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How to Save a Country

Roosevelt Institute

On "How to Save a Country," hosts Felicia Wong (Roosevelt Institute) and Michael Tomasky (The New Republic) introduce you to the people and ideas moving America forward in uncertain times. How did we get to this inflection point for our democracy and economy, and how do we move ahead? How do we protect democracy from its attackers? How do we change the fundamentals of our economy so jobs pay more and wealth is shared? How do we forge a path to a high-care, low-carbon future?

“How to Save a Country” answers these questions by connecting dots across economics, law, and politics—and shows that there is a way forward for our democracy.

New episodes every Thursday. Presented by the Roosevelt Institute, The New Republic, and PRX. Generous funding for this podcast was provided by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Omidyar Network. Views expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of its funders.

You can find transcripts and related resources for every episode at howtosaveacountry.org.

Roosevelt Institute 2022

On "How to Save a Country," hosts Felicia Wong (Roosevelt Institute) and Michael Tomasky (The New Republic) introduce you to the people and ideas moving America forward in uncertain times. How did we get to this inflection point for our democracy and economy, and how do we move ahead? How do we protect democracy from its attackers? How do we change the fundamentals of our economy so jobs pay more and wealth is shared? How do we forge a path to a high-care, low-carbon future?

“How to Save a Country” answers these questions by connecting dots across economics, law, and politics—and shows that there is a way forward for our democracy.

New episodes every Thursday. Presented by the Roosevelt Institute, The New Republic, and PRX. Generous funding for this podcast was provided by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Omidyar Network. Views expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of its funders.

You can find transcripts and related resources for every episode at howtosaveacountry.org.

Roosevelt Institute 2022
17hr 37min
Thumbnail for "How Feminist Economics Brought Us the Care Agenda (with Nancy Folbre) ".
What happens when we value unpaid labor?
Thumbnail for "The Unfinished Business of Saving Democracy".
And a look back at our favorite moments
Thumbnail for "Fascism Disguised as Freedom (with Jefferson Cowie) ".
How can progressives reclaim the concept of freedom?
Thumbnail for "Capital in the 2020s (with Thomas Piketty)".
The inequality expert on the policies we need now
Thumbnail for "The Deep[ly Necessary] State (with K. Sabeel Rahman)".
Why a little-known federal agency is crucial for our democracy
Thumbnail for "In Pursuit of the Climate-Proof City (from the Politics of Everything) ".
Does the climate-proof city exist?
Thumbnail for "An Academic Walks into a Diner (with Danielle Allen)".
What a political philosophy professor learned on the campaign trail
Thumbnail for "Red Nation, Blue Nation (with Michael Podhorzer) ".
How can progressive strategies address our country’s deep divisions?
Thumbnail for "The Neoliberal Order Is Over. What Comes Next? (with Gary Gerstle)".
What the next political order will look like
Thumbnail for "How Culture Warriors Seized the Right (with Julie Kohler)".
Why shifting power dynamics in the right-wing movement put democracy at risk
Thumbnail for "We Can Defeat Zero-Sum Politics (with Heather McGhee)".
How cross-racial solidarity can create a better America for all
Thumbnail for "What Drives Our Political Behavior (with Dr. Lilliana Mason) ".
How group psychology is making partisanship worse
Thumbnail for "The Art of Progressive Persuasion (with Maurice Mitchell)".
How progressives can change minds in a polarized era
Thumbnail for "Season 2 Trailer ".
Returning April 6: Season 2 of How to Save a Country
Thumbnail for "BONUS: Who Really Ended the Cold War? (with Brad DeLong) ".
Did the end of the Cold War extend neoliberalism’s shelf life?
Thumbnail for "BONUS: Sen. Elizabeth Warren on crypto’s cold, dark winter  ".
Will recent turmoil in the crypto markets lead to more oversight?
Thumbnail for "BONUS: The future of the House with Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries  ".
And what are we supposed to think about the Kevin McCarthy thing, anyway?
Thumbnail for "BONUS: Talking democracy and oligarchy with Dorian Warren ".
Are democracy and inequality actually compatible?
Thumbnail for "That '70s Show (from The Politics of Everything) ".
What's so scary about the 1970s?
Thumbnail for "Good Policy, Good Politics (with Sen. Elizabeth Warren) ".
How government can deliver—and why it must.
Thumbnail for "A Tale of Two Recoveries: What’s Changed since the Great Recession".
Two Labor Department chief economists explain what’s different about today’s economic recovery.
Thumbnail for "Why Neoliberalism Is Finally on the Way Out (with Brad DeLong)".
An economist’s apology for his generation
Thumbnail for "Making Meaning from the Midterms".
Michael and Felicia discuss the policies that underlie the politics of the midterms.
Thumbnail for "How the Green New Deal Changed the Conversation (with Rhiana Gunn-Wright)".
What Rhiana Gunn-Wright wants to build next.
Thumbnail for " House Leadership: The Next Generation (with Rep. Hakeem Jeffries)".
Priorities of the next generation of House leadership
Thumbnail for "An Immigration Plan for the Climate Change Era (with Deepak Bhargava)".
We need a new narrative for immigration.
Thumbnail for "The Supreme Court Is Back in Session. What's the Progressive Plan?".
Plus, how law shapes our economy, and how we can create a more equitable marketplace.
Thumbnail for "Why Labor Unions Are Back, and How They Can Save Democracy (with Dorian Warren)".
Workers are organizing in powerful and creative ways; is this the beginning of a 21st-century labor renaissance?
Thumbnail for "Our Democracy Is in Trouble, But We’ve Been Here Before (with Heather Cox Richardson)".
Make no mistake, America's experiment in popular sovereignty is in jeopardy—here's how this moment compares to past crises.
Thumbnail for "Why the Biden Economy Is Better Than You Think (with Brian Deese)".
Every week is infrastructure week now (no, really).
Thumbnail for "Welcome to How to Save a Country".
The big ideas behind a new vision for America

How Feminist Economics Brought Us the Care Agenda (with Nancy Folbre)

Thumbnail for "How Feminist Economics Brought Us the Care Agenda (with Nancy Folbre) ".
May 25, 202347min 56sec

What is feminist economics? How is the field changing what we want from policy? And what is the value of unpaid labor in our economy? In this episode, renowned economist Nancy Folbre answers those questions, and traces the much-needed rise of the care agenda. 

Nancy is director of the program on gender and care work at the Political Economy Research Institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She’s the editor of For Love and Mercy: Care Provision in the United States, and author of Greed, Lust, and Gender: A History of Economic Ideas, among other works.

As she tells Michael, feminist ideas once considered subversive are now common in the mainstream–and changing how policymakers think about the economy.

“I think we want to consider what the output of the care economy is, and the actual output is us. It's our capabilities,” says Nancy. “The care economy is about the production and the development and also the maintenance of human capabilities. This doesn't factor into GDP.” 

And later, Michael and Felicia discuss how care can be a winning political message.

Presented by the Roosevelt Institute, The New Republic, and PRX. Generous funding for this podcast was provided by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Omidyar Network. Views expressed in this podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of its funders.

You can find transcripts and related resources for every episode at howtosaveacountry.org.

Thumbnail for "How Feminist Economics Brought Us the Care Agenda (with Nancy Folbre) ".
How Feminist Economics Brought Us the Care Agenda (with Nancy Folbre)
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