Macrodose

On this week’s Macrodose, Grace Blakeley breaks down what is driving the crisis in the NHS, and answers a listener question about what policies the Labour Party should be considering in its next manifesto.  You can find the series Planet B Productions co-produced with openDemocracy on the care crisis here: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/oureconomy/the-uk-care-crisis-explained/ 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

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: Thames Water teetering on the brink of collapse - is it time to bring our water systems back under public control (0.48), proposed new deep sea mining projects in the Pacific (8.38) and a listener question - what’s different about Labour’s fiscal rules now compared to when James was working with former Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell (14.08). 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

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: Britains debt growing bigger than national income - how worried should we really be (0.46), the Bank of England’s decision to raise its interest rate to 5% (8.39) and some listener responses to last week’s call out - what are the other economics podcasts you keep an eye on (12.50)? 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

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 and many more.  Our guest today is Richard Jones. Richard is Professor of Materials Physics and Innovation Policy at the University of Manchester. His blog ’Soft Machines’ provides excellent insight into nanotechnology, and the UK government's wider science and technology policies. In this interview we talked specifically about semiconductors, which are fuelling resource conflicts and trade wars around the world. What is a semiconductor? Why should we care about them? And how are they shaping global economic trends?

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: the inflation figures due to be released this week and the Bank of England's likely response (0.56), and a listener question - what are some recommendations for right-wing economics podcasts, is there a free-market “Macrodose of the Right” (10.00)? 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

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: a listener question - Universal Basic Income vs Universal Basic Services (0.47), Labour shrinking its £28 billion-a-year Green Prosperity plan (10.26) and Kerala's new, publicly-owned broadband scheme (14.56). 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

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 all our fascinating chat with Kojo Koram about the economic legacies of Empire, and our recent conversation with Richard Seymour about the making of political subjectivities in an era of climate breakdown. You’ll also gain access to our upcoming interviews with housing reporter Vicky Spratt, and economist Ann Pettifor. Our guest today is Isabella Weber. Isabella is an economist working on inflation, China, global trade and the history of economic thought. She is an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, a Berggruen Fellow, and an Associate in Research at the Fairbank Center, Harvard University. In this interview we discussed her most recent research into the causes of inflation. Greedflation? Excuse-flation? Sellers' inflation? What does it all mean, and are the mainstream starting to change their tune? 

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: planetary boundaries - are there quantifiable limits to our exploitation of nature? (1:09) The hype around American tech company Nvidia (7:39), and a listener question - what’s the best way to fund universities (15:25)? 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

To celebrate our 6 month anniversary, we're unlocking some of our favourite Macrodose Extra episodes from our Patreon. For many more like this, head over to patreon.com/Macrodose and subscribe today! MACRODOSE EXTRA takes you behind the scenes to go in-depth with some of the leading voices from the world of economics. In this episode, James Meadway talks to Yanis Varoufakis about the crisis facing the U.K economy, austerity 2.0 and the era of Cloud Capitalism. Varoufakis is an academic, economist and politician. He formerly served as the Greek Minister of Finance from January to July 2015 in the Syriza government of Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras, and is currently a sitting member of the Greek Parliament for MeRA25, a progressive political party which he founded it in 2018.Yanis is also a founder of the Progressive International - seeking to ally and organise progressive movements worldwide, and DiEM25 - a transnational movement to reform the European Union.

To celebrate our 6 month anniversary, we're unlocking some of our favourite Macrodose Extra episodes from our Patreon. For many more like this, head over to patreon.com/Macrodose and subscribe today! MACRODOSE EXTRA takes you behind the scenes to go in-depth with some of the leading voices from the world of economics. In today's episode, James Meadway speaks to labour journalist Sarah Jaffe about the wave of strikes we’ve seen this year - from nurses, rail workers and posties here in the U.K, to teachers, Amazon workers, and Starbucks employees over in the United States. What’s new about the latest wave of labour action and why is it happening now? Sarah is the author of two wonderful books - Work Won't Love You Back: How Devotion to Our Jobs Keeps Us Exploited, Exhausted and Alone (2021), and Necessary Trouble, Americans in Revolt (2016). She is also a co-host of Dissent magazine’s Belabored podcast, as well as a columnist at The Progressive.