Macrodose

Latest Episodes:

Petro Politics Aug 02, 2023

Show notes

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: the economics behind Rishi Sunak’s decision to allow over a hundred new drilling licences for North Sea oil and gas (0.43), the continuing economic slowdown in China (5.32) and a listener question - what is “derisking” and what does it tell us about the end of neoliberalism (9.05)?

A massive thank you to all of our existing Patreon subscribers, your support keeps the show running and we are very grateful. If you have the means and enjoy our work, head over to patreon.com/Macrodose and subscribe today.

We want to hear from you! Leave a comment or get in touch at macrodose@planetbproductions.co.uk

For more about the work we do at Planet B Productions, go to https://planetbproductions.co.uk/

Links:

You can find some of Daniela Gabor’s work here: https://tinyurl.com/yck96bzp

ULEZ Jul 26, 2023

Show notes

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: the argument around the expansion of London’s Ultra-Low Emissions Zone (0.48), extreme weather events across the world and their effect on global supply chains (6.38) and Belgium's approach to dealing with inflation (10.33)?

We want to hear from you! Leave a comment or get in touch at macrodose@planetbproductions.co.uk

For more about the work we do at Planet B Productions, go to https://planetbproductions.co.uk/

Capitalism as Usual w/ Cecilia Rikap Jul 20, 2023

Show notes

MACRODOSE EXTRA takes you behind the scenes to go in-depth with some of the leading voices from the world of economics. Subscribe today at patreon.com/macrodose to hear the full version of this interview and many more.

Our guest today is Cecilia Rikap, who is lecturer in International Political Economy at City University in London.

Cecilia's research focuses on the political economy of technology, and her last book, Capitalism, Power and Innovation, describes the emergence of what she called “intellectual monopoly capitalism” as giant tech companies come to dominate our economic life.

She summarised some of her arguments in a recent piece for the New Left Review, “Capitalism as Usual?”, which challenges some recent accounts by economists like Cedric Durand and Yanis Varoufakis, who argue that we are moving out of capitalism altogether, and into something they call “techno-feudalism”.

Links:

You can read Cecilia's article here: https://newleftreview.org/issues/ii139/articles/capitalism-as-usual

Understanding Growth and Degrowth Jul 19, 2023

Show notes

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: new research in Nature Sustainability examining the prospect of collapsing ecosystems (1.45), and a listener question - what are the alternative models to economic growth, and how can we get there (8.05)?

We want to hear from you! Leave a comment or get in touch at macrodose@planetbproductions.co.uk

Links:

Read the Nature Sustainability article here: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41893-023-01157-x

Check out Planet B: Everything Must Change here: https://novaramedia.com/category/audio/planet-b/

And grab a copy of Half-Earth Socialism: A Plan to Save the Future from Extinction, Climate Change and Pandemics here: https://www.versobooks.com/en-gb/products/2650-half-earth-socialism

The NHS Crisis w/ Grace Blakeley Jul 12, 2023

Show notes

On this week’s Macrodose, Grace Blakeley breaks down what is driving the crisis in the NHS, and answers a listener question about what policies the Labour Party should be considering in its next manifesto.

You can find the series Planet B Productions co-produced with openDemocracy on the care crisis here: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/oureconomy/the-uk-care-crisis-explained/

We want to hear from you! Leave a comment or get in touch at macrodose@planetbproductions.co.uk

Tales from the Polycrisis Jul 05, 2023

Show notes

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: Thames Water teetering on the brink of collapse - is it time to bring our water systems back under public control (0.48), proposed new deep sea mining projects in the Pacific (8.38) and a listener question - what’s different about Labour’s fiscal rules now compared to when James was working with former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell (14.08).

We want to hear from you! Leave a comment or get in touch at macrodose@planetbproductions.co.uk

Should we worry about government debt? Jun 28, 2023

Show notes

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: Britains debt growing bigger than national income - how worried should we really be (0.46), the Bank of England’s decision to raise its interest rate to 5% (8.39) and some listener responses to last week’s call out - what are the other economics podcasts you keep an eye on (12.50)?

We want to hear from you! Leave a comment or get in touch at macrodose@planetbproductions.co.uk

Why you should care about semiconductors w/ Richard Jones Jun 23, 2023

Show notes

MACRODOSE EXTRA takes you behind the scenes to go in-depth with some of the leading voices from the world of economics.

Subscribe today at patreon.com/macrodose to hear the full version of this interview and many more.

Our guest today is Richard Jones. Richard is Professor of Materials Physics and Innovation Policy at the University of Manchester. His blog ’Soft Machines’ provides excellent insight into nanotechnology, and the UK government's wider science and technology policies.

In this interview we talked specifically about semiconductors, which are fuelling resource conflicts and trade wars around the world. What is a semiconductor? Why should we care about them? And how are they shaping global economic trends?

Inflation, Inflation, Inflation Jun 21, 2023

Show notes

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: the inflation figures due to be released this week and the Bank of England's likely response (0.56), and a listener question - what are some recommendations for right-wing economics podcasts, is there a free-market “Macrodose of the Right” (10.00)?

We want to hear from you! Leave a comment or get in touch at macrodose@planetbproductions.co.uk

UBI vs UBS Jun 14, 2023

Show notes

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: a listener question - Universal Basic Income vs Universal Basic Services (0.47), Labour shrinking its £28 billion-a-year Green Prosperity plan (10.26) and Kerala's new, publicly-owned broadband scheme (14.56).

We want to hear from you! Leave a comment or get in touch at macrodose@planetbproductions.co.uk

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