El Podcast

E28: Matt Stoller on the Rise of Corporate Feudalism in America

Episode Summary

Matt Stoller explains how America shifted from fighting monopolies to empowering them, tracing the roots of today's corporate dominance back to pivotal decisions in the 1970s. He argues that restoring democracy and economic fairness will require reclaiming political power through antitrust laws, decentralization, and civic engagement.

Episode Notes

Matt Stoller, author of Goliath, joins the show to expose how monopoly power reshaped American democracy—and how we can fight back.

Guest Bio: Matt Stoller is the Director of Research at the American Economic Liberties Project and author of Goliath: The 100-Year War Between Monopoly Power and Democracy. He previously served as a senior policy advisor in the U.S. House of Representatives, focusing on financial regulation, Dodd-Frank, and antitrust issues.

Topics Covered:

• The rise and fall of anti-monopoly politics in America
• Wright Patman, the New Deal, and the Watergate Baby Democrats
• The 2008 financial crisis and bipartisan consolidation of power
• The role of think tanks, academia, and philanthropy in shaping discourse
• The impact of AI, healthcare monopolies, and the loss of property rights
• Big Tech, corporate power, and the modern culture war

Top 3 Quotes:

• “If you want to know who controls discourse in D.C., it’s Google.”
• “People are afraid. And fear—not freedom—is what defines commerce in America right now.”
• “Politics should be about how we come together as a people who disagree—and still build a society.”