Same Cart, Different Price: When the Invisible Hand Becomes an Algorithm (with Lindsay Owens)

Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer

Civic Ventures

News, Business, Government, Politics

4.7 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 10 March 2026

⏱️ 39 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

The price you see online might not be the real price. A new investigation found that Instacart was quietly running pricing experiments—charging different customers different prices for the same groceries at the same time. This week, Paul and Goldy talk with Groundwork Collaborative Executive Director Lindsay Owens about how companies are using AI and massive data sets to run experiments on consumers—testing exactly how much each of us is willing to pay. And if every shopper sees a different price, one big question follows: Do markets still work the way economists say they do? Lindsay Owens is the Executive Director of the economic think tank Groundwork Collaborative and author of the forthcoming book, GOUGED: The End of a Fair Price in America. Further Reading: Same Cart, Different Price: Instacart’s Price Experiments Cost Families at Checkout We Had 400 People Shop For Groceries. What We Found Will Shock You. Gouged: The End of a Fair Price--and What That Means for Your Wallet Social Media: BlueSky: @lindsayowens.bsky.social Instagram: @lindsayowensphd TikTok: @lindsayowensphd Twitter: @owenslindsay1 BlueSky: @groundwork.bsky.social Twitter: @Groundwork Organizations developing policy on surveillence pricing: American Economic Liberties Project Economic Security Project Tech Equity Consumer Reports More Perfect Union Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com Facebook: Pitchfork Economics Podcast Bluesky: @pitchforkeconomics.bsky.social Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Threads: pitchforkeconomics TikTok: @pitchfork_econ YouTube: @pitchforkeconomics LinkedIn: ⁠Pitchfork Economics⁠ Twitter: @PitchforkEcon, @NickHanauer Substack: The Pitch

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

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.
0:14.7	But what's the alternative?
0:16.3	Middle-out economics is the answer.
0:18.6	Because the middle class is the source of growth, not its consequence.
0:23.2	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.
0:44.3	Hi, Goldie.
0:45.5	Hello, Paul.
0:46.8	You know, the other day, I was listening to the radio.
0:51.2	Here in Seattle, we have a radio station.
0:52.9	It's called K-E-X-P.
0:54.8	Wait, wait, this is like over-the-air, terrestrial. It's not a podcast. You have to listen to it live.
1:00.6	Exactly. I was listening to the radio. What are you 140? Getting there. But I, so I was listening
1:07.9	to the radio and I noticed that I had a sort of calmness about me as I was listening to the radio and I was thinking about what was going on.
1:14.7	And I realized that I was enjoying the fact that I could passively listen to the radio without fears of an algorithm interfering.
1:24.4	I realize, okay, I'm an Apple Music subscriber, right?
1:27.9	And I generally like the service a lot.
1:30.1	But if I stop paying attention to the playlist and it plays a couple of folk songs in a row
1:37.5	and I don't click down or switch to another song or something like that, Apple Music is just
1:43.0	like trying to make all of my playlist sound like the inside of a Starbucks something like that. Apple Music is just like trying to make all of my
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Civic Ventures, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Civic Ventures and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.