Macrodose

The Break Down: US Election Special w/ Kate Aronoff & Waleed Shahid Oct 31, 2024

Amid the threat of “Project 2025”, ongoing genocide in Gaza, and a nation-wide battle over reproductive rights, to name a few major issues, the climate crisis has been considerably sidelined in the US election taking place on November 5th. But even if it’s not grabbing headlines, what the United States does — or does not do — on climate has profound implications for the entire world.

So where does climate stand in this election? With Kamala Harris praising both the Green New Deal and her role as a champion of fracking, how should we understand the Democratic position on climate?What is the legacy of the Inflation Reduction Act, and does it even register with voters? What, if anything, is the future of the Green New Deal? And, for the many people who don’t feel represented by either major party, is a third party, or not voting, the answer?

These are big questions — here to help us answer them are two brilliant guests, journalist Kate Aronoff and Democratic strategist Waleed Shahid. In this special episode, Adrienne, Kate and Waleed unpack the chaos and the stakes of the US election, and what it means for climate action in the US and beyond.

Kate Aronoff is a journalist, Staff Writer at the New Republic and Fellow at The Roosevelt Institute. She is also the author of books including Overheated: How capitalism broke the planet — and how we fight back (2021), and A Planet To Win: Why We Need a Green New Deal (2019).

Waleed Shahid is a Democratic strategist and movement organiser. He previously served as the Director of Communications for the Justice Democrats, the political initiative that worked to elect “The Squad” and helped to launch The Green New Deal in the US.

NOTES AND FURTHER READING

Kate Aronoff, "Green Industrial Policy’s Unfinished Business: A Publicly Managed Fossil Fuel Wind-Down", Roosevelt Institute

Kate Aronoff, "The IRA Is An Invitation to Organizers", Dissent Magazine

Waleed Shahid, "Democrats, Parties and Palestine: Five stages of political grief", Convergence

Waleed Shahid, "What The Left Can Learn From Jamaal Bowman's Loss", The Nation

Budget Preview: Labour's "Pro-Growth" Agenda Oct 30, 2024

On this week's MACRODOSE, James Meadway looks ahead to this afternoon’s Autumn Budget, breaking down what you need to know about Labour's devoutly “pro-growth” agenda and how it all fits into a bigger picture of our changing political and economic landscape (2:20).

Check out our new ELECTION ECONOMICS series, available only for MACRODOSE supporters on Patreon, covering all things political economy ahead of the US election on 5th November. You can find our recent episode with Adam Tooze at patreon.com/Macrodose.

Got a question or comment? Reach us at macrodose@planetbproductions.co.uk.
For more about the work we do at Planet B Productions, go to planetbproductions.co.uk.

[Excerpt] Global Strategy in an Age of Crisis w/ Adam Tooze Oct 28, 2024

FULL EPISODE: patreon.com/Macrodose

Election Economics is back! Over the next few weeks, James will be joined by an array of expert thinkers to cover all things political economy in the run-up to the US Presidential Election on 5th November.

On this week’s show, James sat down with renowned economic historian Adam Tooze to discuss his recent writings on US political economy and foreign policy, how the two are shaped by longer term trends in American and global history, and where the upcoming election might leave us all.

We’ll be posting new episodes of Election Economics weekly. So if you’re enjoying the series, make sure to subscribe to stay updated. As always, you can find that over at patreon.com/Macrodose.

You can find Adam's work here: https://adamtooze.com

Got a question or comment? Reach us at macrodose@planetbproductions.co.uk

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

The Break Down: Keeping the Oil in the Soil w/ Andrés Arauz Oct 27, 2024

In a 2023 referendum, the people of Ecuador voted 59% to 41% to stop exploiting oil in the Yasuní region, one of the most biodiverse places on Earth, with more tree species in one single hectare than in all of the landmass of Canada and the US combined. It was a massive break with the global status quo, in a year when fossil fuel use around the world reached record highs and profits soared.

However, the referendum was not an overnight success. It built on years of struggle, including the failed Yasuní-ITT initiative undertaken by then-president Rafael Correa in 2007, which asked foreign governments to pay Ecuador not to exploit the oil in this region.

So how did it happen, and what lessons can the rest of the world learn from Ecuador? Here to answer these questions, and many more, is Andrés Arauz, a Senior Fellow at the Center for Economic Policy Research and, formerly, a politician in the Ecuadorian government.

In this special episode, Adrienne speaks to Andrés about Ecuador’s pursuit of climate and environmental justice, as well as the barriers facing lower income countries in the context of a highly unequal global economic system. From the International Monetary Fund to the rules of international trade, Andrés unpacks the ways that injustice is built into global capitalism, and lays out a blueprint for a radical alternative.

Andrés Arauz is an economist and Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Economic Research and Policy in DC. He has an extensive and diverse background in economic policy, research, organising, and politics, serving in several positions in the Ecuadorian government and running as Vice President in the 2023 Ecuadorian elections.

Surveillance Tech and Price Gouging Oct 23, 2024

On this week's MACRODOSE, James Meadway dives into growing concerns over the use of surveillance technology by US supermarkets and how it’s being leveraged to drive price gouging (1:14), before turning to a recent BBC report on the UK’s health crisis and it's economic fallout (5:29).

Check out our new ELECTION ECONOMICS series, available only for MACRODOSE supporters on Patreon, covering all things political economy ahead of the US election on 5th November. You can find tomorrow's episode with Adam Tooze at patreon.com/Macrodose.

Got a question or comment? Reach us at macrodose@planetbproductions.co.uk

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

The Break Down: Reaping What We Sow w/ Sonali McDermid Oct 17, 2024

We have become incredibly good at producing food. In doing so we have transformed our planet. Yet when we go to the supermarket or eat at a restaurant, the supply chains, labour and environmental impacts that went into our food are all but invisible.

Those impacts are huge. Today, humans and livestock make up 96% of all mammals. Agriculture consumes about 70% of global freshwater, and is responsible for some 80% of deforestation. And yet despite producing more than enough food to feed everyone on earth, every day a minimum of 800 million people go hungry, while a fifth of all food produced for human consumption goes to waste.

Clearly, something’s got to give. Thankfully, here to help us out of the mess is Dr. Sonali McDermid, a climate scientist and Chair of the Department of Environmental Studies at NYU. In this episode, she breaks down how climate and ecological crisis threaten our food systems — and how we can feed the world without wrecking the planet.

Find more about the Break Down at break-down.org and be sure to follow us across social media to stay up-to-date with upcoming episodes, essay launches and more.

Why MMT Won't Work Oct 16, 2024

On this week's MACRODOSE, James Meadway breaks down how climate change is wreaking havoc on Britain's harvests and threatening food security (2:04), why Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) doesn't offer the answers we need for today’s economic challenges (6:49), and the reasons behind the rising cost of butter, with climate change once again playing a key role (14:53)

Check out our new ELECTION ECONOMICS series, available only for MACRODOSE supporters on Patreon, covering all things political economy ahead of the US election on 5th November.

Got a question or comment? Reach us at macrodose@planetbproductions.co.uk

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

[Excerpt] What Was Bidenomics? w/ Andrew Elrod Oct 15, 2024

FULL EPISODE: patreon.com/Macrodose

Election Economics is back! Over the next few weeks, James will be joined by an array of expert thinkers to cover all things political economy in the run-up to the US Presidential Election on 5th November.

On this week’s show, James sat down with the writer and economic historian Andrew Elrod, whose recent piece in Phenomenal World asks the simple but vital question: What Was Bidenomics: from build back better to the national security synthesis.

You can check out the full article here, as well as the rest of the sharp analysis published by our friends over at Phenomenal World.

https://www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/what-was-bidenomics/

Got a question or comment? Reach us at macrodose@planetbproductions.co.uk

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

China’s New Stimulus Package Oct 09, 2024

On this week's Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: China’s economic slowdown and new stimulus package (1:39), and how much will it actually cost to fix Britain’s broken economy? (9:37).

We'll be releasing tickets for our upcoming live event to Patrons on Friday. Support the show and receive updates here: https://www.patreon.com/macrodose

Got a question or comment? Reach us at macrodose@planetbproductions.co.uk

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

Storm Helene: Tech’s Hidden Threat Oct 02, 2024

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down the global economic impact of Storm Helene and how it could disrupt the tech supply chain (0:36), plus a listener question about changes to the fiscal rules and their potential effect on Keir Starmer's government (7:40).

For more content and to support the show, visit: https://www.patreon.com/macrodose

Got a question or comment? Reach us at macrodose@planetbproductions.co.uk

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

The Break Down: On Utopia and Crisis w/ Kim Stanley Robinson Sep 26, 2024

Today's episode of The Break Down explores the idea and the power of utopian fiction with guest Kim Stanley Robinson, the acclaimed science fiction author whose most recent novel, The Ministry for the Future, offers a harrowing and detailed vision of how we might respond to the climate crisis.

Among other things, Adrienne and Stan discuss the politics of science and technology; the place of speculative fiction in an era dominated by nostalgia and the importance of utopia at a time when our political imaginations are so constrained.

Like The Ministry for the Future itself, this episode is dedicated to the late Fredric Jameson. You can find many of Jameson's incredible works here: https://shorturl.at/fYDNJ

Find more about the Break Down at break-down.org and be sure to follow us across social media to stay up-to-date with upcoming episodes, essay launches and more.

Private Squalor, Public Investment Sep 25, 2024

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: Rachel Reeves’ first speech as Chancellor at Labour Party Conference (0:46), the reopening of Three Mile Island to fuel a Microsoft data center (7:13), and a listener question on the concept of public luxury in an era of economic stagnation (12:08).

For more content and to support the show, visit: https://www.patreon.com/macrodose

Got a question or comment? Reach us at macrodose@planetbproductions.co.uk

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

The Limits of Green Growth Sep 18, 2024

On this week’s Macrodose James Meadway breaks down: the resurgence of US fossil fuel power and its impact on the energy transition (0:39) Feedback from last week's theory episode, on the role of technology in combating the rising costs of climate change (5:17)

For more content and to support the show, visit: https://www.patreon.com/macrodose

Got a question or a comment? Reach us at macrodose@planetbproductions.co.uk

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

The Break Down: Public Energy No.1 w/ Chris Hayes and Melanie Brusseler Sep 12, 2024

Followers of Macrodose may remember our Roundtable episode from earlier this year, in which Adrienne spoke to James and the brilliant Brett Christophers about the many and varied reasons why — despite all the hype about how cheap renewables have become — the transition to renewable energy cannot be left to the market and the profit motive. What that conversation didn't leave us with, however, was an answer to the obvious question: if not the market, then what?

Here to make the case for a simple but radical solution are Chris Hayes and Melanie Brusseler, the Chief Economist and US Programme Director, respectively, at Common Wealth, a progressive UK based think tank and our partners in this series. In today’s episode, Chris and Melanie break down how public ownership can transform our energy system, providing not only a faster and cheaper path to 100% clean energy, but also the foundations of a more just and democratic economy overall.

Macrodose: A Theory Sep 11, 2024

James returns after a Summer break! This week we're running a special episode on Macrodose theory, taking you behind the scenes to look at some of the theoretical building blocks of how we put the show together (1:23).

What is Macrodose, why are we doing it, and who are the thinkers we should be reading to understand the world we now live in today?

READING LIST

Michael Kidron 'Failing growth and rampant costs': https://www.marxists.org/archive/kidron/works/2002/xx/ghosts.htm

Jason W. Moore & Raj Patel 'The History of the World in Seven Cheap Things': https://www.versobooks.com/en-gb/products/817-a-history-of-the-world-in-seven-cheap-things?srsltid=AfmBOoovsDH9x0Ul8B5VanJBOwDVnQwTDcwd7Dcl0M9wXADgRgze-HBi

Jason W. Moore 'Capitalism and the way of life': https://www.versobooks.com/en-gb/products/74-capitalism-in-the-web-of-life?srsltid=AfmBOopvBjmgELZS0p0byISi61atpkB_6TxzT96WxfkUwf4QAiGmWHDg

Kohei Saito 'Karl Marx’s Ecosocialism': https://uk.bookshop.org/p/books/karl-marxa-tm-s-ecosocialism-capital-nature-and-the-unfinished-critique-of-political-economy-kohei-saito/2345756

Tithi Battacharyya 'Social Reproduction Theory': https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745399881/social-reproduction-theory/

Mike Davies 'Old Gods, New Enigmas': https://www.versobooks.com/en-gb/products/820-old-gods-new-enigmas?srsltid=AfmBOorvAsqCHVKnEPCn-ynLLGA40RuCFWNZOpVpbD2HZGWiuVBA3VZp

Thomas Philippon 'Additive Growth': https://www.nber.org/papers/w29950

Potsdam Institute Research: https://www.pik-potsdam.de/en/news/latest-news/38-trillion-dollars-in-damages-each-year-world-economy-already-committed-to-income-reduction-of-19-due-to-climate-change

Isabella Weber: https://academic.oup.com/icc/article/33/2/297/7603347

Enjoy! As always, a massive thank you to all of our existing Patreon subscribers - you make this show possible.

Find our socials, newsletter and more here:⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠linktr.ee/macrodosepodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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My Boss is a Robot w/ Craig Gent Sep 04, 2024

On this week's Macrodose, Craig Gent explores algorithmic management. What is at stake when we speak of the creeping introduction of algorithms? Is it just an inevitable fact of the long march toward progress? Or does it open a new frontier that we need to take seriously and strategically?

Craig Gent is a writer and researcher and the North of England Editor at Novara Media. He’s also the author of a new book Cyberboss: The Rise of Algorithmic Management and the New Struggle for Control at Work, which is out this month tinyurl.com/3sxy2nsf

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.

Find our socials, newsletter and more here:⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠linktr.ee/macrodosepodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠planetbproductions.co.uk⁠⁠

The Break Down: The End of Liberalism? w/ Chris Shaw Aug 29, 2024

As a listener of The Break Down, chances are you’re living in a political system that could be defined as “liberal”. But what does “liberalism” really describe? Is it about democracy? Free markets? The protection of individual freedom? Ask ten different people, and you’re likely to get ten different answers.

According to Chris Shaw, liberalism can boiled down to a system oriented around the “bourgeoisie” or, to put it more simply, the “middle classes”, in which technocratic governance is preferred to the messiness of politics, in which the individual takes precedence over the collective, and in which the protection of markets and private enterprise takes priority.

In this episode, Chris breaks down the ways in which liberalism has placed a stranglehold over our political imaginations; why this is so crucial when it comes to the climate crisis; and what a climate politics that takes class seriously would look like.

Chris Shaw is an Associate at the University of Sussex and former Director of Research at Climate Outreach, where he spent nearly a decade developing strategies for communicating climate change. His most recent book is called “Liberalism and the Challenge of Climate Change”.

Democratising the Corporation w/ Isabelle Ferreras Aug 28, 2024

In this episode of Macrodose, guest host Isabelle Ferreras delves into the often-overlooked contradiction at the heart of modern democratic societies: while we live in democratic states, our workplaces are far from democratic. Isabelle explores the concept of "economic bicameralism" as a solution to bridge this gap and extend democratic principles into the workplace. She argues that if we truly value democracy, we must reconsider how power is distributed in the firms where we spend the majority of our lives.

You can order Democratizing the Corporation:The Bicameral Firm and Beyond, here from Verso Books: https://www.versobooks.com/en-gb/products/3080-democratizing-the-corporation?srsltid=AfmBOorXp_sAFhpYJ2UZUWLbFyNO4sZvrMDiS-oZ2RVRFSm7jnh9EpCf

Kamala Harris' War on Prices? Aug 21, 2024

On this week’s Macrodose James Meadway breaks down: the big tech stock plunge at the start of August (2:30), a brief look at new inflation figures in the UK (12:33) and Kamala Harris’ recent rhetoric on price controls (16:07).

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.

Find our socials, newsletter and more here:⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠linktr.ee/macrodosepodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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

Automate Laundry not Poetry! w/ Helen Hester Aug 14, 2024

On this week's Macrodose, Helen Hester invites you to consider what the world will look like as work becomes increasingly automated. What will this mean for people whose job involves looking after people? What about the domestic caring work that is often unpaid and tends to fall most heavily on women and racialised minorities? How do we envision a world after work?

Helen Hester is a professor of gender, technology and cultural politics at the University of West London. She is also the author of several books including Xenofeminism tinyurl.com/3bke93ye and, most recently, After Work: A history of the home and the fight for free time - co-written with Nick Srnicek tinyurl.com/4de7krcw

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.

Find our socials, newsletter and more here:⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠linktr.ee/macrodosepodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠planetbproductions.co.uk⁠⁠

The Break Down: Politics In a World On Fire w/ Geoff Mann Aug 08, 2024

“To the question how shall we ever be able to extricate ourselves from the obvious insanity of this position, there is no answer.,” These words were written fifty years ago by philosopher Hannah Arendt, but are just as relevant to the present moment, in which our political leaders and systems continue to fail to grapple with climate and ecological crisis at the scale or urgency they demand. The degree to which these systems are failing has led many to question whether capitalism, democracy or even the nation-state are incompatible with a sustainable future, or whether they can survive accelerating climate change.

In today’s episode, Geoff Mann breaks down these political questions with Adrienne, focusing on the political ‘futures’ sketched in his acclaimed 2018 book “Climate Leviathan”, and asks what kind of politics we need to build a more just and sustainable world.

Geoff Mann is a Distinguished Professor in geography at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, Canada. He is the author, with Joel Wainwright, of the acclaimed Climate Leviathan: A Political Theory of Our Planetary Future (Verso, 2018). His work is currently focused on the role of uncertainty in policy and politics.

Labour, Riots and Migration w/ Luke de Noronha Aug 07, 2024

On this week's Macrodose, Luke de Noronha unpacks the political economy of migration and what we might expect from the new Labour government. In the context of the recent spate of far-right riots, it's more important now than ever to understand how we got to this point and to unmask the “legitimate concerns about migration” that have supposedly fuelled such racist violence.

Luke de Noronha is an Associate Professor at UCL and the author of Deporting Black Britons: Portraits of Deportation to Jamaica, and the co-author of Empires Endgame: Racism and the British State and Against Borders: The Case for Abolition.

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.

Find our socials, newsletter and more here:⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠linktr.ee/macrodosepodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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

[LIVE] The Future of Global Politics w/ Verso & The Dig Aug 05, 2024

Today we're publishing part two of our sell-out live event recorded at London's Union Chapel on July 26th.

For this discussion we teamed up with our friends over at Verso Books and the Dig Podcast for a podcast extravaganza. Eleanor Penny of the Verso Podcast and Dig host Daniel Denvir sat down with writer and academic Laleh Khalili and the freshly re-elected, newly independent, MP Jeremy Corbyn, to talk about the past present and most importantly the future of Internationalism.

We talked about Palestine, Congo and Iran, about the Labour Party, the welfare state, the climate crisis and the economics of global trade. The event opened up with a live recording of Macrodose podcast which is already up on your feed if you want to take a dive into that.

Thank you so much to everyone who came down sold out the event and brought such an incredible energy to the evening. If you didn’t get the chance to come join us in person never fear we have the full recording for you here and now - I hope you enjoy the show.

[LIVE] The Future of Global Capitalism Jul 31, 2024

This week we are very excited to bring you a recording of the live event we hosted with the Verso and Dig podcasts last Friday at the Union Chapel in Islington. The Union Chapel is the most beautiful venue and it was a joy to share the evening with so many of you.

Thank you to Dalia Gebrial who chaired the event and our panelists James Meadway, Thea Riofrancos and Asad Rehman.

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.

Find our socials, newsletter , merch and more here:⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠linktr.ee/macrodosepodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠planetbproductions.co.uk⁠⁠

The Break Down: Net Zero Militarism w/ Khem Rogaly Jul 25, 2024

If you listen to this podcast, chances are you’ve heard of the global target of “net zero emissions” by 2050. You’ve probably also heard about how off track we are from meeting it. But what if I told you we’re even more off track than you might think, because thanks to some effective lobbying, governments don’t have to count the emissions from their militaries, despite their being some of the world’s foremost consumers of fossil fuels. Like me, you might be wondering how that happened, and what special treatment for the military might mean for our ability to tackle climate and ecological crisis.

Here to answer these questions and many more is Khem Rogaly, Senior Researcher at Common Wealth, our partners in The Break Down. In today’s episode, we break down the complex, often hidden, but vitally important relationship between militaries and the climate crisis, from their long-standing role in upholding the fossil fuel economy to the enormous extent to which governments prioritise military spending over other urgent tasks — not least addressing a climate crisis that makes us all more insecure.

The Political Economy of Prisons w/ Adam Elliot Cooper Jul 24, 2024

On this week's Macrodose, Adam Elliot Cooper takes a close look at prisons. What can we learn when we begin to think about the prison through an economic lens? What is the role of mass incarceration in our economy? And what can the relationship between crime and capitalism tell us about the world we are living in today?

Adam Elliot-Cooper is a lecturer in public and social policy at Queen Mary University, London. He is also the author of Black Resistance to British Policing tinyurl.com/54e5yhsn and co-author of Empire’s Endgame: Racism and the British State tinyurl.com/2nb77awb

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.

Find our socials, newsletter and more here:⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠linktr.ee/macrodosepodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠planetbproductions.co.uk⁠⁠

Reclaiming AI for Public Good w/ Eleanor Shearer Jul 17, 2024

On this week's Macrodose, Eleanor Shearer takes us in a deep dive into AI and the enormous processing power that goes into sculpting vast quantities of data. How does the ownership and control of computing power define the very nature of our digital economy? What can we realistically do to prevent the monopolisation of compute by Big Tech? And is there a role for the government in sculpting the landscape of AI development - remaking tech for people, not for profit?

Eleanor Shearer is a senior research fellow at the London-based think tank Commonwealth. She is also a novelist by night, and you can find my debut book River Sing Me Home here: tinyurl.com/ymuthwaj

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.

Find our socials, newsletter and more here:⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠linktr.ee/macrodosepodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠planetbproductions.co.uk⁠⁠

The Break Down: The Invisible Code of Capitalism w/ Katharina Pistor Jul 11, 2024

Capitalism could not exist without the power and structure of the law — that’s the simple but radical argument made by my guest today, Katharina Pistor, law professor at Columbia University, and the author of The Code of Capital: How The Law Creates Wealth and Inequality.

On today’s episode, we break down how the law ‘encodes’ capital and invisibly structures our world, from giving corporations the rights of a person, to obscure treaties that allow fossil fuel giants to sue governments when they attempt to act on climate. Ultimately, Adrienne asks Katharina whether the law can be harnessed as a force for progress on climate and ecological crisis, and what needs to change to break the legal deadlock.

Katharina Pistor is a professor at Columbia University Law School, where she is the Director of the Center on Global Legal Transformation. She is the author of several celebrated books, most recently of The Code of Capital (Princeton University Press).

Vive La Révolution? w/ Olly Haynes Jul 10, 2024

This week on Macrodose, as James takes a summer break, Olly Haynes breaks down the weekend's French election results, in which the New Popular Front left alliance surprisingly emerged as the largest party ahead of Le Pen's RN and Macron's Ensemble.

Olly unpacks how the French left snatched a tentative victory from the jaws of defeat, potential outcomes of the gridlock, and a mixture of hope and warning signs for the future of France.

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.

Find our socials, newsletter and more here:⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠linktr.ee/macrodosepodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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 ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠planetbproductions.co.uk⁠

Election Debrief: What Happens Next? w/ Ayeisha Thomas-Smith & Phil Burton-Cartledge Jul 05, 2024

Today's episode of Election Economics is a post-election debrief - hosted by Ayeisha Thomas-Smith who is joined by Phil Burton-Cartledge. They touched on their immediate reactions and analysis of the results, if the Tory losses were inevitable, what next for a Labour government, and the openings & contradictions of the new political UK landscape.

Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is host of the New Economics Podcast for the New Economics Foundation and Executive Director at NEON, the New Economy Organisers Network

Phil is the author of The Party's Over: The Rise and Fall of the Conservatives from Thatcher to Sunak from Verso Books and is a senior lecturer in Sociology at Derby University. Phil has written extensively about the decline of the Tory party for Tribune and Jacobin, as well as on his blog, All That Is Solid.

TICKETS to our MACRODOSE LIVE event on July 26th: ⁠https://unionchapel.org.uk/venue/whats-on/versothe-dig-live-podcast-with-jeremy-corbyn-laleh-khalili⁠

A massive thank you to all of our existing Patreon subscribers. You can support the show at: ⁠⁠patreon.com/Macrodose

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

UK Election Special w/ Politics Theory Other Jul 01, 2024

Today's episode of Election Economics is a crossover show with Politics Theory Other, where PTO host Alex Doherty invited James Meadway and Richard Seymour to discuss their outlooks on the post-election political horizon in the UK.

They discussed potential new right-wing formations between Reform and the Conservatives, the echoes of populism and anti-populism in this campaign, the left-wing purges of the Labour party and the nuances of the current overlapping ecological and social crises.

Politics Theory Other is a podcast with a focus on radical politics, critical theory and history - you can listen wherever you get your podcasts, and support their work over at their Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/poltheoryother

Alex Doherty is writer and host of Politics Theory Other.

Richard Seymour is a writer and broadcaster, and founding editor of Salvage magazine. His most recent work is 2022's The Disenchanted Earth: Reflections on Ecosocialism and Barbarism.

TICKETS to our MACRODOSE LIVE event on July 26th: ⁠https://unionchapel.org.uk/venue/whats-on/versothe-dig-live-podcast-with-jeremy-corbyn-laleh-khalili⁠

A massive thank you to all of our existing Patreon subscribers. You can support the show at: ⁠patreon.com/Macrodose

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

Labour's Corporate Lobbying Links w/ Polly Smythe Jun 28, 2024

Today on Macrodose Election Economics, James is joined by Polly Smythe, to unpack her research on the links between oil, gas and arms companies and 31 Labour MP candidates. They also touch on the upcoming organizing and union ballots with Amazon workers in the UK.

Polly is a writer and journalist, and currently the labour movement correspondent for Novara Media.

You can read Polly's full pieces for Novara here: https://novaramedia.com/2024/06/13/meet-the-labour-candidates-lobbying-for-oil-gas-and-arms-companies/

https://novaramedia.com/2024/06/21/amazon-says-gmb-leaflets-could-be-a-hazard-amid-union-busting-allegations/

TICKETS to our MACRODOSE LIVE event on July 26th: ⁠https://unionchapel.org.uk/venue/whats-on/versothe-dig-live-podcast-with-jeremy-corbyn-laleh-khalili⁠

A massive thank you to all of our existing Patreon subscribers. You can support the show at: ⁠patreon.com/Macrodose

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

The Break Down: What Economics Gets Wrong About Climate Change w/ Ha-Joon Chang Jun 27, 2024

What would you say a human life is worth? According to the US government, for an American it’s about $7.2 million, compared with the global average of approximately $1.3 million. If you’re Swiss though, you’re worth a pretty penny at $9.4 million.

While these estimates might sound absurd, they're really important to understand: these kinds of figures and the models that produce them are a core part of how mainstream economics understands and shapes policy, and they have had a significant role in shaping our approach to the climate crisis. Indeed, as Adrienne and celebrated economist Ha-Joon Chang break down in today's episode, mainstream economics gets a lot wrong, and has proven strikingly ill-equipped for addressing a challenge like climate and ecological crisis, not least through its tendency to reduce complex decisions to abstracted cost-benefit analyses.

Ha-Joon Chang is an economist and Professor at SOAS University of London. Ha-Joon has been an advisor to several international organisations, and is the author of many books, most recently ‘Edible Economics’.

Post-Pandemic Health Crisis Jun 26, 2024

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down a post-pandemic rise in diseases across the world, and how this overlaps with our ideas of health, work and care in the UK (1:10), before looking at how the political uncertainty in pre-election France has caused the European Central Bank to withdraw it's borrowing support, and what this means for future power balances in the Eurozone (08:23).

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.

Find our socials, newsletter and more here:⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠linktr.ee/macrodosepodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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 ⁠⁠⁠⁠planetbproductions.co.uk⁠

French Elections: Far Right On The Brink Of Power w/ Olly Haynes Jun 25, 2024

Today on Macrodose Election Economics, James is joined by Olly Haynes to talk through the upcoming French elections, the far-right’s resurgence, and how the French left is mobilising to counter it.

Olly is a freelance writer and journalist, and host of the FLEP24 podcast - a regular podcast covering the French 2024 elections in further detail: x.com/flep24pod

TICKETS to our MACRODOSE LIVE event on July 26th: ⁠https://unionchapel.org.uk/venue/whats-on/versothe-dig-live-podcast-with-jeremy-corbyn-laleh-khalili⁠

A massive thank you to all of our existing Patreon subscribers. You can support the show at: patreon.com/Macrodose
We want to hear from you! Leave a comment or get in touch at: ⁠⁠⁠macrodose@planetbproductions.co.uk

We Are The Economy w/ Maeve Cohen Jun 21, 2024

Today on Macrodose Election Economics, James is joined by Maeve Cohen to discuss the We Are The Economy coalition project, and different ways to frame the relationships between austerity, work and social wellbeing.

Maeve is project lead at The Social Guarantee, and convenor at We Are The Economy - a coalition of organisations who are coming together to call for more investment in public services: https://www.wearetheeconomy.co.uk/

TICKETS to our MACRODOSE LIVE event on July 26th: https://unionchapel.org.uk/venue/whats-on/versothe-dig-live-podcast-with-jeremy-corbyn-laleh-khalili

A massive thank you to all of our existing Patreon subscribers. You can support the show at: patreon.com/Macrodose

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

Are Greens the Party of the Left? w/ Zack Polanski Jun 20, 2024

Today on Macrodose Election Economics, James is joined by Zack Polanski to talk through the Green Party's current campaign, and their ideas for economic, ecological and social futures.

Zack has been the deputy leader of the Green Party since September 2022. He is a Londonwide member of the London Assembly, where he is chair of the Environment Committee, and the national spokesperson for the Green Party for Democracy & Citizen Engagement.

TICKETS to our MACRODOSE LIVE event on July 26th: https://unionchapel.org.uk/venue/whats-on/versothe-dig-live-podcast-with-jeremy-corbyn-laleh-khalili

A massive thank you to all of our existing Patreon subscribers. You can support the show at: patreon.com/Macrodose
We want to hear from you! Leave a comment or get in touch at ⁠⁠macrodose@planetbproductions.co.uk ⁠⁠

Reform UK's Plan for Opposition Jun 19, 2024

On this week’s Macrodose James Meadway breaks down what Reform UK’s “contract” for voters tells us about the future battlegrounds for economic policy (1:46), a preview of the upcoming French election (13:25) and a quick recommendation - a new paper from economist Isabella Weber, proposing responses to an age of “overlapping crises” (20:35).

You can find the report here: https://t.co/zaYDO6fFvS

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.

Find our socials, newsletter and more here:⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠linktr.ee/macrodosepodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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 ⁠⁠⁠⁠planetbproductions.co.uk⁠

New Left Formations w/ James Schneider Jun 17, 2024

Today on Macrodose Election Economics, James is joined by James Schneider to discuss the contradictions of a Labour government, the future of the left and organising in the UK.
James Schneider is former Head Of Strategic Communications to Jeremy Corbyn, and author of Our Bloc: How We Win (2022, Verso). He is currently Communications Director for Progressive International, an international organisation of unions, peasant movements and activists.
TICKETS to our MACRODOSE LIVE event on July 26th: https://unionchapel.org.uk/venue/whats-on/versothe-dig-live-podcast-with-jeremy-corbyn-laleh-khalili
A massive thank you to all of our existing Patreon subscribers. You can support the show at: patreon.com/Macrodose
We want to hear from you! Leave a comment or get in touch at ⁠⁠macrodose@planetbproductions.co.uk

The Break Down: In Pursuit of Climate Justice w/ Fredi Otto Jun 13, 2024

“The stakes could not be higher.” These are the recent words not of climate activists, but of a coalition representing major oil and gas companies in a letter to the US Supreme Court. The context? They’re asking the Court to block dozens of lawsuits that seek to hold these firms to account for their role in driving the climate crisis, including by awarding damages for the costs of extreme weather events.

But how would this actually work? While it’s becoming more frequent, extreme weather has always been a part of our planet’s natural variation - so how can we know which events are part of a new normal as a result of climate change - and which are just ‘normal’?

For a long time, it was hard to give a clear answer. But thanks to the work of today’s guest, Dr. Fredi Otto, that’s all beginning to change. In this episode, Adrienne and Fredi Otto break down "attribution science" - a relatively new field that seeks to examine the role of climate change in extreme weather events. Through their work, we’re gaining a much clearer picture not only of our changing planet, but also of how climate change is inescapably tied up with inequality and injustice.

Dr. Otto is Senior Lecturer in Climate Science at the Grantham Institute at Imperial College London and co-founder of World Weather Attribution.

Find the entire series of The Break Down, alongside fantastic original essays and other resources, over at ⁠www.break-down.org⁠

A massive thank you to all of our existing Patreon subscribers. You can support the show at: patreon.com/Macrodose

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

Is the European Central Bank Helping Drive the Far Right? Jun 12, 2024

On this week’s Macrodose James Meadway breaks down how the European Central Bank is helping drive a far right vote across the EU (1:57) the rising price of oranges after crop failures in Florida and Brazil (6:21) and a listener question - why are Reform UK proposing to reduce interest paid on Quantitative Easing reserves, and is that actually a pretty good idea (10:19)?

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.

Find our socials, newsletter and more here:⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠linktr.ee/macrodosepodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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 ⁠⁠⁠⁠planetbproductions.co.uk⁠

Sunak vs Starmer w/ Aditya Chakrabortty Jun 11, 2024

Today on Macrodose: Election Economics, James is joined by Aditya Chakrabortty to discuss Sunak, Starmer and the long shadow of Nigel Farage in UK politics.

Aditya is senior economics commentator at the Guardian, where he writes a regular column. He has also been a finalist for an Orwell Prize for journalism in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017, and in 2023 won the British Press Award for Best Broadsheet Columnist of the year.

TICKETS to our MACRODOSE LIVE event on July 26th: https://unionchapel.org.uk/venue/whats-on/versothe-dig-live-podcast-with-jeremy-corbyn-laleh-khalili

A massive thank you to all of our existing Patreon subscribers. You can support the show at: patreon.com/Macrodose

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

The Far-Right Sweeps Europe w/ Yanis Varoufakis Jun 10, 2024

Welcome to Election Economics, a Macrodose bonus series that we’re running in the lead up to the UK general election on July 4th.

Over the coming weeks James Meadway will be joined by a selection of economists, politicians and commentators to unpack what the campaigns’ policies and pledges mean for people in Britain.

Today James Meadway is joined by Yanis Varoufakis - who will unpack and reflect on the weekend’s European Election results - which saw leftwing parties suffer defeat at the hands of the right across Europe. Yanis is an economist, politician, formerly Greece’s finance minister, and author of several books, including most recently Technofuedalism: What Killed Capitalism - which he has discussed previously here on Macrodose: https://www.patreon.com/posts/era-of-cloud-w-97039226

TICKETS to our MACRODOSE LIVE event on July 26th: https://unionchapel.org.uk/venue/whats-on/versothe-dig-live-podcast-with-jeremy-corbyn-laleh-khalili

A massive thank you to all of our existing Patreon subscribers. You can support the show at: patreon.com/Macrodose
We want to hear from you! Leave a comment or get in touch at ⁠⁠macrodose@planetbproductions.co.uk

The Break Down (Extra): Oil, Palestine and the Climate Crisis w/ Adam Hanieh Jun 10, 2024

At the time of this recording, over 35,000 Palestinians had been killed, 80,000 wounded and 1.7 million internally displaced as a result of Israel's assault on Gaza. Alongside this profound loss has been the deliberate destruction of infrastructure and the 'ecocide' of Gaza's environment, from its cropland to its water and sewage systems.

In this extra episode of The Break Down, Adam Hanieh, a Professor of Political Economy and Global Development at the Institute of Arab and Islamic Studies, University of Exeter, and a founding member of the Centre for Palestine Studies at SOAS, University of London, explains the threads linking the global oil economy; more than a century of Western imperialism; contemporary American interests in the Middle East; and the response of governments in the US, UK and much of Europe to the ongoing genocide. Ultimately, he explains why these overlapping histories make mutual solidarities between the climate movement and movement for a free Palestine so essential.

Find the entire series of The Break Down, alongside fantastic original essays and other resources, over at ⁠www.break-down.org⁠

A massive thank you to all of our existing Patreon subscribers. You can support the show at: patreon.com/Macrodose

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

The Turbulent Landscape of Scottish Politics w/ Laurie Macfarlane Jun 07, 2024

Welcome to Election Economics, a Macrodose bonus series that we’re running in the lead up to the UK general election on July 4th.

Over the coming weeks James Meadway will be joined by a selection of economists, politicians and commentators to unpack what the campaigns’ policies and pledges mean for people in Britain.

Today we’re joined by Laurie Macfarlane. Laurie is an economist, a fellow at the Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, University College London, and the co-author of Rethinking the Economics of Land and Housing, published in 2017.

Most recently, Laurie is the co-founder and co-director of Future Economy Scotland, a non-partisan think tank that aims to create a new economy for Scotland - one that is democratic, sustainable and just.

Find FES here: https://www.futureeconomy.scot

TICKETS to our MACRODOSE LIVE event on July 26th: https://unionchapel.org.uk/venue/whats-on/versothe-dig-live-podcast-with-jeremy-corbyn-laleh-khalili

A massive thank you to all of our existing Patreon subscribers. You can support the show at: patreon.com/Macrodose

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

The Break Down: A World Made of Oil w/ Adam Hanieh Jun 06, 2024

Over the coming weeks Macrodose will be co-publishing The Break Down - a new series created by our friends over at Common Wealth.

This series is dedicated to examining the role of capitalism in the climate and ecological crisis, and will feature long-form interviews with former Roundtable guest Adrienne Buller.

Today Adrienne is joined by Adam Hanieh, Professor of Political Economy and Global Development at the University of Exeter. His latest book, Crude Capitalism: Oil, Corporate Power, and the Making of the World Market (Verso) is out September 2024.

Oil is fundamental to our understanding of the climate crisis. But despite its starring role, the dominance of oil in the global energy system is a relatively recent phenomenon, with the industry only really taking off after the Second World War. So how, in just a few decades, did oil become so integral to American power and to our understanding of global capitalism?

Adrienne and Adam break down the history and geopolitics of oil and imperialism, and explore how the petrochemicals and plastics that now permeate our lives, from the foods we eat to the clothes we wear and everything in between, are making it increasingly difficult to challenge the power of the fossil fuel industry.

The Break Down will also be releasing some fantastic original essays and other resources that dig into the complex questions around how we got into this crisis, what the future might look like, and how we can build the power to change it.

Find all that and much much more over at www.break-down.org

A massive thank you to all of our existing Patreon subscribers. You can support the show at: patreon.com/Macrodose

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

Mexico’s New President Jun 05, 2024

On this week’s Macrodose James Meadway takes a look at Mexico’s new left wing president (2:05), and a listener question - what is national debt, do we need to pay it off, and will it ever impact you and me (14:30)?

Kate Aronoff’s article: tinyurl.com/mhre9x98

A massive thank you to all of our existing Patreon subscribers, your support keeps the show running and we are very grateful.

Find our socials, newsletter and more here:⁠⁠⁠⁠ linktr.ee/macrodosepodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠

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 ⁠⁠⁠planetbproductions.co.uk⁠

NHS in Crisis w/ Dr Julia Grace Patterson Jun 03, 2024

Welcome to Election Economics, a Macrodose bonus series that we’re running in the lead up to the UK general election on July 4th.

Over the coming weeks James Meadway will be joined by a selection of economists, politicians and commentators to unpack what the campaigns’ policies and pledges mean for people in Britain.

Today we’re delighted to be joined by Dr Julia Grace Patterson. Dr Patterson is the founder and chief executive of Every Doctor UK, a doctor-led campaigning organisation fighting to save the NHS. She is also a columnist at the Canary, and the author of Critical: Why the NHS is being Betrayed and how We can Fight for it.

TICKETS to our LIVE event on July 26th: https://unionchapel.org.uk/venue/whats-on/versothe-dig-live-podcast-with-jeremy-corbyn-laleh-khalili

A massive thank you to all of our existing Patreon subscribers. You can support the show at: patreon.com/Macrodose

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

Election Economics w/ Grace Blakeley May 31, 2024

Welcome to Election Economics, a Macrodose bonus series that we’re running in the lead up to the UK general election on July 4th.

Over the coming weeks James Meadway will be joined by a selection of economists, politicians and commentators to unpack what the campaigns’ policies and pledges mean for people in Britain.

Today we're joined by economist and author Grace Blakeley, whose new book Vulture Capitalism explores the mystifying logic that underpin our current economic system.

TICKETS to our live event on July 26th: https://unionchapel.org.uk/venue/whats-on/versothe-dig-live-podcast-with-jeremy-corbyn-laleh-khalili

A massive thank you to all of our existing Patreon subscribers. You can support the show at: patreon.com/Macrodose

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

Election Circus May 29, 2024

On this week’s Macrodose James Meadway takes a close look at a seemingly inevitable win for Labour in the upcoming UK general election - what will this actually mean over the next 5 years (1:34)?

Get your ticket for the New Media for a New Economy Conference here: tinyurl.com/y8m7kw88

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.

Find our socials, newsletter and more here:⁠⁠⁠⁠ linktr.ee/macrodosepodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠

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 ⁠⁠⁠planetbproductions.co.uk⁠

EXTRA: The Poverty of Growth w/ Olivier De Schutter May 24, 2024

On today’s episode James Meadway is joined by Olivier De Schutter to discuss his new book The Poverty of Growth - a concise and well evidenced argument against the idea that economic growth is the route out of poverty.

Olivier was UN Special Rapporteur on The Right to Food, a member of the UN Comity on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and is an internationally recognised expert on food systems, poverty and international law.

You can grab a copy of his book here: tinyurl.com/y4xa2ymp

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.

Find our socials, newsletter and more here:⁠⁠⁠⁠ linktr.ee/macrodosepodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠

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 ⁠⁠⁠planetbproductions.co.uk⁠

Macrodose x Verso x The Dig LIVE Podcast May 22, 2024

On July 26th Macrodose is partnering with Verso Books and the Dig podcast for a special live event over at the Union Chapel in Islington, London.

Host Dalia Gebrial will be joined by political scientist Thea Riofrancos, climate justice activist Asad Rehman and anthropologist Jason Hickel, to talk about all things economic, from the era of neoliberalism to green colonialism, and the decline of the unipolar world.

And we'll be followed by a live cross-over recording of the Dig and Verso podcasts, where hosts Eleanor Penny and Daniel Denvir will be in conversation with academic and author Laleh Khalili and MP Jeremy Corbyn.

https://unionchapel.org.uk/venue/whats-on/versothe-dig-live-podcast-with-jeremy-corbyn-laleh-khalili

Rishi’s Economic Miracle? May 22, 2024

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: today’s UK inflation figures - what can we expect and do the numbers tell the full story (1:32) and a listener question - why has Zimbabwe decided to back its currency using gold (10:18)?

Get your ticket for the New Media for a New Economy Conference here: tinyurl.com/y8m7kw88

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.

Find our socials, newsletter and more here:⁠⁠⁠⁠ linktr.ee/macrodosepodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠

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 ⁠⁠⁠planetbproductions.co.uk⁠

Amazon vs. Workers w/ Polly Smythe May 15, 2024

On this week’s Macrodose, Polly Smythe takes a look at an upcoming vote at an Amazon Warehouse on whether to unionise. If the workers vote yes, then for the first time in the UK Amazon will be forced to recognise a trade union.

What are workers at the Coventry site up against? Why is Amazon such a crucial battleground for the future of the labour movement? And what lessons can we learn from this latest organising attempt?

Polly Smythe is an industrial correspondent at Novara Media, where I spend my time covering everything to do with trade unions, work, and strikes.

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.

Find our socials, newsletter and more here:⁠⁠⁠⁠ linktr.ee/macrodosepodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠

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 ⁠⁠⁠planetbproductions.co.uk⁠

Labour Ditches New Deal for Workers May 08, 2024

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: another Labour Party U-Turn as Keir Starmer guts the “New Deal for Workers” (1:47), and a proposed global mining merger - how is the climate crisis reshaping the largest institutions of capitalism (10:47)?

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.

Find our socials, newsletter and more here:⁠⁠⁠⁠ linktr.ee/macrodosepodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠

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 ⁠⁠⁠planetbproductions.co.uk⁠

How Climate Change is Killing Workers May 01, 2024

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: a warning from the world bank that inflation could start rising again this year (0:46), a new report showing that climate change is creating serious health hazards for 70% of the world's workers (6:21) and as climate-flation hits the front pages of 2 major papers this week - has public awareness hit a tipping point (12:33)?

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.

Find our socials, newsletter and more here:⁠⁠⁠⁠ linktr.ee/macrodosepodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠

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 ⁠⁠⁠planetbproductions.co.uk⁠

ROUNDTABLE: A History of the World in 7 Cheap Things (Revisited) Apr 26, 2024

** Check out the video version of this podcast on our YouTube channel - youtu.be/O5xSeNmF-v0 **

On today’s episode James Meadway is joined by Raj Patel and Jason W Moore for a revisit of their book A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things: a guide to capitalism, nature and the future of the planet. Raj Patel is an award-winning author, film-maker and academic. He is a Research Professor in the Lyndon B Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, Austin. Jason W. Moore is an environmental historian and historical geographer at Binghamton University, where he is professor of sociology and leads the World-Ecology Research Collective. Grab you copy of A History of the World in Seven Cheap Things here www.versobooks.com/en-gb/products/817-a-history-of-the-world-in-seven-cheap-things 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. Find our socials, newsletter and more here:⁠⁠⁠⁠ linktr.ee/macrodosepodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠ 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 ⁠⁠⁠planetbproductions.co.uk⁠

An Uninsurable World Apr 24, 2024

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down new research that shows the world will lose one fifth of its income to climate change over the next 25 years (1:45), the skyrocketing price of insurance in the UK (7:21) and some allegedly good news - the London stock exchange hits a record high (14:56).

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A Short History of Burnout w/ Hannah Proctor Apr 17, 2024

This week on Macrodose Hannah Proctor leads us on an exploration of burnout. What are the origins of the term, and how can political movements and people on the frontline endure in the face of defeat.

Hannah Proctor is a Wellcome Trust Research Fellow at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, interested in histories and theories of radical psychiatry. She is a member of the editorial collective behind Radical Philosophy, and has been published in Jacobin, Tribune, The New Inquiry and elsewhere. Find her new book “Burnout: The Emotional Experience of Political Defeat” here: tinyurl.com/ye33zecw

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The Future of Nuclear Power Apr 10, 2024

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down a new report over in the US which lays out the climate risks to nuclear power (0:44), a look at how the scarcity of data will squash the dreams of machine learning (9:55) and a new campaign for Basic Income for Farmers (15:50).

Basic income for farmers report: tinyurl.com/5n6hecpe

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AI Colonialism Apr 03, 2024

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down Britain's ever failing water system and how to fix it (0:53), how AI is feeding colonial forms of exploitation (7:41) and climateflation - how new research shows prices are only likely to increase (14:25).

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ROUNDTABLE: The Economics of The Green Transition Apr 02, 2024

On today’s episode James Meadway is joined by Brett Christophers and Adrienne Buller to discuss the economics of the green energy transition, asking how we could finance it and what’s stopping us? They talked “market failures”, “maladaptation” and the future of economics: growth and degrowth.

Brett Christophers is professor of human geography at Uppsala University’s Institute for Housing and Urban Research. Grab his latest book ‘The Price is Wrong: Why capitalism won’t save the planet’ here: tinyurl.com/4p6tpuh3

Adrienne Buller is Director of Research and London-based Think Tank Common Wealth. Find her book 'The Value of a whale: on the illusions of green capitalism' here: tinyurl.com/3bdp6haa 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. Find our socials, newsletter and more here:⁠⁠⁠⁠ linktr.ee/macrodosepodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠ 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 ⁠⁠⁠planetbproductions.co.uk⁠

Rachel Reeves and the Future of British Economics Mar 27, 2024

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ Mais Lecture and what it tells us about a future Labour government (0:40) and a listener question - how do we stop the wealthy holding governments hostage by threatening to take their money out of the country (9:34)?

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.

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How Oil Works Mar 20, 2024

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down Britain’s Risotto Crisis (1:28), and a listener question - how does the global market for fossil fuels actually work (7:35)?

Grab your free ticket the upcoming book launch of 'The Exhausted of the Earth' by Ajay Chaudhary in conversation with Dalia Gebrial tinyurl.com/9r8chfu9

Find the full MACRODOSE READING LIST here: uk.bookshop.org/shop/macrodosepod - for each book you buy from the list Macrodose gets 10% of what you pay, so for every book you buy, you’ll be supporting our independent, climate-focused economic journalism.

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Should the Bank of England be Independent? Mar 13, 2024

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down talk of an economic bounce-back in the United States and what’s driving it (0:47), how interest rates in the Global North helping to fuel a “silent debt crisis” in the Global South (6:41), and a listener question - should the Bank of England really be independent of government (15:07)?

Find the full MACRODOSE READING LIST here: uk.bookshop.org/shop/macrodosepod - for each book you buy from the list Macrodose gets 10% of what you pay, so for every book you buy, you’ll be supporting our independent, climate-focused economic journalism.

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Budget Reaction Special w/ Stella Tsantekidou Mar 06, 2024

On this week’s Macrodose, BUDGET SPECIAL! James Meadway is joined by Stella Tsantekidou to give an immediate reaction to today's budget announcement by UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.

Stella Tsantekidou is a former Labour Party advisor and head of policy for the criminal justice charity, Catch-22.

Find the full MACRODOSE READING LIST here: uk.bookshop.org/shop/macrodosepod - for each book you buy from the list Macrodose gets 10% of what you pay, so for every book you buy, you’ll be supporting our independent, climate-focused economic journalism.

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Why Your Easter Egg is Smaller This Year Feb 28, 2024

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down chocflation - why Easter Egg prices are so high (2:07), how the world is becoming uninsurable as climate change meets capitalism (8.40) and a listener question - how do the Office for Budget Responsibility make their economic forecasts (15:02)?

Find the full MACRODOSE READING LIST here: uk.bookshop.org/shop/macrodosepod - for each book you buy from the list Macrodose gets 10% of what you pay, so for every book you buy, you’ll be supporting our independent, climate-focused economic journalism.

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The Truth about Britain’s Recession Feb 21, 2024

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down the real meaning of the news that the UK has entered a recession (0:51), the geopolitical consequences of the vast amount of energy required to run the digital economy (8:36) and the apparent return of inflation (13:31).

You can listen to our interview with Richard Jones, Why you should care about semiconductors, here tinyurl.com/yz44s2sd or by searching on your podcast app

Find the full MACRODOSE READING LIST here: uk.bookshop.org/shop/macrodosepod - for each book you buy from the list Macrodose gets 10% of what you pay, so for every book you buy, you’ll be supporting our independent, climate-focused economic journalism.

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ROUNDTABLE: Anarcho-Capitalism and the Future of Money Feb 20, 2024

Today's episode is hosted by author and labour journalist Sarah Jaffe who is joined by two thinkers whose work on money, neoliberal capitalism, the state and its discontents, cryptocurrency, conspiracy theories, and so much more have overlapping and fascinating insights for how we see the political world today.
Quinn Slobodian's most recent book is Crack-Up Capitalism: Market Radicals and the Dream of a World without Democracy published by Metropolitan Books in the US, Penguin in the UK and elsewhere. He is professor of international history at the Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies at Boston University, contributing writer to New Statesman, co-editor of Contemporary European History and co-director of the History and Political Economy Project.
Brett Scott is a journalist, campaigner, monetary anthropologist and former financial broker. He’s the author of Cloudmoney: Cash, Cards, Crypto and the War for our Wallets (Penguin: 2022), and The Heretic's Guide to Global Finance (Pluto Press: 2013). He writes the Altered States of Monetary Consciousness newsletter at brettscott.substack.com.

Me: sarahljaffe.com Work Won't Love You Back

Brett Scott: Cloudmoney: Cash, Cards, Crypto and the War for our Wallets
Going cashless The War on Cash (review of Cloudmoney)
The Heretic's Guide to Global Finance

Quinn Slobodian: Crack-Up Capitalism: Market Radicals and the Dream of a World without Democracy
Book excerpt: Inside Silicon Valley’s dream of capitalism untethered from democracy Monster of the Mainstream (on Javier Milei)

Coronapolitics from the Reichstag to the Capitol (With William Callison)

The Wonderful Death of a State Everything You Thought About Free Trade Is Wrong Globalists: The End of Empire and the Birth of Neoliberalism
Things We Mentioned:

Argentina's General Strike

Melinda Cooper, Family Values: Between Neoliberalism and the New Social Conservatism The Anarchists series

Find the full MACRODOSE READING LIST here: uk.bookshop.org/shop/macrodosepod - for each book you buy from the list Macrodose gets 10% of what you pay, so for every book you buy, you’ll be supporting our independent, climate-focused economic journalism. Sign up to our newsletter The Fix: mailchi.mp/45d9275470d6/macrodose 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. SOCIALS:⁠⁠⁠⁠ linktr.ee/macrodosepodcast⁠⁠⁠⁠ 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 ⁠⁠⁠planetbproductions.co.uk⁠

A Devastating Labour U-turn Feb 14, 2024

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down the Labour Party abandoning their £28bn green investment pledge (2:14), the farmers' protests across Europe (10:33) and a listener question - why are supermarkets so keen on us using their loyalty cards (17:42)?

Check out EnBloc at enbloc.uk

Find the full MACRODOSE READING LIST here: uk.bookshop.org/shop/macrodosepod - for each book you buy from the list Macrodose gets 10% of what you pay, so for every book you buy, you’ll be supporting our independent, climate-focused economic journalism.

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Tides of Trade Feb 07, 2024

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down the economic consequences of the Houthi attacks in the Red Sea to global trade (1:46) and a recent report from the New York Times suggesting the Biden administration in the US is looking to take action on profiteering by US food suppliers (10:20).

Find the full MACRODOSE READING LIST here: uk.bookshop.org/shop/macrodosepod - for each book you buy from the list Macrodose gets 10% of what you pay, so for every book you buy, you’ll be supporting our independent, climate-focused economic journalism.

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Against Landlords w/ Nick Bano Jan 31, 2024

On this week’s Macrodose Nick Bano gives an alternative perspective on the housing crisis. Throwing out the usual talk of supply, demand, and financialisation, and instead focusing on the underlying dynamic that is actually responsible for producing property values - the relationship between landlords and tenants.

Nick is a writer and a Barrister who specialises in representing homeless people, residential occupiers, and destitute and migrant households. His debut book Against Landlords: How to solve the housing crisis is set to be published at the end of March 2024. Pre-order your copy here tinyurl.com/yau2us7v

Find the full MACRODOSE READING LIST here: uk.bookshop.org/shop/macrodosepod - for each book you buy from the list Macrodose gets 10% of what you pay, so for every book you buy, you’ll be supporting our independent, climate-focused economic journalism.

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ROUNDTABLE: The Political Economy of Palestine Jan 29, 2024

Welcome to this very first episode of Macrodose Roundtable, the show where we go in depth with some of the brightest minds from the world of economics and ecology. Macrodose roundtables are an opportunity to expand some of the ideas introduced in our main show, in a longer form, multi-guest format.

Today's episode is hosted by author and labour journalist Sarah Jaffe and looks at the political economy of Palestine. We situate Palestine in the wider context of the global economy, and hear what daily life looks like for Palestinian people: their work, their access or lack thereof to goods and services, and places to live or to be safe. We also speak about the economic pressures that people around the world have used to try to bring justice for the Palestinian people.

Kareem Rabie is Associate Professor of Anthropology at The University of Illinois, Chicago. His work focuses on privatisation, urban development, and the state-building project in the West Bank and he is the author of Palestine is Throwing a Party and the Whole World is Invited, published by Duke University Press in 2021.

Laleh Khalili is a professor of Gulf Studies at the University of Exeter. She is the author of Sinews of War and Trade: Shipping and Capitalism in the Arabian Peninsula (Verso 2020) and her new little book, the Corporeal Life of Seafaring (Mack Books 2024) is being released in February.

Sarah: sarahljaffe.com

Work Won't Love You Back

Belabored: General Strike in Palestine with Riya Al-Sanah

Kareem: Palestine Is Throwing a Party and the Whole World Is Invited: Capital and State Building in the West Bank

Combined and Uneven Catastrophe: an interview with Kareem Rabie at the Baffler

On Israel's Settler-Democratic Reform, Kareem Rabie and Nicola Perugini

Laleh: Sinews of War and Trade: Shipping and Capitalism in the Arabian Peninsula

The Corporeal Life of Seafaring

Time in the Shadows: Confinement in Counterinsurgencies

“To Reach Across Boundaries": Laleh Khalili Talks Solidarity and Global Trade, at Public Books

Books/Articles We Mentioned:

Human Shields: A History of People in the Line of Fire by Neve Gordon and Nicola Perugini

The Human Right to Dominate by Nicola Perugini and Neve Gordon

The Gaza Strip: The Political Economy of De-development by Sara Roy

Sara Roy at the Journal for Palestine Studies

The Long War on Gaza, by Sara Roy at the New York Review of Books

The Palestine Laboratory: How Israel Exports the Technology of Occupation Around the World by Antony Loewenstein

Elastic Empire: Refashioning War through Aid in Palestine by Lisa Bhungalia

The Era of Cloud Capital w/ Yanis Varoufakis Jan 24, 2024

On this week’s Macrodose Yanis Varoufakis provides the compelling argument that capitalism has been killed and replaced by a new economic system - Technofeudalism.

Yanis is an economist, politician, formerly Greece’s finance minister and author of several books, including most recently Technofuedalism: What Killed Capitalism. You can grab a copy via our reading list linked below.

Find the full MACRODOSE READING LIST here: uk.bookshop.org/shop/macrodosepod - for each book you buy from the list Macrodose gets 10% of what you pay, so for every book you buy, you’ll be supporting our independent, climate-focused economic journalism.

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Pharmanomics w/ Nick Dearden Jan 17, 2024

On this week’s Macrodose Nick Dearden takes us on a deep dive into the the history of the pharmaceutical industry - asking how it became the leviathan it is today, why it has been able to assert its unchecked geopolitical influence across the world, and whether there is anything that can be done to loosen its grip on global health.

Nick is the director of Global Justice Now, and a campaigner on issues of Global Justice for over two decades. He is also author of “Pharmanomics: How Big Pharma Destroys Global Health”, published by Verso Books in October last year. Grab your copy here: tinyurl.com/5a8am2zx

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Find the full MACRODOSE READING LIST here: uk.bookshop.org/shop/macrodosepod - for each book you buy from the list Macrodose gets 10% of what you pay, so for every book you buy, you’ll be supporting our independent, climate-focused economic journalism.

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.

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The Making of Uber w/ Dalia Gebrial Jan 10, 2024

On this week’s Macrodose Dalia Gebrial takes us on a deep dive into the gig economy (1:54). What are the real costs of the platform promise? Who is losing out, why and how? And what explains its meteoric rise?

Dalia Gebrial is lecturer at King's College London and co-host of Novara Live at Novara Media. Her research focuses on race, work and technology.

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Find the full MACRODOSE READING LIST here: uk.bookshop.org/shop/macrodosepod - for each book you buy from the list Macrodose gets 10% of what you pay, so for every book you buy, you’ll be supporting our independent, climate-focused economic journalism.

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Debt, Tomatoes and the Carbon Cost of Crypto Jan 03, 2024

On this week’s Macrodose we bring you our second and final holiday special before we return to the regular show next week. We’ve picked 3 more of our favourite stories from the last year. First, should we worry about government debt (0:44)? Second, is Brexit to blame for food shortages (7:37)? And finally a look at the real environmental cost of cryptocurrencies (14:28).

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Find the full MACRODOSE READING LIST here: uk.bookshop.org/shop/macrodosepod - for each book you buy from the list Macrodose gets 10% of what you pay, so for every book you buy, you’ll be supporting our independent, climate-focused economic journalism.

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.

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Economics Fundamentals Dec 27, 2023

On this week’s Macrodose we bring you a selection of our favourite stories of the last year. First, from “planetary boundaries” to doughnut economics - are there quantifiable limits to our exploitation of nature (0:40), next Greedflation - what is it and what are the mainstream missing (7:09) and finally a listener question - Universal Basic Income vs Universal Basic Services (14:11).

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Find the full MACRODOSE READING LIST here: uk.bookshop.org/shop/macrodosepod - for each book you buy from the list Macrodose gets 10% of what you pay, so for every book you buy, you’ll be supporting our independent, climate-focused economic journalism.

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.

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Ghosts of COP Past, Present and Future w/ Asad Rehman Dec 20, 2023

On this week’s Macrodose, Asad Rehman takes us on a journey through COPs past (1:28), present (8:07) and future (14:13).

Asad has attended a staggering 15 COPs and was in attendance this year at COP28, helping coordinate the global climate justice movements. He is also the Director of War on Want, a London based charity challenging the root causes of poverty, inequality and injustice through partnership with social movements in the UK, and across the Global South.

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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.

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How Interest Hikes Fuel Climate Change Dec 13, 2023

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: how interest rates have been impacting the UK economy (1:10), the growing risks of climate change to global health (10:08) and the decision to host COP in Azerbaijan next year (14:11).

The Fix: https://mailchi.mp/45d9275470d6/macrodose

Find the full MACRODOSE READING LIST here: uk.bookshop.org/shop/macrodosepod - for each book you buy from the list Macrodose gets 10% of what you pay, so for every book you buy, you’ll be supporting our independent, climate-focused economic journalism.

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COP Special Dec 06, 2023

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: the new Loss and Damage Fund agreed at this year’s COP (0:42), why the phasing out of fossil fuels being met with so much resistance (7:59) and a response to some listener criticism on our episode The EV Myth (15:05).

Find the full MACRODOSE READING LIST here: uk.bookshop.org/shop/macrodosepod - for each book you buy from the list Macrodose gets 10% of what you pay, so for every book you buy, you’ll be supporting our independent, climate-focused economic journalism.

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The Economics of Argentina’s New President Nov 29, 2023

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: what the victory of far-right libertarian Javier Milei means for Argentina and the world (1:19) and how climate change is driving inflation and directly squeezing British households (9:49).

Find the full MACRODOSE READING LIST here: uk.bookshop.org/shop/macrodosepod - for each book you buy from the list Macrodose gets 10% of what you pay, so for every book you buy, you’ll be supporting our independent, climate-focused economic journalism.

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.

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[LIVE] Where next for the UK economy? Nov 24, 2023

Macrodose is turning 1! To celebrate we hosted our first Macrodose live event. In this panel discussion James Meadway is joined by Labour MP Nadia Whittome, Senior Fellow at the Social Market Foundation Shreya Nanda and author/Guardian columnist Owen Jones to discuss: where next for the UK economy?

You can check out our SPACE4’s events calendar here: space4.tech/events/

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Autumn Statement Special w/ Grace Blakeley Nov 22, 2023

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway is joined by Grace Blakely to discuss today’s Autumn Statement from Chancellor Jeremy Hunt - what this all means for you, and where next for the economy?

Grace is an economist and author of the forthcoming book Vulture Capitalism: corporate crimes, backdoor bailouts and the death of freedom, which you can pre-order from your favourite bookshop or via this link tinyurl.com/ype3mzcs

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.

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The EV Myth Nov 15, 2023

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: why EVs are not the answer to climate breakdown (0:40) and a surprising success story around price controls in Switzerland (6:09).

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.

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Arctic Resource Wars Nov 08, 2023

Arctic rolls, not Arctic resource conflicts!

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: how the race for Arctic resources is reshaping global capitalism (0:44) and a new report on the decrepit state of Britain’s public services (7:52).

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.

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Who wins from war? Nov 01, 2023

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On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: leaked transcripts that show how big arms manufacturers are profiteering from Israel's war on Palestine (0:39), and why the American economy growing so much faster than Europe and the UK (6:39).

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.

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Water Oct 25, 2023

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On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: how China’s semiconductor industry is driving regional water shortages (1:50), what we can learn from Labour’s 2019 election defeat about the roadblocks to nationalisation (10:33), and an exciting project to repurpose Britain’s abandoned coal mines (19:56).

We’re celebrating our 1 year birthday, get your ticket for Macrodose Live: Where Next for the UK Economy? here: tinyurl.com/yzxkfbh7

The event is kindly being hosted by our friends at Space4, you can find out more about them on their website: space4.tech

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.

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We've unlocked the Macrodose Extra episode with Richard Jones so you can find it on our feed where ever you get your podcasts or on our Patreon: tinyurl.com/yz44s2sd

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UNLOCKED: Why you should care about semiconductors w/ Richard Jones Oct 24, 2023

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

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?

Israel/Palestine Oct 18, 2023

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway takes a look at the devastating events in Israel and Palestine. James examines the wider geopolitical and economic forces behind the conflict in the Middle East (2:09), before taking a look further afield to consider the potential wider economic fallout (9:31).

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/

Show update + Macrodose LIVE! Oct 17, 2023

Macrodose LIVE is coming soon! Thursday, November 16th (18:30) at Space4, Finsbury Park, London to be exact...

Tickets are limited and will be out on early release for patreon subscribers later this week, keep an eye on our socials for more updates: https://linktr.ee/macrodosepodcast

Conference Debrief w/ Owen Jones Oct 11, 2023

On this week’s Macrodose, Owen Jones debriefs us on the Labour and Conservative party conferences after attending both in the last week. He explores how the Tory Conference might represent a scary swing to the far right (1:04) and asks what can we actually expect from Starmerism with Labour seemingly on the precipice of government and promising to fight the next election on the economy (10:48)?

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/

Monopoly Capitalism w/ Níall Glynn Oct 04, 2023

On this week’s Macrodose, Níall Glynn leads a deep dive into monopoly capitalism - untangling the web of concentrated power that touches every corner of our lives (0:59).

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/

UNLOCKED: Understanding Inflation w/ Isabella Weber Sep 29, 2023

Our guest today is Isabella Weber. Isabella is an economist working on inflation, China, global trade and the history of economic thought. She is an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, a Berggruen Fellow, and an Associate in Research at the Fairbank Center, Harvard University.

In this interview we discussed her most recent research into the causes of inflation. Greedflation? Excuse-flation? Sellers' inflation? What does it all mean, and are the mainstream starting to change their tune?

Hot Labour Autumn for the UAW w/ Sarah Jaffe Sep 27, 2023

On this week’s Macrodose, Sarah Jaffe digs deeper into the United Auto Workers strike (1:01) and a listener question - how can care and teaching jobs challenge our assumptions about trade union struggles (15:13)?

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/

Sarah’s list of further reading:

https://jacobin.com/2023/08/shawn-fain-uaw-big-three-automakers-thirty-two-hour-workweek

https://prospect.org/labor/2023-09-07-auto-workers-contract-talks-stellantis-threatens-move-south/

https://inthesetimes.com/article/ultium-cells-uaw-gm-ford-stellantis-electric-vehicles

https://newrepublic.com/article/175507/uaw-electric-vehicles-strike-workers

https://uaw.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Ultium-White-Paper.pdf

https://newrepublic.com/article/154129/general-motors-plant-closed-lordstown-ohio-road-not-taken

https://newrepublic.com/article/155466/lordstown-ohio-general-motors-strike-contract-vote

https://dilettantearmy.com/articles/minor-victories-labor-exploitation-and-the-affirmation-trap

https://www.redpepper.org.uk/back-in-action-report-on-the-us-labour-movement/

https://prospect.org/labor/workers-rally-against-trumps-broken-promises/

https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2023/09/joe-biden-is-about-to-go-where-no-president-has-gone-before/
https://edition.cnn.com/2023/09/24/business/auto-workers-strike-job-security/index.html

15 years on from 2008 Sep 20, 2023

Fill out our listener survey here: tinyurl.com/3xsja7pw

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: the United Auto Workers strike that’s got the US establishment worried (1:15), the new era of capitalism: 15 years on from the 2008 financial crash (7:23) and a listener question - why is economic inactivity on the rise in the UK (12:10)?

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/

Disaster for UK green energy plans Sep 13, 2023

Fill out our listener survey here: tinyurl.com/3xsja7pw

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: Britain's failed offshore wind auction (0:46), Panama Canal drying up (7:00) and a listener question: cost-free reforms vs redistributive policies - could Starmer’s tinkering actually change things (14:37)?

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/

Another Brick in the Wall Sep 06, 2023

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: the dangerous defunding of Britain’s schools (0:46), the central bankers' annual gathering in Wyoming last week (9:43) and a listener question on China, resource conflicts and the "new commodity superpowers" (15:15).

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/

Local Government Special w/ Antonia Jennings Aug 30, 2023

On this week’s Macrodose, Antonia Jennings breaks down: the increasing trend of local governments going bankrupt (1:30), the power of local government to mitigate ecological collapse (7:45), and a listener question - GDP is a crude and outdated metric, but can we break it down further to work out what’s really going on (14:14)?

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/

UNLOCKED Making Neoliberalism: the economics of Empire w/ Kojo Koram Aug 26, 2023

After Kojo Koram stepped in to guest-host the regular show this week, we're unlocking this fascinating MACRODOSE EXTRA chat with James recorded back in January. Empire, colonialism and the dawn of free market thinking - from Enoch Powell to Margaret Thatcher.

Kojo is a Senior Lecturer at Birkbeck School of Law, University of London. He is the author of Uncommon Wealth: Britain and the Aftermath of Empire, a tour de force on the legacies of Empire and how they shape modern Britain, which was nominated for the Orwell Prize for Political Writing in 2022.

Kojo is also the co-author of Empire’s Endgame: Racism and the British State, which was published in 2021, and star of the recent short-film for openDemocracy, Boomerang: how the legacies of empire are breaking Britain’s economy - which you can find on Youtube.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kmOK4tNc31A

How Jamaica almost stopped neoliberalism w/ Kojo Koram Aug 23, 2023

On this week’s Macrodose, Kojo Koram tells us a longer form story: how Jamaica nearly saved the world from Neoliberalism, and the international economic order that never was (1:40).

For a deeper look into how Britain's economy has been and continues to be shaped by its colonial past, I highly recommend Kojo's book Uncommon Wealth https://tinyurl.com/mw34eprr

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/

Is Bidenomics working?? Aug 16, 2023

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: the reality behind the touted success of Bidenomics (1:41), and the role of organised labour today - what’s the future for trade unions, and can they be a vehicle for political change (9:03)?

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/

Beyond Techno-Solutionism: gender and platform work w/ Anjali Krishan and Kavita Dattani Aug 11, 2023

FULL EPISODE available at: patreon.com/Macrodose

Our guests today are Anjali Krishan and Kavita Dattani. They’ve joined us today on behalf of Fairwork, an action-research project coordinated by the Oxford Internet Institute to discuss the new report they’ve co-authored entitled ‘Beyond techno-solutionism: gender and platform work’.

The report is based on research into working conditions on online platforms spanning four years, 38 countries, over 190 unique platforms, and interviews with more than 5000 platform workers.

You can access the full report here: https://fair.work/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2023/07/Fairwork-Gender-Report-2023-FINAL-red.pdf

Inflation Nation(s) Aug 09, 2023

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: global food inflation (0.44), Italy’s 40% windfall tax on bank super profits (5.34) and a listener question - isn’t greedflation just capitalism (9.35)?

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:

Josh Martin’s Twitter thread that inspired today’s listener question: https://tinyurl.com/mv8vxkzn

Petro Politics Aug 02, 2023

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

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)?

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/

Capitalism as Usual w/ Cecilia Rikap Jul 20, 2023

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

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)?

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

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

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/

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

Tales from the Polycrisis Jul 05, 2023

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).

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

Should we worry about government debt? Jun 28, 2023

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)?

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

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

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

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)?

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

UBI vs UBS Jun 14, 2023

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).

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

Understanding Inflation w/ Isabella Weber Jun 11, 2023

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, as well as all our fascinating chat with Kojo Koram about the economic legacies of Empire, and our recent conversation with Richard Seymour about the making of political subjectivities in an era of climate breakdown.

You’ll also gain access to our upcoming interviews with housing reporter Vicky Spratt, and economist Ann Pettifor.

Our guest today is Isabella Weber. Isabella is an economist working on inflation, China, global trade and the history of economic thought. She is an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, a Berggruen Fellow, and an Associate in Research at the Fairbank Center, Harvard University.

In this interview we discussed her most recent research into the causes of inflation. Greedflation? Excuse-flation? Sellers' inflation? What does it all mean, and are the mainstream starting to change their tune?

Doughnut Economics Jun 07, 2023

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: planetary boundaries - are there quantifiable limits to our exploitation of nature? (1:09) The hype around American tech company Nvidia (7:39), and a listener question - what’s the best way to fund universities (15:25)?

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

UNLOCKED The End of Capitalism? The economics of crisis w/ Yanis Varoufakis Jun 04, 2023

To celebrate our 6 month anniversary, we're unlocking some of our favourite Macrodose Extra episodes from our Patreon. For many more like this, head over to patreon.com/Macrodose and subscribe today!

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

In this episode, James Meadway talks to Yanis Varoufakis about the crisis facing the U.K economy, austerity 2.0 and the era of Cloud Capitalism.

Varoufakis is an academic, economist and politician. He formerly served as the Greek Minister of Finance from January to July 2015 in the Syriza government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, and is currently a sitting member of the Greek Parliament for MeRA25, a progressive political party which he founded it in 2018.Yanis is also a founder of the Progressive International - seeking to ally and organise progressive movements worldwide, and DiEM25 - a transnational movement to reform the European Union.

UNLOCKED Robots and Foucault: the economics of work w/ Sarah Jaffe Jun 02, 2023

To celebrate our 6 month anniversary, we're unlocking some of our favourite Macrodose Extra episodes from our Patreon. For many more like this, head over to patreon.com/Macrodose and subscribe today!

MACRODOSE EXTRA takes you behind the scenes to go in-depth with some of the leading voices from the world of economics. In today's episode, James Meadway speaks to labour journalist Sarah Jaffe about the wave of strikes we’ve seen this year - from nurses, rail workers and posties here in the U.K, to teachers, Amazon workers, and Starbucks employees over in the United States. What’s new about the latest wave of labour action and why is it happening now?

Sarah is the author of two wonderful books - Work Won't Love You Back: How Devotion to Our Jobs Keeps Us Exploited, Exhausted and Alone (2021), and Necessary Trouble, Americans in Revolt (2016). She is also a co-host of Dissent magazine’s Belabored podcast, as well as a columnist at The Progressive.

A Planetary Fever-Dream: reflections on eco-socialism w/ Richard Seymour Jun 01, 2023

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, as well as our episodes with Greek politician Yanis Varoufakis, labour journalist Sarah Jaffe, and former finance trader Gary Stevenson.

You’ll also gain access to our upcoming interviews with housing reporter Vicky Spratt, and economist Isabella Weber.

Our guest today is Richard Seymour. Richard is a writer, broadcaster and the author of numerous books, including: Against Austerity, Corbyn: The Strange Rebirth of Radical Politics, and The Twittering Machine.

This winding discussion focuses on Richard's most recent book, The Disenchanted Earth: Reflections on Ecosocialism & Barbarism. We discuss the politics of climate breakdown, and the kinds of political subjectivities that must be made through, and in the face of, such existential ecological crisis.

Tory price caps? May 31, 2023

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: the possibility of price caps on essential goods from the Tories (2.07), Rachel Reeves’ speech in Washington DC to lay out her vision for the economy, are Labour turning to Bidenomics (9.44)? And a listener question - how do we balance the need to grow more food in Britain, with the need to build more houses (16.18)?

This week at Macrodose we’re celebrating our six month anniversary. We’ve really enjoyed bringing you Macrodose each week and this wouldn’t have been possible without you!

A massive thank you to The Lipman-Miliband Trust for supporting our work. Their help has been a major step towards this show being sustainable in the long term but we still need your help. If you have the means, 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

Is there WIFI in here? May 24, 2023

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: the looming prospect of another summer of droughts, what’s next for the UK's failing water systems (0:43), last year’s mass broadband cancellations (4:52) and a listener question - what are some good examples of countries taxing assets properly (9:50)?

A massive thank you to The Lipman-Miliband Trust for supporting our work. Their help is a major step towards this show being sustainable in the long term but we still need your help. If you have the means, 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

Greedflation May 17, 2023

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: Greedflation - what is it and what are the mainstream missing (0:46), the impact of sanctions on developing economies (7:50) and a listener question - what should we be pushing to see from the next Labour manifesto (12:15)?

You can find CEPR’s report on sanctions here: https://bit.ly/42WCb0x

A massive thank you to The Lipman-Miliband Trust for supporting our work. Their help is a major step towards this show being sustainable in the long term but we still need your help. If you have the means, 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

No-deposit mortgages??? May 10, 2023

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: the return of no-deposit mortgages and what they show us about our housing market (1:07), how the steep drop in China’s imports could spell trouble for the rest of the world (6:36) and what the return of El Nino might mean for inflation and interest rates across the globe (13:29).

A massive thank you to The Lipman-Miliband Trust for supporting our work. Their help is a major step towards this show being sustainable in the long term but we still need your help. If you have the means, 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

The King’s Gambit: the economics of Charles Windsor w/ James Butler May 03, 2023

On a special episode of Macrodose, James Meadway is joined by James Butler to discuss the coronation of Britain’s new King. What makes Charles III tick? What are the ideological influences behind the new King? And what does that mean for the future of our economy?

A massive thank you to The Lipman-Miliband Trust for supporting our work. Their help is a major step towards this show being sustainable in the long term but we still need your help. If you have the means, head over to patreon.com/Macrodose and subscribe today.

For any questions or queries, leave a comment or get in touch at macrodose@planetbproductions.co.uk

Food, Glorious Food Apr 26, 2023

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: food inflation (0:42), why AI is fuelling resource conflicts (6:51) and Chile's plans to nationalise lithium, what does that mean for the future of climate politics (11:37)?

A massive thank you to The Lipman-Miliband Trust for supporting our work. Their help is a major step towards this show being sustainable in the long term but we still need your help. If you have the means, head over to patreon.com/Macrodose and subscribe today.

For any questions or queries, leave a comment or get in touch at macrodose@planetbproductions.co.uk

Sowing Division: the economics of racial capitalism w/ Gargi Bhattacharyya Apr 25, 2023

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, as well as our recent episodes with Greek politician Yanis Varoufakis, labour journalist Sarah Jaffe, and former finance trader Gary Stevenson.

You’ll also gain access to our upcoming interviews with FT reporter Yuan Yang and contributing editor to the LRB, James Butler.

Our guest today is Gargi Bhattacharyya. Gargi is Professor of Sociology in the Institute for Connected Communities at the University of East London. They are also an activist, organiser and author of Rethinking Racial Capitalism, an account of the entanglement between capitalism and racism, which tracks their historical interconnections as a route to better understanding their interactions today..

Gargi is also author of We the Heartbroken, a new book out just this month from Hajar Press. In it they explore the role of emotion, grief and tragedy in building solidarity - and argue that heartbreak can become the class consciousness of our time.

In this interview we touch on both of these works. We started by discussing the concept of racial capitalism. What does the term mean, and why does Gargi think it is a useful framework for understanding the economy today?

Why are house prices falling? Apr 19, 2023

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: falling house prices and how they fit with the broader economic crisis (2:04), why AI is unlikely to replace you but might make your job much worse (8:07) and a new masterplan for the Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales (12:16).

A massive thank you to The Lipman-Miliband Trust for supporting our work. Their help is a major step towards this show being sustainable in the long term but we still need your help. If you have the means, head over to patreon.com/Macrodose and subscribe today.

For any questions or queries, leave a comment or get in touch at macrodose@planetbproductions.co.uk

Crypto Polluters Apr 12, 2023

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down the real world impact of cryptocurrencies (1:35), the economic turmoil in Sri Lanka and role of the IMF and World Bank (9:41), and a claim from the IMF that interest rates and inflation are going to come down - but do we believe them (15:58)?

A massive thank you to The Lipman-Miliband Trust for supporting our work. Their help is a major step towards this show being sustainable in the long term but we still need your help. If you have the means, head over to patreon.com/Macrodose and subscribe today.

Reclaiming our Time Apr 05, 2023

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down France’s historic climate protests over new mega reservoirs (0:49), a new study on how the way we use our time has changed over the last 40 years (7:42) and the world bank publish their report on what’s happening to economic growth across the globe (11:41).

Consulting, Privatisation and the Economics of the State w/ Rosie Collington Mar 31, 2023

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, as well as our recent episodes with Greek politician Yanis Varoufakis, labour journalist Sarah Jaffe, and former finance trader Gary Stevenson. You’ll also gain access to our upcoming interviews with FT reporter Yuan Yang and academic and writer Gargi Bhattacharyya.

Our guest today is Rosie Collington. Rosie is a political economist, writer, and researcher at the Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, University College London. She is also the co-author, alongside economist Marianna Mazzucato, of the new book: the Big Con: how the consulting industry weakens our businesses, infantilizes our governments and warps our economies.

I met up with Rosie recently over at UCL to talk all things public sector, outsourcing, and the political economy of the state.

Paris is Burning Mar 29, 2023

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down the economics behind the current strikes in France (0:52), the Deutsche Bank share price crash amidst speculation it is hiding losses (6:30) and “shrinkflation” - how the current crisis is affecting the size of your Mars Bar (9:12).

Great Recession 2.0? Mar 22, 2023

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: Credit Suisse and the threat of another financial crisis (1:29) and what ecological breakdown means for our financial systems (13:09).

Budget Reaction w/ John McDonnell Mar 16, 2023

James is joined by former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell for a special bonus episode of Macrodose reacting to yesterday's Budget.

www.patreon.com/Macrodose

Budget Day Mar 15, 2023

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: today’s budget, what to look out for and why the government is playing it down (1:28), and the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, should we be worried (8:15)?

https://www.patreon.com/Macrodose

Gary Lineker stole my crisps: the economics of the media w/ Tom Mills Mar 14, 2023

FULL EPISODE available at: patreon.com/Macrodose

MACRODOSE EXTRA takes you behind the scenes to go in-depth with some of the leading voices from the world of economics. Subscribe today to hear our recent interviews with Greek politician Yanis Varoufakis, labour journalist Sarah Jaffe, and former finance trader Gary Stevenson.

You’ll also gain access to our upcoming interviews with author Rosie Collington and FT reporter Yuan Yang.

Our guest today is Tom Mills. Tom is a Lecturer in Sociology at Aston University, and author of The BBC: The Myth of a Public Service. A book about the past, present and future of the BBC, how it shapes our understanding of the economy and society, and why we urgently need to rethink our public digital media ecosystem.

Tom is also chair of Media Reform UK, a campaign for a more democratic and accountable media, where diversity, public interest and ethical journalism come before the private gain of a few media moguls.

A rare dose of reality from the Bank of England Mar 08, 2023

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down a new report showing the importance of involving fossil fuel industry workers in the green transition (0:48), recognition from the Bank of England that it is capitalists, not workers, driving inflation (6:28) and a report on the dire consequences of Britain’s awful childcare provision on the gender pay gap (10:32).

Let them eat turnips! Mar 01, 2023

On this week’s Macrodose James Meadway breaks down: the sudden disappearance of tomatoes and other fruit and veg from Britain’s supermarkets (0:45), how leading Tory ministers split are on the future of the economy (7:42) and the Labour Party's new plans for growth, do they really add up (11:00)?

The Rise and Fall of American Capitalism w/ Professor Richard Wolff Feb 28, 2023

FULL EPISODE available at: patreon.com/Macrodose

MACRODOSE EXTRA takes you behind the scenes to go in-depth with some of the leading voices from the world of economics. Subscribe today to hear our recent interviews with Greek politician Yanis Varoufakis, labour journalist Sarah Jaffe, and former finance trader Gary Stevenson.

You’ll also gain access to our upcoming interviews with author Rosie Collington and FT reporter Yuan Yang.

Our guest today is Professor Richard Wolff. Professor Wolff is Economics Emeritus at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst and a Visiting Professor in the Graduate Program in International Affairs at the New School University in New York City. He is a co-founder and active contributor of Democracy at Work and the host of the weekly show Economic Update with Richard Wolff which is syndicated on over 120+ radio stations in the US and available to stream online.

He is also the author of numerous books, including, most recently, The Sickness is the System: When Capitalism Fails to Save Us from Pandemics or Itself.

From Fiscal Black Hole to Budget Surplus? Feb 22, 2023

On this week’s Macrodose James Meadway breaks down: the news of a budget surplus, and just how far the official narrative stretches economic truths (0.40s), and the results of the U.K’s largest 4-day working week trial (6.21)

UNLOCKED Betting Against the Future: the economics of inequality w/ Gary Stevenson Feb 20, 2023

To celebrate hitting 100 Macrodose subscribers on Patreon.com this week, we’re unlocking the full version of one of our favourite Macrodose Extra interviews - on inflation, Covid economics and tackling inequality, with Gary Stevenson. Thank you to everyone who’s taken the time to support Macrodose so far, without you this show would not be possible.

MACRODOSE EXTRA takes you behind the scenes to go in-depth with some of the leading voices from the world of economics. Subscribe today to hear our recent interviews with Greek politician Yanis Varoufakis, labour journalist Sarah Jaffe, and climate campaigner/author Kate Aronoff.

You’ll also gain access to our upcoming interviews with author Rosie Collington, FT reporter Yuan Yang, and public economist Richard Wolff.

Our guest today is Gary Stevenson. Gary is a former city trader turned campaigner who made millions of pounds working at Citibank, betting that inequality would keep getting worse. He is now the host of the popular Youtube channel, Gary’s economics - where his short videos provide insight into how the economy is broken, how the rich are getting richer and what we can do to fix it.

The UK avoids recession, just… Feb 15, 2023

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: the news that the UK narrowly avoided dipping into recession at the end of last year (1:42), a deeper dive into what that actually means for you in real terms (5:10) and how all this is hurting your local pub (11:35).

Profiting from Apocalypse: the economics of climate breakdown w/ Kate Aronoff Feb 13, 2023

FULL EPISODE available at: patreon.com/Macrodose

MACRODOSE EXTRA takes you behind the scenes to go in-depth with some of the leading voices from the world of economics. Subscribe today to hear our recent interviews with Greek politician Yanis Varoufakis, labour journalist Sarah Jaffe, and former finance trader Gary Stevenson.

You’ll also gain access to our upcoming interviews with author Rosie Collington, FT reporter Yuan Yang, and public economist Richard Wolff.

Our guest today is Kate Aronoff. Kate is a staff writer at the New Republic, and author of the wonderful book Overheated: How capitalism broke the planet and how we fight back.

In the book, Kate traces a damning account of the financial forces that have hijacked and commodified the crisis of climate breakdown over recent decades, and shares a bold vision of what it will take, politically and economically, to face this existential threat head-on. This interview is about those intertwined histories of financialisation and climate denialism. How has the economic logic around the climate crisis shifted in recent years?

I want to be in America Feb 08, 2023

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: new figures that signal positive news for the US economy (0:48), how good news for the US might be bad news for the rest of the globe (6:09) and the recent record-breaking profits made by fossil fuel producers (10:55).

You can register here (https://bit.ly/3YAtp5J) for a free ticket for the launch of The Cost of Living Crisis (and how to get out of it), a vital book James has co-authored with Doug Nicholls and Professor Costas Lapavitsas.

The largest wave of strikes in a generation, but will they win? Feb 01, 2023

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down the economics behind the UK’s recording-breaking wave of strikes (0:42), how these compare to other strike movements around the world (4:43), and a new report from the BBC that finds issues with the “impartiality” of its economics reporting (12:32).

Making Neoliberalism: the economics of Empire w/ Kojo Koram Jan 30, 2023

FULL EPISODE available at: patreon.com/Macrodose

MACRODOSE EXTRA takes you behind the scenes to go in-depth with some of the leading voices from the world of economics. Subscribe today to hear our recent interviews with Greek politician Yanis Varoufakis, labour journalist Sarah Jaffe, and former finance trader Gary Stevenson.

You’ll also gain access to our upcoming interviews with climate activist and author Kate Aronoff, FT reporter Yuan Yang, and public economist Richard Wolff.

Our guest today is Kojo Koram. Kojo is a Senior Lecturer at Birkbeck School of Law, University of London. He is the author of Uncommon Wealth: Britain and the Aftermath of Empire, a tour de force on the legacies of Empire and how they shape modern Britain, which was nominated for the Orwell Prize for Political Writing in 2022.

Kojo is also the co-author of Empire’s Endgame: Racism and the British State, which was published in 2021, and star of the recent short-film for openDemocracy, Boomerang: how the legacies of empire are breaking Britain’s economy - which you can find on Youtube.

Dedollarisation, Bretton Woods III, and a global wealth tax? Jan 25, 2023

In this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down the shift away from the dominance of the dollar (0:41), what this means for US economic power (3:13), and a call from noble-prize winning economist Joseph Stiglitz to tackle wealth inequality (11.26).

Polycrisis at Davos, US in debt, and deadly heatwaves Jan 18, 2023

On this week’s episode of Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down talk of a “polycrisis” at the World Economic Forum in Davos, the threat of default as the US breaches it’s debt ceiling, and a new report from the think tank Autonomy exploring the future of work in the era of climate breakdown.

Betting Against the Future: the economics of inequality w/ Gary Stevenson Jan 13, 2023

FULL EPISODE available at: patreon.com/Macrodose

MACRODOSE EXTRA takes you behind the scenes to go in-depth with some of the leading voices from the world of economics. Subscribe today to hear our recent interviews with Greek politician Yanis Varoufakis and labour journalist Sarah Jaffe, as well as upcoming interviews with author Kojo Koram, FT reporter Yuan Yang, and public economist Richard Wolff.

Our guest today is Gary Stevenson. Gary is a former city trader turned campaigner who made millions of pounds working at Citibank, betting that inequality would keep getting worse. He is now the host of the popular Youtube channel, Gary’s economics - where his short videos provide insight into how the economy is broken, how the rich are getting richer and what we can do to fix it.

Wage bounce in Europe, Global South debt, and poverty in Britain Jan 11, 2023

In this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: the European Central Bank’s report of a wage bounce in Europe (0.37), the odious debt regimes crippling the economies of the Global South (7.09), and a new survey from the Resolution Foundation that reveals the extent of the cost-of-living crisis in Britain (13.46).

China’s downturn, Blackrock’s predictions, and the struggling tech billionaires Jan 04, 2023

In the latest episode of MACRODOSE, James Meadway breaks down a new IMF forecast that predicts China’s economic downturn, a set of predictions for our economic future from multinational asset manager Blackrock, and asks what’s happening to the wealth of the tech billionaires?

Robots and Foucault: the economics of work w/ Sarah Jaffe Dec 28, 2022

FULL EPISODE available at: patreon.com/Macrodose

MACRODOSE EXTRA takes you behind the scenes to go in-depth with some of the leading voices from the world of economics. Subscribe today to hear our recent interview with Yanis Varoufakis, as well as upcoming interviews with former finance trader Gary Stevenson, academic Kojo Koram and public economist Richard Wolff.

In today's episode James Meadway speaks to labour journalist Sarah Jaffe about the wave of strikes we’ve seen this year - from nurses, rail workers and posties here in the U.K, to teachers, Amazon workers, and Starbucks employees over in the United States. What’s new about the latest wave of labour action and why is it happening now?

Sarah is the author of two wonderful books - Work Won't Love You Back: How Devotion to Our Jobs Keeps Us Exploited, Exhausted and Alone (2021), and Necessary Trouble, Americans in Revolt (2016). She is also a co-host of Dissent magazine’s Belabored podcast, as well as a columnist at The Progressive.

The economics of inactivity, covid contracts and Japan’s policy twist Dec 21, 2022

On this week’s MACRODOSE James Meadway takes a look at a new House of Lord’s report on economic inactivity (0:52s), the financial waste of Covid contracts (7:03) and an unexpected move by Japan’s central bank (12:16).

Head over to Patreon.com/Macrodose to access all of our MACRODOSE EXTRA content, including James' recent interview with Yanis Varoufakis.

Public pay, bankers' bonuses, and who benefits from interest rate hikes? Dec 14, 2022

On this week’s episode James Meadway breaks down the public sector pay dispute (1:27), Sunak’s move to further deregulate finance (9:05), and the interest rate hikes by central banks (14:48).

The End of Capitalism? The economics of crisis w/ Yanis Varoufakis Dec 12, 2022

FULL EPISODE available at: patreon.com/Macrodose

MACRODOSE EXTRA takes you behind the scenes to go in-depth with some of the leading voices from the world of economics. Subscribe today to hear our upcoming interviews with labour journalist Sarah Jaffe, former finance trader Gary Stevenson, academic Kojo Koram and economist Richard Wolff.

In our first episode James Meadway talks to Yanis Varoufakis about the crisis facing the U.K economy, austerity 2.0 and the era of Cloud Capitalism.

Varoufakis is an academic, economist and politician. He formerly served as the Greek Minister of Finance from January to July 2015 in the Syriza government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, and is currently a sitting member of the Greek Parliament for MeRA25, a progressive political party which he founded it in 2018.

Yanis is also a founder of the Progressive International - seeking to ally and organise progressive movements worldwide, and DiEM25 - a transnational movement to reform the European Union.

Russian oil, the food crisis and a 4-day work week Dec 07, 2022

On this week’s episode of Macrodose James Meadway breaks down the G7-backed price cap on Russian oil (0.41), the warning from the National Farmers' Union that Britain is sleepwalking into a food crisis (4:32), and the results of an experiment in a 4-day working week (10:22).

Strike Economics Nov 30, 2022

On this week’s episode of Macrodose James Meadway breaks down the economics behind the strikes that are spreading across the U.K, from the railways, to teachers to nurses and oilworkers (0.49s). We take a historical view on this new wave of industrial action (7:10), and then reflect on the U.K’s worsening energy crisis, examining how record levels of debts could push households over the edge this winter (10:55).

Inflation, austerity and the wage-price spiral Nov 23, 2022

On the first episode of Macrodose James Meadway breaks down the the OECD warning that the UK’s growth prospects are the worst of all the G7 countries (1:06); the austerity 2.0 measures of Rishi Sunak’s government (6:05); and the new IMF report on inflation, which debunks the idea that advanced economies, like the UK, are experiencing rising prices due to an increase in worker pay (13:05).

Macrodose - Trailer Nov 22, 2022

We’re living through a time of unprecedented economic turmoil.

From war, to the pandemic, to supply chain failures and climate breakdown, it is everyday people who are being made to bear the brunt of the crises.

The pace of events can seem overwhelming and confusing. The old ways of understanding our economy don’t seem to fit any more, and the economics establishment is out of ideas.

But these crises aren’t going away, and we aren’t going to return to the era of economic stability.

Macrodose is a new weekly podcast that seeks to chart our way through these turbulent times, and build a vision for a just, sustainable and progressive future.

Each week, we’ll bring you a 15 minute update on the key economic stories making the news, and the analysis you need to make sense of them.

It’s time to set the story straight.

Join James Meadway every Wednesday morning for Macrodose: Your weekly fix of everything economics.

Subscribe now, wherever you get your podcasts.