This is Capitalism: Inspired, Explained, In Focus

Dean Brent Williams of the Walton College of Business shares how the school emphasizes industry connections, experiential learning, and growing graduate programs. He highlights student interest in fields like supply chain, finance, and marketing. The college promotes a deeper understanding of capitalism through programs like CAPITAF and a new collegiate summit. 

Mauren Kennedy shares the story behind Cat Lady Tails, a content brand that blossomed from her love of photography and unexpected journey into cat ownership. She discusses how her authentic, relatable approach to sharing cat content led to rapid social media growth—especially on TikTok—and how she’s turned her passion into a business while staying true to her values. Mauren emphasizes the importance of community, consistency, and ethical content creation in navigating the ever-changing digital landscape.

Dan Menelly, CEO of The DoSeum in San Antonio, speaks about the museum’s innovative approach to hands-on, inclusive learning for children. Menelly discusses how the DoSeum fosters creativity, neurodiverse engagement, and access through initiatives like dynamic pricing and outreach programs. He also highlights how the museum serves as both a cultural anchor and an economic engine, combining mission-driven design with sustainable business models

Ross DeVol, CEO of Heartland Forward, discusses the organization's mission to boost economic growth in America's heartland through applied research, entrepreneurship programs, and policy initiatives. He highlights key focus areas including talent development, regional competitiveness, and health outcomes, while emphasizing their “think and do tank” model that translates research into action.

In this episode of This Is Capitalism, co-host and author Grace L. Williams discusses her book Give Her Credit, which explores the history and impact of the Women's Bank of Denver—a pioneering, women-led financial institution formed in the 1970s to serve underbanked communities, especially women. Williams shares how the project originated, her connection to its themes through her own financial experiences, and the challenges and triumphs faced by the bank's founders. The conversation highlights the significance of women’s financial empowerment, the bank’s broader legacy, and the progress made since its inception.

Kathryn Leary shares her inspiring journey of blending spirituality, fitness, and business, rooted in a deep commitment to health and well-being. One Firelight is a platform that merges holistic wellness with the empowering message of Bob Marley's music. Kathryn discusses insights into entrepreneurial resilience, growth, and conscious capitalism. 

Author Hunter Hastings explores capitalism’s evolution, highlighting current challenges like bureaucracy and financialization. He shares his optimistic vision of a more decentralized, customer-driven future, fueled by digital innovation. 

Trey Thaxton, founder of GoldMill, discusses his creative agency's focus on meaningful design and Greenwood Avenue's celebration of Black entrepreneurship. He emphasizes Greenwood’s lasting legacy beyond the Tulsa Massacre, the importance of access to capital for Black businesses, and a collective mindset for progress.

Mandy Richardson, publisher of Little Rock Soirée and founder of the Women's Leadership Symposium & Summits, discusses how the Little Rock Soirée evolved from a monthly magazine into a platform for women's leadership, professional development, and fostering community connections. 

Darren Magarro founded his marketing agency after opting to realign his priorities. Over 17 years, he built a culture centered on work-life balance, strong relationships, and community involvement. 

Roger Steele, a golf enthusiast turned entrepreneur, shares his journey from reluctant golfer to passionate advocate. He discusses golf's positive impact during the pandemic, the challenges of inclusivity, and his transition from engineering to storytelling. His story emphasizes community, resilience, and the importance of collaborative partnerships in business.

We sat down with Ryan McSpadden, Intersport Chief Revenue Officer, to discuss pickleball's surge in popularity, its unique appeal, and its potential for growth. Ryan highlights factors like community, accessibility, and multi-generational appeal driving its success.

Dr. Victoria Ramirez discusses the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts' history, community engagement, and future initiatives. We touch on the role of women in shaping the museum, its outreach efforts, successful fundraising, and programs tailored for younger generations. Ramirez emphasizes honoring the museum's legacy while adapting to modern needs and preferences.

Sarah Hurst, owner of Bella's Kitchen and Wellness, started with a focus on healthier eating for kids, evolving into family meals and wellness classes. We discuss challenges, expansion plans, and advice for entrepreneurs. 

Lily Cochrane is the former executive director for the Wake Forest Center for Private Business. The Center assists privately owned businesses in North Carolina, providing resources for various industries and ownership structures. Cochrane discusses the Center's evolution, business challenges, especially family-owned businesses, and the importance of networking and mentorship.

Welcome to This Is Capitalism: Inspired, Explained, In Focus the podcast that brings capitalism to life through stories of innovators, entrepreneurs, philanthropists and academics. Here we explore the power of capitalism in driving economic growth and creating opportunities.

I’m Patricia O’Connell for This is Capitalism. Today I’m talking with Brian Lipton, who is the Chief Theater Critic for Cititour.com and the former editor-in-chief and currently a contributing editor to TheaterMania.com. He is going to take us behind the scenes at Broadway and give us a little bit of a look at what’s going on with Broadway, the return to Broadway for both actors and theatergoers. Key Takeaways:   [:29] Patricia O’Connell introduces Brian Lipton, a theater critic for Cititour.com and contributing editor to TheaterMania.com, and welcomes him to This is Capitalism. [1:01] What does the closing of Phantom mean after 35 years? Is it just time? It has made its money back so many times that its lead producer, Cameron Mackintosh, could run it as long as he wanted to. With its closing notice, its grosses have soared to their highest in years. Winter is not the tourist season, and COVID-19 is still a factor. [3:01] All Broadway shows are capitalized, which is really the amount of money it takes to put the show on from start to finish: rehearsals, scenery, rent, and things up until day one. For a large musical now, $15 to $25 million is not an unusual capitalization. You have to make that money back during the run to get a profit. [3:38] Then you have the weekly running costs. The set’s already done, but you still have to pay rent, actors, and union people every week, and make that money back. For a musical like Phantom, that’s estimated to be in the $750,000 to $1 million range because Phantom is a very elaborate show to make every week just to break even. [4:17] If you’re doing a limited run, it’s often built in that you need to be running at pure capacity. Into the Woods is still at the St. James, but it was originally scheduled for an eight-week run, and the only way that could’ve made money at eight weeks is if, for eight weeks it ran 100 percent. It did come close to that, but it’s no longer coming close. [4:45] The longer the run goes on, sometimes the less you have to make that 100 percent. But you can’t do badly; you have to still pack a fair amount of the house at full-price tickets if you’re going to meet your running costs. And the minute you don’t do that, you run the risk of being in the red. [5:05] Discounting tickets is a major factor. If you’re selling 1,000 seats at $60 or $70, you’re making $700,000 a week instead of $2 million a week. The Music Man doesn’t discount, so it is taking in over $3 million every week. That will help it to be profitable by the time it closes. If they discounted by 50 percent, they wouldn’t have a chance. [5:51] The Music Man had the option of running after Hugh Jackman decided to leave. And he is staying a few weeks past his contract. This has been done before when you have a star who is so powerful. Maybe the wisest business move, even if you could still make money — it’s an expensive show with a large cast — is to take the money and go. [6:23] Hugh Jackman is one of those rare people who is a true movie star and a true theater star even though he has only been on Broadway three or four times, most notably, of course, in The Boy from Oz, his big Broadway debut. But he has created a huge following. Some people go back to see him four to six times. [7:04] There are shows that have always done stunt casting. You’ll see, for example, Pamela Anderson doing Chicago. She was quite good. But more to the point, she brought in business. She had the highest grosses for Chicago in many months, if not years. And that was a perfect example of the right way to do stunt casting. [8:08] A lot of Broadway will be dominated, especially straight plays maybe more than musicals, by star casting, whether it’s stunt casting or not. In a lot of cases, they’re going to look for that star power to motivate the box office. [8:27] Now conversely, the musical, Some Like It Hot, stars Christian Borle, Adrianna Hicks, and J. Harrison Ghee, who, their talents notwithstanding, are not known stars. They are banking on the property and the careers of Scott Wittman and Marc Shaiman, who wrote the score. They have Tonys for Hairspray and they’re very well known. [9:00] Brian doesn’t think we’re going to see a lot of truly original work on Broadway for a while. Everything will be based on a movie or a book or is a revival of a famous play. Theater that comes from scratch is few and far between. [9:21] This ’22 to ’23 will be the first “normal” Broadway theater season that we’ve had in several years now. I mean the 2019 to 2020 season got cut short, of course, because of Covid. What we’re seeing now is a lot of flux. [9:42] This is a very unusual year in that a number of shows opened in December, including one, The Collaboration. It’s an imagined conversation between Andy Warhol and Jean-Paul Basquiat. It’s also being filmed simultaneously and it’s coming in for a limited run. By the end of 2022, Broadway will be surprisingly full. [10:12] But January will bring the closing of Beetlejuice, after eight months. A Strange Loop, which won the Tony in 2022, for Best Musical, is closing on January fifteenth, which will make it, depending on how you count things, either the shortest or the third-shortest running Best Musical ever. There are also some limited runs now. [10:43] Phantom closes in February. But spring is usually the more prominent season than fall. Again, better weather, maybe more tourists, and closer to Tony time. Almost all of the big musical houses, The Winter Garden, the Marquis, and the St. James, are vacant for the spring. Brian wonders if the producers are hedging their bets. [11:20] Back to the Future, for example, is the kind of show that would probably have to take a million to a million-and-a-half every week just to be in break-even territory. [11:31] There is a symbiotic relationship between the New York City economy and Broadway. In the last full theater season, 2018 to 2019, Broadway ticket sales were $1.8 billion. That is more than the ten major league sporting teams in the New York City area, which is staggering, because what’s more popular, sports or Broadway? [12:05] Can Broadway rely on locals? This fall, Broadway is doing surprisingly well without a huge tourist influx. There is a very strong local audience — New York City and the tri-state area, that will come to Broadway for something they want to see. The tourists augment locals in any season and are most important in spring and summer. [12:53] If we looked at a forecast and said that nobody is coming in the summer of 2023, that may be why spring producers are hedging their bet. You’re never going to be able to run big, expensive shows without the tourist base. You can run Laura Linney for 16 weeks, and it’s probably not a big deal because that’s not what the tourists flock to. [13:37] When the tourists come, they want to see musicals. Broadway has some very long-running musicals like Hamilton, that’s still bringing in insane amounts of money, Lion King, that’s doing super well, and Wicked, that’s still close to $2 million a week. They’re there for the tourists. [14:01] A lot of tourists only come to New York once in their life and the one time they’re coming they want to see Hamilton, The Lion King, and Wicked — the big, long-running shows. They don’t necessarily want to see the hot, new show. Book of Mormon is running still on tourists. Chicago has run this long because tourists go see it. [14:33] What show will be the next “Phantom”? Chicago and Lion King, which opened in 1997, have run for 25 years. Will they run another ten? Lion King might. Its enduring popularity is because it is child-driven while pleasing to adults. There are always children being born. So Disney may have a chance to break the Broadway record. [15:27] Nobody would’ve bet on Chicago running 25 years. Chicago has the advantage of having made its money back so many times that its producers, led by Barry and Fran Weissler, if they want to just do this for the sake of doing it, they can run it. [15:34] Chicago is a very minimalist show; its running costs are very small, probably half a million or less. And so all you need to do is break that every week, give or take, and you can keep running. So those two have the chance to be the new Phantom. [15:55] We’ve seen recent revivals of the King & I, Carousel, Oklahoma, My Fair Lady; and South Pacific. How many of the great classic musicals are there left to recycle? The Sound of Music hasn’t had a major Broadway production in around 25 years. So Brian won’t be shocked if that comes down the pike. [16:35] We may be getting revivals featuring people of color or other non-traditional castings. There’s a buzz for the first real revival ever of Kiss of the Spider Woman, which provides roles for three Latinx performers. Chita Rivera originated it but she was the only Latinx lead of the original threesome – we could easily have a revival of that. [17:14] All of the Lomans in Death of a Salesman, the five family members, are Black. The rest of the characters, who were always white, have remained white, which gives the play another dimension because we see interracial relationships and how that plays into the text. [17:40] There may be a way to breathe new life into “old shows” or revivals and bring new life to them in an interesting spin. Death of a Salesman is color-conscious casting. You know the Lomans are Black even though they have not changed the text. In the more popular color-blind casting, you’re not supposed to think about their color at all. [18:16] There are producers that are in this for the glory and they’ll produce things so they can get their Tony award. And there is the larger group of producers who treat theater as show business, not show art. They want to make money. If a particular type of play is not making money, you’re not getting more of it. That’s how this works. [18:45] If Brian could produce any show he wanted, with any star, in the world of show business, he would produce Audra M

The art market is big, unpredictable, and endlessly fascinating, not just to potential buyers and sellers but to art lovers the world over. The art market is also big business. One estimate put the sales number for 2021, the third-best year for sales on record, at $65.1 billion. Here to paint us a picture of the intersection between art and commerce is Kathryn Tully, who’s been covering the art market for 15 years.   Listen in to learn about the fascinating art market and how you can be involved in it. Key Takeaways: [:21] Patricia O’Connell introduces Kathryn Tully, freelance journalist, and welcomes her to This is Capitalism. [1:14] Kathryn has been a financial writer since she graduated from college. Fifteen years ago, Kathryn started writing about the art market, around the time when she started freelancing. [1:30] Kathryn holds that too much of the press coverage is about big auctions of multi-million-dollar artworks sold in New York. It suggests prices always go up, which is not the case. The art market is a pretty difficult investment market. [2:02] Kathryn felt that writing about the art market enabled her to put non-nonsense articles out there that aren’t being written otherwise. [2:20] The multi-million dollar works that sell for high prices comprise a tiny sliver of the art market. There is incredible art being produced all the time that you would love to have in your home. Most art produced is not going to be sold for a profit. The art you buy devalues by 90% when you take it out the door, so you will not resell it at a profit. [3:03] You read about Basquiats, Warhols, and art that’s sold at a profit between high-net-worth individuals at auction, for transparency. You would have to spend $500 thousand or more to get a good shot at reselling art for a profit. Most art doesn’t have a release value. For the art that does, the art market is not brilliant, considering the risks. [4:40] Commercially-valuable art can take months or longer to sell through a dealer or an auction house. You’re not guaranteed to find a buyer. It’s not just an illiquid market, it’s a tiny market. In 2021, the third-best year for the art market, the overall sales were $65.1 billion. Compared to the daily trading volume of stocks, that’s tiny. [5:18] There are holding costs in owning art. You have to pay for insurance and storage and there are buying and selling fees. Art is a good investment if you buy something you love and you find that it’s gone up in value. Kathryn’s friend bought a signed Banksy screenprint in 2003 for £150. In 2020, a dealer estimated its worth at £150K. [6:55] Kathryn’s friend didn’t buy the print because she thought it was going to go up in value. She fought it as a gift for her husband. Pricing in the art market is very subjective. No two artworks are the same, except for prints and multiples. Artworks are unique objects. Artworks from the same artist can sell for different prices. Pricing is subjective. [7:54] Artists go in and out of favor. The Banksy print market goes up and down. There’s a very thin part of the market, with a very small amount of transactions, that generates the most value. Are you going to find a buyer? There may only be ten people in the world that are interested in buying your expensive Warhol or Basquiat at a certain price. [8:49] The print market is an area where you can acquire artwork by those artists at a cheaper price point. There is a bit more data about prints and multiples because of their higher volume, and because they aren’t unique; they are one of an edition. You can see what they are selling for. You can get a sense of what the resale price may be. [9:34] The art market is opaque, besides art indices that show the records of public art sales at auction. Auctions are the most successful part of the art market. The majority of global art sales don’t take place at auction houses but through galleries and dealers but through galleries or dealers who don’t reveal their transaction information at all. [10:16] Artworks sold through galleries or dealers are not revealed publicly. The art market can be a vehicle for pricing fraud because they are no public records of gallery and dealer transactions. [11:44] Contemporary art is in vogue at the moment. The old masters and the impressionists don’t necessarily stay in favor because the generation of art buyers that did buy them is dying out. [12:52] Art value is driven by subjective factors, not just supply and demand. You can’t see the demand a lot of the time because so many of the transactions are not disclosed. It’s different from a stock or a commodity that you can sell on any day at the price listed. In the art market, you can’t see the price or the fundamentals driving the price. [13:40] During the pandemic, a lot of the art fairs started going online with virtual viewing rooms. Dealers at art fairs started revealing more of their prices, creating transparency. [14:42] As a prank, a Banksy piece at auction was shredded the minute it was purchased. The piece is said to have increased in value, though, after the prank. [15:27] Kathryn’s suggestions for investing in the art market: 90% of art sold does not have a resale value. For prints and multiples, an accessible part of the art market, you can get a sense of resale value through price indices. You’ve got to buy art because you enjoy owning it. You don’t know if or when you can sell it for a profit. [16:36] Kathryn has not sold any of the art she has bought because she loves it. There is so much art she would have loved to have bought that got away. She buys artwork she loves that her friends have produced or that was created in her neighborhood, to support their market. The internet has opened up the market for new original art. [17:40] Kathryn’s dream artwork would be any Basquiat work. She would be over the moon to own even one of his sketchbook drawings. She would never sell it! [18:07] Kathryn’s newsletter, Priceless, is linked below. [18:37] Patricia thanks Kathryn and the listeners for joining us today on This Is Capitalism.   Mentioned in This Episode: This is Capitalism Kathryn Tully Priceless.substack.com Basquiat Warhol Banksy “Banksy Artwork Shredded After Auction May Have Increased Its Value”

 Like a lot of aspiring actors, Gabrielle Kurlander came to New York City at 18 with stars in her eyes and a dream of making it big. It turns out, there were stars in her future and she did make it big, though her dream got a rewrite along the way. She’s still active in theater but the best part she’s ever played is as President and CEO of The All Stars Project. The non-profit teaches young people from disadvantaged backgrounds how to use the power of performance to help them navigate new experiences, such as summer internships or interacting with a group of people they’re completely unfamiliar with. Gabrielle joins us on This Is Capitalism to talk about The All Stars Project, why she’s a big believer in non-government-funded programs, and the true meaning of philanthropy.   Listen in to learn about the partnership between corporations, donors, and teenagers working toward a path for growth. Key Takeaways: [:21] Patricia O’Connell introduces Gabrielle Kurlander, CEO of The All Stars Project, and welcomes her to This is Capitalism. [1:23] The All Stars Project is a national non-profit for youth development, using a performance approach on stage and in life, to help young people growing up in places of poverty, go on and pursue their hopes and dreams, learn more about the world, and create a place for themselves in it. [1:59] Performance gives you a way to create new versions of yourself. Young people who are growing up without a lot of opportunity, and without much experience of things outside of their neighborhoods need a tool or mechanism to build confidence and get over obstacles. Performance helps to do that. [2:42] Gabrielle uses the example of applying for an internship. Use performance to practice how you meet the interviewer and behave in the interview. In performance, you can make mistakes. There’s no right or wrong. It helps free people up. In The All Stars Project, young people are directed in creating new performances to recreate their lives. [3:28] The All Stars Project uses old-fashioned grassroots outreach to bring young people in. They walk through their neighborhoods, even the most violent neighborhoods, and talk to young people. They bring other young people to the neighborhood to create a performance there. [3:57] Young people can join The All Stars Project, regardless of their grades or how they are doing. If they are looking to grow as leaders and experience new opportunities, they can come in and The All Stars Project will use performance to help them to grow. [4:15] The All Stars Project specializes in upper teenagers, 16 to 21, and even into their early 20s. There are some opportunities for people after graduating from college. There are performance programs for kids in middle school and grade school. [5:03] Gabrielle shares her experience growing up. Performance helped her be a successful and confident person. She moved to NYC to pursue acting when she was 18. She met The All Stars Project as a grassroots project with no funding and she became the founding CEO. Being a performer helped Gabrielle do new things. [6:12] The All Stars Project is 100% privately-funded. Gabrielle had never asked people for $50K or $10K. She used her performance background to invite people to donate. The same performance skills help the youth. The All Stars Project is a partnership between caring, affluent adults and young people from underserved communities. [7:02] It’s about doing. With performance, you can start right now. Performance gives you the freedom to act as you will. You can take everything that you are and also try some new things. Performance is a freeing mechanism. [8:03] Gabrielle tells how she created her approach to potential donors. Being a CEO in her 20s was intimidating to her. Performance helped Gabrielle create a version of who she wanted to be as a CEO that was true to herself. [8:54] The All Stars Project does the same thing for young people. It’s an important key to issues of diversity and belonging. Performance gives a person a version of themselves that they choose to be, a new creation of their own making. [9:43] Performance enables, empowers, and encourages young people to write their own scripts. Young people growing up in a place of poverty get messages that work against their success. They are taught in their neighborhoods they have to be perfect to succeed. But perfection is the enemy of growth. [10:46] Gabrielle shares a success story of a young woman raised in poverty and violence. The young woman came into the intern program at a partnering corporation. Gabrielle says the corporate professionals also receive performance training. [11:41] Thousands of individuals donate to The All Stars Project. Philanthropy is exerting yourself on behalf of your fellow man. If you would like to be involved, start at allstars.org and select an opportunity to volunteer. You can bring The All Stars Project into your corporation, You can become a development coach. [12:56] The All Stars Project has offices in Dallas, Chicago, New York, and Newark, New Jersey, with virtual programs in more than 20 states. They have another program called Operation Conversation. Small groups of diverse individuals use performance in a series of exercises to connect with and learn about each other. [14:16] Virtual programs have been amazingly effective. The All Stars Project is about relationships and connecting different kinds of people — wealthy people and people growing up in poverty, people of different ethnicities, preferences, ages, political beliefs, and ideologies. They build community with diverse people. [14:52] They found that virtually they could create contexts where there was a lot of intimacy and new kinds of discoveries being made. [15:19] The more people you want to reach, the more funding you need. The All Stars Project has big corporate partners, community college networks in Dallas, and police, in Operation Conversation Cops and Kids in New York City and Newark, New Jersey. [19:55] The All Stars Project is looking to partner with bigger institutions to scale and impact in new ways. [20:17] Gabrielle reflects on the career she has made and the stage career she dreamed of as a child. While working with The All Stars Project, she continues in theater and is about to start in her 40th production. [21:01] Gabrielle talks about the benefits that have come through our capitalism in science and medicine. But in the poor areas of our country, we haven’t made as much progress as we need. Poverty is just not economic but also social.[21:34] Dr. Raj Chetty at Harvard conducted research that found that people with lower incomes were more likely to improve their financial situation over time if they were connected to people with higher incomes. The All Stars Project creates those relationships to expand the opportunities and growth for everybody involved. [22:46] A poor person needs to see the opportunity and then needs to be surrounded by people who support them in various ways so they can get on the path and pursue their dreams. Gabrielle also says we can all volunteer and we should volunteer about things we feel passionate about. [23:50] Gabrielle’s last thoughts for listeners: We need to not only drive things through data, economics, success, and money, we need to look at people’s hearts and minds. Data and money can do a lot, but we need creativity, human relationships, and new opportunities for people. Find something you’re passionate about and go do it! [24:41] Patricia thanks Gabrielle Kurlander for joining us today on This Is Capitalism.   Mentioned in This Episode: This is Capitalism Gabrielle Kurlander on LinkedIn The All Stars Project Operation Conversation Antoine Joyce Raj Chetty