Organized Money
Organized Money is a podcast about how the business world really works, and how corporate consolidation and monopolies are dominating every sector of our economy. The series is hosted by writers and journalists Matt Stoller and David Dayen, both thought leaders in the antimonopoly movement. Organized Money is a fresh spin on business reporting, one that goes beyond supply and demand curves or odes to visionary entrepreneurs. Each week Matt and David break down the ways monopolies control everything from the food we eat, to the drugs we take, the way we communicate and even how we date. You’ll hear from workers, business leaders, antitrust lawyers, and policymakers who are on the front lines of the fight for open markets and fair competition.
If you care about an economy that is free and open, one not controlled by a handful of corporations, Organized Money is for you. New episodes out every week until the end of the year. Organized Money is a Rock Creek Sound production, from executive producers Ari Saperstein and Ellen Weiss, and senior producer Benjamin Frisch.
Episodes
Who Really Controls Your Food?
Most Americans know their food passes through many hands before reaching their plates, but few realize just how concentrated that chain of production has become. In this final episode of the season, antitrust lawyer Basel Musharbash reveals how roughly three dozen corporations have come to dominate nearly every aspect of America&aposs food system, from farm to table.Drawing from his recent report "Kings Over the Necessaries of Life," Musharbash traces this consolidation through pivotal moments in American history, from the sweeping reforms of the 1930s New Deal to the deregulation of the 1970s and 80s. He tells Matt and David how today&aposs agricultural giants wield their market power to shape everything from seed prices to distribution networks, often at the expense of farmers and consumers alike.
17/12/24•49m 27s
The most hated man on Wall Street; Rohit Chopra, head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Wall Street&aposs biggest players have a nemesis: Rohit Chopra. As head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, he&aposs the watchdog who coined the term "junk fees" and has saved Americans billions by cracking down on them. Over the past decade he has emerged as a leader in three critical areas: antitrust, finance, and student debt. But this aggressive oversight has powerful enemies. Tech billionaire Marc Andreessen claims Chopra is "terrorizing" banks and pushing them to cut off services to people based on politics. In this episode, Chopra sits down with Matt and David to set the record straight—and to explain how CFPB is actually fighting to make sure banks can&apost discriminate against anyone, while preventing powerful actors from rigging the financial system in their favor.
10/12/24•45m 32s
The great American drug shortage isn't an accidient, its artificial
The Great American Drug Shortage isn&apost an accident - it&aposs by design. In this eye-opening episode, we expose how three powerful drug distributors seized control of 90% of America&aposs pharmaceutical supply chain, creating an artificial crisis that puts profits over patients.Behind the scenes, shadowy middlemen have turned the generic drug market into a losing game for manufacturers, leading to dangerous shortages of life-saving medications. Rather than delivering on free market promises of innovation and competition, this system produces something far more sinister: price-gouging, monopoly control, and manufactured scarcity.Our guide through this pharmaceutical maze is Tim Ward, president and chief legal officer of Hercules, an independent pharmaceutical wholesaler fighting to survive against industry giants. Ward offers an insider&aposs view of how a handful of corporations gained the power to determine which medications Americans can—and can&apost—access.
03/12/24•39m 43s
The Democratic Party and Corporate Power with Rep. Chris DeLuzio
Rep. Chris Deluzio (D) defied Pennsylvania&aposs red wave, outperforming Kamala Harris in working-class areas outside of Pittsburgh to secure re-election. He joins David and Matt to talk about what the Democratic party can learn from his victory. Deluzio says Democratic candidates in tough races won by focusing on pocketbook issues and standing up to powerful forces harming their constituents. Deluzio says you need a clear vision and bold messaging: "Not every issue has a win-win solution. Sometimes there’s a bad guy, and you’ve got to be willing to fight them."
26/11/24•42m 28s
FanDuel and DraftKings and the online betting duopoly
Americans lose over $150 billion annually to state lotteries, casinos, and online gambling—that’s $300,000 every minute. How did gambling become so entrenched in American life? And how are FanDuel and DraftKings driving this crisis?In this episode, we’re joined by Les Bernal, National Director of Stop Predatory Gambling, and Dr. Kavita Fisher, a psychiatrist whose life was deeply affected by online gambling addiction. Together, they uncover how corporate giants and state governments profit at the expense of millions, fueling addiction and financial ruin.Check out the Al Jazeera documentary " The Big Gamble": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQ9qp9UftEE. And the New York Times investigation into online sports betting: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/10/podcasts/the-daily/sports-betting-lobbying-laws-states.html
19/11/24•52m 1s
Baby Formula Monopoly with Laura Modi, CEO of Bobby
When Laura Modi launched Bobby in 2020, it was the first infant formula company to enter the U.S. market in over six years. At the time, the U.S. baby formula industry was dominated by two major players (Abbott and Reckitt) they controlled 80% of the market. Two years later, that monopoly would lead to a crisis when Abbott Labs shut down its main production facilities because of contamination. Modi explains the significant barriers to entry in the industry, and how the WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) program&aposs state-by-state exclusive contracts with formula manufacturers have historically reinforced market concentration.
12/11/24•51m 18s
Voters Want Antitrust! with Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes
In the battleground state of Arizona, voters are telling campaigns that they want more antitrust! Earlier this year, state Attorney General Kris Mayes sued a bunch of corporate landlords and a software company called RealPage for illegally raising rents in Phoenix and Tucson using an algorithm, hiking the cost of renting by as much as 20%. Her lawsuit went viral. And now, voters are telling campaign staff at the doors that they love what Mayes did and want more of it. Rent, antitrust, corporate power, and elections, all in one episode.
05/11/24•37m 42s
Monopolies and Censorship in Elections with Ken Klippenstein
We hear a lot about how Big Tech uses algorithms to serve up information - but on this episode, we have a story about how they also use their power to control what you can see and hear. After independent journalist Ken Klippenstein wrote a story sharing a dossier about J.D. Vance, allegedly obtained in an Iranian hack of the Trump campaign, X suspended his account and blocked links to his Substack. People that shared his post on X had their accounts suspended and were told to take down the post if they wanted their accounts reinstated. This is a cautionary tale about how Big Tech uses its power to limit speech, and how that&aposs not limited to going after one political party or persuasion.Check out Ken&aposs site here: https://www.kenklippenstein.com
29/10/24•48m 39s
Antitrust on the Campaign Trail with Maggie Goodlander
Maggie Goodlander is running for Congress from New Hampshire by running against monopolies. What&aposs it like to mount a political campaign built on antitrust, and can you win with that kind of messge? We speak with Maggie and hear from other candidates who taking a similar message to the voters in their districts.Check out the candidates we spoke to in this episode:https://maggiefornh.com https://willrollinsforcongress.com https://www.monicatranel.com
29/10/24•38m 24s
The Revolt of the Pharmacists Part 2: with Congressman Jake Auchicloss (D) from Massachusetts.
In Part 1, we heard how pharmacists are trying to push back against the monopolistic and harmful practices of PBMs. Today, we hear from another avenger who is taking the battle against PBMs to his workplace on Capitol Hill. Representative Jake Auchicloss is a co-sponsor of the bipartisan Pharmacists Fight Back Act, the most comprehensive PBM reform ever introduced at the federal level. He tells David and Matt that you&aposve got to delink the money that a PBM earns to the price of a drug or the volume of drugs that are sold. And he&aposs not willing to settle for less.
22/10/24•34m 5s
The Revolt of the Pharmacists Part 1: with Benjamin Jolley
What would you do if you owned an independent pharmacy and you discovered that the only way to actually make money would be to stop filling most prescriptions? This is what our guest Benjamin Jolley sees everyday. As a third generation independent pharmacist, he&aposs watched as an industry of middlemen have taken control over a transaction that they literally have nothing to do with. Pharmacy Benefit Managers, PBMs decide which drugs, the pricing and the supply between patients trying to fill prescriptions and what a pharmacist gets paid. As a result, some 2000 plus pharmacies have closed this year. How did we get here? Matt and David go behind the pharmacy counter to break it all down with Benjamin Jolley.
22/10/24•54m 52s
The Real Supermarket Sweep: with Laurel Kilgour
Today, just four companies—Walmart, Kroger, Costco and Albertsons—account for about half of all grocery sales in the country. And two of them, Kroger and Albertsons, want to merge. If approved, it would be the largest supermarket merger in history. Together they employ 700,000 people across some 5,000 stores. But regulators are fighting back, arguing that a merger would be bad for consumers and for workers.In this episode we go inside the courtroom to hear the case for and against the merger with Laurel Kilgour, an attorney and the research manager at the American Economic Liberties Project.
15/10/24•44m 57s
The Search Monopoly: with Brody and Luke Mullins
Google just lost the biggest tech antitrust court ruling since the 1990s. And now the fate of Google’s search preeminence is TBD. But the question we’re asking in this episode; What took so long? This trial could have happened 11 years ago, but didn’t. Why not? How did Google avoid the antitrust arm of the government for so long? How did the case against Google get squashed back in 2012 and who did the squashing? And exactly how many times a week were Google executives meeting with the Obama administration over its eight years in office? David and Matt speak with journalists, brothers and co-authors Luke and Brody Mullins. In their new book The Wolves of K Street, they unpack the public and private campaign Google and its cast of lobbyists and political friends waged to protect the company and the consequences of that delay for all of us.
15/10/24•44m 0s
Organized Money Trailer
On Organized Money, Matt Stoller & Dave Dayen break down the ways monopolies control the food we eat, the drugs we take, the way we communicate – and so much more. Coming October 15th.
11/10/24•2m 42s
