Podcast Summary

Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer

Episode: Swiftynomics: Who’s Afraid of Women’s Economic Power? (with Misty Heggeness)
Date: March 17, 2026
Host: Civic Ventures
Guest: Misty Heggeness, Associate Professor of Economics and Public Affairs, University of Kansas; Author of Swiftenomics: How Women Mastermind and Redefine Our Economy

Episode Overview

This episode explores the intersection of pop culture, economics, and gender, using Taylor Swift as a lens to examine women’s overlooked economic influence. Misty Heggeness joins hosts Nick Hanauer’s team to discuss her new book Swiftenomics, challenging old paradigms of economic theory and advocating for a more inclusive lens—one that recognizes the importance of women’s labor (both visible and invisible), culture, and care in driving the economy forward.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why Taylor Swift? The Lens of a Pop Icon

[07:13, Misty Heggeness]

• Heggeness uses Taylor Swift not just as an economic actor, but as a muse to reframe how we see women’s roles in the economy.
• Swift’s career illustrates how women maneuver industries dominated by men and how female-driven markets are underestimated.
• "It's really about reframing how we think about women as economic agents today."

2. Women’s Work: Labor That Doesn't Get Counted

[03:28, Host Paul]

• Much of women's economic contributions—especially unpaid care and cultural work—are systematically excluded from orthodox models and GDP calculations.
• Art and culture, like Swift’s music, are economic drivers yet economics as a discipline tends to ignore them.
• "She talks about how art and culture is often ignored by economics as a profession... labor that women put into the economy that doesn't get measured."

3. The Myth of ‘Economic Man’ and Gender Bias in Economics

[04:39–05:17]

• Classical economics centers on "Homo Economicus": a rational, self-interested, genderless agent—which in practice defaults to a man in theory and modeling.
• Quote from Paul: "It is absolutely an economic man."
• Heggeness asks: what if today’s representative economic agent is not a man, but a woman or someone non-binary?
• "Just that observation kind of blew open a door that I didn’t even know was there." (Paul, 05:17)

4. Culture, Art, and the Real Economy

[09:49–12:02]

• Economics education prioritizes math and efficiency but neglects initial inequalities and culture, stifling innovation and real-world relevance.
• Art and culture shape societal priorities and consumption patterns, but are left out of economic modeling.
• "We need to incorporate that level of diversity and cultural differences into how we think about economic theories." (Misty, 11:32)

5. Beyond Math: Rethinking Economics as a Discipline

[12:07–13:28]

• Heggeness criticizes economics' obsession with mathematical modeling at the expense of addressing real-life determinants like care, culture, and equity.
• "The fact that we don't let people study economics even without a heavy background in math is a big disservice to society." (Misty, 13:18)
• Joan Robinson’s classic quote cited: "The purpose of studying economics is to learn how not to be deceived by economists." (Goldie, 13:28)

6. Systemic Exclusion: Women as “Too Complex” for Models

[13:51–14:35]

• Historically, women’s contributions—both unpaid domestic work and as "irrational consumers"—were excluded from economic models for being too complicated or "non-rational."
• "They just didn’t want to put in the work for that." (Goldie, 14:00)

7. Taylor Swift as a Case Study in Undervalued Markets

[16:46–18:30]

• Swift’s early career involved challenging music industry executives who did not see value in the teenage girl market—a parallel to economics ignoring women’s economic contributions.
• "When you look back now... all you can say is, boy, were they wrong. And gee, they must be kicking themselves in the shin right now." (Misty, 17:44)
• Hope for the "Taylor Swift of economics" to disrupt orthodox models.

8. Teaching Economics Through Culture

[18:53–19:43]

• Heggeness teaches an upper-level economics class on Taylor Swift, noting it attracts far more women than traditional classes—suggesting content relevance is key to inclusivity.

9. Care Privilege: Who Does the Invisible Work?

[21:15–25:01]

• Heggeness defines "care privilege" as the (often unnoticed) advantage of having someone else do care work—highlighting gendered expectations that drive policy gaps.
• Those with care privilege (often men or the economically privileged) design policies without understanding the realities of those without it.
• "If you’re a person who has lots of it, oftentimes it’s more challenging to understand the ways in which not having it holds people back." (Misty, 22:55)

10. What Would a More Inclusive Economy Look Like?

[25:01–28:29]

• Calls for counting unpaid care work, investing in child care and social policies, and correcting fiscal priorities.
• "We act as though these are insurmountable problems, but they’re not... None of this is hard, but we make it seem so hard." (Misty, 27:15)
• Cites historical precedent: WWII-era universal childcare.

11. Broader Impact: Gender, Race, Class, and Power in Economics

[30:16–31:35]

• The economics profession is still overwhelmingly white, male, and privileged, shaping its theories and models.
• Call for feminist economists to move from the "fringe" to the mainstream.
• "I want to be a feminist economist who is in mainstream... we all need to value these things." (Misty, 32:10)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• "There’s always a woman beside the great man, doing all the things that allow them to get through life."
  — Goldie, [37:36]

• "The fact that we don't let people study economics even without a heavy background in math is a big disservice to society."
  — Misty Heggeness, [13:18]

• "Care privilege is this idea of recognizing why it’s really challenging for us as a society sometimes to create supports for people who have lots of care roles and responsibilities."
  — Misty Heggeness, [24:26]

• “If you read this book instead of Mankiw’s Principles of Economics, I think you would get a more useful understanding of how the economy works.”
  — Goldie, [35:53]

• "For every bad actor that exists in my profession... there’s another 10 or 15... who care a lot about the next generation."
  — Misty Heggeness, [32:53]

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Introduction & Taylor Swift as Economic Lens: [01:26–07:13]
• Women’s Work & Art in the Economy: [03:13–05:38]; [09:49–12:02]
• Homo Economicus & Gender Bias: [04:39–05:17]; [13:28]
• Teaching and Content Inclusivity: [18:53–19:43]
• Care Privilege Discussion: [21:15–25:01]
• Magic Wand: How to Build an Inclusive Economy: [25:01–28:29]
• Field of Economics & Diversity: [30:16–33:19]
• Book Recommendation & Final Reflections: [35:03–38:07]

Tone, Style, and Noteworthy Moments

The episode is light, occasionally self-deprecating (“Even a pop cultural idiot like yourself,” Paul to Goldie, [01:57]), but earnest about challenging economic orthodoxy. Misty Heggeness combines academic rigor with a pop-culture sensibility, making challenging concepts accessible. The hosts are playful, even as they sustain a critical edge toward traditional economics (“It focuses exclusively on men... these are people who are used to being taken care of, so they don't really value the care.” Goldie, [36:35]).

Notable lighter moment:

• Paul asking which Taylor Swift song would appeal most to Goldie and the resulting discussion (“The Last Great American Dynasty,” Misty, [33:50]).

Recommendations

• Both hosts strongly recommend Heggeness’s Swiftenomics as a more insightful introduction to economics than conventional textbooks.
• Available at bookshop.org or your local independent bookstore ([42:05]).

Conclusion

This episode offers a timely and provocative critique of mainstream economics, urging the discipline to recognize the power of women as economic agents and to count the full spectrum of labor and cultural contribution. Using Taylor Swift both as a case study and as metaphor, the conversation highlights the urgent need to update both our theories and our policies to build a more inclusive and equitable economy.