IEA Podcast

In this Free the Power podcast, the IEA's Andy Mayer interviews Tim Gregory, author of "Going Nuclear: How the Atom Will Save the World" and nuclear scientist at Sellafield. The conversation tackles radiophobia and public misconceptions about nuclear safety, examining how accidents like Chernobyl and Fukushima have shaped public perception despite nuclear power being statistically as safe as wind and solar energy. Gregory shares his personal experience working with radioactive materials daily and even swimming off the coast of Sellafield, demonstrating how those who work closest to radiation are least afraid of it. The discussion reveals why nuclear construction has become so expensive and slow, with Gregory pointing to overregulation through models like the linear no-threshold approach that assumes no safe level of radiation exposure. They explore the promising emergence of small modular reactors that can be mass-produced like "IKEA furniture" and deployed at industrial sites to provide both electricity and heat for manufacturing processes. Gregory explains how this technology could revolutionise decarbonisation efforts by addressing the often-overlooked need for high-temperature industrial heat in sectors like steel production, ammonia synthesis, and food processing. Beyond power generation, Gregory reveals fascinating applications including nuclear medicine where radioactive isotopes target cancer cells, essentially making tumours radioactive to destroy them from within. He argues that nuclear waste should be viewed as a valuable resource rather than just waste, containing materials essential for medical isotopes and space exploration. The conversation covers how radioactive power sources enable spacecraft missions beyond Jupiter and could power future lunar and Mars habitats, with Gregory highlighting that the UK's nuclear waste stockpile contains enough material to fuel an "essentially infinite supply" of space batteries for solar system exploration. Get full access to Institute of Economic Affairs | Insider at insider.iea.org.uk/subscribe

In this Institute of Economic Affairs briefing, host Callum Price interviews Matthew Lesh, IEA Public Policy Fellow and author of a 2022 briefing paper on the Online Safety Bill. The discussion covers the implementation of the Online Safety Act and its impact on free speech, examining how age-gating requirements are now forcing platforms to hide legal political content behind age verification systems. They explore how genuine political debate, grooming gang trial transcripts, and war coverage from Ukraine and Gaza are being censored by default, creating what Lesh describes as "censorship by design" where users must prove they're adults to access legal speech. The conversation delves into the broader consequences of the legislation, including smaller platforms and forums withdrawing from the UK market due to compliance costs, the rise in VPN usage to circumvent restrictions, and the paradox of hiding political content from 16-17 year olds while simultaneously discussing giving them voting rights. Lesh explains how the act's "duty of care" model treats speech as equivalent to physical harm, creating unprecedented regulatory burdens on platforms and incentivising over-censorship to avoid massive fines of up to 10% of global revenues. Looking ahead, they discuss Ofcom's expanded enforcement powers, the potential for further restrictions on private messaging through backdoor requirements for encrypted platforms like WhatsApp, and the concerning precedent of treating psychological harm as grounds for government censorship. The interview concludes with Lesh arguing for complete repeal of the act, describing its fundamental approach as incompatible with a free and open liberal society, while noting the political challenges facing any future reform efforts. Get full access to Institute of Economic Affairs | Insider at insider.iea.org.uk/subscribe

In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, host Callum Price interviews Executive Director Tom Clougherty and Editorial Director Kristian Niemietz. The conversation examines the immediate impact of the Online Safety Act's age verification requirements, which have led to widespread content blocking, a 1400% surge in VPN downloads, and legitimate websites restricting UK access. They discuss how the legislation mirrors previous regulatory failures like the banking anti-money laundering scandal, creating false positives that harm innocent users while failing to achieve its stated objectives.The discussion moves to Ofgem's controversial proposal to make energy standing charges progressive based on income or wealth, as green transition costs drive up bills. Clougherty argues this represents dangerous mission creep in policymaking, shielding voters from the consequences of net zero policies while undermining market price signals. With UK household energy bills 20% above European averages and industrial bills 90% higher, they examine how policy choices rather than external factors account for over half of recent bill increases, creating political pressure for increasingly interventionist solutions.The episode concludes with a debate over whether Britain is truly "broken," responding to recent commentary about national decline. While acknowledging serious policy failures across multiple areas, both Clougherty and Niemietz push back against catastrophist narratives from both left and right. They argue that Britain's problems stem from poor policy choices rather than inevitable decline, emphasising the country's untapped potential and the availability of practical liberal solutions to current challenges, from planning reform to competitive taxation.Timestamps: 01:33 - Online Safety Act & Age Verification Chaos 24:57 - Progressive Energy Bills & Net Zero Costs36:07 - Is Britain Really Broken? Get full access to Institute of Economic Affairs | Insider at insider.iea.org.uk/subscribe

In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, Managing Editor Dan Freeman interviews Aymen Aulaiwi, DPhil student at Lincoln College, Oxford, in the final part of a three-part series examining the Soviet economy's rise, peak and downfall. The conversation explores how the Soviet Union's collapse began not with Gorbachev's reforms, but with Khrushchev's dual promise of political liberalisation and consumer goods that the command economy could never deliver. Aulaiwi recounts a revealing train journey across Russia where he discovered the real reason for Soviet nostalgia through a conversation with Tatiana, a former Soviet factory worker, who explained that when the USSR fell, "we got washing machines" - consumer goods that represented individual choice and liberation, particularly for women who controlled household shopping and queuing.The discussion traces the evolution from Khrushchev's "thaw" and his obsession with corn, through Brezhnev's stable but stagnant "golden age" that was funded by Siberian oil discoveries and sustained by vodka sales that comprised 18% of government revenue by 1985. Aulaiwi explains how the Soviet system survived the 1970s through what he calls a "latent crisis" - using oil profits to import Western consumer goods while allowing a massive "second economy" to flourish, with 72% of workers buying shoes on the black market as early as 1935. He describes how Soviet youth developed an "imaginary West" through smuggled Beatles records pressed on X-ray films and Western movies, while the Komsomol organised discotheques where young people danced to ABBA while ignoring communist propaganda.The episode concludes with an analysis of why Gorbachev's perestroika reforms came "too little, too late," and why the Soviet model ultimately failed where Chinese market socialism succeeded. Aulaiwi argues that the fundamental flaw was ideological - the system demanded individual sacrifice for an abstract common good, while people simply wanted the personal liberation symbolised by labor-saving devices like washing machines. He contends that women, not young dissidents, drive real social change because they comprised over 50% of the population and controlled household economics. The conversation demonstrates how the Soviet Union's collapse was primarily an economic story about unfulfilled consumer promises rather than a democratic revolution, with profound implications for understanding how centrally planned economies inevitably fail when they cannot satisfy individual human desires. Get full access to Institute of Economic Affairs | Insider at insider.iea.org.uk/subscribe

In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, Callum Price, Director of Communications, interviews Vicky Pryce, Chief Economic Adviser at the Centre for Economic and Business Research and former Director General for Economics at the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. The conversation examines the UK's persistent growth challenges, focusing on the country's productivity crisis that has plagued the economy since the financial crash. They discuss how the UK's failure to encourage investment, particularly in manufacturing sectors like chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and steel, has led to economic stagnation despite increased employment levels.Pryce identifies the critical role of uncertainty in deterring investment, from global trade tensions and Trump's tariff policies to Brexit's ongoing impact on skills shortages, particularly in construction where 40% of London's workforce previously came from the EU. The discussion covers supply-side reforms, including planning system failures and procurement problems that have made infrastructure projects like HS2 enormously expensive. They explore how different government departments need to work together more effectively, drawing on Pryce's experience of inter-departmental coordination during the previous Labour government in the 2000s.The interview concludes with an examination of the UK's mounting fiscal challenges, with the OBR projecting debt could reach 270% of GDP by 2070. Pryce outlines her three-point plan for immediate economic recovery: reversing Jeremy Hunt's National Insurance cuts, rebalancing employer National Insurance increases with income tax adjustments, and pursuing much closer trade relations with Europe. She argues that without serious productivity improvements and stronger trade partnerships, the UK faces continued economic decline and an unsustainable fiscal trajectory. Get full access to Institute of Economic Affairs | Insider at insider.iea.org.uk/subscribe

In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, host Reem Ibrahim, Head of Media and Linda Whetstone Scholar, with guests Tom Clougherty, Executive Director, and Kristian Niemietz, Editorial Director. The conversation covers the UK's deteriorating fiscal situation with June borrowing hitting £21 billion - £7 billion more than last year - and the growing pressure on Chancellor Rachel Reeves to raise taxes. They examine new research on wealth taxes by Dan Neidle, showing how a UK wealth tax would likely be more damaging than similar policies in other countries due to the mobile nature of Britain's wealthy population and the absence of exemptions that make other systems workable.The discussion moves to Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch's comments about Argentina's Javier Milei being "the template," exploring what radical spending cuts could look like in the UK context. Clougherty and Niemietz analyse Milei's 30% real-terms reduction in public spending through department closures, mass public sector layoffs, and subsidy elimination. They debate whether Britain needs to hit rock bottom before implementing fundamental reforms, examining the political constraints around pension spending, the triple lock, and the broader challenge of government overload where politicians take responsibility for far more than they can effectively deliver.The conversation concludes with concerning polling data showing 40% of young people have a positive view of communism and 25% support fascism, extending into people's thirties and forties. They explore how economic stagnation, housing unaffordability, and government failure are driving political radicalisation toward both extremes. The hosts discuss why people blame capitalism or immigration rather than government restrictions on housing supply and economic growth, arguing that addressing these fundamental policy failures is essential to prevent further drift toward authoritarian ideologies on both left and right. Get full access to Institute of Economic Affairs | Insider at insider.iea.org.uk/subscribe

In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, Managing Editor Dan Freeman interviews Aymen Aulaiwi, DPhil student at Lincoln College, Oxford, in the second part of a three-part series examining the Soviet economy's rise, peak and downfall. The conversation explores how Stalin transformed the Soviet Union's economy starting in 1928, synthesising earlier Bolshevik policies into a brutal command system. They discuss Stalin's collectivisation drive that forced peasants to "socialise their cows" and surrender private plots to collective farms, leading to the liquidation of the kulaks - the most productive farmers - and the devastating Holodomor famine that killed an estimated 8.5 million people by 1932.The discussion examines the mechanics of Stalin's command economy through the Five-Year Plans, where Gosplan set production targets for heavy industry while ignoring consumer demand. Aulaiwi explains the three fundamental problems with command economies: information asymmetries that made central planning impossible, soft budget constraints that eliminated efficiency incentives, and principal-agent problems that led to widespread lying and shirking. He illustrates these concepts through relatable examples, from why you can't buy sheets of steel at a catalogue to how the fictional hero Stakhanov was used to manipulate workers, and explains why Stalin paradoxically became "history's most brutal capitalist" by suppressing consumption to fund industrial investment.The episode concludes with an assessment of Stalin's economic legacy, challenging the common defence that industrialisation was necessary to defeat Nazi Germany. Aulaiwi presents evidence showing that agricultural output actually declined during collectivisation, with Soviet children growing at only 6% the rate of American children by the mid-1930s. He describes Stalin's economy as "an empire of rusting steel and rotting corpses," exemplified by projects like the Belomor Canal where 25,000 prisoners died building a waterway too shallow for real shipping. The conversation demonstrates how Stalin's command economy prioritized impressive-sounding output figures over actual human welfare, producing goods nobody wanted while imposing enormous human costs. Get full access to Institute of Economic Affairs | Insider at insider.iea.org.uk/subscribe

In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, Executive Director Tom Clougherty interviews Lord Jim O'Neill, former Chief Economist at Goldman Sachs and the economist who coined the term "BRICS." The conversation covers Britain's decade-long economic stagnation, examining whether the 2008 financial crisis exposed deep-seated problems or created new ones. O'Neill discusses his work on regional inequality and the Northern Powerhouse initiative, explaining why cities like Manchester, Leeds, and Liverpool fail to demonstrate the productivity gains seen in other countries' major urban centres.O'Neill shares insights from his time developing the Northern Powerhouse concept, highlighting Greater Manchester's recent productivity improvements and his belief that "not enough people at Goldman go on the tube." The discussion explores how centralized decision-making from Whitehall has coincided with geographic inequality, and why local authorities need real powers over skills policy and transport. O'Neill advocates for an "Elizabeth line for the North" that could create a single labor market of 9 million people, potentially rivaling London's economic impact.The interview concludes with O'Neill's views on global governance, discussing how the BRICS vs G7 standoff has created dysfunction in international cooperation. He argues that "leaders are good at creating additional things, but they're not very good at getting rid of them," and suggests that financial markets may eventually force the UK to undertake serious reforms on welfare, housing, and planning. Despite the challenges, O'Neill remains cautiously optimistic about emerging signs of change in both regional productivity and housing market dynamics. Get full access to Institute of Economic Affairs | Insider at insider.iea.org.uk/subscribe

In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, IEA Head of Media Reem Ibrahim interviews Tom Clougherty, the IEA Executive Director, and Kristian Niemietz, the IEA's Editorial Director. The conversation covers Rachel Reeves' recent speech on financial regulation, examining both the positive moves toward deregulation and concerning developments like government-backed mortgage guarantees. They also analyse the latest labour market statistics showing 178,000 job losses since June 2024 and the alarming rise in economic inactivity, with 21% of working-age adults now economically inactive.The discussion explores how employer National Insurance contribution increases and tighter employment regulation are creating significant headwinds for job creation and wage growth. Tom and Kristian argue that the UK's historically flexible labour market advantage is being eroded through cumulative regulatory burdens, comparing the situation to slowly boiling a frog. They examine how both Conservative and Labour governments have contributed to this regulatory creep, moving Britain away from the labour market flexibility that once distinguished it from continental Europe.The interview concludes with an examination of public attitudes toward taxation and spending, drawing on new research showing that when people understand how much tax they actually pay, support for tax cuts increases by 12% while support for spending cuts rises dramatically by 22 percentage points. With public spending approaching 50% of GDP, they discuss the political and economic challenges facing Britain as fiscal pressures mount and the traditional assumption that voters want higher taxes for better public services comes under question. Get full access to Institute of Economic Affairs | Insider at insider.iea.org.uk/subscribe

In this Institute of Economic Affairs Podcast, Managing Editor Dan Freeman interviews Aymen Aulaiwi, DPhil student at Lincoln College, Oxford, in the first of a three-part series examining the Soviet economy's rise, peak and downfall. The conversation begins with an analysis of Russia's economic state in 1900, exploring the autocratic tsarist system, the dominance of agriculture with over 80% of the population working the land, and early signs of industrial progress driven by foreign investment and state-directed policy under Finance Minister Sergei Witte. They discuss the limitations of serfdom's abolition in 1861, the challenges of the village commune system (mir), and Stolypin's land reforms that attempted to create private agricultural plots.The discussion covers the devastating economic impact of World War One on Russia's underdeveloped manufacturing capacity and infrastructure, leading to the February Revolution of 1917 and the collapse of the tsarist regime. Aulaiwi explains the complex power-sharing arrangement between the Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soviet, examining the different socialist factions including the Social Revolutionaries, Mensheviks, and Bolsheviks. The conversation explores Lenin's theoretical justification for bypassing traditional Marxist stages of development, drawing on Marx's own correspondence about Russia's potential to leap from feudalism to socialism through peasant communes and international revolution.The episode concludes with an examination of War Communism (1918-1921), where the Bolsheviks nationalised industry, requisitioned grain from peasants, and launched class warfare against the kulaks while attempting to abolish money during the civil war period. They discuss how this radical programme led to economic collapse and famine, forcing Lenin to introduce the New Economic Policy (NEP) in 1921 - a mixed economy approach that allowed private enterprise in small businesses and free markets in agriculture while maintaining state control of major industries. The conversation ends with the tensions this created within the party, setting up the ideological battle between Bukharin's support for gradual development and Trotsky's call for primitive socialist accumulation that would ultimately shape Stalin's approach. Get full access to Institute of Economic Affairs | Insider at insider.iea.org.uk/subscribe