Back to Basics Series: What the hell are they talking about? Econ terms explained! (with Nick and Goldy)

Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer

Civic Ventures

Business, Government, News, Politics

4.8 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 8 July 2025

⏱️ 15 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Ever find yourself halfway through a Pitchfork Economics episode thinking, “Wait… what’s a monopsony?” You’re not alone. In this listener-favorite episode, Nick and Goldy break down some of the most important—and most misunderstood—economic terms we use on the show. From ‘neoclassical’ and ‘neoliberal’ to ‘monopoly’, ‘monopsony,’ ‘stock buybacks,’ and ‘heterodox economics,’ we cut through the jargon so you can focus on what really matters: understanding how the economy works—and who it works for. Part of our Back-to-Basics summer series. Fun, clear, and essential episodes for new (or slightly confused) listeners. Social Media: ‪@nickhanauer.bsky.social‬ @goldyha.bsky.social‬ Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Threads: pitchforkeconomics Bluesky: @pitchforkeconomics.bsky.social Twitter: @PitchforkEcon, @NickHanauer, @civicaction YouTube: @pitchforkeconomics LinkedIn: Pitchfork Economics Substack: The Pitch

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, pitchfork listeners, Goldie here.
0:02.7	We've been doing this podcast for a long time now, so we thought we'd take a little break this summer.
0:08.4	But we don't want you to miss us too much, so we thought we'd revisit some of the most
0:12.8	essential episodes from early in our history with a back-to-basic summer series.
0:19.2	And if you're ever listening to an episode and wonder what the
0:22.1	hell we're talking about, this might help econ terms and definitions explained by me and Nick.
0:33.7	So, Nick, one of the problems with you knowing so much about economics is that you toss out these big words that we know really well.
0:43.8	Yes.
0:44.1	But not everybody is as tuned in as we are.
0:48.1	Correct.
0:48.3	So what I thought we'd do as a little bonus is go through some of the terms we use a lot and try to explain our $10
0:57.0	words and maybe $7 or $8. Yeah, exactly. I think it was Bertrand Russell who said,
1:02.0	if you want to discuss with me, define your terms. Okay. So we need to define our damn terms.
1:08.9	Let's start with one of the classics.
1:11.6	Well, actually, one of the neoclassics, neoclassical economics.
1:15.5	Yeah.
1:16.0	And before we get to the actual definition, let's just be clear that we use these words in a very particular way.
1:24.4	And there are people who would contest our view of this of these terms.
1:28.3	But screw them because this isn't their podcast.
1:30.3	Yeah, exactly.
1:31.3	Screw them.
1:32.3	So neoclassical economics is basically orthodox economic theory dating more or less to now from the
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