Design Economics Podcast with Vinny Tafuro

Institute for Economic Evolution, Inc.
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Social Sciences

Join us to discover how design thinking can revolutionize economics for the 21st century. Learn about the Institute for Economic Evolution's three tenets of design economics and meet the pioneering thinkers who are shaping this approach. From challenging economic orthodoxy to creating human-centered solutions, explore how design economics is evolving economics to better serve humanity and the environment.

  1. 2d ago

    EP 21 Jody Levison-Johnson: Five & Rising; The Economy's Unfunded Engine

    When Vinny came across Jody Levison-Johnson's Forbes piece arguing that the social sector deserves to be treated as an economic engine, he reached out. That conversation became this episode. Jody is President and CEO of Social Current, a national network of nearly 1,800 human service organizations, and the founder of Five & Rising, a movement to revalue, reframe, and rebuild how the social sector is funded and supported. Together they trace how a sector representing 5.3% of U.S. GDP has been systematically funded like a workaround, what it would take to change that, and why getting there matters for every community. Guest Links Five & RisingSocial CurrentJody on LinkedInSocial Current on InstagramReferenced in this episode UnCharitable FilmDan Pallotta TED Talk Independent SectorClick here to view the episode transcript.   ★ Support this podcast ★

    EP 21 Jody Levison-Johnson: Five & Rising; The Economy's Unfunded Engine

  2. Jul 27

    EP 20 Erin Hotchkiss: Fragments & Frameworks; Translating Silos Into Systems

    Join host Vinny Tafuro and IEE board member Erin Hotchkiss for a special origin story episode celebrating ten years since the publication of Unlocking the Labor Cage. This episode traces how curious questions unearthed economic blindspots, leading to three tenets that unite fragmented movements. From care privilege and solidarity economics to B Corps and Employee Ownership Trusts, great ideas need common language. Through a conversation spanning the future of work, three transformative conferences in 2017-2018, and the founding of the Institute for Economic Evolution, Vinny and Erin explore why culture, not policy, determines whether a new economic paradigm takes hold. Creator & Guest Links Institute for Economic EvolutionDesign Economics CoalitionVinny Tafuro [LinkedIn]Erin Hotchkiss, IEE Board Member [LinkedIn]Books Unlocking the Labor Cage: Capitalism in the Twenty-First Century, Vinny Tafuro (2016)Referenced in This Episode Employee Ownership Trusts (EOTs)Conscious CapitalismB Corp CertificationInstitute for New Economic Thinking, Edinburgh (2017)Foundation for Economic Education, Atlanta (2018)Related DEP Episodes EP 0.1 Introducing Design Economics with Paula SeymourClick here to view the episode transcript.   ★ Support this podcast ★

    EP 20 Erin Hotchkiss: Fragments & Frameworks; Translating Silos Into Systems

  3. Jul 6

    EP 19 Misty Heggeness: Swiftynomics; Taylor Swift & the Women Economics Ignored

    Join host Vinny Tafuro for a conversation with Misty Heggeness, associate professor at the University of Kansas, former principal economist at the U.S. Census Bureau, and author of Swiftynomics: How Women Mastermind and Redefine Our Economy. Misty reveals how the economics profession has long ignored the contributions of women in the labor market, in households, and in the data itself. Through the lens of Taylor Swift's career and songwriting, Misty makes the case that pop culture isn't a detour from serious economics; it's an on-ramp. The conversation also explores care privilege, the CARE Board dashboard, and what it means to push feminist economics into the mainstream rather than accept a seat at the side table.Guest Links SwiftynomicsSubstackThe Care BoardMisty Heggeness at University of KansasMisty on LinkedInBook Swiftynomics: How Women Mastermind and Redefine Our Economy, Misty L. HeggenessReferenced in this episode Claudia Goldin, Henry Lee Professor of Economics at Harvard UniversityNancy Folbre, Director of Program on Gender and Care Work, PERI; Professor Emerita of Economics, UMass AmherstShelly Lundberg, Leonard Broom Professor of Demography, Distinguished Professor of Economics, UC Santa BarbaraFrances Perkins, U.S. Secretary of Labor 1933-1945The 19th* newsroomFemale Founders FundThe Economics of Taylor Swift (ECON 164/364), University of KansasClick here to view the episode transcript. ★ Support this podcast ★

    EP 19 Misty Heggeness: Swiftynomics; Taylor Swift & the Women Economics Ignored

  4. Jun 15

    EP 18 Holly McCann: Growing Local; Blue Ridge Blueprint for a Local Food Economy

    Join host Vinny Tafuro for a conversation with Holly McCann, co-founder and Core Steward of Blue Ridge Foodshed Commons, a public benefit company catalyzing a self-sustaining local food economy in Western North Carolina. Holly traces her path from Silicon Valley corporate attorney to regenerative systems designer, and explains why food is where you have to start when rebuilding an economy rooted in life rather than extraction. From the paradox of a region with 5,000 family farms that sources only 4% of its food locally, to a Perpetual Purpose Trust in development to protect the mission for generations, this episode explores what it looks like to design a regional food economy from the ground up. Guest Links Blue Ridge Foodshed CommonsHolly McCann on LinkedInRelated DEP Episode EP 12 John Feldman: Documenting Revolution, Scientific Paradigm ShiftsBooks Mentioned Regenerative Economics: Revolutionary Thinking for a World in Crisis — John Fullerton (2025)Bioregional Financing Facilities: Reimagining Finance to Regenerate Our Planet — Samantha Power & Leon Seefeld, The BioFi Project (2024) — also available free at biofi.earthThe Local Food Revolution: How Humanity Will Feed Itself in Uncertain Times — Michael Brownlee (2016)Organizations & Resources Mentioned The BioFi ProjectCapital Institute (John Fullerton)Foodshed Cultivator venture studio — launching June 17, 2026 ★ Support this podcast ★

    EP 18 Holly McCann: Growing Local; Blue Ridge Blueprint for a Local Food Economy

  5. May 26

    EP 17 Masami Sato: Woven In; Embedding Impact by Design

    Join host Vinny Tafuro for a conversation with Masami Sato, founder and CEO of B1G1, a Singapore-based social enterprise and certified B Corp that has generated over 395 million giving impacts across more than 50 countries. Masami traces her path from a shy, introverted young woman who left Japan at 20 with little money and no English, to food entrepreneur, to living alongside farmers in rural communities, and explains how each of those experiences led to a single transformative insight: that lasting change isn't built through grand gestures or deferred philanthropy, but through small, intentional actions woven into the everyday fabric of business. From the original "buy one, give one" spark to the fully evolved B1G1 movement, this episode explores what it looks like to design giving into a business from the ground up, and why that changes everything. Links Referenced B1G1Masami SatoOne Percent for the Planet ★ Support this podcast ★

    EP 17 Masami Sato: Woven In; Embedding Impact by Design

  6. May 4

    EP 16 Miren Oca: Exit While They Slept; Employee Ownership & the Perpetual Trust

    Join host Vinny Tafuro for a conversation with Miren Oca, founder and CEO of Ocaquatics Swim School, who built a Miami swim instruction institution over 32 years before transferring 100% of it to her employees through a perpetual Employee Ownership Trust on the company's thirtieth anniversary. Miren walks through why she walked away from private equity, how the EOT compares to ESOPs and worker cooperatives, what the transaction actually looks like, and how the trust's structure protects the company's mission and keeps wealth in the community it serves. This episode also explores the Own It culture Miren built over three decades, the role of financial literacy in preparing employees for co-ownership, and how Ripples of Impact extends the company's purpose beyond the pool. Links Referenced Miren OcaOcaquatics Swim SchoolRipples of ImpactPurpose Trust Ownership Network (PTON)One Percent for the PlanetFlorida for GoodB1G1Books Referenced Delivering Happiness (Tony Hsieh)The Man Who Broke Capitalism (David Gelles)Purchase books from our Bookstore.org bookstore ★ Support this podcast ★

    EP 16 Miren Oca: Exit While They Slept; Employee Ownership & the Perpetual Trust

  7. Apr 13

    EP 15 Helena Norberg-Hodge: Local Futures; Happiness as a Cure

    Join host Vinny Tafuro for a conversation with Helena Norberg-Hodge, founder of Local Futures and pioneer of the new economy movement. Helena traces the economic forces that transformed Ladakh, a self-sufficient Himalayan culture untouched by the global economy until the 1970s, and what that experience revealed about the relationship between economic design and human happiness. From the destruction of local economies by deliberate policy to the structural case for localization, this episode explores what GDP cannot measure and what it will take to build the public understanding that real change requires. Local Futures WebsiteThe Economics of Happiness (Film)Right Livelihood AwardVia Campesina ★ Support this podcast ★

    EP 15 Helena Norberg-Hodge: Local Futures; Happiness as a Cure

  8. Mar 4

    EP 14 Tom Llewellyn: Borrow Don't Buy; Tools, Trust & The Commons

    Join host Vinny Tafuro for a conversation with Tom Llewellyn, Executive Director of Shareable, exploring what a genuine sharing economy actually looks like. Tom traces the roots of community sharing infrastructure from the first tool libraries of the 1970s through 2,000+ Libraries of Things operating worldwide today, and examines mutual aid as a proven economic model — not charity. With the new Library of Things Toolkit launching March 19 at the Repair & Share Summit, this episode is both a conversation about economic paradigm change and a practical on-ramp for anyone ready to start building the commons in their own community. Tom's Work & Shareable: Shareable.netLibrary of Things Toolkit — new edition live March 19Sharing Cities: Activating the Urban Commons — free downloadThe Response podcast & documentaryMutual Aid 101Navigating Conflict in Movement SpacesEmergency Battery Network ToolkitTop 50 How-To GuidesRural Power CoalitionCities@TuftsEvents: Repair & Share Summit — March 19-20Referenced: Join or Die documentary — NetflixAsheville Tool Library ★ Support this podcast ★

    EP 14 Tom Llewellyn: Borrow Don't Buy; Tools, Trust & The Commons
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Join us to discover how design thinking can revolutionize economics for the 21st century. Learn about the Institute for Economic Evolution's three tenets of design economics and meet the pioneering thinkers who are shaping this approach. From challenging economic orthodoxy to creating human-centered solutions, explore how design economics is evolving economics to better serve humanity and the environment.

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