Smart Talk Podcast

Today’s discussion was recorded in August of 2025 between me, Nathan Greene, and our returning guest, Dr. Ansel Schiavone. Before we get into today’s discussion, I have some updates for you all regarding the show. I have some bittersweet news to share: this is my final episode hosting the podcast. After 178 episodes, I, your host, Nathan Greene, am unfortunately moving on to a new role. I am an inherently curious person, and I love to learn through conversation. This podcast presented a unique opportunity for me to meet many people with interesting ideas and gain insight into how they perceive the world. While I didn’t always agree with them, it was always a fascinating conversation nonetheless. I got to speak with thinkers I love, have read about, and even got to reconnect with some I had already met. Needless to say, it was an incredible opportunity. By the time you’re hearing this, I will have already begun my new job. My last day with the Henry George School was September 14th, and this will be published shortly after. I hope you all loved listening to the podcast just as much as I enjoyed making it. The show will go on, though. While it may not be me behind the mic, the Henry George School will continue to put out the content you all come to love and expect. The show will be taking a break until next year. They will let you know ahead of time when the show will be back. I’m not too sure when that will be, but I know I will be listening, and I hope you do too.  If you want to keep up with me and my work, I will leave some links below to my Twitter, LinkedIn, and Substack. I can’t promise I’ll be very active on either, though, since this new role will be quite consuming, but a follow is always appreciated, and free.  I can not thank everyone who gave me this opportunity enough: from the listeners, to my coworker Kuba who helped me put the episodes out, to Andrada, the president of the school, who trusted me enough to manage the show myself. I am sad that I’m leaving. But I can’t wait to see, maybe I should say hear, what the podcast does next. I hope you all are just as excited. Dr. Schiavone is a macroeconomist whose research focuses on inequality and structural change. He has worked as a Research Assistant at the Institute for New Economic Thinking and the International Labor Organization. He has published numerous articles in journals such as Economic Modeling, Metroeconomica, and Regional Studies. Dr. Schiavone is an Assistant Professor at St. John’s University where he teaches microeconomics, macroeconomics, and the economics of poverty and inequality. He earned his bachelor’s from Dennison University and his Ph.D. from the University of Utah, both in economics.  Together, we discussed why workers are receiving a smaller and smaller share of what they produce, some of the policies recently passed to try and correct this inequality, and why certain critiques of globalization may not be unfair.  This is your host, Nathan Greene, signing off for the last time. Stay curious and keep searching for the truth. It may not be what you expect, but nothing ever is in this world. To check out more of our content, including our research and policy tools, visit our website: https://www.hgsss.org/ Nathan’s Links: Twitter: https://x.com/Nathan_Greene16 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathan-greene-596466171/ Substack: https://nathangreene1620.substack.com/