Stay Connected“How The World Works” features author, political commentator, and CEI writer in residence, Kevin D. Williamson having a series of conversations with notable guests about work, specifically, the jobs he and his guests have had, why work matters, the role of work in our economy, and policy ideas for helping workers and employers get the most out of the work they do.
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URL: cei.org/podcasts
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Kevin Williamson is joined by Jason Letkiewicz, a former Las Vegas police officer who spent two decades in law enforcement. They discuss Letkiewicz’s path from bagging groceries in high school to becoming a police captain overseeing homicide and sex crimes in Las Vegas. The conversation explores the realities of police work, the demands of training and leadership, and the particular challenges of law enforcement in Las Vegas. They also discuss human trafficking, the changing character of the city, and what Letkiewicz learned about helping people through difficult situations.
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Kevin Williamson is joined by Declan Garvey, publisher of The Dispatch. They discuss Garvey’s path from his early interest in politics and public affairs to helping build one of the country’s leading center-right publications. The conversation explores what it takes to launch and grow a modern news organization, the changing economics of journalism, and the different responsibilities of editors and publishers. Along the way, they also discuss entrepreneurial lessons, the value of mission-driven work, and why building a successful media business requires balancing strong editorial judgment with financial sustainability.
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Kevin Williamson is joined by Leah Ashburn, CEO and family owner of Highland Brewing Company in Asheville, North Carolina. They discuss Ashburn’s path from journalism and sales into the family business, the legacy of her father who founded Asheville’s first brewery, and the challenges of leading a company through industry slowdowns, a pandemic, and natural disasters. The conversation also explores the role breweries can play as community institutions, the realities of hospitality and small business ownership, and how Ashburn and her husband have transformed their brewery into a gathering place for the wider community.
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Kevin Williamson is joined by Alex Danza, founder and CEO of the luxury bus company Vonlane. They discuss Danza’s unlikely path from delivering newspapers in Staten Island to reinventing bus travel for business and leisure passengers alike. The conversation explores the challenge of changing people’s perceptions of bus travel and how Vonlane built a loyal following by focusing obsessively on comfort and customer experience. Along the way, they also discuss entrepreneurship, the risks of building a transportation company from scratch, changing travel habits, and why some of the best business ideas begin with industries everyone else has written off.
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Kevin Williamson is joined by Wayne Crews, a longtime policy expert on regulation and the administrative state. They discuss his career studying federal rules and his long-running Ten Thousand Commandments project, which tracks the scope and cost of regulations. The conversation also touches on his family farm and a longshot bid for office as a libertarian candidate that ended with him being kicked off the ballot. Along the way they explore how regulatory policy shapes economic life, the difficulty of measuring its impact, and the tradeoffs between oversight, innovation, and economic freedom.
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Kevin Williamson is joined by Jonathan Farber, an investor with experience in both the oil business and venture capital. They discuss Farber’s path into the energy world, how his work expanded from traditional oil markets into media and journalism, and what he has learned along the way. The conversation also explores how people inside the energy sector think about shifting supply and demand, uncertainty in global markets, and what those forces mean for investment, risk, and the future of energy.
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Kevin Williamson is joined by Brian Berberich, a veteran commercial filmmaker whose career has taken him from hands-on production roles to producing major commercial campaigns. They discuss how he found his way into the business, the demands of high-end commercial filmmaking, and why making car commercials can be more dangerous than audiences realize. The conversation also explores how artificial intelligence is reshaping production and what those changes mean for creative work going forward.
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Kevin Williamson is joined by Jason Samuels, a former train conductor and Marine Corps veteran now working in leadership within the American rail industry. They discuss Samuels’s path from military service to railroad operations, regulation, and research, and explore how modern freight rail actually works. The conversation covers safety, automation, drones, and the vital but often invisible role rail plays in moving goods, supporting agriculture, and sustaining the U.S. economy.
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Kevin Williamson is joined by Dr. Scott Jones, a resident at UVA Emergency Medicine with a diverse background including law, military service, and emergency medicine. Scott shares his journey from being a prosecutor to pursuing a medical career later in life, discussing the challenges and rewards of each profession. He reflects on his military training, experiences in the courtroom, and the realities of working in emergency medicine.
Kevin D. Williamson is joined by Professor James Otteson of Notre Dame. They discuss the meaning of work, Adam Smith’s moral philosophy, and how Smith’s ideas connect to modern understandings of economics, ethics, and human motivation. They also discuss Otteson’s career path, the moral and philosophical underpinnings of capitalism, risk aversion, inequality, and how individuals can find purpose and meaning in their work.
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