Topics › Business, Startups & Economics

Best Labor, work & inequality videos, as recommended on Hacker News

65 videos about labor, work & inequality that Hacker News commenters keep recommending, mentioned between 2008 and 2026. Mostly explainer, commentary, talk. Channels that come up most: LastWeekTonight, LibertyPen, TED, Bite-sized Philosophy. Sorted by how consistently HN recommended them over the years.

The most recommended is What Happened to Horses Is Happening to Us: HN has recommended it for a decade as the standard explainer on automation and unemployment, though skeptics later cite it as an example of overconfident predictions.

• explainerWhat Happened to Horses Is Happening to UsCGP Grey · 11 HN recommenders · 2014–2026
• talkWinners Take All | Anand Giridharadas | Talks at GoogleTalks at Google · 9 HN recommenders · 2018–2026
• lectureThe Coming Collapse of the Middle Class with Elizabeth WarrenUniversity of California Television (UCTV) · 10 HN recommenders · 2008–2022
• explainerWealth Inequality in Americapolitizane · 8 HN recommenders · 2013–2025
• documentaryRoblox Pressured Us to Delete Our Video. So We Dug Deeper.People Make Games · 9 HN recommenders · 2021–2026
• explainerImmigration, World Poverty and GumballsNumbersUSA · 7 HN recommenders · 2013–2024
• lectureDemocracy at Work: Curing Capitalism | Richard Wolff | Talks at GoogleTalks at Google · 6 HN recommenders · 2017–2026
• documentaryI Tried To Make Something In America (The Smarter Scrubber Experiment) - Smarter Every Day 308SmarterEveryDay · 6 HN recommenders · 2025–2026
• talkWhere in the world is it easiest to get rich? | Harald Eia | TEDxOsloTEDx Talks · 5 HN recommenders · 2016–2023
• interviewMilton Friedman - The Negative Income TaxLibertyPen · 7 HN recommenders · 2012–2022
• explainerWhy Louisiana Stays PoorTogether Louisiana · 6 HN recommenders · 2018–2024
• documentaryThe Insane Battle To Sabotage a New Apartment Building Explains San Francisco's Housing CrisisReasonTV · 3 HN recommenders · 2019–2025
• documentaryInvestigation: How Roblox Is Exploiting Young Game DevelopersPeople Make Games · 5 HN recommenders · 2021–2026
• explainerWhy Tipping Should Be Banned - Adam Ruins EverythingDropout · 4 HN recommenders · 2015–2020
• lectureMark Blyth ─ Global TrumpismWatson School of International and Public Affairs · 3 HN recommenders · 2016–2019
• explainerRSA ANIMATE: Crises of CapitalismRoyal Society of Arts · 4 HN recommenders · 2011–2016
• lectureMilton Friedman - The Real World Effects Of UnionsLibertyPen · 4 HN recommenders · 2017–2023
• explainerThe Ranks of Global Billionaires: Not All Billionaires Are Made EqualEconomics Explained · 4 HN recommenders · 2020–2022
• commentaryMunicipal Violations: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)LastWeekTonight · 5 HN recommenders · 2015–2020
• documentaryVienna's Radical Idea? Affordable Housing For AllBloomberg Originals · 3 HN recommenders · 2021–2026
• talkLearning from dirty jobs | Mike RoweTED · 4 HN recommenders · 2012–2018
• courseLecture 1: Introduction to Power and Politics in Today’s WorldYaleCourses · 3 HN recommenders · 2020–2021
• commentaryPredatory Lending: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)LastWeekTonight · 4 HN recommenders · 2014–2022
• lectureHave the Boomers Pinched Their Children’s Futures? - with Lord David WillettsThe Royal Institution · 3 HN recommenders · 2021–2024
• explainerDominic Frisby. A simple guide to land value taxDominic Frisby Comedy Videos · 2 HN recommenders · 2016–2020
• explainerWork.Historia Civilis · 3 HN recommenders · 2023–2025
• explainerHow an Average Family in Tokyo Can Buy a New HomeLife Where I'm From · 3 HN recommenders · 2017–2023
• commentaryThe NCAA: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)LastWeekTonight · 3 HN recommenders · 2015–2019
• interviewCharlie Rose: Sir James Goldsmith Interview - 15.11.94Sir James Goldsmith · 3 HN recommenders · 2016–2021
• documentarySHIPBREAKERS | Would you risk your life dismantling the world’s largest ships just to survive? | NFBNFB · 3 HN recommenders · 2022–2024
• explainerA Million Dollars vs A Billion Dollars, Visualized: A Road TripTom Scott · 3 HN recommenders · 2021–2026
• documentaryDoes Vienna Have the World's Best Council Housing? Swimming Pools, Private TV Channels & MoreChannel 4 Documentaries · 2 HN recommenders · 2021–2023
• explainerThe Non-capitalist Solution to the Housing CrisisAbout Here · 4 HN recommenders · 2022–2023
• lectureJordan Peterson - Pareto DistributionsBite-sized Philosophy · 2 HN recommenders · 2017–2021
• talkHow the US Is Destroying Young People’s Future | Scott Galloway | TEDTED · 2 HN recommenders · 2024–2025
• lectureMark Blyth - A Brief History of How We Got Here and WhyMcMaster Humanities · 2 HN recommenders · 2019–2022
• explainerIn Norway, Everyone Can Know How Much You EarnTom Scott · 2 HN recommenders · 2016–2021
• talkAndrew Ng: Artificial Intelligence is the New ElectricityStanford Graduate School of Business · 2 HN recommenders · 2017–2019
• explainerWhat Eating the Rich Did For JapanAsianometry · 2 HN recommenders · 2023–2026
• talkWhat prevents the poor from reaching the middle class? | VISION TALKSAmerican Enterprise Institute · 2 HN recommenders · 2014–2024
• commentaryJordan Peterson - Women in High Paying JobsBite-sized Philosophy · 1 HN recommender · 2017–2022
• documentarySecret Billionaire: The Chuck Feeney Storyatlanticphil · 2 HN recommenders · 2018–2023
• explainerHow The Dutch Economy Shows We Can't Reduce Wealth Inequality With Taxes | Economics ExplainedEconomics Explained · 2 HN recommenders · 2021–2023
• commentaryJordan Peterson - IQ and The Job MarketBite-sized Philosophy · 2 HN recommenders · 2017–2022
• commentaryMobile Homes: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)LastWeekTonight · 2 HN recommenders · 2019–2025
• talkThe dirty secret of capitalism -- and a new way forward | Nick HanauerTED · 2 HN recommenders · 2019–2023
• explainerHow Dollar Stores Quietly Consumed AmericaWendover Productions · 2 HN recommenders · 2023–2025
• documentary'The True Cost' - Official TrailerUNTOLD · 1 HN recommender · 2018–2021
• commentaryWhy There's No Such Thing as a Good BillionaireAdam Conover · 1 HN recommender · 2022–2023
• commentaryThe Real Cost of Cruises | Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj | NetflixNetflix Is A Joke · 1 HN recommender · 2019–2024
• commentaryMilton Friedman - Illegal Immigration - PT 1LibertyPen · 1 HN recommender · 2011–2016
• explainerSocial Inequalities Explained in a $100 Race - Please Watch to the End. Thanks.Peter D · 1 HN recommender · 2018–2026
• explainerBuy, Borrow, Die: How America's Ultrawealthy Stay That WayProPublica · 1 HN recommender · 2021–2022
• commentaryFreight Trains: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)LastWeekTonight · 1 HN recommender · 2023–2024
• explainerTwo Is the Wrong Number of Days OffCGP Grey · 1 HN recommender · 2020–2024
• commentaryMilton Friedman - Redistribution of WealthLibertyPen · 1 HN recommender · 2011–2017
• commentaryStudent Debt: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)LastWeekTonight · 1 HN recommender · 2015–2017
• news1979: Will WORD PROCESSORS start a HOME WORKING revolution? | Past Predictions | BBC ArchiveBBC Archive · 1 HN recommender · 2022–2024
• talkNick Hanauer on inequalityWatchExtraVideo · 1 HN recommender · 2012–2020
• talkHow economic inequality harms societies | Richard WilkinsonTED · 1 HN recommender · 2012–2016
• explainerInside Hong Kong’s cage homesVox · 1 HN recommender · 2019–2022
• commentaryLiberal Hypocrisy is Fueling American Inequality. Here’s How. | NYT OpinionNew York Times Opinion · 2 HN recommenders · 2021–2024
• lectureMilton Friedman - Case Against Equal Pay for Equal WorkLibertyPen · 1 HN recommender · 2016–2020
• commentaryHarlan Ellison -- Pay the WriterNicholas Horton · 1 HN recommender · 2013–2021
• talkBeware, fellow plutocrats, the pitchforks are coming | Nick HanauerTED · 1 HN recommender · 2018–2026