
Swiftynomics: Who’s Afraid of Women’s Economic Power? (with Misty Heggeness)
From Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer by Civic Ventures
March 17, 2026 · 43 min
About this episode
Misty Heggeness discusses how Taylor Swift's impact on the economy reveals the overlooked economic power of women and culture.
What Is Swiftynomics—and Why Does It Matter? Taylor Swift didn’t just break records—she broke the way economists think about the economy. Because if one artist can reshape entire cities overnight, what else are we missing? This week, economist Misty Heggeness uses the “Swift effect” to expose a bigger problem: the models we rely on weren’t built to see women’s power, unpaid care, or culture as real economic forces. What would change about our economy if we actually counted women’s work—and treated culture as real economic power? Misty Heggeness is an economist and the author of Swiftynomics: How Women Mastermind and Redefine Our Economy, which uses Taylor Swift and broader pop culture as a lens for examining women’s economic power, labor markets, and the persistent blind spots in mainstream economic thinking. Social Media: mlheggeness @m_heggeness Further reading: Swiftynomics: How Women Mastermind and Redefine Our Economy Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com Facebook: Pitchfork Economics Podcast Bluesky: @pitchforkeconomics.bsky.social Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Threads: pitchforkeconomics TikTok: @pitchfork_econ YouTube: @pitchforkeconomics LinkedIn: Pitchfork Economics…
People in this episode
Host: Nick Hanauer
Guest: Misty Heggeness
Topics covered
- women's economic power
- Swiftynomics
- economics
- labor markets
- cultural economics
Keywords
- Swiftynomics
- Taylor Swift
- women's work
- economic models
- cultural impact
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Civic Ventures
Books & works: Swiftynomics: How Women Mastermind and Redefine Our Economy
More episodes of Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer
- The Policy Choices That Suppressed American Wages (with Josh Bivens and Larry Mishel) · June 9, 2026 · 39 min
- Market Humanism: A New Operating System for the Economy (with Nick Hanauer) · June 2, 2026 · 56 min
- What Comes After Neoliberalism? (with Nick Hanauer & Eric Beinhocker) · May 26, 2026 · 32 min
- The Worker Power Missing From the Abundance Debate (with Kate Andrias and Alexander Hertel-Fernandez) · May 19, 2026 · 34 min
- How the AI Oligarchy Went Hyperscale (with Tim Murphy) · May 12, 2026 · 39 min
- Why Philanthropy [STILL] Isn’t the Answer with (with Anand Giridharadas) · May 5, 2026 · 49 min
Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer podcast page.