Ep. 225: What Pop Culture Icons Can Teach Us About Economics w/ Swiftynomics Author Misty Heggeness
EQ: How do women’s visible and invisible economic contributions reshape our understanding of the modern economy, and what reforms are needed to recognize and support their full economic power?
In this episode, Annie and Hope sit down with economist and author Misty about her book Swiftynomics: How Women Mastermind and Redefine Our Economy, considering how pop culture can help reshape the way we understand economics. Misty explains the origins of the book, the audience she envisioned, and why it was necessary in this moment. Our conversation moves through key themes including reinvention, survival, misogyny, care work, motherhood, and self-investment, highlighting the visible and invisible ways women sustain the economy. Misty unpacks how women’s economic contributions have been historically overlooked and undervalued. We examine how figures like Taylor Swift and Beyoncé provide a lens for understanding women’s economic power within larger structural systems and how making women’s labor visible can support equity, agency, and long-term change across different stages of women’s lives.
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Annie: Swiftynomics will be available January 27th, so consider adding it to your nonfiction TBR.
Hope: If you’re feeling intimate by books about economics, try one! You might be surprised.
Misty: Learn more about Taylor Swift’s inspiration for a couple of her songs by reading Clara Bow or The Bolter