From Abundance to Enshittification: 2025’s Must-Read Economics Books

This week, Paul and Goldy look back at the most notable economics books of the year. They discuss Ezra Klein and David Thompson’s Abundance, Cory Doctorow’s blistering Enshittification, Thomas Piketty’s new works on inequality, Diane Coyle’s fresh take on GDP, and the overlooked history behind the Garland Fund. Whether you’re hunting for a holiday gift for the wonk in the family or looking to understand the ideas driving today’s political economy, this episode is full of must-reads. 








Must-Read Economics Books 2025



Abundance (https://bookshop.org/a/101360/9781668...) by Ezra Klein and David Thompson



Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It (https://bookshop.org/a/101360/9780374...) by Cory Doctorow



Equality Is a Struggle (https://bookshop.org/a/101360/9780300...) by Thomas Piketty



Nature, Culture, and Inequality (https://bookshop.org/a/101360/9781635...) by Thomas Piketty



Equality: What It Means and Why It Matters (https://bookshop.org/a/101360/9781509...) by Thomas Piketty and Michael J. Sandel



The Measure of Progress: Counting What Really Matters (https://bookshop.org/a/101360/9780691...) by Diane Coyle



The Radical Fund: How a Band of Visionaries and a Million Dollars Upended America (https://bookshop.org/a/101360/9781476...) by John Fabian Witt








Honorable Mention



Ricardo’s Dream: How Economists Forgot the Real World and Led Us Astray (https://bookshop.org/a/101360/9781529...) By Nat Dyer 



Why Information Grows: The Evolution of Order, from Atoms to Economies (https://bookshop.org/a/101360/9780465...) by Cesar Hidalgo 



Coming Up Short: A Memoir of My America (https://bookshop.org/a/101360/9780593...) by Robert Reisch 



Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Costs of the Perfect Playlist (https://bookshop.org/a/101360/9781668...) Liz Pelly 








Other Books Mentioned in Episode



Homelessness is a Housing Problem (https://bookshop.org/a/101360/9780520...) by Greg Colburn & Clayton Page Aldern



Why Nothing Works: Who Killed Progress--And How to Bring It Back (https://bookshop.org/a/101360/9781541...) by Marc Dunkelman



Capital in the 21st Century (https://bookshop.org/a/101360/9780674...) by Thomas Piketty



The Gardens of Democracy: A New American Story of Citizenship, the Economy, and the Role of Government (https://bookshop.org/a/101360/9781570...) by Nick Hanauer & Eric Liu 



Communist Manifesto (https://bookshop.org/a/101360/9780671...) by Karl Marx 



Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com (http://pitchforkeconomics.com/)



Facebook: Pitchfork Economics Podcast (  / pitchforkeconomics  )



Bluesky: @pitchforkeconomics.bsky.social (https://bsky.app/profile/pitchforkeco...)



Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics (https://www.instagram.com/pitchforkec...)



Threads: pitchforkeconomics (https://www.threads.net/@pitchforkeco...)



TikTok: @pitchfork_econ (  / pitchfork_econ  )



YouTube: @pitchforkeconomics (   / @pitchforkeconomics  )



LinkedIn: Pitchfork Economics (  / pitchfork-economics  )



Twitter: @PitchforkEcon (  / pitchforkecon  ) , @NickHanauer (https://twitter.com/nickhanauer?lang=en)



Substack: ⁠The Pitch⁠ (https://civicventures.substack.com/)