The Capitol Forum

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159

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Oct 2026

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About the show

Power in Washington isn't announced — it's revealed. The Capitol Forum brings you inside the policy discussions and corporate investigations that move markets and shape American life. Listen to Second Request with Teddy Downey for sharp, unfiltered analysis of antitrust policy in America. Then stay for TCF Investigates with Arjun Singh, a narrative documentary series bringing listeners inside the reporting, sources, and regulatory developments shaping markets and corporate strategy. ]]>

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October 16, 20261 hr 3 min

How Streaming is Upending the NFL (Second Request)

Editor's Note: This is a re-broadcast of a previous episode. In 1961, Congress granted the NFL an antitrust exemption allowing the league to collectively negotiate broadcasting rights, revolutionizing sports broadcasting in America. Now, streaming companies like Amazon argue the law doesn't cover them, and that NFL teams can't collectively bargain with them for broadcasting rights. Today on Second Request, Executive Editor Teddy Downey speaks with Katie Van Dyck, Senior Legal Fellow at the American Economic Liberties Project, to discuss her recent article, " How an Obscure Law Lets Sports Leagues Rob Fans Blind ."

October 15, 202638 min

The Affordability Election Comes for Your Phone (TCF Investigates)

Electronics prices are soaring, and the handful of memory chip makers that control the market say the artificial intelligence boom is eating up their supply. A new lawsuit alleges they’re acting like a cartel. It’s a midterm problem for Republicans, who are already facing blowback on prices. In this episode of the TCF Investigates midterm election series, Arjun Singh sits down with reporter Sacha Sloan and Executive Editor Teddy Downey to discuss allegations of cartel behavior in the memory chip sector. Then Arjun and Paul McLeod talk with Democratic pollster Celinda Lake about how prices and affordability are shaping the midterm campaigns.

October 13, 202658 min

Shadow Insurance (Private Credit Crisis)

Regulators fixed the problem shadow insurance was invented to solve a decade ago. Insurers kept doing it anyway. Today on Private Credit Crisis, Executive Editor Teddy Downey talks with Daniel Schwarcz, a University of Minnesota law professor who first wrote about "shadow insurance" in 2015. They get into how the practice started as a workaround regulators signed off on, why it kept growing after the rules were fixed, how private equity-backed insurers took it offshore to Bermuda, and Schwarcz's simple fix: stop letting US insurers reinsure with their own affiliates.

October 9, 20261 hr 0 min

John Deere’s Crumbs for Farmers (Second Request)

John Deere has agreed to pay $99 million to settle a class action over farmers’ right to repair their own equipment. But after lawyers and administrators take their cut, farmers could be left with a small slice of the pie. In this episode of Second Request, Executive Editor Teddy Downey sits down with Willie Cade, CEO of Graceful Solutions, to break down the settlement, dealer consolidation, and who should own farm equipment data.

October 8, 202631 min

Who’s to Blame for High Gas Prices? (TCF Investigates)

Americans are furious about President Donald Trump’s role in driving up gas prices. With the midterm elections just weeks away, even Republican voters are souring on Trump over the cost of everything. In the first episode of our election series, TCF Investigates host Arjun Singh and senior correspondent Paul McLeod sit down with Capitol Forum reporter Max Berengaut to learn how refinery consolidation is pushing fuel costs even higher. Then they talk with pollster G. Elliott Morris to understand what’s driving voters.

October 6, 20261 hr 29 min

Bad Grades (Private Credit Crisis)

The ratings agencies already failed investors in 2008. Are they about to do it again? Today on Private Credit Crisis, Executive Editor Teddy Downey talks with Rod Dubitsky, who rated subprime bonds at Moody's before the financial crisis. They discuss whether the high ratings on private equity-owned life insurers can be trusted, and what investors and regulators might be missing.

October 2, 20261 hr 3 min

Can Anything Save the House GOP? (Second Request)

With a month until the midterms, the polls have Democrats favored to take the House and voters angry about high prices, especially at the pump. In this episode of Second Request, Executive Editor Teddy Downey, senior podcast producer Arjun Singh and reporter Paul McLeod sit down with G. Elliott Morris, a data journalist and pollster who writes the Substack Strength in Numbers. They dig into where the House and Senate races stand, how gas prices and the war in Iran are dragging down President Trump, and how to tell good polling from noise. Read Elliott's Substack here: https://www.gelliottmorris.com/

September 29, 20261 hr 10 min

The Fox Guarding the Hen House (Private Credit Crisis)

Private equity owned life insurers are supposed to prepare for the worst, but some of them aren't preparing for anything close to it. Today on Private Credit Crisis, Executive Editor Teddy Downey talks with Corwin Zass, a consulting actuary who has spent more than 25 years advising life insurers on capital and risk.

September 25, 20261 hr 6 min

Antitrust in Trump 2.0 (Second Request)

From Ticketmaster to Paramount-Warner Bros., the Trump administration has had a full docket of antitrust-related cases to deal with. In this episode of Second Request, Executive Editor Teddy Downey sits down with Karina Lubell, partner in Brunswick Group's global antitrust and competition practice, and Nicholas Cheolas, partner at Wiley, to discuss the evolving antitrust enforcement landscape under the second Trump administration.

September 22, 202654 min

Clouding Accounting (Private Credit Crisis)

Two life insurers can own the exact same bond and tell their regulators two different stories about how risky it is. In this episode of Private Credit Crisis, Executive Editor Teddy Downey sits down with Florida State University professor Kyeonghee Kim to discuss what changes at a life insurer after private equity buys it, and whether the system meant to catch bad numbers is actually built to.

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