Macrodose

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: food inflation (0:42), why AI is fuelling resource conflicts (6:51) and Chile's plans to nationalise lithium, what does that mean for the future of climate politics (11:37)? A massive thank you to The Lipman-Miliband Trust for supporting our work. Their help is a major step towards this show being sustainable in the long term but we still need your help. If you have the means, head over to patreon.com/Macrodose and subscribe today. For any questions or queries, leave a comment or get in touch at macrodose@planetbproductions.co.uk

MACRODOSE EXTRA takes you behind the scenes to go in-depth with some of the leading voices from the world of economics. Subscribe today at patreon.com/macrodose to hear the full version of this interview, as well as our recent episodes with Greek politician Yanis Varoufakis, labour journalist Sarah Jaffe, and former finance trader Gary Stevenson.  You’ll also gain access to our upcoming interviews with FT reporter Yuan Yang and contributing editor to the LRB, James Butler. Our guest today is Gargi Bhattacharyya. Gargi is Professor of Sociology in the Institute for Connected Communities at the University of East London. They are also an activist, organiser and author of Rethinking Racial Capitalism, an account of the entanglement between capitalism and racism, which tracks their historical interconnections as a route to better understanding their interactions today..  Gargi is also author of We the Heartbroken, a new book out just this month from Hajar Press. In it they explore the role of emotion, grief and tragedy in building solidarity - and argue that  heartbreak can become the class consciousness of our time.  In this interview we touch on both of these works. We started by discussing the concept of racial capitalism. What does the term mean, and why does Gargi think it is a useful framework for understanding the economy today?

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: falling house prices and how they fit with the broader economic crisis (2:04), why AI is unlikely to replace you but might make your job much worse (8:07) and a new masterplan for the Brecon Beacons National Park in Wales (12:16). A massive thank you to The Lipman-Miliband Trust for supporting our work. Their help is a major step towards this show being sustainable in the long term but we still need your help. If you have the means, head over to patreon.com/Macrodose and subscribe today. For any questions or queries, leave a comment or get in touch at macrodose@planetbproductions.co.uk

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down the real world impact of cryptocurrencies (1:35), the economic turmoil in Sri Lanka and role of the IMF and World Bank (9:41), and a claim from the IMF that interest rates and inflation are going to come down - but do we believe them (15:58)? A massive thank you to The Lipman-Miliband Trust for supporting our work. Their help is a major step towards this show being sustainable in the long term but we still need your help. If you have the means,  head over to patreon.com/Macrodose and subscribe today.

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down France’s historic climate protests over new mega reservoirs (0:49), a new study on how the way we use our time has changed over the last 40 years (7:42) and the world bank publish their report on what’s happening to economic growth across the globe (11:41).

MACRODOSE EXTRA takes you behind the scenes to go in-depth with some of the leading voices from the world of economics. Subscribe today at patreon.com/macrodose to hear the full version of this interview, as well as our recent episodes with Greek politician Yanis Varoufakis, labour journalist Sarah Jaffe, and former finance trader Gary Stevenson. You’ll also gain access to our upcoming interviews with FT reporter Yuan Yang and academic and writer Gargi Bhattacharyya. Our guest today is Rosie Collington. Rosie is a political economist, writer, and researcher at the Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, University College London. She is also the co-author, alongside economist Marianna Mazzucato, of the new book: the Big Con: how the consulting industry weakens our businesses, infantilizes our governments and warps our economies. I met up with Rosie recently over at UCL to talk all things public sector, outsourcing, and the political economy of the state.

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down the economics behind the current strikes in France (0:52), the Deutsche Bank share price crash amidst speculation it is hiding losses (6:30) and “shrinkflation” - how the current crisis is affecting the size of your Mars Bar (9:12).

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: Credit Suisse and the threat of another financial crisis (1:29) and what ecological breakdown means for our financial systems (13:09).

James is joined by former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell for a special bonus episode of Macrodose reacting to yesterday's Budget.  www.patreon.com/Macrodose

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: today’s budget, what to look out for and why the government is playing it down (1:28), and the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, should we be worried (8:15)? https://www.patreon.com/Macrodose