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

Conversations with Coleman

The Free Press

Philosophy, Society & Culture

4.5 • 614 Ratings

🗓️ 11 August 2025

⏱️ 79 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

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.
1:02.8	Now, are all the traitors present?
1:05.2	Let's get started, shall we?
1:06.6	From rags to riches.
1:07.9	I'm so sick of this.
1:09.8	Working like a dog and being treated worse.
1:11.6	Yorkshire to New York.
1:12.9	For climbers, you and me.
1:15.1	A life dedicated to revenge.
1:17.5	Let's make this an occasion to remember.
1:20.8	A woman of substance on Channel 4 starts tonight at 9.
1:23.2	Okay, Megan McArdle.
	...

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