

Macrodose
Planet B Productions
Your weekly fix of everything economics. Hosted by James Meadway.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Sep 20, 2023 • 19min
15 years on from 2008
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/

Sep 13, 2023 • 18min
Disaster for UK green energy plans
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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/

Sep 6, 2023 • 22min
Another Brick in the Wall
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/

Aug 30, 2023 • 21min
Local Government Special w/ Antonia Jennings
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/

Aug 26, 2023 • 50min
UNLOCKED Making Neoliberalism: the economics of Empire w/ Kojo Koram
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

Aug 23, 2023 • 19min
How Jamaica almost stopped neoliberalism w/ Kojo Koram
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/

Aug 16, 2023 • 17min
Is Bidenomics working??
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/

Aug 11, 2023 • 13min
Beyond Techno-Solutionism: gender and platform work w/ Anjali Krishan and Kavita Dattani
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

Aug 9, 2023 • 16min
Inflation Nation(s)
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

Aug 2, 2023 • 17min
Petro Politics
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