EpisodeAre Private Equity Firms Plundering the U.S. Economy? (Update)Freakonomics Radio · Oct 21, 2026 · 48 minPlay · 48:04SaveShareEpisode pageThey say they make companies more efficient through savvy management. Critics say they bend the rules to enrich themselves at the expense of consumers and employees. Can they both be right? (Probably not.)RelatedEpisodes 8Videos 8Books 8Blogs 8A pro-worker experiment in private equityPlanet Money • Apr 8, 2026 • 26 minRewind: How private equity kills companies and communitiesDecoder with Nilay Patel • Jan 15, 2026 • 52 minMichael Munger on the Nature of the FirmEconTalk • Jan 14, 2008 • 1 h 02 minInside the Private Stock Market Boom: SpaceX, Anthropic, OpenAI & the Rise of SecondariesAll-In with Chamath, Jason, Sacks & Friedberg • Jun 7, 2026 • 40 minMichael Munger on Crony CapitalismEconTalk • Feb 25, 2019 • 1 h 10 minLimitless growth!Build Your SaaS • Oct 29, 2019 • 55 minEnough Debate about the AI Jobpocalypse. We Need To Plan for the Messy Middle.Your Undivided Attention • Aug 13, 2026 • 58 minIs venture capital bad?Build Your SaaS • Aug 3, 2021 • 1 h 03 min