The Levy Institute Podcast

In this episode, Levy Senior Scholar and Program Director, Ajit Zacharias along with Levy Senior Scholar and Director of Graduate Programs, Thomas Masterson, sit down with journalist and writer, Claire Suddath to discuss the findings from their study, How Poor Are Employed People in the United States?  by Ajit Zacharias, Fernando Rios-Avila, Thomas Masterson, and Aashima Sinha.    Further reading:  More readings on Time Poverty from the Levy Institute. What Do We Owe Women for Childcare and Housework? $3.6 Trillion. Bloomberg News, by Claire Suddath.      Applications for the Levy Institute Graduate Programs in Economic Theory and Policy are open. For more information and to start your application, please visit: https://levygrad.bard.edu/  The early decision deadline to apply is January 15, 2027. The regular decision deadline is April 15, 2027. *International Student should apply by March 15th to allow time for securing a visa.* All applicants are eligible for financial aid. Financial aid is awarded based on each individual's merits and accomplishments both inside and outside the classroom.

Levy Scholars Claudio H. Dos Santos, Gennaro Zezza, and Michalis Nikiforos sit down in this episode to discuss the life and legacy of one of the Institute's Distinguished Scholars, Wynne Godley (1926-2010).  This episode serves as part of the Levy at 40 Series. In 2026, the Levy Economics Institute marks the 40th anniversary of its founding. For four decades, the Institute has advanced independent economic research, shaped policy debates, and moved beyond the boundaries of mainstream economic thinking. In the months ahead we will share new and archival content reflecting on the ideas, research, and scholars that have shaped the Institute’s work over the past 40 years. Further reading on the work of Wynne Godley:  "Seven Unsustainable Processes: Medium-term Prospects and Policies for the United States and the World," by Wynne Godley "Debt and Lending: A Cri de Coeur," by Wynne Godley and Gennaro Zezza "The US Economy amid Rising Global Uncertainty," by Dimitri B. Papadimitriou, Giuliano Toshiro Yajima, and Gennaro Zezza Monetary Economics: An Integrated Approach to Credit, Money, Income, Production and Wealth, by Wynne Godley and Marc Lavoie

In this episode, Levy Research Scholar Aashima Sinha sits down with University of Massachusetts Amherst Professor Emerita and Levy Senior Scholar Nancy Folbre to discuss how feminist economics is reshaping our understanding of well-being, care, and inequality—from new measures that value household production to the challenges of integrating gender and care work into macroeconomics. They discuss fiscal and political barriers to gender-equitable policy, major data gaps (and efforts to fix them), and how patriarchy and capitalism reinforce each other across global contexts. Further reading:  Integrating Nonmarket Consumption into the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey, by A. Zacharias, F. Rios-Avila, N. Folbre, and T. Masterson The Care Board, University of Kansas A Data Infrastructure for Measuring the Care Economy, National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine "Unmasking Hidden Poverty in America: The Role of Time Deficits," by A. Zacharias, F. Rios-Avila, T. Masterson, and A. Sinha "Measuring Care: Gender, Empowerment, and the Care Economy," by N. Folbre   Applications for the Levy Institute Graduate Programs in Economic Theory and Policy are open. For more information and to start your application, please visit: https://www.bard.edu/levygrad/. The early decision deadline to apply is January 15, 2026. The regular decision deadline is April 15, 2026. *International Student should apply by March 15th to allow time for securing a visa.* All applicants are eligible for financial aid. Financial aid is awarded based on each individual's merits and accomplishments both inside and outside the classroom.  

Culminating in a 2024 report, the Levy Institute (Zacharias, Rios-Avila, Folbre, and Masterson) conducted research commissioned by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to develop a methodology to integrate home production (unpaid household labor like cooking, cleaning, and caring for children) into the BLS measure of household consumption. Senior Scholar Ajit Zacharias and Research Associate İpek Ilkkaracan sit down to discuss this research and its potential applications in the US and abroad.  Applications for the Levy Institute Graduate Programs in Economic Theory and Policy are open. For more information and to start your application, please visit: https://www.bard.edu/levygrad/. The deadline to apply is April 15, 2025. Further reading:  Integrating Nonmarket Consumption into the Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Expenditure Survey, by A. Zacharias, F. Rios-Avila, N. Folbre, and T. Masterson  

Levy Institute President Pavlina R. Tcherneva sits down with Lord Robert Skidelsky to discuss his new book, Mindless. Their conversation spans Skidelsky's roots in economics, his studies as biographer of John Maynard Keynes, and a revisit of the "Economic Possibilities for Our Grandchildren." Be sure to listen and join the conversation through your favorite podcast listening service. The early application deadline for the Levy Institute Graduate Programs in Economic Theory and Policy is January 15, 2025. For more information and to start your application, please visit: https://www.bard.edu/levygrad/ Further Readings:  Levy Institute Working Paper No. 1073 "Frankenstein in Fact and Fiction" | Lecture at Bard College (View Lecture), November 19, 2024 by Robert Skidelsky Mindless: The Human Condition in the Age of Artificial Intelligence, by Robert Skidelsky John Maynard Keynes, by Robert Skidelsky Keynes: The Return of the Master, by Robert Skidelsky What's Wrong with Economics?, by Robert Skidelsky How Much Is Enough?, by Robert Skidelsky

John Harvey sits down with Senior Scholar Randy Wray to discuss Social Security, what people misunderstand about the implications of aging societies, and his unorthodox path to becoming an economist. The Levy Institute Graduate Programs in Economic Theory and Policy 31st Annual Levy Economics Institute Conference  May 2, 2024   Recommended readings: “The Unbearable Weight of Aging” L. Randall Wray “Wampeters, Foma, and Granfalloons: Enabling Myths and Not-So-Innocent Frauds” L. Randall Wray “Subway Tokens and Social Security” L. Randall Wray “Can the Social Security Trust Fund Contribute to Savings?” L. Randall Wray “Abolish Taxes” L. Randall Wray “An Irreverent Overview of the History of Money from the Beginning of the Beginning through to the Present” L. Randall Wray Money for Beginners L. Randall Wray Understanding Modern Money L. Randall Wray

John Harvey, Professor and Hal Wright Chair of Economics at Texas Christian University talks with Levy Research Scholar and Director of the Bard Economic Democracy Inititiative, Pavlina R. Tcherneva, regarding Modern Monetary Theory and the case for a job guarantee.    Recommended readings:  The Case for a Job Guarantee, Pavlina Tcherneva "Seismic shifts in economic theory and policy: From the Bernanke Doctrine to Modern Money Theory," Pavlina Tcherneva and Eric Tymoigne "Unemployment: The Silent Epidemic," Pavlina Tcherneva The Lost Cause, Cory Doctorow “Japanese Monetary Policy: A Case of Self-Induced Paralysis?” Ben Bernanke

Our inaugural episode, hosted by John Harvey, Professor and Hal Wright Chair of Economics at Texas Christian University. Harvey sits down for an in-depth conversation with James K. Galbraith regarding the state of the economics discipline, central bank policy, and more.   Recommended readings:  "In Defense of Low Interest Rates," Policy Note by James K. Galbraith The Poverty of the World, by Sheyda F. A. Jahanbani The Age of Uncertainty, by John K. Galbraith The Anatomy of Power, by John K. Galbraith

Enjoy this short snippet of our first episode coming out later this month. Guest Host John Harvey of Texas Christian University sits down with Senior Scholar James K. Galbraith. The Levy Institute Podcast will delve into conversations in public policy that move beyond conventional approaches. Subscribe and stay tuned for more information!   https://www.levyinstitute.org/