Marketcraft and the Meta antitrust trial, with Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes

Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes joins Margaret Hoover to discuss his new book, “Marketcrafters,” in which he examines how American policymakers have shaped markets for social and political goals over the last century.

Hughes, who is now pursuing a PhD in economics at the University of Pennsylvania, sees growing support on the left and the right for using the levers of government to cultivate markets for the common good.

Hughes says that President Trump’s tariffs are not marketcraft but "government by impulse,” and he envisions a marketcraft policy that could tackle the cost of living crisis that Americans face today. 

As a student at Harvard, Hughes helped Mark Zuckerberg launch Facebook more than 20 years ago, but he later became an outspoken critic of the social media network. With Zuckerberg’s Meta in the midst of a massive antitrust trial, Hughes explains why he believes “Congress must act” and break up Meta.

Hughes also discusses his assessment of Bidenomics, his support for repealing special liability protections for internet platforms, and how he reflects on his own legacy.

Support for “Firing Line for Margaret Hoover” is provided by Robert Granieri, The Tepper Foundation, Vanessa and Henry Cornell, The Fairweather Foundation, Peter and Mark Kalikow, Pritzker Military Foundation, Cliff and Laurel Asness, The Meadowlark Foundation, The Beth and Ravenel Curry Foundation, Charles R. Schwab, The Marc Haas Foundation, Katharine J. Rayner, Damon Button, Craig Newmark Philanthropies, The Philip I Kent Foundation, Annie Lamont through The Lamont Family Fund, Lindsay and George Billingsley, The Susan Rasinski McCaw Fund, Cheryl Cohen Effron and Blair Effron, and Al and Kathy Hubbard. Corporate funding is provided by Stephens Inc.