The Capitol Forum Podcast

Zynex was a medical device company on the rise. After experiencing decades of growth, Zynex’s founder Thomas Sandgaard had hopes of becoming a billionaire — until The Capitol Forum revealed how they were fraudulently billing insurers, patients and even the U.S. government for tens of millions of dollars. In this episode of The Capitol Forum Investigates, reporter Michael Williams reveals how Zynex misled customers into entering predatory financial arrangements. He also unpacks Sandgaard’s efforts to quash his reporting, including efforts to target Williams and his family.

In this episode of Second Request, Executive Editor Teddy Downey sits down with Michael Murray, Katherine Wyszkowski, and Daniel Hanley to discuss their recent research about the antitrust risk posed by U.S. electric utilities — especially as it relates to their control over consumer energy‑usage data, potential exclusionary conduct, and the broader consequences for competition, consumers, and market transparency.To learn more about The Capitol Forum click here.

For decades the amount of small homebuilders in the United States has been dwindling. One reason is the shuttering of local financial networks. Today on Second Request, Executive Editor Teddy Downey sits down with Laurel Kilgour Policy Director at the American Economic Liberties Project (AELP) to discuss the findings of Kilgour's recent report Capital Crunch: How the Fall of Local Finance and the Rise of Shareholder Primacy Warped Single-Family Homebuilding in America — And What to Do About It. Follow The Capitol Forum on X, Bluesky or Linkedin.Read Laurel Kilgour's paper here.

After a federal judge rejected the Federal Trade Commission's argument that Meta has an illegal monopoly in the personal social media market, regulators are debating what the decision means for future enforcement of section 2 of the Sherman Antitrust Act. In this episode of Second Request, Teddy Downey discusses the Meta decision with Joel Thayer, President of the Digital Progress Institute.

Why is it so expensive to build a house in America? That's a question economists, politicians and pundits have argued at length about, but can't agree on. In today's episode of Second Request, executive editor Teddy Downey sits down with Steven Xiao, Associate Professor of Finance at the University of Texas at Dallas Naveen Jindal School of Management and Ph.D candidate Zheng Liu for a robust discussion about how concentration in the homebuilding sector has led to increased costs and prices. To learn more about The Capitol Forum click here.