'I was getting people to make decisions based on misleading information that could have life or death consequences.' That’s Wendell Potter, the former head of public relations for CIGNA. As the executive spin doctor for one of the biggest health insurance companies in the country, he was responsible for concocting tales that enabled CIGNA to deny coverage, discredit critics, and otherwise cast the corporate health insurance machine in a positive light. That was until the numbers in his spreadsheets became actual people with real lives. 

What happens when a health insurance PR executive confronts the consequences of his spin? Dive into one man's odyssey from health insurance spin doctor to activist truth teller.

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​Musicians + Tracks:

• Chris Peck: Matope 1, Matope 3
• Tannhauser: Rock Off, Ötzi
• Rob Voigt: Outro
• David Sestay: Ladybird's Theme

​Remember the bombastic black intellectual Glenn Loury from episode #5, and his story of sex, drugs, politics, and religion? Voilà another round with him, in collaboration with the venerable podcast Love + Radio.

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​'I was taught that money is not something you talk about, because once people know you have it, you’ll get taken advantage of.' Like many young members of the 1%, Michelle inherited immense wealth at an early age. In a separate but parallel tale, so did Abe. For many years, they didn't talk about their wealth or know what to do with it, and ultimately denied its existence. Being involved in cross-class relationships only thickened the plot. Then Michelle and Abe discovered Resource Generation, an organization mobilizing young people with wealth around redistribution.

How is learning to talk about wealth essential to doing something with it? How do we navigate wealth disparity within the context of cross-class relationships? And how might that be a microcosm for alleviating wealth disparity in our country? Tune in for a rich, two-story episode.

CORRECTION: This episode refers to Abe's trust, but he doesn't actually have a trust.

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​Transcript: Right here

Musicians + Tracks:

• Chris Peck: Matope 
• Brak Oczu: Zmiennosc, Pozytywizm
• David Sestay: Ladybird's Theme
• Tannhauser: Rock Off, Ötzi
• Rob Voigt: Outro

​"One of my co-workers said, 'Trump supporters are without exception the worst people I've ever met, they're almost sub-human.' And I'm standing there thinking, you know, we're friends, but I think I'll keep my mouth shut." That's Alex Mamach, a young white Chicago native who grew up in a poor and diverse suburb of Chicago. He gives voice to why millions of Americans support Donald Trump: because Trump speaks to his marginalized constituency in a way that neither party has done in decades. And when his co-worker, the political establishment, and the media accuse Trump supporters of being sub-human, ignorant, and racist, it only entrenches their support and reinforces the notion that only he cares about poor white Americans.

So why did Alex defect from the Donald, and who did he switch to? Tune in for that, but for now, a sneak peak into how Trump supporters might be moved in a new direction: by appealing to their nobler intentions.

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​'The top executives from Enron, WorldComm, and ADM — we went to jail for narcissism.' Mark Whitacre was the FBI informant in one of the biggest price-fixing cases in US history, against global food conglomerate Archer Daniels Midland. While undercover, he was convicted for embezzlement, lost his whistleblower immunity, and spent almost a decade in federal prison. Mark is played by Matt Damon in the film The Informant!, and today, spreads his story of redemption and second chances.

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