The Capitol Forum Podcast

To earn the return on its investment, artificial intelligence will need to nearly triple productivity in the U.S. economy. So what will it do?Today on Second Request, Executive Editor Teddy Downey sits down with Jessica Wachter, the Dr. Bruce I. Jacobs Professor of Quantitative Finance at the Wharton School and a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, to discuss her recent paper, "What Investment Data Implies About the AI Transition," co-authored with Jonathan Wachter.

The Ellison family has been on a quest to reshape American media and Hollywood — their next target: Warner Bros. Discovery, home of HBO Max and CNN. Today on TCF Investigates, Arjun Singh sits down with editors Jeff Bliss and Jim Oliphant to hear about The Capitol Forum's exclusive reporting on the states' merger trial, and why a state victory could be a paradigm shift for antitrust law.

Plant-based protein has become a mainstay in restaurants and household dinners, but as an emerging industry it's susceptible to the market power of major food companies.Today on Second Request, Executive Editor Teddy Downey sits down with Andy Fitch and Cynthia Hanawalt of Columbia Law School's Sabin Center for Climate Change Law to discuss how antitrust law could prevent the alternative protein industry from being eaten up by its biggest players.

Millions of life insurance policies are tied to the fortunes and speculation of the world's biggest private equity companies. Now, their risk of defaulting on their obligations is increasing, and some worry it could lead to another financial crisis. Today on Second Request, Teddy Downey sits down with Andrew Granato, Assistant Professor at the University of Texas School of Law, and Pranjal Drall, a J.D.-Ph.D. candidate in Financial Economics at Yale University, to discuss their recent paper, "Private Credit's State Backstop: How Private Equity Socializes Risk Through Insurers." 

Waymo, Apple, Meta and Google have constructed ecosystems that have immense leverage over the global economy and infrastructure. So how should antitrust law tackle that?Today on Second Request, Executive Editor Teddy Downey sits down with J. Wyatt Fore to discuss the emerging antitrust risks in edge computing and AI.

Same ride, two different prices — that's the new reality facing Uber and Lyft passengers.Today on Second Request, Executive Editor Teddy Downey sits down with Derek Kravitz of Consumer Reports to talk about Kravitz's new reporting on how Uber and Lyft make use of algorithmic pricing to charge consumers different prices and inflate base costs.

Today on Second Request, Executive Editor Teddy Downey sits down with Carter Dougherty, senior fellow for anti-monopoly and finance at Demand Progress, who argues that Visa and Mastercard enable banks to coordinate pricing without ever explicitly agreeing to it — and makes the case for how the Credit Card Competition Act, ongoing antitrust litigation, and a more aggressive enforcement posture could finally break the duopoly's grip on the payments market.

Twelve states just sued to block Paramount's $110 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, arguing the deal would leave viewers with fewer choices and higher prices.Today on Second Request, Executive Editor Teddy Downey sits down with The Entertainment Strategy Guy, who writes one of Hollywood's leading newsletters about the streaming and entertainment industry.Read The Entertainment Strategy Guy's Substack here: https://entertainment.substack.com/

What happens if an AI chatbot tells someone to kill someone else? Tragically, this situation unfolded at a Florida school when a shooter asked ChatGPT for advice on how to conduct a school shooting. But do the creators of ChatGPT bear any responsibility? That's what Erie Meyer, former chief technology officer of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, thinks, and in this episode of Second Request she sits down with Arjun Singh to explain why.

In the second episode of The Surveillance Economy, a mini-series from The Capitol Forum Investigates, Arjun Singh sits down with Andrew G. Ferguson, a law professor and expert in policing and technology, to discuss his new book Your Data, Will Be Used Against You: Policing in the Age of Self-Surveillance.Together, the two discuss how law enforcement agencies use personal data from data brokers to create predictive policing programs, and the potential pitfalls of consumer data being handed over to law enforcement.

Corporations are spying on you — and you've given them permission to do it.Every time we log on to a browser, open an app or share information with a business, that data is packaged and sold. This lucrative business, however, has turned consumer technology into a surveillance apparatus, and that information is being sold to governments around the world. In the first episode of a special two-part investigation on "The Capitol Forum Investigates," reporter Ethan Ehrenhaft tells the story of how a former cocaine smuggler taught the government how to surveil the public, and how states, including California, are trying to clamp down on the unchecked proliferation of personal data.

Who will pick up the pieces if the AI hype fizzles?Today on Second Request, Executive Editor Teddy Downey sits down with Matthew Scherer of the Open Markets Institute to discuss his recent report, "No Bailouts for Big Tech Billionaires: Policies for When the AI Bubble Bursts." Together, the two examine the massive debt fueling artificial intelligence spending and the role of private credit, shadow banking, and other opaque financing structures in AI markets.

In 1961, Congress granted the NFL an antitrust exemption allowing the league to collectively negotiate broadcasting rights, revolutionizing sports broadcasting in America. Now, streaming companies like Amazon argue the law doesn't cover them, and that NFL teams can't collectively bargain with them for broadcasting rights.Today on Second Request, Executive Editor Teddy Downey speaks with Katie Van Dyck, Senior Legal Fellow at the American Economic Liberties Project, to discuss her recent article, "How an Obscure Law Lets Sports Leagues Rob Fans Blind."

Will the budget airline die with Spirit Airlines? For decades, four major carriers have controlled most of the U.S. airline market — but the collapse of Spirit has renewed questions about the future of flying and what less competition means for airfare.Today on Second Request, Executive Editor Teddy Downey sits down with Gene Burrus, founder of Burrus Competition Strategies, to talk about the state of competition and consolidation in the airline industry.

When you signed up for Disney+, you probably signed away your right to sue Disney. Most Americans have — buried in the terms and conditions of many apps is a legal clause called forced arbitration, and it's become corporate America's get-out-of-court-free card.Today on Second Request, Executive Editor Teddy Downey sits down with Brendan Ballou — former special counsel in the DOJ's Antitrust Division and author of the new book When Companies Run the Courts: How Forced Arbitration Became America's Secret Justice System — to discuss the history and impact of forced arbitration in America.

In this episode of Second Request, Executive Editor Teddy Downey sits down with Dr. Courtney Radsch to discuss her new paper examining content licensing relationships between publishers and artificial intelligence firms. Together, the two look at how A.I. companies utilize published information and the policy tools that could empower publishers to prevent A.I. firms from improperly using their material.

Is the Live Nation-Ticketmaster era finally over?In a landmark verdict, a jury found that Live Nation-Ticketmaster operated an illegal monopoly — a conclusion that musicians, venue owners, and fans had been waiting years to hear. For decades, Ticketmaster held the concert industry in a stranglehold, leveraging its market dominance and even government resources to lock out any competition that dared to emerge.Today on The Capitol Forum Investigates, reporters Krista Brown, Cole Cahill, and Rebecca Kern break down how Live Nation-Ticketmaster built the extraction engine that came to control live music — and what this verdict means for everyone who's ever bought a ticket.Read Krista Brown's article about Ticketmaster in The American Prospect

Why is Irish butter better than American? It's about consolidation.Today on Second Request, Executive Editor Teddy Downey sits down with author and agricultural policy expert Austin Frerick to look at the state of consolidation in the American food industry, and emerging regulatory trends in the agricultural sector. 

In this episode of Second Request, Executive Editor Teddy Downey sits down with John Newman, an antitrust expert and professor at the University of Memphis, to discuss Newman's recent paper "Lawless Antitrust" and the how antitrust enforcement has deviated from statutory text. 

Humanity is outsourcing decision making to machines.Today on Second Request, Executive Editor Teddy Downey sits down with Gideon Nave and Stephen Shaw, two researchers from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania to discuss their recent research on the influence of artificial intelligence on human decision making.

Trillions in commitments. Billions in off-balance-sheet debt. Circular investments between vendors and their own customers. The AI infrastructure build-out looks less like a gold rush and more like a house of cards — and policymakers have no plan for when it falls.Today on Second Request, executive editor Teddy Downey sits down with Asad Ramzanali, Director of AI and Technology Policy at the Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator, to discuss his paper "After the AI Crash" — and why the time to prepare for a financial crisis is before it happens.

Understanding A.I., it seems, is the fastest way to start doubting it.Today on Second Request, we're re-sharing a conversation Executive Editor Teddy had with Chiara Longoni, Associate Professor of Marketing at Bocconi University, to discuss her research on AI literacy — and why people who understand AI less may actually trust it more.Note: This conversation originally aired on Second Request on November 10, 2025.To learn more about The Capitol Forum follow us on Linkedin and Bluesky.

Your life insurance policy may be private equity's ticking financial time bomb.In this episode of The Capitol Forum Investigates, reporter Lisa Epstein explains her recent investigation into sweeping changes in the life and annuities sector driven by private equity-owned insurers. Despite promising security to policyholders, many of these companies use complex financial structures to shift liabilities into offshore accounts — masking the true health of the policies millions depend on. Now, the recent collapse of a Connecticut-based life insurer has observers around the world asking whether the next global financial crisis is already being built from the inside.To learn more about The Capitol Forum follow us on Linkedin and Bluesky.

In this episode of Second Request, Executive Editor Teddy Downey sits down with Brendan Ballou, founder of the Public Integrity Project, to examine corruption enforcement under the Trump administration. They also discuss the legal implications of Trump's presidential pardons, which have been criticized for benefitting allies and donors. To learn more about The Capitol Forum follow us on Linkedin and Bluesky.

Affordability is the hottest word in politics, but how does it actually become a reality? One idea: home savings accounts to help new homebuyers compete in an inflated real estate market.Today on Second Request, executive editor Teddy Downey sits down with Jon Schweppe, director of policy initiatives at the American Principles Project, to hear why he thinks home savings accounts could be a powerful tool to help bring down the cost of housing.

Today on Second Request, Executive Editor Teddy Downey is joined by Jonathan Kanter, the former Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice from 2021 to 2024. Together, they unpack the evolving antitrust argument against Ticketmaster.Editor’s note: This conversation was recorded before the Department of Justice announced a settlement with Ticketmaster on March 9, 2026.To learn more about The Capitol Forum follow us on Linkedin and Bluesky. 

Today on Second Request, Executive Editor Teddy Downey sits down with Seth Bloom,  President and Founder of Bloom Strategic Counsel, to unpack what would have been the antitrust implications of Netflix's potential acquisition of Warner Bros. This conversation was recorded before Netflix announced they would be ending their bid for Warner Bros. To learn more about The Capitol Forum follow us on Linkedin and Bluesky. 

In November, the Department of Justice made headlines when they announced a settlement with the software company RealPage in the DOJ's lawsuit against the company for antitrust violations.  But, some have questioned that strategy, especially with several state governments pursuing action against the company. In this episode of Second Request, Executive Editor Teddy Downey unpacks the DOJ's settlement with David O. Fisher, Senior Counsel at the American Antitrust Institute, and the author of the recent commentary "Closing Costs, a Critical Examination of the DOJ's Proposed RealPage Settlement.”To learn more about The Capitol Forum follow us on Bluesky and Linkedin.

When a Pittsburgh based business owner opened a franchise of one of Xponential Fitness' exercise brands, he had no idea it would end in bankruptcy, intimidation and threats of violence. Today on The Capitol Forum Investigates, investigative correspondent Kim Geiger discusses her multi-year investigation into the company Xponential Fitness, and reveals how they lured franchise owners into a predatory relationship that led multiple franchisees to file for bankruptcy, and has made Xponential the target of multiple government probes and lawsuits. 

Today on Second Request, Executive Editor Teddy Downey sits down with Sacha Sloan a senior correspondent at The Capitol Forum to discuss Sacha's recent reporting on potential collusion in the microchip sector. Together they discuss how coordinated production cuts, reduced capital expenditures, and public signaling by major NAND manufacturers are contributing to a sharp supply crunch and record price increases. To learn more about The Capitol Forum follow us on Bluesky and Linkedin.

2026 could make or break Roblox. That's because the multi-billion dollar children's video game company is mired in dozens of private lawsuits on top of multiple probes from several state governments, the FTC and the DOJ. In this episode of The Capitol Forum Investigates, reporter Ethan Ehrenhaft sits down with Arjun Singh to talk about the future of Roblox in the wake of major allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse on its platform.Follow The Capitol Forum on Bluesky or Linkedin

Today on The Capitol Forum Investigates, correspondent Krista Brown discusses the use of artificial intelligence in airline pricing, and how it could potentially lead to personalized prices for plane tickets. Aviation expert Bill McGee of the American Economic Liberties Project explains how consolidation in the airline sector has led to price gouging for passengers. Noah Giansiracusa, author of the book Robin Hood Math: Take Control of the Algorithms That Control Your Life explains how companies can exploit personal user data without their knowledge to determine prices. Follow The Capitol Forum on Linkedin and BlueskySend tips to [email protected]

Today on Second Request, Executive Editor Teddy Downey sits down with antitrust expert Hal Singer, who argues why AirBnb is violating antitrust laws, and how enforcement could address distortions in the housing and rental markets. The conversation centers on Singer’s recent article, “The Antitrust Case Against Airbnb,” which analyzes how Airbnb’s “Smart Pricing” algorithm may facilitate price coordination among short-term rental hosts, the broader effects of short-term rental platforms on housing supply and rents, and the challenges regulators face in applying antitrust law to platform-based and AI-driven pricing models.To learn more about The Capitol Forum click here.

In today's episode of Second Request, Executive Editor Teddy Downey sits down with Graham Steele former former Assistant Secretary for Financial Institutions at the U.S. Department of the Treasury and current Academic Fellow at the Rock Center for Corporate Governance. They discuss Steele's recent paper Financial Statecraft and explore the role of financial institutions in American foreign policy, and the tradeoffs for regulation of those industries in the U.S. To learn more about The Capitol Forum click here. To read Graham Steele's paper Financial Statecraft click here.

Amazon has inked contracts with local governments, municipalities and school districts that often bypasses the traditional guardrails in the procurement process. In this episode of Second Request, The Capitol Forum's Executive Editor Teddy Downey sits down with Stacy Mitchell, co-director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance about ISLR's recent report "Amazon’s Capture of Local Government Purchasing Is Driving Up Public Costs and Eliminating Competition."To learn more about The Capitol Forum click here. Read Stacy Mitchell's report here.

Zynex was a medical device company on the rise. After experiencing decades of growth, Zynex’s founder Thomas Sandgaard had hopes of becoming a billionaire — until The Capitol Forum revealed how they were fraudulently billing insurers, patients and even the U.S. government for tens of millions of dollars. In this episode of The Capitol Forum Investigates, reporter Michael Williams reveals how Zynex misled customers into entering predatory financial arrangements. He also unpacks Sandgaard’s efforts to quash his reporting, including efforts to target Williams and his family.

In this episode of Second Request, Executive Editor Teddy Downey sits down with Michael Murray, Katherine Wyszkowski, and Daniel Hanley to discuss their recent research about the antitrust risk posed by U.S. electric utilities — especially as it relates to their control over consumer energy‑usage data, potential exclusionary conduct, and the broader consequences for competition, consumers, and market transparency.To learn more about The Capitol Forum click here.

For decades the amount of small homebuilders in the United States has been dwindling. One reason is the shuttering of local financial networks. Today on Second Request, Executive Editor Teddy Downey sits down with Laurel Kilgour Policy Director at the American Economic Liberties Project (AELP) to discuss the findings of Kilgour's recent report Capital Crunch: How the Fall of Local Finance and the Rise of Shareholder Primacy Warped Single-Family Homebuilding in America — And What to Do About It. Follow The Capitol Forum on X, Bluesky or Linkedin.Read Laurel Kilgour's paper here.

After a federal judge rejected the Federal Trade Commission's argument that Meta has an illegal monopoly in the personal social media market, regulators are debating what the decision means for future enforcement of section 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act. In this episode of Second Request, Teddy Downey discusses the Meta decision with Joel Thayer, President of the Digital Progress Institute.

Why is it so expensive to build a house in America? That's a question economists, politicians and pundits have argued at length about, but can't agree on. In today's episode of Second Request, executive editor Teddy Downey sits down with Steven Xiao, Associate Professor of Finance at the University of Texas at Dallas Naveen Jindal School of Management and Ph.D candidate Zheng Liu for a robust discussion about how concentration in the homebuilding sector has led to increased costs and prices. To learn more about The Capitol Forum click here.

Why are American soybean farmers so reliant on Chinese markets?In this episode of Second Request, Teddy Downey sits down with Wall Street Journal reporter Patrick Thomas to discuss how soybeans became the center of a trade war between the U.S. and China. They also discuss how consolidation and monopolization in the food sector have impacted American farmers. To learn more about The Capitol Forum click here. If you have a pitch or tip for a story you think we should investigate contact us here.

How did a popular children's game become rife with sexual abuse?In the debut episode of The Capitol Forum Investigates, technology and privacy reporter Ethan Ehrenhaft explains why the video game maker Roblox is mired in dozens of lawsuits related to child safety on their platform, and how an investigation from The Capitol Forum revealed the vast safety flaws on Roblox's platform, which several lawsuits argue enables sexual predators to easily abuse children.To learn more about The Capitol Forum and our journalism click hereIf you are interested in working at The Capitol Forum or have a pitch for a story contact us here

In this episode, Teddy Downey, Executive Editor of The Capitol Forum sits down with Michael Kades, Antitrust Partner at Nachawati Law Group and former Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division at the U.S. Department of Justice, and Adam Gitlin, Chief of the Antitrust and Nonprofit Enforcement Section at the Office of the Attorney General for the District of Columbia. Together, they will explore how state-level enforcers are shaping the next phase of antitrust policy and what their growing influence means for markets, consumers, and competition nationwide.

How does understanding AI change the way we trust it?In this interview with The Capitol Forum’s Executive Editor & CEO, Teddy Downey, Chiara Longoni, Associate Professor of Marketing at Bocconi University and co-author of “Lower Artificial Intelligence Literacy Predicts Greater AI Receptivity,” explains the methodology and surprising findings from her research on AI literacy.

In this episode, Europe Executive Editor Javier Espinoza sits down with Senior Editor Jeff Bliss to discuss his reporting on the European Commission's review of the proposed $36 billion merger between Mars and Kellanova.

In this episode, we’re joined by Mahdavi Singh Deputy Director of the Thurman Arnold Project and Resident Fellow at the Information Society Project at Yale Law School to discuss how Google's integration of A.I. overviews could extend its search monopoly and the legal arguments that it could violate antitrust law. 

In this conversation, Professor John Newman, from the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, former FTC official and DOJ antitrust trial attorney, shares insights on Judge Amit Mehta’s decision, the specific measures imposed on Google, and what it signals for the future of Big Tech regulation.

In this episode, Teddy Downey sits down with Kathleen Claussen, Professor of Law at Georgetown University, and Beth Baltzan  Senior Advisor at The Capitol Forum and former Counselor for Trade and Investment to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai, for a discussion on the legality of tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA).

In this Capitol Forum podcast, Executive Editor Teddy Downey speaks with Catherine Simonsen—co-founder of the newly launched Simonson Susman LLP and former FTC antitrust enforcer—about the long-neglected Robinson-Patman Act. Together, they dissect how underenforcement of price discrimination laws has contributed to excessive consolidation, economic rent extraction, and the quiet hollowing-out of American small businesses.Simonson outlines legal strategies to revive these laws and challenge dominant “power buyers” like Walmart and Amazon, and explains how price discrimination distorts the supply chain from producer to pharmacy shelf. This is antitrust not as theory, but as practice.

Generative AI is testing the limits of copyright law — and the courts are starting to weigh in. Teddy Downey speaks with Keith Kupferschmid, CEO of the Copyright Alliance, about:The legal stakes of AI training on copyrighted works-Conflicting rulings in California courts-How the Warhol decision could influence AI copyright cases-The importance of a healthy licensing market-What’s at risk for creators and the economy📌 Subscribe for more policy and legal deep dives