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The Inequality Podcast

The Inequality Podcast

Stone Center for Research on Wealth Inequality and Mobility 56 Episodes Oct 5, 2026

Presented by the James M. and Cathleen D. Stone Center for Research on Wealth Inequality and Mobility at the University of Chicago's Harris School of Public Policy, The Inequality Podcast brings together scholars across disciplines to discuss the causes and consequences of inequality and strategies to promote economic mobility. This podcast is hosted by sociologist Geoff Wodtke and economists Steven Durlauf and Damon Jones.

Episodes

Michael Geruso on Global Depopulation and ‘the Case for People’
Michael Geruso on Global Depopulation and ‘the Case for People’ Oct 5, 2026 55:02 In many corners, a large and growing global population is cause for worry. More people may create greater problems for the environment, for humanity’s food supply, for gender equity, and more. Today, however, societies face the possibility of a different problem: With birth rates in decline, the global population is growing at a slower rate. Sometime this century, many demographers say, the popula
Zachary Bleemer on the Stratification of American Higher Education
Zachary Bleemer on the Stratification of American Higher Education Sep 21, 2026 57:18 In the United States, the most well-resourced universities largely admit the highest-scoring students, while the least-resourced serve students with the lowest scores. But if individual achievement is shaped not only by ability, but also by family resources, school quality, parental education, and other circumstances, what are the inequality implications of a higher education system that concentra
Daniel Markovits on ‘The Meritocracy Trap’ (Live)
Daniel Markovits on ‘The Meritocracy Trap’ (Live) Sep 7, 2026 01:15:19 Meritocracy was meant to dislodge the old aristocratic elite: In its most idealized version, a society’s richest would earn their riches, as opposed to merely inheriting them. But what happens when these new meritocratic elites begin using their wealth to give their children unfair advantages? If meritocracy can be corrupted like that, then what does that say about it as an ideal societies are str
Beatrice Cherrier on the Evolution of Economic Thought
Beatrice Cherrier on the Evolution of Economic Thought Aug 24, 2026 52:27 It is easy to regard economic ideas as something akin to laws of nature. In reality, every economic idea has a human history, a process through which it was devised, debated, and refined by economists — a group as subject to human nature as any other. Our guest today has spent a career studying how economic thought has evolved, including whether inequality within the field has affected economic th
Lane Kenworthy on What Matters More Than Inequality Reduction
Lane Kenworthy on What Matters More Than Inequality Reduction Aug 10, 2026 51:45 Over the past two decades, addressing income and wealth inequality has become a bigger and bigger priority for policymakers and researchers across the world. But have advocates focused on it too much? Our guest today argues that societies should de-emphasize inequality reduction and instead pursue other policies that would lift living standards.Lane Kenworthy is a sociologist at the University of
David Brady on the Politics of Poverty
David Brady on the Politics of Poverty Jul 27, 2026 57:36 Americans have long been susceptible to certain myths about poverty, including that individuals become poor because of choices, as opposed to larger societal forces. This way of thinking has consequences, particularly at the level of policymaking. Our guest today has done foundational work challenging these persistent myths, as well as diagnosing what it takes for our political institutions to mea
Jahel Queralt on the Costs of Moralizing Success and Failure
Jahel Queralt on the Costs of Moralizing Success and Failure Jul 13, 2026 48:35 Critics of meritocracy often emphasize the ways merit-based thinking can justify grossly unequal outcomes, such as wide gaps in pay between rank-and-file workers and CEOs. Indeed, to some meritocratic thinkers, a sought-after executive receiving an eight-figure salary is simply a skilled worker getting their just deserts. But our guest today advocates for a different conception of meritocracy, one
Thomas Mulligan on Acting Meritocratically
Thomas Mulligan on Acting Meritocratically Jun 29, 2026 54:55 It is a simple but persuasive idea: In a world of scarcity, rewards like jobs and pay should be distributed based on ability and effort, not birthright, connections, ways of living, wealth, and so on. Meritocracy, framed this way, may sound utterly uncontroversial. Yet the idea has its fair share of critics, who argue that “merit” tends to accrue to those lucky enough to have well-heeled, well-con
Philip Kitcher on the Erosion of Ethics in Policymaking
Philip Kitcher on the Erosion of Ethics in Policymaking Jun 15, 2026 49:12 Beginning in the 1980s, a new political order led policymakers to prize economic efficiency, often at the expense of public goods. What has followed, our guest argues, has been a withdrawal of ethics from policy making, as well as an “erosion of kindness.” Our guest proposes a different ethos, one that hearkens back to a time before the pursuit of efficiency blinded us to other essential human val
Michelle Jackson on the Overworked Labor Force
Michelle Jackson on the Overworked Labor Force Jun 1, 2026 52:49 From Adam Smith’s pin factory to Henry Ford’s assembly line, specialization has long connoted a modern, efficient economy. Within this paradigm, workers’ jobs become repetitive but, ultimately, entail a narrow scope of tasks. So why, in today’s ultra-optimized economy, are so many supposedly specialized workers juggling so many wide and varied responsibilities? Michelle Jackson is a sociologist at
Tom VanHeuvelen on the Future of Organized Labor
Tom VanHeuvelen on the Future of Organized Labor May 18, 2026 35:33 It is no secret that the power of American unions has waned since the middle of the 20th century. Their downturn has had far-reaching consequences: As the threat of organized labor recedes, employers may feel less pressure to offer concessions. Our guest today has done significant work studying the decline of the labor movement and its repercussions for workers, unionized or not. Few are better po
Leslie McCall on Intersectional Inequality, AI, and Meritocracy
Leslie McCall on Intersectional Inequality, AI, and Meritocracy May 4, 2026 56:28 Inequality is often framed in terms of a binary: rich and poor, haves and have nots. But inequality between groups — based on gender, class, race, and so on — must be understood alongside inequalities within particular groups, at particular intersections of identity. Our guest today has contributed foundational work to this intellectual framework. She has also enriched our understanding of how Ame

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