The Pie: An Economics Podcast

Cut Off: How US Sanctions are Reshaping the Global Payment System

US sanctions on Russian banks have complex spillovers for the importers and exporters who transact in dollars. On this episode of The Pie, Brent Neiman, the Edward Eagle

Scoop and Run: How Should Gunshot Victims Get to the Hospital?

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,

Talking to Strangers: The Economics of Social Connection

New research shows that people are strikingly bad at predicting how good it feels to connect with a stranger. In this episode of The Pie, Nick Epley, a professor of behav

Passing the Pop Quiz: How Nursing Homes Predict Inspections, and What It Costs Patients

In the United States, regulators inspect nursing homes to ensure compliance with quality, safety, and other standards. While these inspections are not technically announc

AI and Early Childhood Development: The Importance of Human Interaction

At a time when forty percent of American two-year-olds have their own tablet, a new generation of AI toys and chatbots is being marketed as a better alternative to screen

Signal and Noise: Why Politics Is About Culture When Voters Want Economics

Voters consistently say they care most about the economy — jobs, wages, inflation, the price of gas. So why are campaigns so often fought over culture? In this episode, K

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

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 S

Tied to the Job: The Gains from Permanent Residency

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 No

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

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

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

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

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

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, f

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

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

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

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

The Geography of Human Capital: Why Rich Regions Stay Rich

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 episo

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

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

The Transformation of Capitalism: 250 Years After Adam Smith

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 sm

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

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 gover

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

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 ef

Venezuela After Maduro: What Comes Next?

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 i

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

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 rese