Organized Money is on vacation this week, but we still have a fantastic monopoly story for you. Around the globe, tuberculosis kills more people than any other infectious disease, despite the fact that it's treatable. This episode is about a drug that would otherwise save lives, but is so expensive that many of the people who desperately need it, can't afford it. The reason is because of the ways healthcare companies keep the price of drugs high via patents and loopholes, both here and abroad—and how one man led thousands of people to fight back. This story, which originally ran in 2023, comes from our friends at the podcast An Arm And A Leg, a show about why medical care costs so much, hosted by Dan Weissman. If you like this episode, go check out An Arm And A Leg, and subscribe.

It's hard to keep track of the number of trade deals, threats, carve-outs and deadlines and random stops and starts in the Trump administration's wild approach to tariffs. To untangle the chaos, Matt and David sit down with trade expert Lori Wallach, Director of Rethink Trade at the American Economic Liberties Project and a senior advisor to the Citizens Trade Campaign. Lori breaks down how Trump’s "rando" policies have created confusion for businesses, investors, and even trading partners, often serving corporate interests or foreign political drama rather than American workers. From the surprise shutdown of a notorious import loophole to the murky reality of deals and exclusions, they reveal the real impacts on manufacturing, prices, and policy—plus the performative side of trade announcements that keep everyone guessing and frustrated.

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Last week, the journalist Sohrab Ahmari broke a story titled The Antitrust War Inside MAGA: Powerful Lobbyists Are Battling Populist Reformers. In it, he reported that the recent $14 billion deal in which Hewlett-Packard acquired its competitor, Juniper Networks, was quietly shepherded along with help from the Justice Department, complete with martini-sipping backroom deals. Two attorneys within the department who objected to the shady procedural maneuvers were reportedly fired.

Today on the show, Matt and David bring Ahmari on to unpack the situation, what it could mean for antitrust policy under the second Trump administration, and whether this signals the end of populist influence within the MAGA movement.

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In this episode of Organized Money, hosts Matt Stoller and David Dayen are joined by journalist and author Bridget Read to unravel the shadowy world of multi-level marketing (MLM) and pyramid schemes. Drawing from Bridget’s new book, Little Bosses Everywhere, How the Pyramid Scheme Shaped America, they explore how companies like Amway, Herbalife, and Mary Kay built vast empires by selling not just products but the promise of entrepreneurship and financial freedom—when in reality, most participants end up losing money. The conversation reveals MLM’s deep ties to American politics, highlighting how the industry helped shape the modern conservative movement and evade federal regulation, with figures like the DeVos family fueling both business and political influence. From cult-like positive thinking and self-help roots to the exploitation of vulnerable communities, the episode exposes how the allure of “being your own boss” often conceals a cycle of extraction, false hope, and systemic harm that reaches far beyond personal finances—shaping culture, politics, and the American dream itself.

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Costco is a great place to buy bulk toilet paper, cheap hot dogs, or even a mortgage—but for some customers, their recent Coscto experience has felt a little off, especially when dealing with their vendors. In this episode Matt and David talk with Steve Hunt, a Costco customer service worker and former Oklahoma City mayoral candidate, about how private equity takeovers of vendors selling everything from water delivery and window blinds, to discounted event tickets through Costco are quietly eroding product quality and customer service. What looks like the ultimate consumer haven is, in fact, a view into how private equity’s cost cutting tactics are degrading everyday services, exploiting Costco’s reputation for trust, and leaving customers and employees stuck in the middle. Check out Steve's substack and his article: New York City: The Extraction Engine, the Extreme Center, and the Hollowing of Oklahoma City or Dasha Nekrasova vs. Woody Guthrie.

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In this episode, a rare piece of good news in prescription drug pricing. Matt and David speak with Antonio Ciaccia, president of 3 Axis Advisors and architect of Ohio’s Medicaid pharmacy overhaul, and Benjamin Jolly, pharmacist and advocate with the American Economic Liberties Project. Together, they unpack how Ohio kicked pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) out of its Medicaid program, saving $140 million in just two years, paying pharmacists fairly, and making it easier for patients to get their medicine.

Antonio shares how he uncovered hidden costs and sparked a legislative revolution, while Benjamin explains why this model is spreading to states across the country and the political divide.

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At the height of Trump’s tariff spree, when he kept ratcheting up taxes on Chinese imports, China struck back by withholding an under-discussed but essential resource: rare earth minerals. These elements are crucial to nearly all modern electronics, vehicles, and weaponry, and play a vital role in high-tech manufacturing. The business world quickly sounded the alarm. Some companies, like General Motors, even slowed or stopped production on certain vehicle models due to the supply bottleneck.

Today on the show, Matt and David talk with Alex Jacquez, former Special Assistant to the President for Economic Development and Industrial Strategy under President Biden, now Chief of Policy and Advocacy at Groundwork Collaborative, about how China gained such a powerful advantage, and why something so important was largely overlooked for so long.

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After file-sharing decimated the music industry in the late 1990's, tech platforms, and music publishers spent years finding a profitable solution to the problem of free music. Spotify was the result.

For investors and major labels, Spotify was a triumph: it revitalized the business of recorded music, and accommodated a public that had grown used to having instant, on-demand access. But for artists and smaller labels, it has only exacerbated the problem of making a living.

Today on the show, Matt and David talk to Liz Pelly, author of the new book Mood Machine: The Rise Of Spotify And The Cost Of The Perfect Playlist, to find out how the dominant platform in music streaming was founded, how its algorithmically driven recommendation system flattens musical taste, and how its "payola-like" activities skirt the regulations that governed terrestrial radio for decades.

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