An Economics Podcast is currently highly active with new episodes every 2 weeks. Average episode length is 28m.

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