#1529 Monopolies Run By Morons

Best of the Left - Leftist Perspectives on Progressive Politics, News, Culture, Economics and Democracy

Air Date 12/3/2022

Today, we take a look at the mega-companies that touch all of our lives and the monopolistic practices that have been developed to keep power and wealth concentrated with the few while the rest of us get screwed.

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Transcript

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SHOW NOTES

Ch. 1: Tech Monopolies - Last Week Tonight with John Oliver - Air Date 6-13-22

John Oliver discusses tech monopolies, and how to address the hidden harm they can do.

Ch. 2: How Ticketmaster Is Destroying Live Music - More Perfect Union - Air Date 10-19-22

Ticketmaster is destroying live music. Their scam fees now cost as much as 78% of a ticket. They control the events, the venues, and even the artists. There’s a movement pushing the Justice Department to take on its monopoly. Cory Doctorow breaks it down.

Ch. 3: Corporate Greed Is Causing Inflation But The Rich Blame Workers - Thom Hartmann Program - Air Date 11-16-22

Not since the Great Depression have corporate profits soared so high. But it is not enough to satisfy them. More than 54% of the inflation America is experiencing is caused by record-setting corporate profits.

Ch. 4: Why Food Prices Could Skyrocket Thanks to This Grocery Merger - More Perfect Union - Air Date 11-14-22

Safeway, Ralphs, Smiths, Harris Teeters, Shaws, Kings, Randalls, and about 25 other brands, will all be owned by a single company if the Kroger-Albertsons merger goes through. And that’s really bad news for the prices you pay.

Ch. 5: Chokepoint Capitalism (with Cory Doctorow and Rebecca Giblin) - Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer - Air Date 11-1-22

Novelist Cory Doctorow and intellectual property expert Rebecca Giblin discuss their new book, Chokepoint Capitalism, which documents the increasing tensions between extractive corporations and creative laborers.

Ch. 6: Making The Case For Abolishing Billionaires - MSNBC - Air Date 11-21-22

"One after another, four of our best-known billionaires laid waste to the image of benevolent saviors carefully cultivated by their class," Anand Giridharadas writes in a recent New York Times column.

Ch. 7: Elon Musk Is An Idiot (and so are Zuck and SBF) - Adam Conover - Air Date 11-23-22

Tech CEOs aren't geniuses, and here's the proof.

MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S)

Ch. 8: Chokepoint Capitalism (with Cory Doctorow and Rebecca Giblin) Part 2 - Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer - Air Date 11-1-22

FINAL COMMENTS

Ch. 9: Final comments on how regulation helps stop financial scams

MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions):

• Opening Theme: Loving Acoustic Instrumental by John Douglas Orr
• Voicemail Music: Low Key Lost Feeling Electro by Alex Stinnent
• Activism Music: This Fickle World by Theo Bard (https://theobard.bandcamp.com/track/this-fickle-world)
• Closing Music: Upbeat Laid Back Indie Rock by Alex Stinnent

Produced by Jay! Tomlinson

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