Radically Pragmatic, a podcast from the Progressive Policy Institute

On this week's episode, the Neoliberal Project joined Radically Pragmatic, a PPI Podcast to talk about their week of action and the exciting events that are happening across the country and around the globe. Jeremiah Johnson, Policy Director for the Center for New Liberalism and Director of the Neoliberal Project, and Markose Butler, Organizing Director for the Neoliberal Project and the State and...

On this segment of Talk Policy, Director of Social Policy Veronica Goodman sits down with Stephanie Malia-Krauss, educator, social worker, researcher, and writer, to discuss her new book, "Making It: What Today's Kids Need for Tomorrow's World," and what young people need in the first quarter of life to succeed. Stephanie also talks about how her early educational experiences led her to an unexpec...

On this week’s Radically Pragmatic Podcast, Crystal Swann , Senior Policy Fellow at the Progressive Policy Institute and Mosaic Economic Project lead, and Francella Ochillo , a Mosaic Economic Project Cohort Fellow, attorney and digital rights advocate, sit down with Representative Sharice Davids , D-Ks., to discuss the impact of the coronavirus on women business owners, entrepreneurs and workers....

For the last 10 years, the Progressive Policy Institute has released an annual Investment Heroes report which lays out the top companies of the year who invested the most in capital expenditures. With 2020 being a year like no other, PPI's Investment Heroes report looked unlike anything we have seen before and surprisingly, had a record broken for the biggest investment in the 10 years the report...

On this segment of Talk Policy, Director of Social Policy Veronica Goodman sits down with Aaron Sojourner, Labor Economist and Associate Professor of Economics at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management to discuss his new report, "Increasing Federal Investment in Children’s Early Care and Education to Raise Quality, Access, and Affordability" and the critical investment included...

This is a joint episode with The Neoliberal Podcast, and cofounder Jeremiah Johnson sat down with Media Matters Senior Fellow Matt Gertz, who follows the ecosystem of lies that is the right wing media system. Coincidentally, he is often mistaken for a certain Florida GOP Congressman, causing his Twitter mentions to explode. Both Jeremiah and Matt break down the many moving parts of this media mons...

On this week's Radically Pragmatic Podcast, Will Marshall, President of the Progressive Policy Institute sat down with Matt Goodwin, Professor of Politics and International Relations at the University of Kent, a researcher and a published author. They discussed the dynamic political atmosphere across Europe and how it relates to the US political stage, among a host of other topics and is...

In a Star Wars Day -themed Radically Pragmatic podcast episode, Caleb Watney, Director of Innovation Policy at the Progressive Policy Institute, sits down with Rep. Derek Kilmer (WA-06) - Congress’ top Star Wars super-fan - for Star Wars trivia, and an exciting conversation on the future of technology innovation in America. Caleb and Rep. Kilmer dig deep into their shared love of Sci-Fi, and talk...

On this week's Radically Pragmatic Podcast episode, Paul Weinstein, Jr., Senior Policy Fellow at the Progressive Policy Institute, sits down with Rep. Seth Moulton (MA-06), for a special conversation about infrastructure development and high-speed rail. Congressman Moulton serves on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, as well as the House Budget and Armed Services Committees. They dis...

On this week’s Radically Pragmatic Podcast, Crystal Swann, Senior Policy Fellow at the Progressive Policy Institute and Mosaic Economic Project lead and Hilary Abell, Mosaic Economic Project Cohort member and co-founder of Project Equity, sit down with Rep. Chrissy Houlahan (PA-06), a trained engineer, entrepreneur and veteran. Congresswoman Houlahan serves on the House Armed Services Committee, t...

On this week’s Radically Pragmatic Podcast, PPI President Will Marshall and Center for New Liberalism Policy Director Jeremiah Johnson sit down with Rep. Stacey Plaskett , Delegate to the United States House of Representatives from the United States Virgin Islands' at-large congressional district. Congresswoman Plaskett serves on the House Ways and Means, Agriculture and Budget Committees, and is...

On this week’s Radically Pragmatic Podcast, PPI President Will Marshall and Senior Policy Fellow Crystal Swann sit down with Rep. Marilyn Strickland (WA-10), a former Mayor of Tacoma, and Sly James , former Mayor of Kansas City. They discuss a new “metro-federalism” - the role of local leaders in effectively deploying the public resources provided by Congress in the American Rescue Plan Act , and...

Can charter schools help improve America's education system? Tressa Pankovits and Curtis Valentine from the Reinventing America's Schools Project at PPI join the show to discuss charter schools and school choice.  What's the value in having local autonomy and experimentation in schools? How do you guard against potential downsides to charter schools? Ultimately, how can charter schools h...

On this week’s PPI Podcast, Arielle Kane , PPI’s Director of Health Care sits down with Rep. Ami Bera (CA-7) , a leader of the New Democrat Coalition. They discuss National Public Health Week, the critical funding within the American Rescue Plan Act, and the state of health care after the COVID-19 pandemic. Representative Bera also discussed the intersection of health care and infrastructure, and...

Representative Ron Kind of Wisconsin's 3rd District joins the PPI Podcast this week, offering the perspective of a Democrat in a district twice-won by Donald Trump. Kind discusses the work of the New Dem Coalition in the first few weeks of the Biden administration, the impact of Trump's trade war on farmers, and the need for Democrats to step up in rural areas. Learn more about the Progressive Pol...

This week's episode is a joint episode of the Neoliberal Podcast and the PPI Podcast, featuring guest host Colin Mortimer of PPI's Center for New Liberalism. Colin sits down with Oregon State Treasurer Tobias Read to talk about the ways Oregon is optimizing its treasury to support and empower Oregonians. Colin and Treasurer Read discuss the day-to-day role of a State Treasurer, and how h...

PPI President Will Marshall welcomes Representative Suzan DelBene of Washington State's First District to this episode of the PPI Podcast. The two discuss the Republican party's identity crisis, the issue of Marjorie Taylor Greene, and the need for the GOP to come to the table on a broad relief package. They also talk about DelBene's involvement in the New Democrat Coalition, the House's largest i...

For those concerned about nicotine addiction and tobacco consumption, a ban on flavored tobacco might sound like a good idea. But as Nkechi Taifa explains in this week's PPI Podcast, such bans are going to almost entirely fall onto minority communities. Several states are considering or have already banned flavored tobacco. Nkechi Taifa agrees with Crystal Swann that in ti...

PPI President Will Marshall welcomes Congressman Conor Lamb of Pennsylvania's 17th District to the PPI Podcast, just days after Rep. Lamb's dramatic floor speech following the insurrection in the Capitol, in which he lambasted Republicans for supporting the Trump lies that inspired the assault, plus his thoughts on impeaching the president again; Rep. Lamb shares how he and Biden won their electio...

Colin Mortimer, the Director of the Center for New Liberalism, is joined by two special guests. First is Adam Hartke, the co-owner of a music venue in Wichita, Kansas, and the co-chair of the advocacy committee at the National Independent Venues Association. We talk about what it has been like to be a music venue owner during this pandemic, suffering the brunt of the economic fallout. Second,...

The Progressive Policy Institute is proud to launch  The Mosaic Economic Project  to create a network of diverse women who are experts in economics and technology – fields where their perspectives are grossly underrepresented. The mission of Mosaic  is to train, connect, host and advocate for the participation of women, particularly minority women, in meaningful policy con...

Listen in on this panel discussion on challenges facing workers in the gig economy during the COVID-19 pandemic and the need for a new policy vision that can guarantee flexibility while providing portable benefits. Featuring Experts from the Progressive Policy Institute and American Action Forum: Alec Stapp : Director of Technology Policy, PPI Mike Mandel : Chief Economic Strategist, PPI Jennifer...

PPI launched a significant new report: “The Third Way: A Guide to Implementing Innovation Schools." In this webinar, leaders discuss the spread of “innovation” or “partnership” schools: district schools in a variety of models, with full autonomy and accountability for performance. Listen to hear how these 21st-century schools are producing meaningful results with low-income students, from Springfi...

The Progressive Policy Institute hosted a conversation on how members of the Democratic Party can better protect recent gains made by Black and Brown students while advancing these gains after the 2020 Presidential Election.  The conversation surrounded gains made by Black and Brown students, how these gains were made, and more importantly how Democrats can ensure the gains continue unde...

PPI President Will Marshall and Ben Ritz from the Center for Funding America's Future are joined by Congresswoman Don Beyer (VA-8), Vice Chair of the Joint Economic Committee, to talk about the fiscal health of the United States, the path out of the economic crisis caused by COVID-19, the role automatic stabilizers should play as America works to build a resilient recovery, and the Worker Relief a...