Podcast Summary

Podcast: The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart
Episode: From FTC to NYC with Lina Khan
Release Date: November 13, 2025
Host: Jon Stewart
Guest: Lina Khan (former FTC Chair, Columbia Law Professor, Co-chair of Zoran Mamdani's NYC mayoral transition)

Episode Overview

In this incisive episode, Jon Stewart sits down with Lina Khan to explore her transition from leading the Federal Trade Commission to co-chairing the transition team for New York’s incoming mayor, Zoran Mamdani. The wide-ranging conversation dives into the differences between federal and municipal economic levers, the ever-present tension between corporate and labor interests, urban affordability, the myth of capital flight, smart government intervention, and the challenges facing effective policy implementation in a complex, high-stakes city like New York.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Transitioning from Federal to City Governance

(Starts ~02:08)

• Main Difference: At the FTC, Khan’s role was strictly enforcing federal antitrust and consumer protection laws. In New York’s City Hall, the toolkit is broader, but the jurisdiction is narrower—focused on the city and including agencies dealing with consumer protection and small business.
• Quote: "You have all sorts of tools at your disposal... do we want to do economic development in the city in a way that's very skewed towards big corporate interests, or do we want to have, again, more of a level playing field?" (Khan, 02:54)

2. The Power and Limits of City Government

(04:30 – 05:15)

• The mayor has authority over some agencies but often must work with City Council and the governor, especially on taxes and bigger initiatives.
• The city can unilaterally take enforcement actions against corporate lawbreakers (e.g., DCWP).
• Quote: "There are agencies within his jurisdiction that the mayor has standalone authority ... to take on corporate lawbreakers." (Khan, 04:30)

3. Corporate Power, Capital Flight, and Populism

(06:18 – 08:58)

• The threat of wealthy elites or corporations leaving in response to progressive policies is often overstated. Empirical studies show such threats rarely materialize.
• The real crisis is working people being forced out of New York due to affordability.
• Quote: "Working people are already fleeing New York... shouldn't we care about that too?" (Khan, 08:20)

4. Supporting Essential Workers and Tackling Affordability

(09:47 – 12:19)

• Policies discussed: rent freezes, building more housing, expanding childcare. Special focus on lifting the burden off essential workers—the people who make the city function but can't afford to stay.
• Khan highlights the importance of direct engagement with everyday New Yorkers (e.g., “Why did chicken and rice go from $8 to $10?”) as critical to sensible policymaking.
• Quote: "Essential workers is basically just, it seems like a phrase we use for people we don't pay enough." (Stewart, 08:58)

5. Market Power, Small Businesses, and Price Discrimination

(13:43 – 16:20)

• Small businesses are punished by price discrimination versus large chains—sometimes the shelf price at Costco is lower than a local store’s wholesale price. Relevant law: Robinson-Patman Act.
• NY may pursue state-level intervention against such discrimination.
• Quote: "The law was really about preventing that type of buyer power from being weaponized..." (Khan, 14:34)

6. Role of Government: Market Fairness vs. Direct Action

(19:42 – 22:15)

• The balance between using government to check corporate power, preserving fair competition, and when it's appropriate for government to intervene directly (e.g., public options, price caps).
• Consolidations in sectors (e.g., defense contractors shrinking from 50 to 5) are cited as case studies of market failures.
• Quote: "The government's role is to set the rules of what fair competition looks like." (Khan, 21:09)

7. Intervening in 'Market-Resistant' Sectors (Healthcare, Utilities)

(23:41 – 28:45)

• Some essential markets (healthcare, insurance, utilities) don’t function well under typical market dynamics; here, robust government intervention (public options, rate regulation) is often necessary.
• Examples include successful public tax filing options (e.g., “direct file” for taxes), and the need for public pharmacy benefit managers.
• Quote: "There have been so many factors across health care that have basically made these markets not function as real markets..." (Khan, 23:41)

8. Rent, Housing Policy, and Price Controls

(29:18 – 37:28)

• Contextual, market-by-market choice between antitrust and direct intervention.
• Acknowledgment that housing and infrastructure are front-line essentials where government role must be decisive.
• Governments must weigh when to enforce price caps vs. when to promote competition.

9. Externalities of AI, Tech, & Corporate Resource Extraction

(37:28 – 40:29)

• Rising utility bills driven by data centers and AI development highlight the need for public compensation from private use of public resources.
• Quote: “Corporations...use public resources...and yet those things are not compensated for...taxing them is then seen as their get out of jail free card.” (Stewart, 38:30)

10. Populist Rhetoric and Double Standards in Policy Discourse

(41:24 – 42:28)

• Populist critiques are responded to differently depending on who raises them (e.g., Trump vs. Mamdani).
• Government intervention on behalf of corporations is normalized, while intervention for consumers is demonized as "socialism."
• Quote: "When Trump says...everyone goes, yeah, that's a smart businessman. When Zoron says that, they go, come on, Stalin..." (Stewart, 41:24)

11. Lobbying, Access, and Government Competence

(43:18 – 47:40)

• The existing system is structured by and for access-rich interests; breaking through that feedback loop to serve the majority is challenging but essential.
• Bureaucracy and red tape are often legacy artifacts—sometimes intentionally created by previous administrations to cripple government agility.
• Quote: "Oftentimes, your feedback loops...can be so skewed towards those corporate wealthy interests." (Khan, 43:18)

12. Implementation Challenges for NYC’s Next Mayor

(49:35 – 53:07)

• Ability to deliver on basic city functions (transport, trash, etc.) will be critical to any success.
• Mamdani’s transition is bringing in experienced city managers to balance vision with practical delivery.

13. Democrats, Policy Complexity, and Overregulation

(53:50 – 57:16)

• The Democratic Party often struggles with efficiency due to over-complexity (“Christmas ornaments on every bill”).
• Sometimes attempts at balancing every constituency dilute or stall progress.
• Quote: "We absolutely need to make sure government is being effective and efficient...Sometimes it's big business interests that want it to be more complex, more bureaucratic..." (Khan, 45:50/46:13)

14. Healthcare Reform and the Limits of the ACA

(57:33 – 59:13)

• ACA marked progress, but system remains fundamentally flawed—costs are crushing, and even the insured go without care.
• Khan is particularly interested in reinvigorating healthcare policy to reduce bloat and profit-taking by middlemen.

15. Innovation vs. Market Power Myths

(59:15 – 62:46)

• Claims that regulation will kill innovation are overstated; real breakthroughs often come from disruptive outsiders, not entrenched giants.
• Quote: "If what you're interested in is...incremental improvements, yes, sometimes big companies...But historically the breakthrough innovations have come from the disruptive outsiders..." (Khan, 59:57)

16. Consolidation in Media, Tech, and AI—The New Frontier

(62:46 – 67:45)

• Rising mergers across industries (media, tech, AI) risk a future determined by a handful of CEOs.
• The Trump administration is granting giveaways and regulatory amnesty to dominant tech players, especially in AI (e.g., 10-year moratoriums on regulation).
• AI’s role in market manipulation (algorithmic price fixing) and fraud already poses new challenges.

17. Restoring Trust in Government and Balancing Labor/Capital

(69:46 – 71:36)

• The ultimate goal is to recalibrate America's economy, which has shifted too much toward capital at labor’s expense.
• Tackling grotesque inequality and giving working people a fair share is at the heart of Mamdani’s (and Khan’s) agenda.
• Quote: "You have a country where some people are thinking about when am I going to buy my third yacht and other people are thinking about how am I going to make rent this month—that type of grotesque inequality is just not sustainable." (Khan, 71:21)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Capital Flight:
  “There are a bunch of studies that show that that threat of capital flight is oftentimes overstated as a threat and doesn't actually materialize.”
  — Lina Khan (06:18)

• On Essential Workers:
  “Essential workers is basically just, it seems like a phrase we use for people we don't pay enough.”
  — Jon Stewart (08:58)

• On Corporate Price Discrimination:
  “We would have small businesses tell us the retail price at those stores is lower than the wholesale price a small business is getting...That type of price discrimination can actually be illegal...Robinson-Patman Act...”
  — Lina Khan (13:43)

• On Government Capability:
  “We need to look back behind the curtain and figure out who are the ones that are actually pushing for government to be more handicapped and mired in this red tape.”
  — Lina Khan (47:40)

• On Innovation & Incumbents:
  “The breakthrough innovations have come from the disruptive outsiders. And so...having markets where newcomers...can actually enter and shake things up is so important.”
  — Lina Khan (59:57/60:39)

• On Inequality:
  “You have a country where some people are thinking about when am I going to buy my third yacht, and others are thinking about how am I going to make rent...that type of grotesque inequality is just not sustainable.”
  — Lina Khan (71:21)

• Humorous Touch:
  “They weren’t bingo friends. They weren’t backgammon friends. They didn’t play pickleball. They played tickleball.”
  — Jon Stewart on Trump and Epstein (78:00)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• [02:08] – Lina Khan joins; discussing mayoral transition vs. FTC work
• [04:30] – City hall levers & agency authority
• [06:18] – Myth of capital flight and populist policymaking
• [09:47] – Essential workers & policies on affordability
• [13:43] – Market power, price discrimination, Robinson-Patman Act
• [19:42] – Government's regulatory role and market fairness
• [23:41] – Sectors resistant to market solutions (healthcare, utilities)
• [41:24] – Populism: comparing responses to Trump and Mamdani
• [43:18] – Lobbying, access, and Bureaucracy
• [49:35] – Mamdani’s transition challenges and management
• [53:50] – [57:16] – Democratic complexity & overregulation
• [57:33] – Healthcare system critique
• [59:15] – The myth of innovation stifling by regulation
• [62:46] – Consolidation, tech monopolies, and AI
• [66:25] – Algorithmic price-fixing and regulatory challenges
• [69:46] – Rebalancing labor vs. capital

Final Thoughts & Tone

The episode is rigorous, policy-driven but laced with Stewart’s signature humor and Khan’s sharp, data-backed insight. Both consistently push beyond platitudes to discuss how to make government more competent, whom it should serve, and how to restore a sense of economic fairness—especially in the face of concentrated corporate power and rising inequality.

Khan is notably pragmatic, emphasizing evidence, the necessity of tailoring solutions to specific markets, and the importance of listening directly to citizens—not just corporate interests. Stewart maintains a skeptical but earnest tone, challenging the mythologies of both capital flight and government inefficacy, and never letting the humor go slack even when the subject matter turns dense.

A must-listen episode for anyone interested in urban policy, economic justice, government efficiency, and the fight against corporate concentration—from New York City to Washington, D.C.