This week, Nick and Goldy sit down with historian Gary Gerstle, author of The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order, for an in-depth exploration of neoliberalism—its origins, dominance, and decline. Their conversation examines the shifting political landscape shaped by recent presidential administrations, including the Biden administration’s efforts to promote a more equitable “middle-out” economic framework. With a focus on historical context and the enduring power of neoliberal institutions, this episode offers a compelling analysis of the pathways to a new economic order and the critical role of innovative thinking in navigating today’s economic challenges.

Every era runs on an economic story. For the last half-century, ours has been neoliberalism — the belief that if you free markets from constraints, prosperity will follow. This week, we revisit a bracing conversation with historian Gary Gerstle about how neoliberalism took hold, why it once felt inevitable, and why it’s now breaking down in plain sight. Drawing on his book The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order, Gerstle joins Nick and Goldy to trace how a seductive promise of “freedom” — economic, cultural, and political — helped neoliberalism crowd out the New Deal order, even as it hollowed out communities, deepened inequality, and set the stage for today’s volatility. Along the way, they explore how economic crises create openings for new ideas, why the collapse of an old order is never smooth, and what it will take to build a post-neoliberal, middle-out economy that actually delivers for working people.