Geopolitical Economy Report
Ben Norton
Geopolitical Economy Report is an independent news outlet that provides original journalism and analysis to understand the changing world.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jun 7, 2023 • 28min
How the BRICS Bank is resisting US financial domination
The BRICS bloc’s New Development Bank (NDB), an alternative to the US-dominated World Bank, is de-dollarizing its loans, promoting local currencies, and growing with new members from across the Global South.
VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=ltteCyO366o
Sources and more information here: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/06/06/brics-new-development-bank-dollar-adding-members
Check out our related video "BRICS is adding members, planning new currency to challenge US dollar": https://youtube.com/watch?v=PfXyNqg8NDI

Jun 6, 2023 • 13min
BRICS is adding members, planning new currency to challenge US dollar
Foreign ministers from BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) met to discuss expanding the Global South-led bloc and creating a new global reserve currency to challenge the US dollar.
VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=PfXyNqg8NDI
Sources and more information here: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/06/03/brics-adding-members-currency-us-dollar

Jun 3, 2023 • 50min
Why capitalism is inherently imperialist: Class struggle at the international level
Political economist Radhika Desai discusses how capitalism is inherently imperialist, what the class struggle looks like at the international level, and how "the dominant ideas are the ideas of the ruling classes of the dominant nations".
This is a discussion of chapter 3, "The geopolitical economy of capitalism and socialism", from Radhika's book "Capitalism, Coronavirus and War: A Geopolitical Economy".
VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=hhYsynUTc30
Other episodes in the series: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDAi0NdlN8hNZoKp0XsLFwSxxlMQu6ye8
You can download Radhika's book for free here: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/02/17/capitalism-coronavirus-war-geopolitical-economy-radhika-desai

Jun 1, 2023 • 25min
Debt ceiling hypocrisy: US boosts military budget while restricting food stamps for poor
US politicians from both parties agree: the deficit doesn't really matter. In their bipartisan deal to raise the debt ceiling, Biden and Republicans agreed to boost military spending to $885 billion, while making it more difficult for the poor to receive food stamps and welfare.
VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=QUygZa2Eyx4
Sources and more information here: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/06/02/debt-ceiling-us-military-food-stamps
How a US debt trap in Argentina is fueling inflation, dollarization, far right: https://youtube.com/watch?v=1BRx90DhYWM
US makes up c 40% of global military spending, 10x Russia, 3x China: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/05/02/us-military-spending-russia-china

May 31, 2023 • 47min
How a US debt trap in Argentina is fueling inflation, dollarization, far right
Argentina is trapped in unpayable odious debt owed to US vulture funds like BlackRock and the International Monetary Fund (IMF). This is fueling extreme inflation and far-right demagogues such as Javier Milei, who are calling for dollarization, adopting the dollar as the country's currency.
VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=1BRx90DhYWM
Sources and more information here: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/05/25/argentina-us-dollar-inflation-neocolonialism
How Argentina has been trapped in neocolonial debt for 200 years: An economic history: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2022/12/18/argentina-neocolonial-debt-history

May 27, 2023 • 1h 9min
China builds global alternative as US-led financial order decays
To analyze how China is building a global alternative as the US-led neoliberal financial order decays, political economists Radhika Desai and Michael Hudson are joined by economic geographer Mick Dunford.
VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=nP_o-Hk8KmM
Transcript (with all graphs) here: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/05/27/china-economic-alternative-us-led-financial-order
You can watch other episodes of their program Geopolitical Economy Hour here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDAi0NdlN8hMl9DkPLikDDGccibhYHnDP

May 25, 2023 • 1h 31min
Origins of debt: Michael Hudson reveals how financial oligarchies in Greece & Rome shaped our world
Economist Michael Hudson discusses his book "The Collapse of Antiquity: Greece and Rome as Civilization’s Oligarchic Turning Point", and how this history from 2000 years ago is still so relevant to understand our debt-based societies today.
VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=Hqe3IQQo_t4
You can find links to all of Michael's books at his website https://Michael-Hudson.com
You can support Michael on Patreon at Patreon.com/MichaelHudson

May 22, 2023 • 30min
US post-9/11 wars caused 4.5 million deaths, displaced 38-60 million people, study shows
Wars the US waged in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Yemen, and Pakistan following September 11, 2001 caused at least 4.5 million deaths and displaced 38 to 60 million people, with 7.6 million children starving today, according to studies by Brown University.
VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=owjYEjib23M
Sources and more information here: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/05/18/us-911-wars-million-deaths-displace

May 22, 2023 • 30min
US backs Ecuador dictator: Right-wing banker dissolves parliament to stop impeachment for corruption
Ecuador's right-wing President Guillermo Lasso, a multimillionaire banker notorious for blatant corruption, dissolved the National Assembly to prevent it from impeaching him for embezzling public funds.
The US government is strongly supporting the dictator as he rams through extreme anti-worker laws. He also has the backing of Peru's coup regime, which imprisoned leftist Pedro Castillo on false accusations of doing exactly what Lasso did.
VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=Tg_WAuuvldc
Peru coup - CIA agent turned US ambassador met with defense minister day before president overthrown: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2022/12/14/coup-us-ambassador-peru-cia

May 18, 2023 • 26min
Criminals welcome as US recruits foreign proxies to wage 'irregular war' on adversaries
The US military arms and trains foreign fighters as "proxies" to wage "irregular warfare" against adversaries, and the Pentagon does not vet them to see if they have committed atrocities, according to documents obtained by the New York Times.
VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=NwO6lVykGDs
Sources and more information here: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/05/16/us-recruits-proxies-irregular-war
CIA and NATO are waging sabotage attacks inside Russia: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2022/12/29/cia-nato-sabotage-attacks-russia


