Jobs, Security, and Survival: Is Universal Basic Income in our Future?

Jobs, Security, and Survival: Is Universal Basic Income in our Future?

From Psych Tech @ Work by Charles Handler

November 21, 2025 · 56 min

About this episode

Conrad Shaw discusses the implications and realities of Universal Basic Income (UBI) and its potential impact on the labor market.

Conrad Shaw “So much of the labor market is driven by desperation. UBI shifts that. People can actually hold out for what they’re worth or for work that aligns with who they are.” — Conrad Shaw Conrad is perhaps the most unique guest I have had in the 5 year history of this show and he is on to talk about Universal Basic Income (UBI) , a very unique topic that is growing in exposure. For almost a decade Conrad has dedicated his life and career to furthering the cause of Universal Basic Income (UBI). In 2016 he and his wife started a documentary called Bootstraps which focuses on following families who lived through the experience of a basic income. Since then, he has: * Fundraised for and operated a nationwide basic income pilot * Filmed a multi-year docuseries currently in post-production * Co-founded Commingle , a mutual-aid platform enabling communities to self-fund their own grassroots basic income systems * Worked extensively on messaging, outreach, and public education around income, stability, and societal transformation I learned a lot from Conrad and our conversation debunked my own myths about UBI. So a really important part of this episode is the truth about what…

People in this episode

Host: Charles Handler

Guest: Conrad Shaw

Topics covered

  • Universal Basic Income
  • labor market
  • financial stability
  • societal transformation
  • documentary

Keywords

  • Universal Basic Income
  • UBI
  • labor market
  • financial floor
  • societal transformation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Commingle

Books & works: Bootstraps

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