Economics & Beyond with Rob Johnson

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Rob Johnson is not your average economist, and this is not your average economics podcast. Every week, Rob talks about economic and social issues with a guest who probably wasn’t on your Econ 101 reading list, from musicians to activists to rebel economists. A podcast of The Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET).

Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET)


    • Jan 30, 2025 LATEST EPISODE
    • monthly NEW EPISODES
    • 59m AVG DURATION
    • 191 EPISODES

    4.5 from 47 ratings Listeners of Economics & Beyond with Rob Johnson that love the show mention: economics, pandemic, deep, thought, host, right, guests, thank, time, rob johnson.



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    Latest episodes from Economics & Beyond with Rob Johnson

    Fred Block: Beyond Industrialism - Building Communities That Work for People

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 30, 2025 71:50


    Fred Block, Research​ Professor of Sociology at UC Davis, joins Rob Johnson to discuss his latest book,​ The Habitation Society, which explores the need to move beyond industrial-era economic models to create an economy that prioritizes community well-being​. Block critiques how economic policies have fueled inequality and stagnation while offering solutions—such as restructuring public finance—to foster prosperity for all.

    Lincoln Mitchell: Fear and Fascism: How America Reached a Political Breaking Point

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 14, 2024 66:20


    Rob Johnson hosts Lincoln Mitchell, Political Science Professor at Columbia University, in a compelling conversation about the increasingly powerful fascist movement in the US. Mitchell outlines the elements of fascism present in the MAGA movement, including its dependence on a strongman leader, the scapegoating of minorities, threats of violence and curtailing of freedoms of speech and assembly. Reflecting on the failures of the media and political establishment, they discuss the importance of rebuilding democratic norms and institutions.

    David Sirota: Money Talks - The Erosion of Democracy in the Age of Billionaire Influence

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 7, 2024 53:02


    David Sirota joins Rob Johnson to examine the history and impact of money in U.S. politics, as explored in Sirota's investigative podcast series, "Master Plan." Sirota discusses how a series of judicial rulings and policy changes since the 1970s enabled a system in which the voices of wealthy elites overshadow those of ordinary citizens.

    Marjorie Kelly: The Other Dangerous Supremacy - Wealth Supremacy

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 21, 2024 59:51


    ​Author and Distinguished Senior Fellow of the Democracy Collaborative, Marjorie Kelly, talks about her recently released book, Wealth Supremacy: How the Extractive Economy and the Biased Rules of Capitalism Drive Today's Crises (Berrett-Kohler, September 2023)​​, which also outlines a vision for democratizing the economy so that it serves the broader public good.

    Steven Herrmann: America's Shaman-Poets' Vision for a Better Future

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 10, 2024 62:51


    Rob Johnson and Steven Herrmann, an author and Jungian analyst, discuss the concept of "spiritual democracy" as explored in Herrmann's work and the writings of American poets like Walt Whitman, Herman Melville, and Emily Dickinson and how their vision might inform a renewal of American democracy.

    America's Burning

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 6, 2024 68:33


    What happened to the American dream? Rob talks with David Smick about his new film and the inspiration for the project.

    Leah Hunt-Hendrix and Astra Taylor - Solidarity: A World-Changing Idea

    Play Episode Listen Later May 16, 2024 62:49


    Leah Hunt-Hendrix and Astra Taylor talk to Rob about their recently released book, Solidarity: The Past, Present, and Future of a World-Changing Idea. The wide-ranging conversation covers the importance of solidarity in addressing the current crises of economic inequality, climate change, and democracy, emphasizing the need for collective action and social movements to bring about change, as well as the role of education and the arts in fostering a sense of community and shared identity.

    Rohinton Medhora: One Earth, One Family, One Future

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 2, 2023 41:16


    Rohinton Medhora (INET's Board Chair, member of our Commission on Global Economic Transformation, and Distinguished Fellow at CIGI) discusses global social healing, India and the G20 with INET President Rob Johnson.

    Adair Turner: India's Leadership and Global Challenges of Climate and Finance

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 26, 2023 43:33


    If we're going to address environmental catastrophe, we need to support each other on a global scale. Rob Johnson checks in with Adair Turner about his work, and practical solutions to address the climate crisis.

    Angus Deaton: An Immigrant Economist Explores the Land of Inequality

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 19, 2023 67:52


    Economics Nobel laureate Sir Angus Deaton discusses his latest book, Economics in America, which takes an autobiographical approach to how the field of economics addresses the most pressing issues of our time—from poverty, retirement, and the minimum wage to the ravages of the nation's uniquely disastrous health care system.

    Michael Spence: A Plan to Fix a Fractured World

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 12, 2023 50:52


    Mike Spence talks with Rob Johnson about his upcoming co-authored book "Permacrisis", India and the G20, and bringing the world together to address our shared challenges. Book: "Permacrisis: A Plan to Fix a Fractured World" https://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/bo... Do you feel like we're in a permacrisis? Chances are you feel some anxiety about the state of the world. Gordon Brown, Mohamed A. El-Erian, and Michael Spence certainly did. Three of the most internationally respected and experienced thinkers of our time, these friends found their pandemic Zooms increasingly focused on a cascade of crises: sputtering growth, surging inflation, poor policy responses, an escalating climate emergency, worsening inequality, increasing nationalism, and a decline in global co-operation.

    Alan Blinder: Looking Back and Looking Ahead: 15 Years After the Lehman Collapse

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 28, 2023 58:51


    Former Fed vice chair and Princeton University economics professor Alan Blinder takes a close look at what lessons still remain to be learned in the aftermath of the Great Financial Crisis.

    Thomas Ferguson: The Lehman Disaster and Why It Matters Today

    Play Episode Listen Later Sep 13, 2023 54:41


    On September 15, 2008, Lehman Brothers, a giant investment bank with a storied history, filed for bankruptcy. The shock was profound; world markets melted down.   Over the next few days, one financial behemoth after another, including American International Group (AIG), Washington Mutual, and Wachovia collapsed. The crown jewels of Wall Street – Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs – slid toward the abyss. The Federal Reserve, the Treasury, and other regulators were forced to step in, sometimes in conjunction with famous private investors, to rescue the system. The government in effect nationalized AIG and, after two cliffhanging votes in Congress, it directly injected capital into leading private banks.  Ever since then, debates have raged about why the authorities – the Fed and the Treasury -- allowed Lehman to go broke, after earlier helping to salvage a series of other institutions.  In this Podcast, INET President Robert Johnson and INET Research Director Thomas Ferguson review those dramatic events. They also draw disquieting parallels between the Lehman debacle and more recent episodes of financial deregulation, including recent controversies over crypto and private equity.  

    Christian Madsbjerg: How to Pay Attention in a Turbulent Distracted World

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 18, 2023 60:07


    In a world that increasingly promotes distraction and isolation, the ability to pay attention to each other has become ever more important. Philosopher Christian Madsbjerg talks to Rob about his new book, Look, which outlines how we can recapture our ability to pay attention.

    Steven Herrmann: The Shaman's Call and Finding Your Inner Voice

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 8, 2023 81:08


    Steven Herrmann, Jungian psychoanalyst and author of the books, William James and C. G. Jung and of William Everson: The Shaman's Call, among others, engages in a wide-ranging conversation about finding one's calling, the poet William Everson, and the importance of dreams. Referenced during the podcast: Robinson Jeffers on Moral Beauty, the Interconnectedness of the Universe, and the Key to Peace of Mind by Maria Popova

    Simon Johnson: Our Thousand-Year Struggle over Technology and Prosperity

    Play Episode Listen Later May 16, 2023 54:04


    Simon Johnson, the co-author of the just-released book Power and Progress (co-authored with Daron Acemoglu), discusses the book, what new technologies hold in store for us, and how societies might better manage and govern them.

    Brendan Ballou: Plunder - Private Equity's Plan to Pillage America

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 27, 2023 59:03


    Brendan Ballou, talks to Rob about his forthcoming book, Plunder, about the growing harmful role of private equity in the US. Ballou is a federal prosecutor and served as Special Counsel for Private Equity in the Justice Department's Antitrust Division.

    Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway: The Big Myth of Market Fundamentalism

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 16, 2023 48:48


    Historians Naomi Oreskes (Harvard University) and Erik Conway (Caltech) talk to Rob about their just-released book, The Big Myth: How American Business Taught Us to Loathe Government and Love the Free Market.

    Jim Chanos: The Golden Age of Fraud in Finance

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 23, 2023 62:15


    Jim Chanos, the president and founder of Kynikos Associates and well-known investment manager talks to Rob about the post-pandemic financial system, which has become more steeped in a casino culture than it has been in a very long time, and whether China's financial situation serves as an example or as a warning.

    Survival of the Richest

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 16, 2023 39:56


    Oxfam's Economic Justice Director, Nabil Ahmed, and Oxfam International's Inequality Policy & Advocacy Lead, Max Lawson, discuss their latest Global Inequality Report, which highlights the accelerating pace at which the world's billionaires have increased their wealth exponentially in recent years. They also discuss the ways in which governments can reverse this trend through taxation.

    The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 7, 2023 95:13


    Financial Times columnist Martin Wolf discusses his just-released book, The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism, which explores the reasons why Liberal democracy is threatened by authoritarianism and what needs to be done to resurrect democratic capitalism. Link to the book

    Iconik: Beyond ESG

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 2, 2023 54:21


    Alex Thaler, the CEO of the software platform Iconik, and Iconik advisor Adam Cummings discuss how the platform helps shareholders create personalized voting profiles for shareholder meetings, allowing them to increase their influence over companies and give management a clearer awareness of investor goals without abrupt and embarrassing conflict.   Iconik website: https://www.iconikapp.com/

    ceo iconik
    Perry Mehrling: Charles P. Kindleberger and the Dollar System

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 26, 2023 82:48


    Boston University economic professor Perry Mehrling discusses his recently released INET book, in collaboration with Cambridge University Press, "Money and Empire," which chronicles the life of Charles P. Kindleberger and how he helped shape the emerging global dollar system. INET Book page: Money and Empire

    Time Bomb in Global Finance

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 12, 2023 43:21


    A Bank for International Settlements study says 60+ trillion dollars of off-the-books currency swaps could be a profound, systematic risk. Rob Johnson joins Paul Jay on theAnalysis.news.

    The Misguided Forces Driving Conflict Escalation Between the US and China

    Play Episode Listen Later Dec 1, 2022 65:41


    Yale Law School Fellow Stephen Roach, discusses his just-released book, Accidental Conflict. Roach explores how much of the adversarial nationalist rhetoric in both China and the USA is dangerously misguided and more a reflection of each nation's fears and vulnerabilities than a credible assessment of the risks they face.

    The New Economics of Debt and Financial Fragility

    Play Episode Listen Later Nov 17, 2022 67:48


    University of Bonn and Sciences Po economics professor Moritz Schularick talks to Rob about the soon-to-be-released book, Leveraged, which he edited based on papers from an INET-sponsored conference. The book takes a close look at what we have learned about the costs and causes of financial fragility since 2008.

    Rana Foroohar: The Path to Prosperity in a Post-Global World

    Play Episode Listen Later Oct 20, 2022 48:27


    Financial Times columnist and author Rana Foroohar talks about her new book Homecoming: The Path to Prosperity in a Post-Global World

    Albert Wenger: The World After Capital

    Play Episode Listen Later Aug 9, 2022 36:56


    We are in the midst of another global transformation, but this time we might have the tools to get it right.

    albert wenger world after capital
    Frank McCourt: Trading Fear for Hope

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 21, 2022 23:13


    Frank McCourt discusses his work to reinspire hope in the American experiment, and to build the framework necessary for that better tomorrow.

    Alan Murray: The Search for the Soul of Business

    Play Episode Listen Later Jul 14, 2022 29:21


    Corporate responsibility needs to evolve if businesses are going to rebuild trust and provide real value for society.

    Thomas Piketty: Quality of Life for Billions of People is at Stake

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 16, 2022 65:42


    World-renowned economist and inequality researcher Thomas Piketty in conversation with Rob Johnson, about Piketty's just-released book, A Brief History of Equality.

    Gary Gerstle: The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 9, 2022 64:24


    Cambridge University's American History professor Gary Gerstle discusses his most recent book, about how the neoliberal order came about, why it is faltering, and the indeterminacy of what comes next.

    Jeffrey Sachs: Peace is the Result of Diplomacy, Never of War

    Play Episode Listen Later Jun 2, 2022 56:11


    Columbia University's renowned economist Jeffrey Sachs talks about the lessons he has learned from consulting with governments around the world, about how global problems, such as the war in Ukraine, will only be solved via efforts to understand the other side, never through force.

    Chen Long: Creating a Digital Circular Economy for Net Zero

    Play Episode Listen Later May 19, 2022 59:36


    Luohan Academy's Director Chen Long discusses the academy's latest report, on the benefits of creating a "digital circular economy," which would go a long way towards reaching net zero carbon emissions and addressing the climate crisis. Report link: https://www.luohanacademy.com/insights/bc89734b94adf00c

    Peter Temin: Black and White America Always on Separate Trajectories

    Play Episode Listen Later May 5, 2022 47:41


    MIT economic historian Peter Temin discusses his new INET-CUP book, Never Together: The Economic History of a Segregated America, in which he shows how efforts to bridge the gap between races were always undermined, resulting in constant economic hardship for Black people.

    Norman Solomon: The Ukraine War and the Madness of Militarism

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 28, 2022 65:18


    Author and peace activist Norman Solomon talks about the double standards in US foreign policy that have smoothed the path for Russia's inexcusable invasion of Ukraine. The role of the military-industrial-complex in the US is one of the main reasons we lack a single standard for the use of military force and human rights, says Solomon.

    Joanna Chiu—China vs. West: New World Disorder

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 21, 2022 69:05


    The Toronto Star journalist Joanna Chiu discusses her book, China Unbound: A New World Disorder, which argues that we need to go beyond the typical over-simplifications of democratic West versus autocratic China if we hope to engage China in a way that seriously addresses issues such as human rights, climate change, and economic development.

    Kishore Mahbubani: The Return of Asia in the 21st Century

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 14, 2022 68:18


    Distinguished Fellow at the Asia Research Institute, National University of Singapore, Kishore Mahbubani, discusses his latest book, The Asian 21st Century, in which he relates US decline to the rise of plutocracy and Asia's renewed rise - after having fallen behind in the last 200 years - to its growing sense of dynamism, optimism, and diversity. This is the 200th episode of the podcast Economics and Beyond with Rob Johnson.

    Richard Kozul-Wright & Kevin Gallagher: Re-orienting Global Finance Towards Ecological and Social Goals

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 11, 2022 66:59


    UNCTAD Director Richard Kozul-Wright and Kevin Gallagher, Global Development Policy professor at Boston University, discuss their book, The Case for a New Bretton Woods. Ever since the post-war economic order was dismantled beginning in the 1980s, a re-design of the global economic order has become increasingly urgent in light of the social and ecological crises that we face.

    Peter Barnes: The Problem of Ownership in Capitalism

    Play Episode Listen Later Apr 7, 2022 61:26


    Peter Barnes, the entrepreneur and author of the recently published book, Ours: The Case for Universal Property, talks about how new conceptions of property - a universal commons - could fundamentally transform capitalism to make it more ecologically and socially sustainable.

    Michael Spence: We Are Entering a New Economic World

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 31, 2022 61:01


    Economics Nobel Laureate Michael Spence discusses the profound changes that are rippling through the global economy as we emerge from the COVID recession, where economic growth will have to rely more on productivity gains instead of the incorporation of excess labor capacity and what this would mean for countries around the world. Luohan Academy event referenced in the episode: Opportunities and Challenges for an Aging Society | Frontier Dialogue #9

    Sarita Mohanty: Investing in Compassion

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 24, 2022 60:38


    The tradition of abandoning our elderly populations needs to end. Sarita Mohanty talks with Rob Johnson about her work at the SCAN Foundation, and the critical importance of combating "ageism" to strengthening our society. Learn more: https://www.thescanfoundation.org/

    Anand Giridharadas: How We Are Going to Live Together Is Up for Grabs

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 17, 2022 63:46


    Anand Giridharadas, writer and author of the book, Winners Take All, discusses the multiple crises we are currently facing, how they could provide an impetus for real change, and how US and global elites are failing to live up to the challenge.

    Patrick Lawrence: The US Doesn't Pursue Foreign Policy, Only Security Policy

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 10, 2022 77:40


    Patrick Lawrence, writer and executive editor of The Scrum, analyzes the roots of US foreign policy failures, how these are reflected in the current confrontation with Russia, which can be found the US establishment's weddedness to power and to an unwillingness to see the other's perspective.

    Max Lawson: The Pandemic's Billionaire Variant

    Play Episode Listen Later Mar 3, 2022 58:11


    Max Lawson, head of Oxfam International's Inequality Policy program, discusses Oxfam's latest inequality report, "Inequality Kills," which highlights the extreme growth in wealth of the billionaire class during the pandemic and how this has had a direct effect on the health and survival of the world's bottom 50%.

    Ajay Chhibber: Unshackling India for Economic Revival

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 24, 2022 86:56


    Ajay Chhibber, Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the Institute of International Economic Policy, George Washington University, and India's first Director General of Independent Evaluation with the status of Minister of State in 2013-14, discusses his co-authored book, Unshackling India, about what needs to happen for India's economy to take off.

    state institute revival minister economic george washington university director general international economic policy distinguished visiting scholar
    Wendell Potter: US Healthcare Strangled by Massive Insurance Profits and Money in Politics

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 17, 2022 66:30


    Former health insurance executive turned whistleblower and investigative journalist Wendell Potter discusses the many ways in which the private health insurance system of the US is not serving anyone well except the insurance companies' owners

    Adam Tooze: A Global Green New Deal

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 10, 2022 22:42


    Rob Johnson interviewed Columbia University historian Adam Tooze in early 2020 about his work on financial history and how it relates to the Green New Deal.

    Terrence McNally: On Finding Repair and Relief from the Commodification of Social Design

    Play Episode Listen Later Feb 3, 2022 63:36


    Terrence McNally, the host of the podcast Free Forum: A World that just Might Work, interviews Rob about the current state of the world and what needs to happen for us to get out of the mess in which we find ourselves.

    John Fullerton: Regenerative Economics: A Necessary Paradigm Shift for a World in Crisis

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 27, 2022 61:33


    John Fullerton, the Founder of the Capital Institute, discusses the urgent need for a new paradigm in economic thinking, modeled on living systems instead of Newtonian physics, which he calls regenerative economics.

    Peter Goodman: How Davos Man Devours the World

    Play Episode Listen Later Jan 18, 2022 78:59


    Peter Goodman, New York Times correspondent and author of the just-published book, Davos Man: How the Billionaires Devoured the World, talks to Rob about how inequality is not inevitable, but has been engineered through the political process by selling us a false idea of what is possible. 

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