Americonned, a new documentary featuring our own Nick Hanauer, examines the inequality crisis currently plaguing the United States. The film shows the hidden struggles of American families and dissects the elite’s calculated political maneuvers to preserve and even grow their own wealth at everyone else’s expense. The filmmakers join us to share their experience documenting the long-overdue uprising of American workers, and explain how the process of making their film gave them hope for the future.
Browse Episodes
Can the economy be liberated? (with Jeremie Greer)
We know that inclusion drives economic growth because when our nation’s prosperity was most broadly shared, in the 1950s and 1960s, the American economy was at its strongest. But the sad truth is that even then a broad swath of the population wasn’t allowed to fully participate in the economy—Black people and other communities of color were purposefully denied the shared prosperity that white families enjoyed. The folks at Liberation in a Generation believe it’s possible to create an economy where all people of color can participate and thrive. Jeremie Greer, the organization’s co-director, explains how racism is profitable under our current economic system, and breaks down how we can build a Liberation Economy that truly includes—and benefits—everyone.
Higher minimum wages are creating more jobs (with Michael Reich)
Ten years ago, Nick was called “near insane” for saying that substantially raising the minimum wage would create jobs. In retrospect, it seems obvious: After all, if no one has any money, who will buy all the stuff? Researchers at University of California, Berkeley have found more data to support this theory in a first-of-its-kind study on the effects of the $15 minimum wage. Michael Reich, one of the economists who worked on this exciting report, shares his findings with us.