How to Avoid the Partisan Trap Even at The Washington Post w/ Megan McArdle

Conversations With Coleman

The Free Press

Philosophy, Society & Culture

4.8 • 2K Ratings

🗓️ 11 August 2025

⏱️ 80 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

You might think you know what a Washington Post columnist sounds like, but Megan McArdle is not your typical liberal media voice. She’s spent years inside the most established outlets in journalism: The Atlantic, Bloomberg, The Economist and yet she’s managed to surprise and infuriate readers on the left with sharp critiques that don’t always toe the party line. Today on Conversations we talk about why progressives often get economic policy wrong and the real mess behind America’s broken healthcare system. Megan makes a solid pitch for why Americans should continue to have a private system. Megan and I get into it about insurance companies, pharmaceutical giants, and where the incentives in healthcare are completely backwards . . . and, believe it or not, where they actually work. Go to groundnews.com/Coleman to get 40% off the unlimited access Vantage plan and unlock world-wide perspectives on today’s biggest news stories. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to another episode of Conversations with Coleman. My guest today is Megan McCartle.
0:06.4	Megan is a columnist at the Washington Post where she covers economics, finance, and government policy.
0:12.6	She originally gained prominence through her early 2000s blog, Asymmetrical Information,
0:18.1	later writing for outlets like The Atlantic, Bloomberg, and Newsweek. She's also the
0:22.9	author of The Upside of Down, Why Failing Well is the Key to Success. In this episode, we talk about what
0:29.6	Megan's Washington Post readers get wrong about her. We talk about what exactly is wrong with the
0:34.9	American health care system, touching on insurance, pharmaceutical companies,
0:38.9	and the role of bad incentives. We also talk about the legacy of Obamacare. Next, we talk about
0:45.0	the influence of AI on education, including how to use AI in the classroom. So without further
0:51.2	ado, Megan McArdle.
0:53.0	Thank you. So without further ado, Megan McArdle.
1:11.8	Hi listeners. I want to tell you about the Free Press's latest new podcast, old school with Shiloh Brooks. When we met Shiloh, he was one of the most popular professors at Princeton, and he was making reading great books cool again. Now, he's hosting this show to help all of us, and young men in
1:18.2	particular, get back into reading for pleasure. The show features intimate conversations with
1:23.9	fascinating men, from fitness gurus to philosophers, about books that shape their lives.
1:29.5	They cover books like The Old Man in the Sea, Middle March, and down and out in Paris and London,
1:34.8	to bring you a truly old school education. New episodes out every Thursday. And in fact,
1:40.5	I am one of his first guests. So go to old school with Shiloh Brooks on Apple, Spotify,
1:45.7	or wherever you get your podcasts. Okay, Megan McArdle. Thanks so much for coming on my show.
1:51.5	Thanks for having me. So I've been reading you for a long time. You're a long time columnist
1:56.7	at the Washington Post. And in my view, one of the columnists with the highest batting average
2:02.7	in terms of just getting issues right in terms of not being influenced by the partisan crazes
2:10.9	on the right and the left on any particular moment. And so you've been a pleasure to read for that
	...

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