Inflation: A Guide for Users and Losers (with Mark Blyth)

Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer

Civic Ventures

Business, Government, News, Politics

4.8 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 9 September 2025

⏱️ 39 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Political economist Mark Blyth joins Nick and Goldy to unpack the myths and realities of rising prices, from pandemic supply shocks and corporate profiteering to central-bank missteps and decades of bad economic theory. Drawing from his new book Inflation: A Guide for Users and Losers, Blyth explains why some narratives fall flat, why others reveal deeper truths about power and inequality, and what smarter, more equitable policies could look like in the future. Mark Blyth is a political economist and professor of International and Public Affairs at Brown University, where he studies the political power of economic ideas. He is the author of several acclaimed books, including Austerity: The History of a Dangerous Idea and Angrynomics, and most recently Inflation: A Guide for Users and Losers. Social Media: @mkblyth.bsky.social @MkBlyt Further reading: Inflation: A Guide for Users and Losers 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	The rising inequality and growing political instability that we see today are the direct result of decades of bad economic theory.
0:10.6	The last five decades of trickle-down economics haven't worked.
0:14.8	But what's the alternative?
0:16.2	Middle-out economics is the answer.
0:18.6	Because the middle class is the source of growth, not its consequence.
0:23.1	That's right.
0:28.7	This is pitchfork economics with Nick Hanauer, a podcast about how to build the economy from the middle out.
0:36.9	Welcome to the show.
0:41.1	Well, Goldie, I know you know that if there's anything that has pissed me off over the last
0:47.4	couple of three years in the academic economic discourse, it has been about inflation. And, you know, I've just found this
0:57.1	conversation. For you, it's been, I mean, it must have been really painful for you to go through
1:02.5	all this inflation, Nick. Do you look at prices? I don't know how to, never. But it doesn't matter.
1:09.7	It was still stupid and counterproductive.
1:12.6	Yeah.
1:13.6	And the narratives around what was causing it and what we should do about it, I just consistently
1:20.6	felt like we're, you know, missed the mark.
1:24.6	And so that is why I am incredibly excited to have our friend,
1:30.4	political economist Mark Blythe, back on the program, to talk about his new book,
1:35.8	Inflation, A Guide for Users and Losers. Because, you know, this book and Mark and his co-author
1:42.7	generally have decomposed the problem of inflation, I think, in really thoughtful and nuanced ways, which you obviously have to.
1:54.2	It's obviously a complicated problem.
1:56.4	And being Larry Summers and saying, okay, the way to handle this is to cause a giant recession
	...

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