Podcast
The Capitol Forum Podcast
Hosted by The Capitol Forum · EN
Exploring Solutions to Monopoly Problems
Following forty years of laissez-faire antitrust enforcement and industry consolidation, the White House is considering a fundamental rethink of how to interpret, enforce, and rewrite antitrust law, and many questions remain unanswered for the antitrust community.
On the heels of federal and state litigation against Google and Facebook, is Amazon next? Will the new administration put big agriculture, big banks, and big pharma in its crosshairs? Will the courts stop antitrust enforcers in their tracks? Will the Biden administration get cold feet?
The Capitol Forum Podcast provides in-depth discussions with antitrust experts about the answers to these questions and about proposed solutions to the biggest monopoly problems of our time. Backed by the investigative resources and intellectual rigor of The Capitol Forum, Executive Editor and host Teddy Downey examines the effects of the current concentrations of market power across a vast array of industry verticals as he and his guests analyze the potential responses from the federal government. Offering thoughtful conversations with analysts and decision makers, The Capitol Forum Podcast provides everyone from C-Suite executives to policymakers, and all those in-between, strategic antitrust insights at the intersection of law, policy, and markets.
32episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
The Secret History of Forced Arbitration (Second Request)
6d ago01:03:55Tap to summarizeWhen 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.
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The New A.I. Gatekeepers (Second Request)
2w ago01:10:07Tap to summarizeIn 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.
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Ticketmaster's Extraction Engine (TCF Investigates)
2w ago00:29:57Tap to summarizeIs 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
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What's the Beef With American Food? (Second Request)
3w ago00:58:04Tap to summarizeWhy 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.
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Lawless Antitrust (Second Request)
4w ago00:57:50Tap to summarizeIn 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.
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Letting the Machine Decide: A.I. and Cognitive Surrender (Second Request)
Apr 1701:09:52Tap to summarizeHumanity 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.
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Is the AI Boom About to Go Bust? (Second Request)
Apr 1001:04:28Tap to summarizeTrillions 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.
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A.I.'s Least Informed Users Think It's Magic (Second Request)
Apr 300:56:34Tap to summarizeUnderstanding 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.
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The Quiet Crisis Inside Your Insurance Policy (TCF Investigates)
Apr 100:35:35Tap to summarizeYour 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.
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Corruption Enforcement Under Trump 2.0 (Second Request)
Mar 2700:44:48Tap to summarizeIn 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.
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