The Capitol Forum

Latest Episodes:

Trump’s Trade Letters and the August 1st Deadline Jul 31, 2025

Show notes

In this wide-ranging conversation, Capitol Forum Executive Editor Teddy Downey sits down with Beth Baltzan — former Counselor to U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai — and Capitol Forum Trade Correspondent Neil Tracey to unpack the latest wave of Trump tariff threats.

We cover:

Why Trump is targeting an unusual mix of countries
How rare earths give China lasting leverage
Whether USMCA will actually be exempted
The growing influence of Big Tech on trade policy
Section 301 vs. Section 232: What tools Trump is using — and why
How global trust in the U.S. rule of law is eroding
What’s missing from a purely tariff-based industrial strategy
Why the global trading order may never be the same

Patenting and Pricing Eliquis, Ozempic, and Other Medicare-Targeted Drugs Jul 29, 2025

Show notes

Teddy Downey, Executive Editor of The Capitol Forum, sits down with Tahir Amin, co-founder of I-MAK, to discuss the pharmaceutical industry’s misuse of the U.S. patent system—and what it costs American patients and taxpayers.

They dive into I-MAK’s new report, Overpatented, Overpriced, and explore:

How drugs like Eliquis and Ozempic are protected by dozens to hundreds of patents
The role of patent term extensions, follow-on patents, and settlement deals in delaying generic competition
How companies like Novo Nordisk and BMS generate tens of billions in additional revenue through strategic patenting
Why the Hatch-Waxman Act and USPTO are failing to protect patients and the public interest

Full report: https://www.i-mak.org/overpatented/

Proposed Breakups of Live Nation/Ticketmaster with Tommy Dorfman Jul 23, 2025

Show notes

What happens when one company dominates every aspect of an industry—from venues and ticketing to artist access and local politics? In this in-depth interview, The Capitol Forum’s Teddy Downey speaks with Tommy Dorfman, former promoter and now CEO of Juice Entertainment, about his extraordinary 15-year legal battle against Live Nation and Ticketmaster.

Dorfman alleges that Live Nation used anti-competitive tactics—backed by its control of Ticketmaster—to force him out of the industry, block access to artists, and coerce state-run venues. His claims include:

Closed-door threats and pressure to enter a forced partnership

A nationwide pattern of leveraging rebates to inflate ticket prices

Control over municipal venues, artist touring, and even event security

As the U.S. Department of Justice pursues its own case against Live Nation, Dorfman makes a broader argument: that monopolistic control in the live events industry suppresses competition, stifles independent promoters, and ultimately harms artists and consumers alike.

A story of market power, legal resilience, and the changing economics of live music.

Google’s Role in Digital Advertising with Ari Paparo Jul 21, 2025

Show notes

Ari Paparo has done it all in digital advertising—from DoubleClick and Google to founding Beeswax and covering the DOJ antitrust trial as an independent analyst.

In this conversation with Capitol Forum Executive Editor Teddy Downey, Ari shares his insider take on:

📌 Google’s ad tech dominance

📌 Why publishers lost control

📌 What the DOJ’s remedies get wrong

📌 The real reason Google is fighting so hard

📌 How ad markets could be reformed—and who might fill the vacuum

Ari walks us through the industry's tangled history and what it would take to create a truly open digital ad market.

Promoting AI Innovation Through Competition Jun 27, 2025

Show notes

Promoting AI Innovation Through Competition

Who’s Really Shaping RFK Jr.’s Health Agenda? Inside the Maha Influencers Jun 20, 2025

Show notes

In this Capitol Forum podcast, Executive Editor Teddy Downey is joined by Jeremy Furchtgott and Riley Kruse of Baron Public Affairs to unpack the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement shaping RFK Jr.’s vision for Health and Human Services. Drawing from their rigorous influencer analytics and new report, they explore:

The shift from academic experts to social media influencers like Tucker Carlson and Russell Brand

Competing schools of thought inside Maha: Big Pharma vs. Big Food

How elite vs. populist divides shape policy priorities

The strange alliance between conservative “crunchy cons,” libertarians, and techno-optimists

What Maha says about vaccines, SNAP food policy, pharma ad bans, and the future of public health

🔗 Don’t miss this deep dive into the information ecosystem redefining conservative health policy, learn more here: https://thecapitolforum.com/resources/analyzing-maha-influencers-shaping-rfk-jr-s-hhs-agenda/

Textiles, Trade & National Security: A Conversation with Parkdale Mills COO Davis Warlick Jun 13, 2025

Show notes

Textiles, Trade & National Security: A Conversation with Parkdale Mills COO Davis Warlick

What Abundance Gets Wrong Jun 11, 2025

Show notes

Is "Abundance" the answer to our housing, energy, and pharma crises—or just neoliberalism in a new outfit?

In this in-depth conversation, Capital Forum’s Teddy Downey sits down with Sandeep Vaheesan of the Open Markets Institute to dissect "Abundance", the much-hyped book by Ezra Klein and Derek Thompson. Sandeep—legal director, historian, and author of Democracy and Power—offers a sweeping critique of the book’s policy proposals and ideological foundations.

We talk about:

📉 Why zoning reform won’t solve the housing crisis

⚡ The overlooked history of public investment in energy

💊 What Abundance misses about Big Pharma and price manipulation

💥 How the book rebrands 1990s-era neoliberalism for 2025

The Hidden Monopoly: How Healthcare Platforms Threaten Competition May 23, 2025

Show notes

Jonathan Kanter (former DOJ Antitrust) and Martin Gaynor (Carnegie Mellon Professor and former FTC official) join The Capitol Forum to discuss their groundbreaking paper, The Rise of Healthcare Platforms. They explain how companies like UnitedHealth have evolved into sprawling conglomerates—combining insurer, provider, pharmacy, and PBM functions—and why this consolidation threatens both market competition and patient care.