Journalist Linda McQuaig has been writing and speaking out about issues of economic and societal inequality ever since she first started working as a reporter in the 70s.

She has authored nine books on matters of politics and economics. And although these aren’t normally thought of as the most compelling subjects for a good book, thankfully for us her writing  more like a true-life detective story than an academic paper.

Without oversimplifying or glossing over important details, she spells the practical, but largely opaque ways, in which the political and economic interests of the wealthy are able to shape government policy in their favour- in everything from the tax code, to business regulations.

In her most recent book The Trouble With Billionaires she details in compelling form some of the negative social and economic consequences of a highly unequal distribution of wealth. I sat down with Linda in her Toronto home to discuss The Trouble with Billionaires, her life as a journalist, and some of her early political influences.