Andrew Yang Podcast The Best of 2025: Top Editor & Audience Favorites!
11 snips
Dec 29, 2025 
This episode features a lineup of insightful guests. Derek Thompson discusses how neoliberalism has stifled growth, while Jimmy Chen shares how Propel is revolutionizing government benefits with user-friendly tech. Arthur Brooks delves into the deeper meaning of life in the age of screens, warning against the emptiness they can exacerbate. Gunjan Banerji highlights the rise of compulsive trading behaviors in modern markets. Lastly, Yoni Applebaum explores how zoning laws limit American mobility, offering policy solutions to unlock opportunities.
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Founder Story Behind Propel
- Jimmy Chen recounts growing up poor, earning a Stanford scholarship, then working in Silicon Valley before founding Propel.
- His personal arc motivated building consumer-grade tech for people navigating the social safety net.
EBT Is A Major Financial Rail
- Jimmy Chen identifies EBT as a massive, under-optimized financial rail with $100B in annual payments.
- He applied open-banking style access to let consumers view EBT balances in Propel, turning a bureaucratic friction into recurring engagement.
Use A Frequent Hook To Build Trust
- Build a recurring, high-frequency hook to gain trust and expand services to vulnerable users.
- Jimmy Chen used EBT balance checks as that hook to add jobs, savings, benefits navigation, and grocery savings features in Propel.