Episode Overview
Podcast: Decoder with Nilay Patel
Episode: Rewind: How private equity kills companies and communities
Date: January 15, 2026
Guest: Megan Greenwell, journalist and author of Bad Private Equity and the Death of the American Dream
This episode features a deep-dive conversation between Nilay Patel and Megan Greenwell about the wide-ranging impact of private equity (PE) on American business, communities, and the very fabric of the American Dream. Greenwell discusses her personal experiences, journalistic research, and stories from her book, which explores the often devastating effects PE has on media, retail, housing, and healthcare. The episode unpacks the history, mechanisms, and real-world consequences of financialization, with engaging discussion centered on the human cost and possible pathways forward.
Key Discussion Points and Insights
1. Megan Greenwell’s Background and Deadspin’s PE Takeover
[05:24-12:13]
- Greenwell recounts taking her dream job as editor of Deadspin, describing it as “fun and weird,” a unique voice in sports, politics, and culture.
- Deadspin’s demise began when private equity owners (Great Hill Partners) dictated content and tried to morph it into ESPN, ignoring what made the site successful.
- “We wanted to make more money... But instead it just like, was so nonsensical that we couldn’t even follow.” — Megan Greenwell [11:42]
- The disconnect between PE goals (maximize returns) and the company’s actual business model became glaringly obvious.
- Greenwell’s experience led her to realize PE’s incentives often run counter to sustaining and improving companies.
2. What Is Private Equity? Distinction from Venture Capital
[13:25-15:37]
- Nilay and Megan clarify the difference:
- Venture capital is about investing in people making something new; the success of the venture is the source of returns.
- Private equity often centers on ownership, cost-cutting, selling assets, extracting value through “financialization” rather than operational improvement or product innovation.
- “You’re making money not from making the thing, you’re making money from making money.” — Megan Greenwell [14:24]
3. The History of Private Equity’s Rise
[15:37-19:25]
- Originated in the 1960s with “bootstrap deals” taking over family-run companies to expand.
- Transformed in the 1980s with firms like KKR pioneering massive leveraged buyouts (e.g., RJR Nabisco), ushering in the age of the “corporate raider.”
- Cultural Impact: This milieu gave rise to the deal-making, zero-sum mentality epitomized by Donald Trump, Wall Street, and 1980s New York.
- “KKR... really doesn’t matter if the company is making money. They’ve cracked the code of just using money to make money.” — Megan Greenwell [16:41]
4. PE’s Expansion and Role in Current Economic Trends
[19:25-21:28]
- Post-2008, low interest rates fueled even more aggressive PE activity.
- PE now owns significant chunks of critical industries—e.g., 10% of all US apartments (25-30% in certain metros), facilitated by policies like cheap Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac funding.
- “Private equity has always gone where money is cheap and where industries show an opportunity for them to make money. Which... does not necessarily mean the industry is a growth industry.” — Megan Greenwell [19:53]
5. PE’s Impact on Communities: The Four Industry Stories
[24:51-27:32]
- Greenwell’s book uses four sectors—retail, healthcare, media, housing—to show how everyday experiences have been eroded by PE stewardship.
- Nilay explores the pro-PE argument: that they rescue and streamline failing businesses. Megan counters:
- While there are successes, most money is tied up in large deals that often end disastrously.
- “10 times as many businesses acquired by PE declare bankruptcy as other types of businesses.” — Megan Greenwell [27:14]
6. Healthcare: The Human Cost of PE
[27:32-37:43]
- Health care is uniquely vulnerable—everyone needs it, many can’t pay, the government under-reimburses, making it unsustainable even before PE.
- PE exploits policy changes (Medicare expansion, ACA) to extract value: selling real estate, cutting services—often at the expense of rural hospitals and patient care.
- Doctors’ autonomy and satisfaction have eroded; private equity has “made them workers.”
- “It was just game over for doctors having any autonomy to themselves.” — Megan Greenwell [32:09]
- Even nonprofit and academic hospitals mimic PE tactics.
7. Why Market Forces Don’t “Correct” the Damage in Healthcare
[34:43-37:43]
- There are imposed limits (e.g., residency slots), regulatory quirks, and deep structural issues that break the normal feedback mechanisms of supply and demand—unlike, say, tech talent.
- “Healthcare is an industry that breaks what we think of as the rules of free market capitalism in so many ways.” — Megan Greenwell [35:48]
8. Violent Consequences, Public Awareness, and Anonymity of PE
[37:43-43:25]
- Recent real-world violence, like the shooting of a health insurance CEO, reveals how palpable public anger has become—yet PE still operates largely in the shadows.
- “Most people do not know if their local hospital is run by a private equity company... private equity loves to operate in the shadows.” — Megan Greenwell [38:36, 40:03]
- PE’s diffuse, complex ownership structures shield individuals from accountability and public backlash.
9. Stories of Resistance and Reform
[47:27-50:46]
- Each character in the book pushes back:
- Former Toys R Us workers now campaign against pension fund investments in PE.
- Journalists attempt to build nonprofit, locally-oriented news startups outside PE control.
- Some states (Massachusetts, Pennsylvania) have rapidly advanced healthcare regulation after PE scandals.
- Greenwell underscores the need for multi-pronged, both grassroots and regulatory, responses.
10. Policy Solutions and the “Magic Wand”
[51:24-53:07]
- Megan highlights a key regulatory intervention: require PE firms to be responsible for the debts of their portfolio companies—as in Elizabeth Warren’s proposed “Stop Wall Street Looting Act.”
- “You have to have skin in the game... if you’re a PE firm, you really don’t.” — Megan Greenwell [51:45]
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- “You’re making money not from making the thing, you’re making money from making money.”
— Megan Greenwell [14:24] - “10 times as many businesses acquired by PE declare bankruptcy as other types of businesses.”
— Megan Greenwell [27:14] - “It was just game over for doctors having any autonomy to themselves.”
— Megan Greenwell [32:09] - “Private equity loves to operate in the shadows.”
— Megan Greenwell [40:03] - “If you could wave a magic wand and just solve that problem, how would you do it?”
— Nilay Patel [51:16] - “You have to have skin in the game… if you’re a PE firm, you really don’t.”
— Megan Greenwell [51:45]
Timestamps for Key Segments
- [05:24] — Megan recounts Deadspin’s takeover by private equity.
- [13:25] — Explaining financialization and the PE/VC distinction.
- [15:37] — History of PE’s rise: from bootstrap deals to KKR and modern Wall Street.
- [19:25] — How policy and easy money accelerated PE’s influence in real estate and healthcare.
- [24:51] — Four industry case studies from the book and the evidence against PE “turnarounds.”
- [27:32] — In-depth on PE’s effect on healthcare and community hospitals.
- [32:09] — How PE made even doctors into “just” workers.
- [34:43] — Why market mechanisms don’t correct PE-driven dysfunction in healthcare.
- [37:43] — Public anger, violence, and why PE executives still remain anonymous and secure.
- [43:25] — Rising public knowledge about PE, from Red Lobster to Joanne Fabrics.
- [47:50] — Stories of pushback and the need for multifaceted reform efforts.
- [51:24] — The “magic wand”: how regulation could force PE to internalize risk.
Tone and Language Notes
- The conversation is direct and at times wry, especially when describing the absurdities and harm unleashed by PE.
- Megan Greenwell brings a journalistic, clear-eyed sensibility, mixing indignation with careful explanations.
- Nilay is incisive and reflective, seeking structural explanations yet attentive to the on-the-ground lived experience.
- The overall tone is urgent but grounded—both analytical and human-centered.
For Listeners Who Haven’t Tuned In
This episode provides a sobering but accessible look into how financial engineering by private equity fundamentally remakes—and often harms—industries, communities, and individuals’ lives. With compelling personal stories, sharp historical context, and actionable ideas, it’s essential listening for anyone interested in how money, power, and policy shape the world around us.