Uploaded May 2025 | Updated September 2026, 3 weeks ago
The Michael Shermer Show # 519
Amid rising concerns about AI, inequality, trade wars, and globalization, New Yorker staff writer and Pulitzer Prize finalist John Cassidy takes a bold approach: he tells the story of capitalism through its most influential critics.
From the Luddites and early communists to the Wages for Housework movement and modern degrowth advocates, Cassidy’s global narrative features both iconic thinkers—Smith, Marx, Keynes—and lesser-known voices like Flora Tristan, J.C. Kumarappa, and Samir Amin.
John Cassidy has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 1995. He writes a regular column, The Financial Page. He holds degrees from Oxford, Columbia, and New York Universities. His new book is Capitalism and Its Critics: A History from the Industrial Revolution to AI.
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If you enjoy the podcast, please show your support by making a $5 or $10 monthly donation.
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#michaelshermer
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Listen to The Michael Shermer Show or subscribe directly on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon Music.
skeptic.com/michael-shermer-show
The Michael Shermer Show # 519
Amid rising concerns about AI, inequality, trade wars, and globalization, New Yorker staff writer and Pulitzer Prize finalist John Cassidy takes a bold approach: he tells the story of capitalism through its most influential critics.
From the Luddites and early communists to the Wages for Housework movement and modern degrowth advocates, Cassidy’s global narrative features both iconic thinkers—Smith, Marx, Keynes—and lesser-known voices like Flora Tristan, J.C. Kumarappa, and Samir Amin.
John Cassidy has been a staff writer at The New Yorker since 1995. He writes a regular column, The Financial Page. He holds degrees from Oxford, Columbia, and New York Universities. His new book is Capitalism and Its Critics: A History from the Industrial Revolution to AI.
SUPPORT THE PODCAST
If you enjoy the podcast, please show your support by making a $5 or $10 monthly donation.
skeptic.com/donate
#michaelshermer
#skeptic
Listen to The Michael Shermer Show or subscribe directly on YouTube, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon Music.
skeptic.com/michael-shermer-show
