The Capitol Forum

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The Hidden Monopoly Driving Up Rents Oct 27, 2022

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Heather Vogell is a Propublica journalist currently investigating the  rental housing market. Her recent article, “Rent Going Up? One Company’s Algorithm Could Be Why,” has resonated with citizens, antitrust enforcers, and policymakers across the country.

Taking on Monopoly Power in Search with Neeva CEO Sridhar Ramaswamy Oct 20, 2022

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Neeva is an ads-free search engine that Sridhar co-founded after overseeing advertising at Google. We discuss big tech, competition policy, and how his views on data have shifted since creating Neeva.

A Hidden Monopoly in Appalachia Driving Up Energy Prices Sep 23, 2022

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Daniel Sherwood, Energy Team Editor at the Capitol Forum, and his colleague Sharon Kelly discuss their investigation into the Natural Gas Liquids market, where they found indications that dominant producers in Appalachia are encouraging each other to keep prices high by producing less.

CVS and Signify: Value-Based Care or Risk Score Gaming? Sep 16, 2022

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Lisa Epstein and Vikas Kumar from the Capitol Forum’s corporate investigations team discuss their reporting on the aggressive marketing tactics and sales strategies of Signify Health on the eve of its proposed $8 Billion acquisition by CVS.

Dr. Cristina Caffarra on the State of Europe’s Antitrust Regulation and Enforcement Aug 04, 2022

Show notes

Dr. Caffarra is a world-renowned competition economist with over two decades of experience. She’s served as a top advisor and expert before the European Commission and has provided guidance to multiple companies and agencies on mergers, conduct cases and regulatory issues.

In this episode of Second Request, Dr. Caffarra dives into the latest in European antitrust regulation and enforcement and voices concerns about the influence of economists on competition.

The Weak Argument Jeopardizing Tech Antitrust Legislation with Gilad Edelman Jul 07, 2022

Show notes

Gilad Edelman is a senior writer for WIRED, covering the intersection of tech, politics, and law. Before that, he was executive editor of the Washington Monthly. He has a degree from Yale Law School.

His recent article, “The Weak Argument Jeopardizing Tech Antitrust Legislation” is having an outsized impact on the conversation happening on Capitol Hill.

Beat Inflation by Tackling Market Power and Supply Chain Crisis, Says Niko Lusiani Jun 30, 2022

Show notes

Niko Lusiani is the co-author of the Roosevelt Institute’s recently published paper, “Prices, Profits, and Power: An Analysis of 2021 Firm-Level Markups.

How to understand and respond to inflation has become one of the central debates of this economic recovery. In “Prices, Profits, and Power: An Analysis of 2021 Firm-Level Markups,” Roosevelt’s Director of Macroeconomic Analysis, Mike Konczal, and Director of Corporate Power Niko Lusiani, conduct original research to show that we need an all-of-government administrative, regulatory, and legislative approach to tackling inflation that includes demand, supply, and market power interventions.

Bust Up Pharmaceutical Middlemen, Says Representative Buddy Carter Jun 23, 2022

Show notes

U.S. Representative Buddy Carter is a pharmacist by trade and a lifelong resident of the First District of Georgia, which he represents. He recently wrote a letter to the FTC calling for an investigation into the ways Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) spike consumer drug prices and reduce access to life saving drugs.

He discusses the monopoly problems that PBMs present and what the FTC and Congress can do to stop anticompetitive conduct in the industry and protect independent pharmacies.

The Baby Formula Monopoly with Moe Tkacik Jun 16, 2022

Show notes

Moe Tkacik is a Senior Fellow at the American Economic Liberties Project. She’s a former journalist who has worked for the Wall Street Journal and Time, and she discusses the supply chain crisis behind the Baby Formula shortage and possible solutions to the problem.

Solving Data-opoly Problems with Maurice Stucke May 19, 2022

Show notes

Maurice Stucke is the Douglas A. Blaze Distinguished Professor of Law at the University of Tennessee and recently wrote Breaking Away: How to Regain Control Over Our Data, Privacy, and Autonomy.

Breaking Away sounds a warning call alerting readers that their privacy and autonomy concerns are indeed warranted, and the remedies deserve far greater attention than they have received from our leading policymakers and experts to date. Through the various prisms of economic theory, market data, policy, and law, the book offers a clear and accessible insight into how a few powerful firms - Google, Apple, Facebook (Meta), and Amazon - have used the same anticompetitive playbook and manipulated the current legal regime for their gain at our collective expense.

While much has been written about these four companies' power, far less has been said about addressing their risks. In looking at the proposals to date, however, policymakers and scholars have not fully addressed three fundamental issues: First, will more competition necessarily promote our privacy and well-being? Second, who owns the personal data, and is that even the right question? Third, what are the policy implications if personal data is non-rivalrous?

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