Two Think Minimum, TPI’s podcast, is reaching cruising speed with excellent guests and smart takes on newsworthy technology policy issues. In fact, it appears to be making news, gaining ear-share and helping to advance the policy debate.
We haven’t changed the recipe: recruit excellent, provocative guests and engage them on policy issues that matter, post the result, and repeat.
With recent guests like CNBC business anchor Brian Sullivan, Needham and Company’s Laura Martin and former FTC chairmen, Tim Muris and William Kovacic, our job was easy. If anything has changed, it is our increased attention to the timeliness of topics and TPI’s commitment to produce a regular stream of new casts, with one released every three weeks.
September’s TTM podcast, “Former FTC Chairman William Kovacic on the Future of the FTC and Antitrust” coincided with the Senate antitrust hearings, and we heard that his insights helped explain and add perspective to what was discussed during the hearing.
August’s podcast with Brian and Laura, recorded on the sidelines of the Aspen Forum, was fast-paced and fun, taking a broad view of current content, privacy and related issues, including what Wall Street thinks of DC policymakers. There are some very interesting bits to chew on in this podcast!
The TTM podcast with former FTC Chairman Tim Muris released today, combined with Kovacic’s previous interview, should be mandatory reading for members of Congress, FTC and DOJ officials, and professionals in the antitrust space. Despite comments made during recent Hill hearings on antitrust enforcement, both Nuechterlein and Muris said having two Federal agencies enforce antitrust laws is useful:
Muris: “Well, I think it’s useful because if you combined everything into one agency, you would lose something that you have now. The agency would be so big that- right now you’re able to have a Bill Baxter or a Bob Petoskey who can actually be an informed decision maker of the major decisions because the agency is small enough. If you combined everything, it would look more like a traditional government agency where you wouldn’t have that kind of person. I don’t want a consumer protection agency stripped of the benefits of antitrust and the CFPB and the Obama and the Elizabeth Warren model is the perfect reason not to have it.”
Nuechterlein: “And so far, there really hasn’t been any downside to having two antitrust agencies, but that’s because historically the agencies have gotten along pretty well and the clearance processes has functioned in a healthy manner. It is true that that is beginning to change somewhat and that’s a source of concern.”
We hope you find these TPI products to be useful and enlightening.
We should mention that our reach and fan base extends well beyond the DC policy beltway. Our latest shout-out comes from a smart blog with big ambitions, the Intelligent Economist, in California. We want to thank them for including Two Think Minimum on its 25 Best Economic Podcasts of 2019 list. Word-of-mouth and emailed pat-on-the-back reactions to recent TTM podcasts are very heartening. We aim to inform and even entertain our podcast listeners. Please keep those comments coming.
