If AI Gets Hired, America Can Handle It
Optimist Economy
Kathryn Anne Edwards and Robin Rauzi
4.9 • 829 Ratings
🗓️ 17 March 2026
⏱️ 52 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Switchboard operators. Typists. Secretaries. Lots of factory workers. The economy has a long history of technology slowly eliminating not just jobs but entire occupations. The U.S. also has a long history of not doing a lot to help those thrown out of work by major economic shifts. Economist Kathryn Anne Edwards, who literally wrote her dissertation on unemployment insurance (her professional assessment: "it sucks"), makes the case for a wholesale rebuild that triages joblessness, distinguishing between those who need time to job hunt and those who need to pivot to a new career.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | You're used to hearing my voice on the world, bringing you interviews from around the globe. |
| 0:07.2 | And you hear me reporting environment and climate news. I'm Carolyn Beeler. |
| 0:12.1 | And I'm Marco Werman. We're now with you hosting the world together. More global journalism with a fresh new sound. |
| 0:18.3 | Listen to the world on your local public radio station and wherever you find your podcasts. |
| 0:29.7 | You know how you're a good podcaster when your production gives you a note like stop talking? |
| 0:35.0 | That's how you know. |
| 0:42.0 | Yeah. like stop talking. That's how you know. Hello and welcome to Optimist Economy. |
| 0:44.0 | I'm Catherine Ann Edwards Economist. |
| 0:45.8 | I'm editor Robin Rousey. |
| 0:47.4 | On this show, we believe the U.S. economy can be better, |
| 0:50.1 | and we talk about how to get there, one problem and solution at a time. |
| 0:58.7 | Okay. and we talk about how to get there, one problem and solution at a time. This episode, we will be talking about how AI is going to steal all of our jobs, |
| 1:04.2 | and we should feel optimistic about it. |
| 1:07.3 | You wrote that. |
| 1:08.3 | Yeah, okay. |
| 1:11.0 | A couple of announcements. |
| 1:12.4 | I just realized that when this episode airs, it will be the one-year anniversary of the beginning of Optimist Economy. |
| 1:19.3 | So happy anniversary to us. |
| 1:20.6 | Happy anniversary! |
| 1:22.3 | I didn't get you anything. |
| 1:24.9 | Well, technically, you still have two weeks. |
| 1:29.2 | I probably still won't. There's probably still won't. Probably still won't. Yeah. That's funny. I also want to thank people who moved their |
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