The Bigfoot Manifesto

Dave Pederson
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  • Politics
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The Bigfoot Manifesto is a sharp, satirical podcast where progressive politics collides with cryptid culture and biting humor. Host Dave Pederson (Oscar-nominated producer of Super Size Me and Americonned) dives into the strange overlap of myths, media, and manipulation—from billionaire fairy tales and QAnon fever dreams to the legends we tell ourselves to survive late capitalism. Equal parts investigative journalism and campfire storytelling, each episode blends fact, folklore, and firebrand commentary to expose the absurdities of our modern world. Why do people believe in Bigfoot, trickle-down economics, or a "self-made" billionaire? Maybe it's all the same myth. So grab your flashlight, your sense of humor, and maybe a union card. Because believing in Bigfoot is still more logical than believing billionaires will save us.

  1. Aug 6

    Bigfoot vs. the Child Care Desert: Why Raising a Family Became a Luxury

    Parents pay more than they can afford. Child-care educators earn less than they can live on. Providers still struggle to remain open. How can all three be true? Dave Pederson talks with nationally recognized family-policy expert Elliot Haspel about why America's child-care crisis isn't a personal budgeting failure—it is the predictable result of treating essential social infrastructure like an ordinary private-market purchase. Elliot explains the labor economics that make child care uniquely difficult to finance, how Richard Nixon's 1971 veto helped establish America's "free-market family," and what the pandemic revealed about child care's role as a load-bearing pillar of society. They also explore: • Why competition alone cannot fix the child-care market • What New Mexico and Vermont are doing differently • Why people without young children still have a stake in child care • The missing value of stay-at-home parents and unpaid caregivers • Why paid family leave must be part of the solution • Why a subsidy without an available slot is not genuine access • What a universal child-care choice guarantee could look like ABOUT ELLIOT HASPEL Elliot Haspel is a nationally recognized family-policy expert and commentator specializing in child-care issues. He is the author of Crawling Behind: America's Childcare Crisis and How to Fix It and Raising a Nation: 10 Reasons Every American Has a Stake in Child Care For All. He writes The Family Frontier, serves as a senior fellow at Capita, and is a fellow with New America's Better Life Lab. WATCH THE VIDEO EPISODE https://youtu.be/0GHqj1rZw5I ELLIOT'S WORK Official website: https://elliothaspel.com/ Raising a Nation: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/raising-a-nation-9780197799291 Crawling Behind: https://bookshop.org/p/books/crawling-behind-america-s-child-care-crisis-and-how-to-fix-it-elliot-haspel/13149188 The Family Frontier: https://familyfrontier.substack.com/ Capita: https://capita.org/person/elliot-haspel/ New America: https://www.newamerica.org/people/elliot-haspel/ THE BIGFOOT MANIFESTO Website: https://www.bigfootmanifesto.com Apple Podcasts: https://bigfootmanifesto.com/apple Spotify: https://bigfootmanifesto.com/spotify YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheBigfootManifesto The Bigfoot Manifesto explores progressive politics, economic inequality, concentrated power, and the monsters hiding inside American institutions. #ChildCare #UniversalChildCare #FamilyPolicy #CareEconomy #TheBigfootManifesto

  2. Jul 29

    Fund the Cryptid: Universal Basic Income and the Right to Say No

    Universal basic income is usually presented as an anti-poverty program. Scott Santens argues that it is also a foundation for freedom—the ability to refuse an abusive job, leave a dangerous situation, care for family, or pursue meaningful work without risking homelessness. Dave Pederson talks with Scott about what UBI actually is, why it should be universal and unconditional, and whether people would really stop working. They examine basic income as a "permanent strike fund" that could raise workers' bargaining power, strengthen unions, support unpaid caregivers, and ensure that the benefits of artificial intelligence are shared by everyone whose knowledge helped build it. They also discuss: • Why UBI is different from traditional welfare • What existing basic-income experiments tell us about employment • How UBI could increase wages and improve undesirable jobs • Ways to fund basic income through tax credits, land-value taxes, wealth funds, and other dividends • Whether UBI would cause inflation • The relationship between financial independence and domestic violence • How basic income could encourage creativity, entrepreneurship, and innovation Scott Santens has researched and advocated for unconditional universal basic income since 2013. He is the founder and CEO of the Income To Support All Foundation, host of The Basic Income Show, founder of the AI Pledge for Humanity, and author of Let There Be Money. SCOTT SANTENS Substack: https://scottsantens.substack.com Basic Income FAQ: https://scottsantens.com/basic-income-faq Income To Support All Newsletter: https://itsanewsletter.beehiiv.com Let There Be Money: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09NH31Y4C THE BIGFOOT MANIFESTO Website: https://www.bigfootmanifesto.com Apple Podcasts: https://bigfootmanifesto.com/apple Spotify: https://bigfootmanifesto.com/spotify YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheBigfootManifesto Progressive politics. Cryptid truths. And the monsters hiding in American power. #UniversalBasicIncome #UBI #ScottSantens #WorkersRights #TheBigfootManifesto

  3. Jul 14

    Markets Built for Humans: Nick Hanauer on Why Trickle-Down Broke America

    Nick Hanauer joins The Bigfoot Manifesto for a conversation about Markets Built for Humans, his new co-authored work with Eric Beinhocker, and why America needs to abandon trickle-down economics once and for all. For fifty years, Americans were told that if we cut taxes for the rich, weakened labor, deregulated corporations, let monopolies grow, and trusted markets to magically fix everything, prosperity would eventually reach everyone else. But the magic never came. Instead, wages stagnated, the middle class got squeezed, corporate power exploded, Wall Street extracted more and more from the real economy, and democracy started to rot from the inside. Nick's argument is both radical and obvious: the economy should serve human beings. In this episode, Dave and Nick talk about why trickle-down economics became the dominant myth of American life, why "rich people are job creators" is such a powerful story, why workers and customers actually drive growth, and why fairness is not anti-growth — fairness is how growth happens. They also dig into Market Humanism, middle-out economics, labor power, overtime protections, unions, antitrust, shareholder primacy, AI, GDP, the stock market, and why a hollowed-out middle class is not just an economic problem — it is a democratic crisis. Bigfoot may be blurry, but trickle-down is invisible for a reason: it was never really there. Read Markets Built for Humans: https://www.marketsbuiltforhumans.org/ Listen to Pitchfork Economics: https://pitchforkeconomics.com/ The Bigfoot Manifesto: https://bigfootmanifesto.com Watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheBigfootManifesto Listen / Subscribe: Apple Podcasts: https://bigfootmanifesto.com/apple Spotify: https://bigfootmanifesto.com/spotify Support the show / merch: https://bigfootmanifesto-shop.fourthwall.com/

  4. Jul 7

    Bigfoot vs. the Server Farm: Who Pays for the AI Boom?

    Everybody says AI lives in "the cloud." But the cloud is not weightless. In this episode of The Bigfoot Manifesto, Dave talks with Danny Caine of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance about the data center boom powering AI, Big Tech, and the next major infrastructure fight. These massive server farms need land, water, electricity, tax breaks, zoning approvals, and public tolerance — but too often, communities are the last to know what is being negotiated in their own backyard. Dave and Danny dig into why AI is driving a rapid data center buildout, how shell companies and secrecy keep showing up in these deals, why local residents are pushing back, and whether ordinary ratepayers could end up subsidizing Big Tech's power needs. This is not an anti-technology conversation. It is a pro-democracy conversation. Bigfoot may be hiding in the woods, but the server farms are hiding in plain sight. Links: ILSR — The Data Centers Are Coming: https://ilsr.org/building-local-power/the-data-centers-are-coming/ Inequality.org — I Stood in Data Center Alley: https://inequality.org/article/i-stood-in-data-center-alley/ ILSR — The Policies Communities Need to Meet the AI Moment: https://ilsr.org/articles/the-policies-communities-need-to-meet-the-ai-moment/ The Bigfoot Manifesto Merch: https://bigfootmanifesto-shop.fourthwall.com/ Subscribe, share, and follow The Bigfoot Manifesto for more conversations about corporate monsters, progressive politics, labor, democracy, inequality, and the cryptids hiding in America's broken systems.

  5. Jun 18

    Bigfoot vs. The Union-Busting Machine

    The real monster isn't hiding in the warehouse. It's in the scanner, the algorithm, the productivity metric, the union-busting meeting, the legal delay, and the idea that workers should be grateful just to survive. In Episode 27 of The Bigfoot Manifesto, Dave Pederson talks with Derrick Palmer, co-founder of the Amazon Labor Union, one of the worker-organizers behind the historic JFK8 victory on Staten Island, and author of Handbook for the Revolution: Building a More Perfect Union for the Twenty-First Century. Derrick also appeared in Dave's film Americonned, and this conversation brings that story into the present: the warehouse economy, corporate power, worker dignity, organizing from inside the machine, and what happens after workers win a union election but still have to fight for a contract. Dave and Derrick dig into Amazon's metric-driven workplace, surveillance, fear, worker burnout, the pandemic breaking point, how private anger becomes collective strength, and why Derrick wrote a handbook instead of just a memoir. They also talk about what workers should do first when they think their workplace needs a union, how to build trust inside a workplace, why winning the union vote is not the finish line, and how corporations use delay as a weapon against worker power. Bigfoot may leave footprints. Amazon leaves time-off-task reports. But Derrick Palmer and the workers at JFK8 proved that even one of the most powerful corporations on Earth can be challenged when workers stop accepting the story they've been sold and start building power together. Guest: Derrick Palmer Co-founder, Amazon Labor Union Author, Handbook for the Revolution Buy Derrick Palmer's book: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250455338/handbookfortherevolution/ Amazon Labor Union-IBT Local 1: https://www.amazonlaborunion.org/ Contact Amazon Labor Union-IBT Local 1: https://www.amazonlaborunion.org/contact Organize with Teamsters Amazon Division: https://teamster.org/divisions/amazon-division/ Know your rights during union organizing: https://www.nlrb.gov/about-nlrb/rights-we-protect/the-law/employees/your-rights-during-union-organizing Watch Americonned on Gathr: https://gathr.com/vod/c1a0e0ba The Bigfoot Manifesto: https://bigfootmanifesto.com/

  6. Jun 11

    Bigfoot vs. the Right-Wing Media Machine: What MAGA Reads When We're Not Looking

    Howard Polskin of TheRighting joins Dave Pederson to track the headlines, podcasts, traffic charts, and outrage narratives shaping MAGA media. What happens when millions of Americans are living inside a completely different media weather system? In Episode 26 of The Bigfoot Manifesto, Dave Pederson talks with Howard Polskin, founder and chief curator of TheRighting, a media company that tracks conservative news outlets, right-wing headlines, podcast rankings, traffic data, and the broader media ecosystem shaping MAGA politics. Howard began following right-wing media after the 2016 election, asking the same question many liberals asked: How did this happen? What he found was not just a few fringe websites, but an alternate information universe powered by grievance, fear, anti-woke panic, celebrity pundits, Trump loyalty tests, and headlines designed to make every political disagreement feel like the end of civilization. This episode digs into how right-wing media works, why outrage is a business model, how fringe narratives move into mainstream politics, why podcasts build such deep loyalty, and what progressives need to understand without simply amplifying every bad-faith frame. Bigfoot may be folklore. But the outrage ecosystem is measurable. It has headlines, traffic reports, subscriber charts, podcast rankings, algorithms, donor networks, celebrity pundits, and a business model that turns fear into loyalty. Guest: Howard Polskin Founder & Chief Curator, TheRighting Website: https://therighting.com/ The Bigfoot Manifesto: https://bigfootmanifesto.com/

  7. Jun 3

    Bigfoot vs. the Healthcare Desert: Why America Can't Heal Its Kids

    In this episode of The Bigfoot Manifesto, Dave talks with Victoria Casavecchia, founder of Empowered Victories Wellness, a Registered Nurse and Board-Certified Nurse Coach with nearly 30 years of experience in pediatric nursing. Victoria joins the show to talk about the youth mental health crisis, the rise in anxiety, depression, burnout, and disconnection among kids and teens, and why America's healthcare system often waits until families are in crisis before offering real help. The conversation covers how anxiety can show up physically, why parents are overwhelmed too, the role of sleep, food, movement, mindfulness, and connection, and where nurse coaching fits in the "missing middle" between toughing it out and emergency care. This isn't just about individual wellness. It's about a healthcare system that asks families to solve a public health crisis one private coping skill at a time. Because Bigfoot may be hard to find — but try finding affordable mental healthcare when your kid needs help right now. Guest: Victoria Casavecchia, RN, NC-BC Empowered Victories Wellness: https://www.empoweredvictorieswellness.com/ Helpful Links: 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: https://988lifeline.org/ Find mental health or substance use treatment: https://findtreatment.gov/ NAMI resources for kids, teens, and families: https://www.nami.org/kids-teens-and-young-adults/ SAMHSA National Helpline: https://www.samhsa.gov/find-help/helplines/national-helpline

  8. May 27

    Bigfoot vs. the Monopoly Machine: Amazon, Dollar Stores, and the Fight for Local Power

    What if the real monster eating Main Street isn't hiding in the woods — it's hiding in the checkout button, the delivery truck, the dollar store, the grocery aisle, and the corporate boardroom? In this episode of The Bigfoot Manifesto, Dave Pederson talks with Stacy Mitchell, co-executive director of the Institute for Local Self-Reliance, about monopoly power, Amazon, dollar stores, grocery consolidation, and the fight to rebuild local economies. Stacy explains how corporate concentration didn't just happen naturally. It was built through policy, protected by ideology, and sold to the public as convenience, efficiency, and low prices. But behind that story are small businesses getting squeezed, communities losing control, independent grocers disappearing, and towns being reshaped by corporate chains that extract wealth instead of building local prosperity. Dave and Stacy dig into Amazon's platform power, why small businesses are trapped by fees and logistics, what breaking up Amazon could actually look like, how grocery stores became a monopoly story, why the Robinson-Patman Act matters, and how dollar stores hollow out rural towns and urban neighborhoods. Because Bigfoot may be hard to find. But monopoly power? That thing has a storefront on every corner. Stacy Mitchell's Book: Big-Box Swindle: The True Cost of Mega-Retailers and the Fight for America's Independent Businesses Official book page: https://stacymitchell.com/front-page/ Beacon Press: https://www.beacon.org/Big-Box-Swindle-P671.aspx Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/big-box-swindle-the-true-cost-of-mega-retailers-and-the-fight-for-america-s-independent-businesses-stacy-mitchell/321e5d8e3bf1e87b Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/big-box-swindle-stacy-mitchell/1100550462 For the full Libsyn description, replace the guest block with: Guest: Stacy Mitchell Organization: Institute for Local Self-Reliance Learn more: https://ilsr.org/ Stacy Mitchell's Book: Big-Box Swindle: The True Cost of Mega-Retailers and the Fight for America's Independent Businesses Official book page: https://stacymitchell.com/front-page/ Beacon Press: https://www.beacon.org/Big-Box-Swindle-P671.aspx Bookshop.org: https://bookshop.org/p/books/big-box-swindle-the-true-cost-of-mega-retailers-and-the-fight-for-america-s-independent-businesses-stacy-mitchell/321e5d8e3bf1e87b Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/big-box-swindle-stacy-mitchell/1100550462

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About

The Bigfoot Manifesto is a sharp, satirical podcast where progressive politics collides with cryptid culture and biting humor. Host Dave Pederson (Oscar-nominated producer of Super Size Me and Americonned) dives into the strange overlap of myths, media, and manipulation—from billionaire fairy tales and QAnon fever dreams to the legends we tell ourselves to survive late capitalism. Equal parts investigative journalism and campfire storytelling, each episode blends fact, folklore, and firebrand commentary to expose the absurdities of our modern world. Why do people believe in Bigfoot, trickle-down economics, or a "self-made" billionaire? Maybe it's all the same myth. So grab your flashlight, your sense of humor, and maybe a union card. Because believing in Bigfoot is still more logical than believing billionaires will save us.

Information

  • Creator
    Dave Pederson
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    31
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026
  • Show Website
    The Bigfoot Manifesto

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