The Wealth Gap: The Economy We Measure vs. The Lives We Live

When Delta’s CEO announced that premium cabin revenue now exceeds economy for the first time in the airline’s history, it wasn’t just a milestone for the travel industry—it was a snapshot of a growing wealth divide.

In this episode, we explore the striking truth behind the numbers: the top 10% of U.S. households now drive nearly 50% of all consumer spending. What does it mean when "strong consumer spending" reflects the habits of a wealthy few, while millions face shrinking demand? How does income inequality shape the economy we measure—and the lives most of us live?

From airline seat maps to wage growth disparities, we trace the ripple effects of wealth concentration through stock market ownership, auto loan defaults, and corporate strategy. Discover how the economy reinforces inequality through a self-perpetuating wealth feedback loop—and why the statistics we celebrate often leave the majority behind.

This isn’t just about inequality as an abstract idea. It’s about understanding the forces behind the widening wealth gap—and how they affect your opportunities, choices, and financial future.

Topics include:

The K-shaped recovery and income inequality

Wealth feedback loops and consumer spending disparities

Stock market ownership concentration and wage stagnation

Reframing financial decisions in an unequal economy

Join us to uncover the hidden story behind the numbers—and the economy you’re really living in.

Your retirement might depend on loans you've never heard of, valued by methods you couldn't understand. In this episode, we investigate the $3 trillion private credit market—lending that happens outside traditional banking—and uncover why lenders don't trust their own borrowers, why pension funds are locked into opaque investments, and what happens when nearly half of all new deals require protective clauses against borrower default.

Featuring conversations with credit analysts, pension fund managers, and fund operators, host explores the hidden stress signals in private credit: PIK arrangements masking deteriorating loan health, discretionary valuations that smooth over problems, and the capital call dynamics that could force pension funds to sell assets at the worst possible times.

If you're a teacher, firefighter, state employee, or police officer with a public pension, nearly half a trillion dollars of your retirement security sits in private credit. The question isn't whether private credit is risky—all lending is. The question is whether you have enough information to know if worry is warranted. Spoiler: you probably don't.

Keywords: private credit, pension funds, financial risk, investment opacity, debt markets, financial system, retirement security

Why is homelessness rising even when unemployment is low and the economy is growing? In this episode of Interconnected, we uncover the hidden systems driving America’s housing crisis.

Through real data, historical context, and the stories of composite characters like Sarah, Marcus, and Elena—fictional voices based on real-world experiences—we explore the "shadow realm" of homelessness: the millions of working people living in cars, motels, or overcrowded apartments, invisible to the public eye.

We reveal how policies like the "29-hour cliff," housing scarcity, wage suppression, and systemic racial inequities create a perfect storm for instability—turning full-time work into a path to homelessness instead of security.

This episode doesn’t just identify problems; it challenges the myths we tell ourselves about addiction, mental illness, and personal responsibility. It asks the deeper question: "What changes once we see the unseen?"

Listen now to discover the systemic patterns shaping housing and labor—and why the crisis isn’t a glitch, but a feature of the system.