Oct. 23, 2025

Elle Griffin — Rethinking Ownership and the Future of Work (EP. 287)

Writer, editor, and founder of The Elysian, Elle Griffin joins me on Infinite Loops to discuss her vision for participatory capitalism, a world where ownership, reputation, and creativity are shared more broadly across society.

We explore the evolution of capitalism from the industrial era to the networked age, how broad-based ownership could rebuild the middle class, why optimism is revolutionary, and how storytelling shapes our collective imagination.

We also discuss how reputation is becoming a new form of capital and how writers can become architects of meaning in a world reshaped by AI and automation. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. For the full transcript, episode takeaways, and bucketloads of other goodies designed to make you go, "Hmm, that's interesting!," check out our Substack.

Important Links:

Show Notes:

  • The New GI Bill for Stock Ownership
  • Rethinking ESOPs, RSUs, and Equity for All
  • The Founder’s Dilemma: Risk, Ownership & Exit
  • Tax Incentives for Employee Ownership
  • A Tale of Two Experiments
  • The Ownership Czar for the Day
  • The Future of Work
  • The State with Baby Bonds
  • The Problem with Worth and Deserving
  • The Power of Utopian Fiction
  • The Currency of Belief and Reputation
  • Empress of the World Question

Books and References Mentioned:

  • Obscurity; by Elle Griffin
  • The Elysian; by Elle Griffin
  • The Beginning of Infinity; by David Deutsch
  • The Lessons of History; by Will & Ariel Durant
  • The History of Civilization; by Will & Ariel Durant
  • Why Greatness Can’t Be Planned; by Kenneth O. Stanley
  • Looking Backward; by Edward Bellamy
  • Herland; by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
  • Les Misérables; by Victor Hugo
  • Frankenstein; by Mary Shelley
  • The Republic; by Plato
  • Das Kapital; by Karl Marx
  • The Count of Monte Cristo; by Alexandre Dumas
  • 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea; by Jules Verne
  • A Tale of Two Cities; by Charles Dickens
  • White Mirror Stories; by Infinite Books