Commonplace: The American Compass Podcast

Fixing Finance with Rohit Chopra

Oren Cass — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 09:51:37 GMT

The financial industry is supposed to be our economy’s plumbing, quietly channeling capital to investments where it’s needed most. But in today’s system, that plumbing is leaking. From rising credit card rates and opaque lending products to the decline of local banking and the growth of speculative activity, the financial sector is increasingly disconnected from the real economy it was built to serve.

Rohit Chopra, former director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, joins Oren to examine how finance lost its purpose and what it would take to restore it. They discuss the limits of regulation versus enforcement, the rise of non-bank financial products, and the growing concentration of credit markets. They also consider whether novel activities like online sports betting and prediction represent genuine innovation or simply new ways to extract more money from consumers.

Want to End Illegal Immigration? Hire American, with Daniel Kishi

Oren Cass — Fri, 20 Mar 2026 18:31:41 GMT

Immigration enforcement has long been framed as a question of border security, but the Trump administration’s success at stopping illegal crossings has turned the public’s attention toward removing illegal aliens who have become enmeshed in communities across America. Now, the administration’s challenge will be enforcing immigration law in our labor market.

Daniel Kishi, senior policy advisor at American Compass, joins Oren to discuss what effective immigration enforcement actually requires. They explore why targeting employers may be more effective than high-profile raids, how weak enforcement distorts labor markets and suppresses wages, and what the administration’s shifting strategy reveals about the politics of immigration. They also examine the structural flaws in the H-1B visa program, from below-market wage rules to the lottery system, and consider whether temporary worker programs can truly serve the national interest. Finally, they turn to the trucking industry, assessing how relaxed standards and unauthorized labor reshaped the market and how recent crackdowns from the administration are beginning to restore wages, safety, and the rule of law.

Further Reading:

“Fix the H1-B Visa Program“ by Daniel Kishi

Escaping the College-For-All Trap with Dan Currell

Oren Cass — Fri, 13 Mar 2026 10:03:30 GMT

For decades, Americans were told that success was simple: graduate high school, enroll in a four-year college, and launch a career from there. But as college enrollment has expanded and costs have skyrocketed, the results have become increasingly difficult to justify. Many students never complete a degree, others graduate without meaningful skills, all while the system continues to push young people into a single pathway that often fails to match their talents.

Dan Currell, author of The College Question, joins Oren to discuss how the college-for-all approach came to dominate Americans' jump from high school to adulthood. They discuss the incentives that keep the system expanding, the gap between what colleges promise and what many students actually gain, and how cultural expectations push families toward this path even when better options might exist for their children. They close by considering what it would take to rebuild credible alternatives, from technical education and apprenticeships to employer-led training, that could offer young Americans more reliable routes into productive work.

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Further Reading:

“One Big Question: Hands-On Training or a Free Ride on Campus?” Oren Cass, Commonplace

Palantir's Alex Karp, the Teamsters' Sean O'Brien, and Oren Walk into a Bar...

Oren Cass — Fri, 06 Mar 2026 11:04:39 GMT

On this week’s episode of the American Compass podcast, watch or listen as Oren moderates a conversation between Alex Karp, CEO of Palantir, and Sean O’Brien, General President of the International Brotherhood of the Teamsters, at the Labor + AI Summit in Washington, D.C., which was co-hosted by American Compass. They discuss how AI may shift labor demand away from white-collar professions, the risks of deepening economic inequality if workers are excluded from the conversation, and why labor must have a “seat at the table” as new technologies are implemented. They also explore the role of unions, the pressures globalization and immigration have placed on wages, and what it would take to ensure that AI strengthens rather than destabilizes the American middle class.

If you’re new to the American Compass podcast, please subscribe wherever you watch or listen to your favorite shows. It’s available on YouTube, Apple, Spotify, Substack, and beyond. Each Friday, we talk with the best economic analysts and the people shaping the future of the American Right and American politics generally. If you like this episode, we think you’ll really enjoy the conversation every week.

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The Future of Trump's Tariffs with Mark DiPlacido

Oren Cass — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 11:03:04 GMT

The Supreme Court’s recent decision to limit the president’s use of emergency tariff authority set off a wave of commentary declaring the end of Trump’s trade agenda. But one week later, the reality looks far more complicated than what the chattering class might lead you to think. If IEEPA is off the table, what tools remain? What happens to the deals already struck? And does this ruling mark a retreat from tariff policy, or will the administration simply a shift to firmer legal ground?

Mark DiPlacido, senior political economist at American Compass, joins Oren to assess where things stand. They delve into the alternative authorities available to the administration—Sections 232, 301, and 122; what a “balance of payments” means in practice; and how sectoral tariffs on steel, semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, and critical minerals might reshape the next phase of trade policy. They also explore what a stable endpoint for Trump’s tariff strategy would actually look like and what Congress would need to do to make a better system of global trade permanent.

What Economists Get Wrong with Luigi Zingales

Oren Cass — Fri, 20 Feb 2026 11:03:10 GMT

For decades, economists, armed with elegant models, powerful data, and firm conclusions about how markets should work, have claimed to be practitioners of a hard science. Yet in an era of financialization, political backlash, and rising skepticism of any “expert” consensus, many Americans are wondering whether the profession has grown too insular, too ideological, or simply too detached from reality.

Luigi Zingales, professor at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business and director of the Stigler Center, joins Oren Cass to discuss what’s gone wrong. They explore the hierarchy of and conformity within the field, the temptation to defend models because of the conclusions they produce, and the gap between theoretical assumptions and real-world outcomes. The conversation closes with a look at whether a younger generation of economists is prepared to rethink the orthodoxy, and what it would take for economics to regain both its rigor and its relevance.

Saving Capitalism from the Capitalists with Oren Cass

Oren Cass — Fri, 13 Feb 2026 11:03:03 GMT

Capitalism has undergone a profound shift, as our financial system has moved away from its primary role of channeling capital into productive investments. Corporate priorities have instead turned toward maximizing short-term shareholder returns and deploying complex financial engineering that boosts firms’ bottom lines. In the process, American communities and long-term economic growth have paid the price.

Oren joins guest host Chris Griswold to discuss how this process of financialization is distorting the American economy and undermining capitalism itself. He explains how practices like leveraged buyouts, stock buybacks, and speculative financial activity have reshaped corporate incentives, why critics often conflate profit with value creation, and how these trends affect Americans and their communities.

Further Reading:

“The Finance Industry Is a Grift. Let’s Start Treating It That Way” by Oren Cass, New York Times.
“Actually, the U.S. Financial Sector Is Good for the Economy“ by Judge Glock, City Journal.
“‘The Finance Industry Is a Grift,’ Oren Cass Claims in the New York Times. Look Who’s Talking” by Ira Stoll, Washington Free Beacon.
“The Oren Cass Case for Central Planning Does Not Indict Wall Street for Anything” by Capital Record with David Bahnsen.

What Happened to the Starter Home? with Bobby Fijan

Oren Cass — Fri, 06 Feb 2026 11:41:16 GMT

America’s housing shortage is often framed as a simple supply problem, but building the kinds of homes families actually need has proven far more complicated. While capital continues to flow into large suburban developments and luxury apartment buildings, the market has stopped producing the modest, family-friendly housing that once anchored stable communities and enabled young families to remain in thriving cities.

Bobby Fijan, co-founder of the American Housing Corporation, joins Oren to discuss why the “starter home” has largely disappeared and how development incentives, zoning rules, and capital markets have reshaped what gets built. They explore why current housing designs increasingly favor singles and roommates over families, how housing supply shapes family formation, urban vitality, and economic mobility, and how prefab manufacturing and vertically integrated construction start-ups like the American Housing Corporation could help deliver row homes in established neighborhoods and begin to change the culture.

Solving the Welfare Fraud Crisis with Shad White

Oren Cass — Fri, 30 Jan 2026 09:29:58 GMT

America’s welfare programs have long operated on the assumption that states and nonprofits could responsibly steward federal dollars with minimal oversight. But a series of explosive fraud cases—from California to Mississippi to Minnesota—have exposed just how broken that system has become, with lax oversight and minimal accountability leading to billions of dollars stolen from taxpayers.

Shad White, Mississippi’s state auditor and author of Mississippi Swindle, joins Oren to explain how his office uncovered one of the largest welfare scandals in modern history and what it reveals about America’s safety net. They discuss why grant-based welfare programs are uniquely vulnerable to abuse, how federalism often undermines accountability, and how practical reforms like stronger enforcement, clearer metrics, and simpler program design can restore public trust while helping the families who need support most.

Dispatches from Davos with Oren Cass

Oren Cass — Fri, 23 Jan 2026 19:31:20 GMT

The annual gathering of the world’s leadership class at the World Economic Forum in Davos bills itself as high-minded forum for increased global cooperation in the now-struggling old international order. But, in practice, it’s more of a concentrated mass of industry titans flexing with their various status badges, “bilaterals,” and AI slogans all while anxiously refreshing their phones for the latest updates on the Trump administration’s next moves.

Filming from his hotel room in the Alps, Oren, our intrepid correspondent in Davos, joins Drew to report what he heard and saw from these often panic-stricken elites. They discuss how the Davos crowd is really reacting to Trump’s approach to alliances and American leadership, why episodes like Greenland trigger outsized panic among our allies, and where legitimate concerns about trust and cooperation get lost in elite groupthink.

Further Reading:

“A Sharp Break over a Piece of Ice,” Oren Cass, Commonplace.

How to Solve the Affordability Crisis with Daniel Kishi

Oren Cass — Fri, 16 Jan 2026 21:23:19 GMT

Inflation may have cooled, but Americans still feel squeezed. Groceries are still expensive, housing and health care costs continue to outpace wages, and consumer credit debt continues to balloon, leaving a gap between encouraging economic data and the daily experience of the average American. Voters continue to express concern, and the Trump administration has responded with a flurry of proposals aimed at bringing prices down.

Daniel Kishi, senior policy advisor at American Compass, joins Oren to make sense of what’s actually driving the affordability crisis and how policymakers should respond. They examine recent, sometimes unconventional, ideas from the administration to expand housing supply, cap credit card rates, overhaul health care, and empower more aggressive antitrust enforcement. Plus, they discuss the necessary role that Congress must play in codifying workable, populist solutions if the affordability crisis is to be solved.

Further Reading:

“Trump's New Volcker Shock" by Henry Olsen
“Our Concentrated Health Care Markets Are Anything but ‘Free’" by Chris Griswold

How to Rebuild American Industry with Mike Schmidt

Oren Cass — Fri, 09 Jan 2026 11:04:25 GMT

The CHIPS Act was billed as a once-in-a-generation effort to rebuild America’s manufacturing base in a strategically vital industry. But turning legislation into functioning factories and good paying jobs requires far more than slogans about “onshoring” or wish-casting. It demands a state-sponsored investment outside of America’s typical comfort zone.

Mike Schmidt, former director of the CHIPS Program Office and co-author of Factory Settings, joins Oren to discuss what it actually took to stand up the largest industrial policy initiative in decades. They explore how the government negotiated with global chipmakers, why grants and tax credits were combined, what critics missed in the “everything bagel” debate, and how permitting, labor, and geopolitical risk shaped their efforts. They close by discussing how we’ll know if the CHIPS Act ultimately succeeds and the way the U.S. should think about future reindustrialization efforts.

Further Reading:

“Chipping Away“ by Chris Griswold

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Be sure to also subscribe to Schmidt’s Factory Settings newsletter, where this episode is crossposted, and where you’ll find compelling commentary on chips, how to build state capacity, and everything else at the intersection of technology and government.

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Is Venezuela the Return of Regime Change? with Michael Brendan Dougherty

Oren Cass — Tue, 23 Dec 2025 11:38:22 GMT

After running on a campaign centered on ending forever wars, the Trump administration has become increasingly aggressive toward Venezuela—and rumors are abuzz that the administration may soon attempt to topple the Maduro regime.

Michael Brendan Dougherty, senior writer at National Review, joins Oren to discuss why Venezuela has reemerged as a focal point in Washington and what that says about the state of American foreign policy. They examine how this pressure campaign, ostensibly over fentanyl, looks increasingly like an attempt at regime change, and the risks of escalation without public buy-in or strategic clarity. They also broaden the conversation to consider how this same lack of focus appears in debates over trade, affordability, and energy, and undermines the administration’s ability to explain its policies to the public.

Further reading:

“The Next Foreign Misadventure“ by Michael Brendan Dougherty

Policing Monopolies with Gail Slater

Oren Cass — Fri, 19 Dec 2025 10:56:20 GMT

For decades, antitrust policy rested on the assumption that markets would correct themselves and that consolidation posed little risk to consumers and workers. But across the economy, from housing and healthcare to Big Tech and labor markets, concentration has grown, competition has weakened our economy, and the assumptions that conservatives once held on antitrust are no longer holding.

Gail Slater, Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division at the Department of Justice, joins Oren to discuss the renewed push to police monopoly power and why competition policy has reemerged as a conservative concern. They examine recent DOJ enforcement actions, from challenges to Google’s dominance and RealPage’s rent-setting scheme to increased merger scrutiny in the meatpacking and electricity markets. Finally, they make sense of what these actions signal about a conservative approach to competition that aims to restore market discipline without expanding the regulatory state.

A New Global Trade Order with Mark DiPlacido

Oren Cass — Fri, 12 Dec 2025 10:39:38 GMT

The assumptions that once defined global trade are cracking. The United States can no longer absorb the world’s trade surpluses, China has become a near-peer adversary, and allies are facing hard choices about their own dependence on Beijing. This year has made it clear that the era of unquestioned free trade is over—and that America is charting a new course.

Mark DiPlacido, policy advisor at American Compass, joins Oren to discuss why the United States is embracing a new trade paradigm. They also explore the history that led to this turning point, how a results-oriented approach is replacing the old rules-based order, and what a post-WTO world could mean for America’s partners, competitors, and workers.

Further Reading:

“On Balance“ by Mark DiPlacido

Reassessing Globalization with Former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo

Oren Cass — Fri, 05 Dec 2025 18:31:35 GMT

Globalization was once viewed as economic destiny: it would spread prosperity worldwide, destroy authoritarian regimes, and counterbalance industrial decline with innovation and growth. The reality has been far more negative, with communities hollowed out and a political landscape defined by resentment of elites, strategic rivalry with China, and skepticism that the system was ever meant to support American workers.

One of the leading architects of globalization, Ernesto Zedillo, former Mexican president and professor at the Yale Jackson School of Global Affairs, joins Oren to make the case that the old international trade system remains sound and that the real failures lie in domestic policy and the lack of institutional reform. During the conversation, Oren presses him on whether those explanations can withstand the reality of deindustrialization, supply-chain vulnerability, and worker displacement.

Together, they examine what went wrong, what defenders of the old order still believe, and whether the next technological wave will intensify the debate rather than resolve it.

The Tech Revolution in America’s Schools with Brad Littlejohn

Oren Cass — Fri, 28 Nov 2025 12:35:34 GMT

Heading into the holidays, the hottest gifts on the shelf are AI-powered smart toys, leading parents to confront a troubling question: what happens when machines start reading to our kids, teaching them, and becoming their companions? At the same time, schools, already grappling with record learning loss, are rushing to adopt AI tools with little evidence they help children learn or grow.

Brad Littlejohn, director of programs and education at American Compass, joins Oren to explore how AI slipped into classrooms and now into Christmas shopping carts and why smart devices often undermine the very skills childhood and education depend on. They discuss the rise of phone-free schools, the lure of AI tutors, and what it will take to draw real boundaries in a technological world built to erode them.

America's Squid Game Economy with John Carney

Oren Cass — Fri, 21 Nov 2025 10:57:30 GMT

For decades, America told its young strivers that the path to economic security ran through degrees, credentials, and a foothold in the professional class. But as housing costs climb and career ladders shrink, even the “successful” are finding the old promise slipping away.

John Carney, economics editor at Breitbart, joins Oren to unpack why today’s economy feels like a winner-take-all contest and why rising productivity—not rising population—must anchor America’s next stage of growth. They explore the collapse of old economic assumptions and narratives, the emergence of a new economic paradigm, and what it will take to rebuild broad-based prosperity.

Further Reading:

“Zohran’s Park Slope Populists“ by John Carney.

Is AI Really Going to Kill Us All? with Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares

Oren Cass — Fri, 07 Nov 2025 11:03:17 GMT

Artificial intelligence has leapt from speculative theory to everyday tool with astonishing speed, promising breakthroughs in science, medicine, and the ways we learn, live, and work. But to some of its earliest researchers, the race toward superintelligence represents not progress but an existential threat, one that could end humanity as we know it.

Eliezer Yudkowsky and Nate Soares, authors of If Anyone Builds It, Everyone Dies, join Oren to debate their claim that pursuing AI will end in human extinction. During the conversation, a skeptical Oren pushes them on whether meaningful safeguards are possible, what a realistic boundary between risk and progress might look like, and how society should judge the costs of stopping against the consequences of carrying on.

Somewheres and Anywheres with David Goodhart

David Goodhart — Fri, 31 Oct 2025 10:14:27 GMT

Western politics has increasingly been shaped by a widening divide between the “Somewheres” and the “Anywheres”—those rooted in place and community versus those defined by education, mobility, and openness to change. This clash has fueled populist revolts, strained national solidarity, and reshaped debates over immigration, work, and identity.

David Goodhart, author of The Road to Somewhere and The Care Dilemma, joins Oren Cass to discuss how this cultural split took hold and how to restore balance between these two groups. They also explore how this divide has shaped the rise of populism, the undervaluing of care and family life, and how re-centering dignity, community, and shared purpose could renew modern societies.