The Pie: An Economics Podcast

Eric Zwick, a University of Chicago economist who studies taxation, entrepreneurship, and inequality, uncovers America’s overlooked business fortunes. He discusses the millions of car dealers, dentists, franchise owners, and online entrepreneurs whose wealth dwarfs the Forbes 400. Topics include tax reform, inheritance, private equity, political influence, founder dependence, and how AI may reshape Main Street wealth.

Erik Hurst, a labor economist and University of Chicago Booth professor, examines why paychecks failed to keep pace with prices. Drawing on payroll data from 16 million workers, he explores the Great Resignation, standardized raises, job stayers losing purchasing power, inflation’s shift toward corporate profits, and Belgium’s indexed wages. He also considers why another inflation burst could repeat the pattern.

Leonardo Bursztyn, a University of Chicago economist studying social norms and collective action, examines Australia’s under-16 social media ban. Why did compliance collapse? Fear of missing out, online popularity, and influential teens staying connected all play a role. He explores the risks of driving use underground, why grade-based rules may work better, and how incentives, safer platforms, and real-world alternatives could change behavior.

Brent Neiman, Edward Eagle Brown Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, explores how US sanctions disrupt dollar payments worldwide. Topics include correspondent banking chains, de-risking, collateral damage for unsanctioned institutions, and whether sanctions are nudging heavily restricted economies toward China’s yuan. He also discusses new data mapping the global payment network.

When a police officer is shot, is it safer to wait for an ambulance or to be driven straight to the hospital in a squad car? In this episode of The Pie, Prachi Sanghavi, an associate professor in the Department of Public Health Sciences at the University of Chicago and co-director of the Health Policy Data Lab, discusses new research tracing how shooting victims across 18 U.S. cities reach the hospital, and what it reveals about a decades-old debate over pre-hospital care.

Nick Epley, behavioral science professor at Chicago Booth and author of A Little More Social, studies why people mispredict social interactions. He recounts the train moment that launched 120+ experiments. Conversations are often better than expected. He explores rising loneliness, missed chances for help, and simple habits to increase daily connection.

Maggie Shi, an assistant professor at UChicago Harris who studies health economics and nursing home regulation, discusses predictable inspection timing. She explains how staff ramp up before inspections and slack off afterward. The conversation covers staffing cycles, changes in resident care measures, links to mortality, and trade-offs of making inspections less predictable.

Dana Suskind, pediatric cochlear implant surgeon and early learning advocate, discusses early brain wiring and why human conversation matters for toddlers. She examines AI that helps caregivers versus AI that mimics relationships. She warns about tech creating unequal development and describes tools to boost real-life interactions.

Konstantin Sonin, a political economist at the University of Chicago who studies signaling in politics, explains why cultural fights often stand in for economic debate. He lays out multidimensional signaling, how noisy voter perceptions let cultural stances signal economic priorities, and why this helps populists and entrenched leaders stay popular.

Ariel Kalil, Daniel Levin Professor of Public Policy at UChicago Harris and researcher on parental investment, explores how grades and standardized tests send different signals to parents. She discusses why frequent, subjective grades often outweigh infrequent test scores. The conversation covers grade inflation, pandemic effects, equity concerns, and practical ways parents can combine both measures to decide on extra support.