Spirit Airlines is dead and the right, true to form, is blaming Joe Biden. 

The immediate cause of Spirit's demise is pretty clear: the war with Iran spiked jet fuel costs, and the already-battered airline couldn't absorb the hit to its bottom line. Last we checked, Joe Biden didn't start any wars with Iran. 

In this episode, Matthew Yglesias and Jerusalem Demsas break down what really happened with Spirit Airlines, the weird history of aviation policy in the U.S., and the conspiracy by some progressives to reduce competition in the space. 

(0:00) Spirit Airlines is dead
(7:07) The blocked JetBlue merger
(14:54) 1960s airline nostalgia
(21:12) Matt’s tinfoil hat theory
(26:29) Pre-Carter airline monopolies
(35:26) The dawn of deregulation
(47:17) Anti-monopolists want less competition
(54:19) America’s protectionist policies
(58:22) Peer review: Marriage and gender-coded purchases

New episodes post every Thursday.

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The Argument is produced by Justin Zuckerman, fact-checked by Eli Richman, with music by Breakmaster Cylinder and art by Ben Tousley.