

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

Apr 4, 2023 • 1h 2min
Inside Russia: Economists describe impact of Western sanctions and Ukraine war
From inside Russia, economists Radhika Desai and Alan Freeman report on the impact of Western sanctions and the Ukraine war. They discuss Moscow's integration with Asia and move away from neoliberal economics.
VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=lxgiJj5FyYg
Radhika and Alan are directors of the Geopolitical Economy Research Group: https://geopoliticaleconomy.org

Apr 2, 2023 • 56min
US invites authoritarian far-right regimes to ‘Summit for Democracy’
The Joe Biden administration invited numerous authoritarian far-right leaders to the US State Department's so-called "Summit for Democracy", including Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu, Poland's Andrzej Duda, India's Narendra Modi, Italy's Giorgia Meloni, and Pakistan's coup regime.
VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=OK9F27WIcec
Sources and more information here: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/04/01/us-authoritarian-summit-for-democracy
Mexico’s AMLO calls out US ‘oligarchy’ at Biden’s ‘democracy’ summit: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/03/30/mexico-amlo-us-oligarchy-democracy-summit

Mar 30, 2023 • 23min
Anti-TikTok laws threaten free speech to preserve US tech monopolies
The podcast discusses the US government's attempt to ban TikTok as part of a new Cold War strategy to sabotage Chinese companies and protect Silicon Valley monopolies. It explores the false claims surrounding TikTok's threat to national security and the potential dangers of expanding the national security state. The podcast also addresses the threats to free speech posed by bipartisan-endorsed bills and the impact on de-dollarization. Additionally, it discusses challenges to US company monopolies, industrial policy control by corporations, and the growing authoritarianism in the US.

Mar 29, 2023 • 14min
UN lies about US military occupation of Syria, reporter calls out Ukraine hypocrisy
UN official falsely claims no US armed forces in Syria while Chinese reporter calls out the hypocrisy. Topics discussed: US military occupying Syria, denial and evidence of their presence, reasons behind the occupation, US military's leverage in Syria, Western hypocrisy.

Mar 28, 2023 • 40min
US threatened to invade International Criminal Court. Now it loves ICC for targeting Putin
The US government imposed sanctions on the International Criminal Court, threatened prosecutors' family members, and passed a "Hague Invasion Act". But now that the ICC wants to arrest Russian President Putin, Washington praises the court (while still refusing to join it).
VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=haVpdVyOtKs

Mar 26, 2023 • 1h 24min
Did Wall Street take over the Treasury? Bank crisis exposes public realities of private banking
Economists Radhika Desai and Michael Hudson discuss the US banking crisis in this episode of their program Geopolitical Economy Hour.
VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=y1je89h1eIg
Check out other episodes of Geopolitical Economy Hour here: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDAi0NdlN8hMl9DkPLikDDGccibhYHnDP

Mar 24, 2023 • 37min
China & Russia pledge 'changes not seen in 100 years': Xi & Putin take aim at US dollar hegemony
China's President Xi Jinping traveled to Russia to meet Vladimir Putin, where they pledged "changes the likes of which we haven’t seen for 100 years", agreeing to deepen economic integration and challenge the hegemony of the US dollar by promoting the use of the yuan and other currencies in international trade.
VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=OddmSjjLgLY
BRICS challenges US ‘dollar dominance’, Saudi considers selling oil in other currencies: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/01/21/brics-us-dollar-saudi-oil-currency-multipolar/
Geopolitical game changer: China’s Iran-Saudi peace deal is big blow to petrodollar and US economic hegemony: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/03/17/china-iran-saudi-peace-petrodollar
Ukraine’s Zelensky admits he sabotaged Minsk peace deal with Russia, West blocked negotiations: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/02/10/ukraine-zelensky-minsk-peace-russia

Mar 18, 2023 • 40min
US government bailout of Silicon Valley and banks is $300B gift to rich oligarchs
The US Federal Reserve printed $300 billion in one week to save collapsing banks and bail out wealthy Silicon Valley oligarchs. 93% of Silicon Valley Bank's deposits were uninsured, over the FDIC limit of $250,000, but the government still paid them. 56% of SVB's loans went to venture capitalist and private equity firms.
Sources and more information here: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/03/19/fed-bailout-silicon-valley-banks
VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=jyrj7gZwg3U
US Federal Reserve says its goal is ‘to get wages down’: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2022/05/24/us-federal-reserve-wages-inflation

Mar 16, 2023 • 26min
Taiwan separatists lose key ally, Honduras recognizes China - just 12 small countries remain
Honduras' leftist President Xiomara Castro announced her government will recognize China. Now only 12 UN member states have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan separatists. They have a combined population of less than 39 million, or 0.49% of the planet.
VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=KklV9438o1w
Sources and more information here: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/03/16/taiwan-honduras-china-12-countries
US military plans for war on China, backing Taiwan separatists: https://youtube.com/watch?v=ODbrpimBgKo
US-backed coup regimes trapped Honduras in unpayable odious debt, warns new President Xiomara Castro: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2022/01/31/coup-honduras-unpayable-odious-debt

Mar 14, 2023 • 1h 2min
Why 3 US banks collapsed in 1 week: Economist Michael Hudson explains
Economist Michael Hudson analyzes the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, Silvergate, and Signature Bank, explaining the similarities to the 2008 financial crash. He also addresses the US government bailout (which it isn't calling a bailout), the role of the Federal Reserve and Treasury, the factor of cryptocurrency, and the danger of derivatives.
TRANSCRIPT: https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/03/14/us-banks-collapsed-economist-michael-hudson
VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=uvm9qrXhqf8
Check out the playlist for the show that Michael Hudson co-hosts here, Geopolitical Economy Hour: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDAi0NdlN8hMl9DkPLikDDGccibhYHnDP
Michael's column "Why the US banking system is breaking up": https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/03/12/michael-hudson-why-the-us-banking-system-is-breaking-up
Michael's other article "Why the US bank crisis is not over": https://geopoliticaleconomy.com/2023/03/13/michael-hudson-us-bank-crisis