Plain English with Derek Thompson Podcast
1) Russia’s Economic Meltdown, Putin’s Big Mistake, and the West’s Financial War Against Vlad and the Oligarchs
Things are moving very, very fast in Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine—and in the global response to punish Russia. The U.S. and Europe are not engaged in a literal war against Putin, and hopefully...Show More
2) The Democrats Have a New Winning Formula
This week was a straight flush for Democrats. Zohran Mamdani completed his heroic arc to become mayor of the world’s most important city. Democrats ran up huge margins in the big governor races in Vir...Show More
3) How the American Revolution Changed the World, With Ken Burns
Ken Burns—the award-winning filmmaker whose documentary films and television series on American history include 'The Civil War' (1990), 'Baseball' (1994), 'Jazz' (2001), and 'Country Music' (2019)—joi...Show More
4) The Problem With Sports Gambling
Last week, an FBI investigation into gambling led to the arrest of several prominent basketball stars, raising questions about the state of legalized sports betting, which has enriched professional sp...Show More
5) Michael Lewis on How the Global Financial Crisis Explains Trump, Crypto, and Everything Else
Listen to the new audiobook of Michael's hit 'The Big Short' HERE! If you have questions, observations, or ideas for future episodes, email us at PlainEnglish@Spotify.com. Host: Derek Thompson Gu...Show More
6) What Happens When AI Learns to Do Our Jobs
Today’s guest is Ethan Mollick. Ethan is a professor of management at Wharton, where he specializes in entrepreneurship and innovation. He is the author of the book 'Co-Intelligence: Living and Workin...Show More
7) How Democrats Lost the Future
By some measures, the Democratic Party has never been so unpopular as a political brand. While this fact obviously reflects some difficult realities for the party, it also creates an opportunity for D...Show More
8) Everybody Thinks AI Is a Bubble. What If They’re Wrong?
Two weeks ago, in one of our most popular podcasts of the year, the investor and author Paul Kedrosky explained why he thinks AI is a bubble. In the last few days, practically everybody seems to agree...Show More
9) The Future of Entertainment, Part 2: What’s the Matter With Broadway?
In the second episode of our two-part miniseries on the future of entertainment, Derek goes from Hollywood to NYC to understand why Broadway musicals are in trouble. "With the cost of staging song-and...Show More
10) The Future of Entertainment, Part 1: Is Hollywood's Business Model Broken?
The film and TV business has quietly—or, if you work in the industry, not so quietly—been in a depression for the past few years. Original TV work has plummeted. In 2024, Americans bought about 40 per...Show More