Newsmakers meet New Yorkers as host Brian Lehrer and his guests take on the issues dominating conversation in New York and around the world. This daily program from WNYC Studios cuts through the usual talk radio punditry and brings a smart, humane approach to the day's events and what matters most in local and national politics, our own communities and our lives. WNYC Studios is a listener-supported producer of other leading podcasts including Radiolab, On the Media, Death, Sex & Money, Nancy, and many others.
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Pre-Convention Conversation: Scraping By In A Rigged Economy
We had planned a show about the economy, but then history was made.
At the top of the show Hillary Clinton received the official democratic presidential nomination, so Brian Lehrer started the pre-convention call in, asking for women to react to the historic moment.
Christie from Alexandria Virginia said she collapsed in tears of joy:"It was so amazing to see someone like me," she said, "and I thought wow is this what white guys feel like all the time when they see the president?"
Then Brian pivoted to an issue at the center of the democratic platform: the rigged economy, taking calls from listeners who had been personally affected by what they perceive as an unfair system.
Guests Included:
- Elise Gould, Senior Economist and Director of Health Policy Research at Economic Policy Institute, discussed the landscape of minimum wage and living wage employment -- including who should make $7.25 an hour and what burden employers have to provide for their employees. EPI has recently released their Family Budget Calculator, which shows regional differences in how much income is needed for economic security.
- Felicia Wong, President and CEO of the Roosevelt Institute, discussed a report issued by the Roosevelt Institute which calls for a bold, comprehensive agenda to rewrite the rules of the economy.