Macrodose

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/

Isabella Weber, an economist, discusses the causes and consequences of inflation, emphasizing the impact of supply chain disruptions. The podcast explores inflated prices in important sectors, proposes interventions, and highlights the importance of sector-specific measures. Government interventions in economic shocks and climate change are also discussed, along with disaster preparedness and historical price revolutions.

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

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/

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/

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/

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/

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

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/

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/