The Capitol Forum

On this episode of Second Request , The Capitol Forum’s Teddy Downey speaks with former FTC deputy director and DOJ trial attorney, John Newman, about the current antitrust landscape in the US. Currently a Professor of Law at Miami University, John is an expert on antitrust and competition law, with a primary focus on the economics and regulation of digital markets. Listen to the podcast to hear t...

Experienced election analyst Michael Podhorzer talks to Executive Editor of The Capitol Forum, Teddy Downey, about the 2024 presidential election. Listen to the podcast to learn more about what polling and historical voting patterns can and can’t tell us about prospective outcomes. They also discuss the roles and responsibilities of the press during election cycles. 

404 Media co-founder and journalist Joseph Cox discusses his latest investigation into how hackers and fraudsters are illegally accessing sensitive drug ordering tools and then advertising some of the most tightly controlled drugs in the country, including fentanyl. Communicating directly with the hackers and fraudsters themselves, Joseph was able to uncover how they are gaining access to legitima...

On this episode of  Second Request , Executive Editor of The Capitol Forum, Teddy Downey, speaks to former Deputy Director for the National Economic Council Bharat Ramamurti about the White House’s approach to improving competition across all sectors of the economy. During his time on the National Economic Council, Bharat played a key role in developing the President’s Executive Order on Competiti...

On this episode of Second Request, executive director of Clean Virginia, Brennan Gilmore, discusses the biggest successes and challenges Clean Virginia has experienced working to advance clean government and clean energy. Listen to the podcast to learn about the history of Virginia’s monopoly utility regulation and the influence Dominion Energy, Virginia’s largest utility, has had on how the state...

Jack Ryan, cofounder and CEO of the real estate brokerage REX, and Darren McCarty, lead lawyer in the current antitrust litigation for REX, discuss the recent litigation against the National Association of Realtors and what it means for the future of residential real estate.  

Legal expert Seth Bloom delves into the Google antitrust trial, amidst the current legal landscape, tech trends, and evolving regulatory environment. Analyzing the trial's dynamics, he and host Teddy Downey explore the role of Judge Mehta, potential outcomes, and the broader implications for the tech industry. The conversation extends to AI, cloud computing, and algorithmic accountability, touchin...

Kevin Erickson, director of the Future of Music Coalition, discusses the DOJ and State AGs’ monopolization investigations into Live Nation and how anticompetitive conduct in the industry hurts musicians and fans. Kevin and host Teddy Downey lay out what regulators, enforcers, and policymakers can do to encourage competition, diversity of practice, and creative autonomy in the live music marketplac...

Dr. Michael J. Birrer, an expert in oncology, discusses the complexities of generic oncology drug shortages, exploring the root causes and potential solutions to this recurring problem. Dr. Birrer shares his perspectives on the impact of reimbursement policies, the role of government intervention, and the need for a more streamlined FDA process. The discussion also touches on the influence of insu...

On the latest episode of  Second Request , Associate Professor of Law Matthew Wansley and Professor of Law Samuel Weinstein of Cardozo School of Law discuss their recent article entitled “Venture Predation” published in the  Journal of Corporation Law . Speaking with The Capitol Forum’s Teddy Downey, Matthew and Samuel explain the economics and history behind venture predation and why we currently...

On this episode of Second Request, Teddy Downey and the FTC’s Shaoul Sussman discuss the new draft merger guidelines from the FTC and DOJ. Shaoul describes some of the market dynamics, economic conditions and case law reflected in the new guidelines, and why the agencies thought it was time for an update: The agencies “have a mandate to make the guidelines more accessible and provide clear rules o...

On July 20, Capitol Forum Executive Editor Teddy Downey spoke with Diana Moss, President of the American Antitrust Institute (AAI), about what a LiveNation-Ticketmaster monopoly breakup could look like. The AAI recently published a deep dive on vertical integration of Live Nation and Ticketmaster as well as proposed remedies.  On the podcast, Diana describes the legal climate around vertical merge...

In the latest episode of Second Request, Teddy interviews Bob Lande on the impact of textualism on merger analysis. Bob Lande is Venable Professor of Law Emeritus at the University of Baltimore School of Law and a board member for the American Antitrust Institute who has written about the use of textualism in antitrust enforcement and the way it affects statutory interpretation in a recent article...

On April 23, 2021, Rob Bonta was sworn in as the 34th Attorney General of the State of California, the first person of Filipino descent and the second Asian-American to occupy the position.   Attorney General Bonta's passion for justice and fairness was instilled in him by his parents, who served on the frontlines of some of America's most important social justice movements. Instilling in him the...

Stacy Mitchell is Co-Executive Director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, a research and advocacy organization that challenges concentrated corporate power and works to build thriving, equitable communities. ILSR has been a pioneering leader in the growing anti-monopoly movement and has a long track record of working alongside grassroots groups to develop better alternatives, from communit...

Alvaro Bedoya was sworn in May 16, 2022 as a Commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission. President Joe Biden named Bedoya to a term that expires on Sept. 25, 2026. Bedoya was the founding director of the Center on Privacy & Technology at Georgetown University Law Center, where he was also a visiting professor of law. He has been influential in research and policy at the intersection of priva...

This week on Second Request, our host Teddy Downey is joined by Luke Slindee, Senior Pharmacy consultant at Myers and Stauffer LC. In this role, Luke helps facilitate the data collection, data analysis, and public posting of pharmacy actual acquisition cost benchmarks, reducing NADAC and multiple State AACs. Luke is widely recognized for his expertise in pharmacy policy and competition rules.

This week on Second Request, the Hatch-Waxman Act of 1984 laid out a pathway for generic drugs to come to market as patent protections for brand name drugs expire. But brand-name producers have found a way to stave off competition: paying generic producers to delay market entry of their cheaper drugs.

Tommaso Valletti is Professor of Economics at Imperial College Business School and also the University of Rome "Tor Vergata" (on leave). He was formerly the Chief Competition Economist of the European Commission, In a recent paper, "Structuring a Structural Presumption for Merger Review," Tommaso and Filippo Lancieri discuss the key standards that should drive antitrust enforcement.

With the FTC already investigating the liquor distribution market as well as Big Soda as it tries to enter the beer market, and with the Department of Treasury's TTB undertaking a rulemaking to revamp alcohol competition law, the timing couldn't be better to hear from Harry Schuhmacher on his views on problematic conduct in the alcohol markets. Harry Schuhmacher is Editor & Publisher of Beer B...

46brooklyn is a group of pharmacy experts who set out to educate others about what they had learned about the frustrating complexity of the U.S. drug pricing system.  As 46brooklyn dug into the pharmaceutical supply chain, Ohio began uncovering hundreds of millions of dollars in state overspending on prescription drugs through its Ohio Medicaid program. 46brooklyn's founders had begun doing data a...

On February 2nd, Propublica and The Capitol Forum co-published a blockbuster  article : "UnitedHealthcare Tried to Deny Coverage to a Chronically Ill Patient. He Fought Back, Exposing the Insurer’s Inner Workings." It is a shocking story about a persistent effort by an insurer to choose profit over patient health, and we discuss the reporting for the story in-depth with two of the authors. We also...

The FTC recently proposed to ban noncompete agreements, and one of the most persistent advocates for this rule is Sandeep Vaheesan, legal director at the Open Markets Institute. Vaheesan leads Open Markets’ legal advocacy and research work, including its amicus program. Vaheesan works on a range of anti-monopoly topics, including antitrust law’s role in structuring labor markets and promoting fair...

The FTC recently issued a proposed rule to ban noncompete clauses, which the agency estimates could increase workers’ earnings by nearly $300 billion per year. Elizabeth Wilkins is the FTC’s Director of the Office of Policy Planning, and the lead on the proposed rule on noncompetes. The Office of Policy Planning assists the Commission to develop and implement long-range competition and consumer pr...

“In  Chokepoint Capitalism , scholar Rebecca Giblin and writer and activist Cory Doctorow argue we’re in a new era of “chokepoint capitalism,” with exploitative businesses creating insurmountable barriers to competition that enable them to capture value that should rightfully go to others. All workers are weakened by this, but the problem is especially well-illustrated by the plight of creative wo...