On this week’s bonus episode of Lever Time Premium, exclusively for The Lever’s supporting subscribers, David Sirota is joined by political economist and economic geographer Brett Christophers, author of the new book Our Lives In Their Portfolios: Why Asset Managers Own The World.

If you want to understand the complexities of  the private equity industry, this interview offers a thorough and accessible deep dive into the world of asset managers and their outsized control of the American economy.

David and Brett unpack how private equity firms essentially use public money to become the private owners of things like utility infrastructure and renewable energy; explore the industry’s impact on the housing crisis; and discuss how President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act was, in certain ways, the exact opposite of FDR’s New Deal.

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