Podcasts about disorder hard times

Peoples & Things host, Lee Vinsel, talks with Helen Thompson, Professor of Political Economy at Cambridge University and co-host of the great podcast, These Times, about her approach to geopolitical analysis and the centrality of energy geopolitics in that approach. The pair start by talking about Thompson's book, Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century (Cambridge UP, 2023), her background and training, and how she came to develop the distinctive style of geopolitical analysis she deploys, including on episodes of These Times. Vinsel and Thompson also discuss a number of topics, including military conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East and the global energy geopolitics of Net Zero, as a way of exploring Thompson's way of thinking. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science

Peoples & Things host, Lee Vinsel, talks with Helen Thompson, Professor of Political Economy at Cambridge University and co-host of the great podcast, These Times, about her approach to geopolitical analysis and the centrality of energy geopolitics in that approach. The pair start by talking about Thompson's book, Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century (Cambridge UP, 2023), her background and training, and how she came to develop the distinctive style of geopolitical analysis she deploys, including on episodes of These Times. Vinsel and Thompson also discuss a number of topics, including military conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East and the global energy geopolitics of Net Zero, as a way of exploring Thompson's way of thinking. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/world-affairs

Peoples & Things host, Lee Vinsel, talks with Helen Thompson, Professor of Political Economy at Cambridge University and co-host of the great podcast, These Times, about her approach to geopolitical analysis and the centrality of energy geopolitics in that approach. The pair start by talking about Thompson's book, Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century (Cambridge UP, 2023), her background and training, and how she came to develop the distinctive style of geopolitical analysis she deploys, including on episodes of These Times. Vinsel and Thompson also discuss a number of topics, including military conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East and the global energy geopolitics of Net Zero, as a way of exploring Thompson's way of thinking. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

Peoples & Things host, Lee Vinsel, talks with Helen Thompson, Professor of Political Economy at Cambridge University and co-host of the great podcast, These Times, about her approach to geopolitical analysis and the centrality of energy geopolitics in that approach. The pair start by talking about Thompson's book, Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century (Cambridge UP, 2023), her background and training, and how she came to develop the distinctive style of geopolitical analysis she deploys, including on episodes of These Times. Vinsel and Thompson also discuss a number of topics, including military conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East and the global energy geopolitics of Net Zero, as a way of exploring Thompson's way of thinking. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/national-security

‘The world as we knew it is gone' – UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's response to Trump's tariffs President Donald Trump recently announced a 90-day pause for his monumental ‘liberation day' tariffs while at the same time escalating a dangerous trade war with China. Trump's announcement came just weeks after import taxes on all goods entering the US were introduced, in the biggest upheaval of international trade in decades. And beyond the chaos and endless news cycle of the last few days, Trump's key advisers are introducing a broader set of fringe economic ideas that they believe will transform politics and economics at home, as well as the foundations of US power abroad. In May 2025, Helen Thompson, expert on the long history of globalisation and author of the acclaimed book Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century came to Intelligence Squared to make sense of the seismic shifts we are witnessing in the global economy and how they will impact us here in the UK. She was joined on stage by BBC broadcaster Jonny Dymond for this event in our Intelligence Squared Economic Outlook series in partnership with Guinness Global Investors. This recording is part of The Intelligence Squared Economic Outlook series of events made in partnership with Guinness Global Investors, an independent British fund manager that helps both individuals and institutions harness the future drivers of growth to achieve their investment goals. To find out more visit: https://www.guinnessgi.com/ ------- If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all our full ad free conversations, plus all of our Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. For £4.99 per month you'll also receive: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared episodes, wherever you get your podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series - 15% discount on livestreams and in-person tickets for all Intelligence Squared events  ...  Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series … Already a subscriber? Thank you for supporting our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations! Visit intelligencesquared.com to explore all your benefits including ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content and early access. … Subscribe to our newsletter here to hear about our latest events, discounts and much more. https://www.intelligencesquared.com/newsletter-signup/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

‘The world as we knew it is gone' – UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's response to Trump's tariffs President Donald Trump recently announced a 90-day pause for his monumental ‘liberation day' tariffs while at the same time escalating a dangerous trade war with China. Trump's announcement came just weeks after import taxes on all goods entering the US were introduced, in the biggest upheaval of international trade in decades. And beyond the chaos and endless news cycle of the last few days, Trump's key advisers are introducing a broader set of fringe economic ideas that they believe will transform politics and economics at home, as well as the foundations of US power abroad. In May 2025, Helen Thompson, expert on the long history of globalisation and author of the acclaimed book Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century came to Intelligence Squared to make sense of the seismic shifts we are witnessing in the global economy and how they will impact us here in the UK. She was joined on stage by BBC broadcaster Jonny Dymond for this event in our Intelligence Squared Economic Outlook series in partnership with Guinness Global Investors. This recording is part of The Intelligence Squared Economic Outlook series of events made in partnership with Guinness Global Investors, an independent British fund manager that helps both individuals and institutions harness the future drivers of growth to achieve their investment goals. To find out more visit: https://www.guinnessgi.com/ ------- This is the first instalment of a two-part episode. If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all our full ad free conversations, plus all of our Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. For £4.99 per month you'll also receive: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared episodes, wherever you get your podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series - 15% discount on livestreams and in-person tickets for all Intelligence Squared events  ...  Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series … Already a subscriber? Thank you for supporting our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations! Visit intelligencesquared.com to explore all your benefits including ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content and early access. … Subscribe to our newsletter here to hear about our latest events, discounts and much more. https://www.intelligencesquared.com/newsletter-signup/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

(Conversation recorded on November 11th, 2024, prior to a ceasefire declared between Israel and Lebanon on November 27th, 2024)   If you've followed TGS for some time, you've heard Nate speak about The 5 Horsemen – the biggest risks for humans and civilization in the coming decade. Today's episode delves into one of the most rapidly escalating: geopolitics.  Today, Nate is joined by Political Economy Professor Helen Thompson to explore the evolving understanding of energy's role in international relations, particularly in the context of recent conflicts in the Middle East. They discuss the challenge of anticipating the volatile changes in energy supplies, the complexities of navigating information in a rapidly changing geopolitical landscape, and the role of global powers like BRICS and OPEC. How will resource conflicts continue to shape the long-standing tensions in the Middle East? What would a transition from a unipolar world to a multipolar world mean for the global geopolitical landscape and its energy implications? Given how connected these issues are to the delicate balance of our world, how can we increase awareness and preparation for future crises?   About Helen Thompson:  Helen Thompson has been Professor of Political Economy at Cambridge since 1994. Her current research concentrates on the political economy of energy and the long history of the democratic, economic, and geopolitical disruptions of the twenty-first century. She is a regular panelist on Talking Politics and a columnist for the New Statesman. She is a co-presenter of UnHerd's podcast, These Times, and recently published Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century.   Show Notes and More Watch this video episode on YouTube   ---   Support The Institute for the Study of Energy and Our Future Join our Substack newsletter Join our Discord channel and connect with other listeners  

This is the second instalment of a three-part episode. We once thought liberalism could and should be universal. But recent decades have shown that this presumption could be flawed. Now, with the re-election of Donad Trump in the US, liberalism has fallen out of favour at the ballot box with populism and authoritarianism taking root globally. Where do we go from here? On the day of the US election, November 6th, John Gray, the renowned philosopher whose ideas often examine the idea of liberalism and ask whether its future is assured, discussed his latest book, The New Leviathans: Thoughts After Liberalism. Joining Gray in conversation to discuss the book and the pivotal events of November 2024 was Helen Thompson, Professor of Political Economy at Cambridge University and author of Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century. This is the second instalment of a three-part episode. If you'd like to become a Member and get access to the full conversation immediately as an early access subscriber, plus all of our Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. For £4.99 per month you'll also receive: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared episodes, wherever you get your podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series - 15% discount on livestreams and in-person tickets for all Intelligence Squared events ... Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series ... Already a subscriber? Thank you for supporting our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations! Visit intelligencesquared.com to explore all your benefits including ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content and early access. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We once thought liberalism could and should be universal. But recent decades have shown that this presumption could be flawed. Now, with the re-election of Donad Trump in the US, liberalism has fallen out of favour at the ballot box with populism and authoritarianism taking root globally. Where do we go from here? On the day of the US election, November 6th, John Gray, the renowned philosopher whose ideas often examine the idea of liberalism and ask whether its future is assured, discussed his latest book, The New Leviathans: Thoughts After Liberalism. Joining Gray in conversation to discuss the book and the pivotal events of November 2024 was Helen Thompson, Professor of Political Economy at Cambridge University and author of Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century. This is the first instalment of a three-part episode. If you'd like to become a Member and get access to the full conversation immediately as an early access subscriber, plus all of our Members-only content, just visit intelligencesquared.com/membership to find out more. For £4.99 per month you'll also receive: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared episodes, wherever you get your podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series - 15% discount on livestreams and in-person tickets for all Intelligence Squared events ... Or Subscribe on Apple for £4.99: - Full-length and ad-free Intelligence Squared podcasts - Bonus Intelligence Squared podcasts, curated feeds and members exclusive series ... Already a subscriber? Thank you for supporting our mission to foster honest debate and compelling conversations! Visit intelligencesquared.com to explore all your benefits including ad-free podcasts, exclusive bonus content and early access. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

On this episode, political economist Helen Thompson and Nate discuss how energy and geopolitics have interconnected over the past century, building to the entangled political relationships we see around us today. The dynamics of power on a global scale are complex - stemming from access to energy, financial control, military strength, credibility/trust, and much more - yet we can understand these a bit better by learning the history that shaped them. How have geologic provinces of energy dense carbon created inherent hot spots on the geopolitical playing field? How has the global monetary system and debt evolved to strengthen the power of a select few countries and how difficult is it to break from this system? Do our leaders have the capability/knowledge to connect energy and geopolitical policy in order to guide us through a future of declining energy availability?    About Helen Thomspon:   Helen Thompson is Professor of Political Economy at Cambridge since 1994. Her current research concentrates on the political economy of energy and the long history of the democratic, economic, and geopolitical disruptions of the twenty-first century. She is a regular panelist on Talking Politics and a columnist for the New Statesman. She is a co-presenter of UnHerd's podcast, These Times and recently published Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century.   For Show Notes and More visit:  https://www.thegreatsimplification.com/episode/98-helen-thompson To watch this video episode on Youtube → https://youtu.be/FQbdNXQcT3E

This week, Iain Martin speaks to Helen Thompson about the geopolitics of energy. They touch on why the Ukraine war hasn't sparked a European awakening on energy security, the energy picture around Israel and the Middle East, why Trump 2.0 could be bad news for European security and her book Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century which is now out in paperback.  

This episode of Hub Dialogues features Helen Thompson, professor of political economy at Cambridge University, about her must-read book, Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century.The Hub Dialogues features The Hub's editor-at-large, Sean Speer, in conversation with leading entrepreneurs, policymakers, scholars, and thinkers on the issues and challenges that will shape Canada's future at home and abroad. The episodes are generously supported by The Ira Gluskin And Maxine Granovsky Gluskin Charitable Foundation and the Linda Frum and Howard Sokolowski Charitable Foundation.If you like what you are hearing on Hub Dialogues consider subscribing to The Hub's free weekly email newsletter featuring our insights and analysis on key public policy issues. Sign up here: https://thehub.ca/free-member-sign-up/. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Helen Thompson, Professor of Political Economy at the University of Cambridge and author of “Disorder: Hard Times In The 21st Century,” joins Forward Guidance to share her outlook on European energy, the Federal Reserve, financial repression, and rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East. Filmed on October 12, 2023. __ Helen Thompson's book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Disorder-Hard-Times-21st-Century/dp/0198864981 Helen Thompson's book on Oxford Press: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/disorder-9780198864981 Helen Thompson at Cambridge: https://www.polis.cam.ac.uk/Staff_and_Students/dr-helen-thompson __ Follow Helen Thompson on Twitter https://twitter.com/HelenHet20 Follow Jack Farley on Twitter https://twitter.com/JackFarley96 Follow Forward Guidance on Twitter https://twitter.com/ForwardGuidance Follow Blockworks on Twitter https://twitter.com/Blockworks_ __ Timecodes: (00:00) Introduction (00:15) Energy In Europe (09:27) Wind and Solar (13:36) Nuclear Energy (22:07) Federal Reserve Has Made American Monetary Power The Strongest It's Ever Been (32:11) Are Fed Rate Hikes A Problem For The Rest Of The World? (35:35) Implications Of Sovereign Debt Levels On Political Economy (41:55) Financial Repression And Capital Controls (51:34) The Future Of Money And The Dollar (56:47) U.S. China Relations (01:00:46) Conflict In Israel __ Disclaimer: Nothing discussed on Forward Guidance should be considered as investment advice. Please always do your own research & speak to a financial advisor before thinking about, thinking about putting your money into these crazy markets. 

Join us for a thought-provoking conversation with Professor Helen Thompson of Cambridge University, author of Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century, as we take a big picture perspective on the current global macro landscape. A key focus of Helen's work is the role of energy markets in understanding global macro developments and we delve into Europe's energy dependence on Russia. We hear about the factors which enabled Europe avoid an energy shortage in the winter of 2022 but why energy markets remain a risk factor for the Eurozone economy. We discuss the shift towards more proactive industrial policy in the US, what is driving it and how it relates to deglobalization. We also discuss China, its economic challenges and its evolving role in the Middle East and whether the global economy is truly fragmenting into distinct trading blocs. We get Helen's perspective on the US dollar's reserve status and why the US's role in the international monetary order is as strong as ever and get her thoughts on the next year's US presidential election. -----EXCEPTIONAL RESOURCE: Find Out How to Build a Safer & Better Performing Portfolio using this FREE NEW Portfolio Builder Tool-----Follow Niels on Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube or via the TTU website.IT's TRUE ? – most CIO's read 50+ books each year – get your FREE copy of the Ultimate Guide to the Best Investment Books ever written here.And you can get a free copy of my latest book “The Many Flavors of Trend Following” here.Learn more about the Trend Barometer here.Send your questions to info@toptradersunplugged.comAnd please share this episode with a like-minded friend and leave an honest Rating & Review on iTunes or Spotify so more people can discover the podcast.Follow Alan on Twitter.Follow Helen on Twitter.Episode TimeStamps: 02:36 - Introduction to Helen Thompson 06:31 - Why did she write her book, "Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century"?10:15 - The outlook for Europe's oil and gas dependency 17:23 - A longer-term structural challenge? 21:21 - A rebirth of the industrial...

Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine was the latest in a series of crises that have engulfed the world and affected businesses, countries and societies. Then there was covid, the US-China tensions, the rise of Trump and other strongmen political leaders, the current banking crisis. Are we truly in an age of permacrisis? Helen Thompson helps us make sense of what's going on. She looks at how slow-moving forces in the energy and currency markets have created tensions within, and between major countries. We are just seeing the first signs of these cracks. Helen's book Disorder : Hard Times in the 21st Century was on the Financial Times Shortlist for Best Business Book and anyone in business should join us to learn from Helen how geopolitics can affect business and society.

“I was born in 1881 in the great and mighty empire of the Habsburg Monarchy, but you would look for it in vain on the map today; it has vanished without trace”. We begin with this quote from Stefan Zweig's memoir The World of Yesterday (1942) for two reasons. First, because it is a wonderful book that beautifully describes this powerful sense of loss—do give it a read. But more importantly, because in this episode we will challenge the idea that the Empire of the Habsburgs vanished “without trace”. In fact, its legacy remains incredibly alive in Central Europe specifically, and across Europe more generally. Some might see in the European Union (EU) an offspring of the buried liberal empire. So today we will explore what we owe to the Habsburgs and weave that parallel between the Austro-Hungarian Empire and the EU. Joining us in this time capsule of an episode, we have Caroline de Gruyter, a German journalist of all things Brussels, and author of “Monde d'hier, monde de demain” which covers exactly today's topic—go give it a read if you want to dig in further. On the other side of the line we have former Talking Politics podcast star and Professor of Political Economy at Cambridge, Helen Thompson. She recently published “Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century”, a top-rated account on the three crises rocking western democracies in the 2020s. As usual, the full conversation will be available only to our Patreon subscribers. As always, please rate and review Uncommon Decency on Apple Podcasts, and send us your comments or questions either on Twitter at @UnDecencyPod or by e-mail at undecencypod@gmail.com. And please consider supporting the show through Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/undecencypod.

In this 1st episode of the new 6th season of Planet A, Dan Jørgensen talks to Helen Thompson, Professor of Political Economy at Cambridge University, about the geopolitics of fossil fuels and how the green energy transition affects the world order.Thompson´s current research concentrates on the political economy of energy and the democratic, economic, and geopolitical disruptions of the twenty-first century.She is also well known for co-hosting the highly acclaimed podcast Talking Politics.Her most recent book Disorder – Hard Times in the 21st Century was published on year ago - on the 24th of February 2022 – the same day Russia invaded Ukraine.The book which weaves together energy and geopolitics in a historic perspective couldn't have had a more timely launch.Thompson's book has received glowing reviews and was shortlisted by the Financial Times for Best Business Book of the year 2022.The book portrays an increasing instability of the global political system today and the ramifications of the current attempt to transition to clean energy worldwide.

On this episode of the Energy Security Cubed Podcast, Kelly Ogle and Joe Calnan discuss current events in energy security, including South Korea's nuclear plans, electricity price caps in Europe, and the latest update in the Line 5 saga. For the interview section of the podcast, Kelly Ogle talks with Greg Brew about the current state of the JCPOA nuclear agreement, and how the history of Iran-U.S. relations complicates things. Guest Bio: - Greg Brew is a CGAI Fellow and a Postdoctoral Fellow in International Security Studies at Yale University's Jackson School of Global Affairs Find Greg's two upcoming books here: The Struggle for Iran: Oil, Autocracy, and the Cold War, 1951–1954 - https://www.amazon.com/Struggle-Iran-Autocracy-Cold-1951-1954/dp/1469671662 Petroleum and Progress in Iran: Oil, Development, and the Cold War - https://www.amazon.com/Petroleum-Progress-Iran-Development-Cold/dp/1009206346 Host Bio: - Kelly Ogle is the CEO of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute What is Greg reading? - Public Citizens: The Attack on Big Government and the Remaking of American Liberalism, by Paul Sabin https://www.amazon.ca/Public-Citizens-Government-Remaking-Liberalism/dp/0393634043 - Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century, by Helen Thompson https://www.amazon.ca/Disorder-Hard-Times-21st-Century/dp/0198864981 - The Triumph of Broken Promises: The End of the Cold War and the Rise of Neoliberalism, by Fritz Bartel https://www.amazon.ca/Triumph-Broken-Promises-Cold-Neoliberalism/dp/0674976789 Interview recording Date: August 29, 2022. Energy Security Cubed is part of the CGAI Podcast Network. Follow the Canadian Global Affairs Institute on Facebook, Twitter (@CAGlobalAffairs), or on LinkedIn. Head over to our website at www.cgai.ca for more commentary. Produced by Joe Calnan. Music credits to Drew Phillips.

This week on the Compass podcast we are joined by Helen Thompson, author of the book Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century, published by Oxford University Press. A chronicle of three recent political histories - in our geopolitics, world economy and todays western democracies, Helen shows us the ways  that energy, global finance and democracy interact - forcing us to think hard about why and how we get a fit for purpose democracy to meet the challenges we face.Helen Thompson is a professor of Political Economy at Cambridge University and panelist at Talking Politics podcast. Her previous works also include the 2017 book 'Oil and the Western Economic Crisis.'It's Bloody Complicated is recorded every second and fourth Tuesday of the month. Become a Compass member to join our live recordings and put your questions to our guests: https://action.compassonline.org.uk/podcastSupport the show

If you want to understand this incredible geopolitical moment then Helen Thompson, Professor of Political Economy, is your person. Steeped in the history of how global energy interests and finance policy have interacted to shape the 21st century – not least in Ukraine – Helen offers an unrivalled analysis of the times we live in.Helen has been at Cambridge since 1994. Her current research concentrates on the political economy of energy and the long history of the democratic, economic, and geopolitical disruptions of the twenty-first century. She was a regular panellist on the influential Talking Politics podcast and is a columnist for the New Statesman.In her latest book Disorder, Helen explains why we in the West, live in the political times we do. Disorder has won praise from the likes of Diane Coyle and Adam Tooze who says “Defty weaving together the history of energy, economics, and politics, Disorder restores depth to contemporary history”.

In the second of a two part special, Luke Bartholomew and Paul Diggle are joined by Professor Helen Thompson, Professor of Political Economy at Cambridge University, and author of the recent book Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century. In this episode they discuss monetary policy, including the geopolitical and democratic consequences of US monetary hegemony, the future of central bank independence, and the likelihood of a recession.  The key takeaways are:  ·         Both the Great Moderation period of strong growth and low inflation, and the New Normal period of weak growth and low inflation were underwritten by low energy prices. The prospect of a return to structurally low energy prices in the near term seems very unlikely, making the job of monetary policy makers much more difficult. ·         The Fed's position at the centre of the global dollar system means its policy decisions have huge consequences for the rest of the world. In times of crisis this means the Fed has to act as lender of the last resort to much of the world, but even in “normal” times constrains the freedom of manoeuvre of various other central banks and governments. These concerns are likely to be particularly pressing in a period of rising rates. ·         The current delegation of responsibilities between fiscal and monetary policy makers is highly contingent and may come under pressure in this period of high inflation. However, a return to fiscal policy acting as the key tool of macro stabilisation is unlikely, especially if it becomes tainted by association with this bout of inflation. The lesson from previous episodes of high energy prices and monetary tightening is that they typically end in recession, where demand destruction for energy comes about though economic weakness. 

In Episode 257 of Hidden Forces, Demetri Kofinas speaks with Helen Thompson, author and Professor of Political Economy at the University of Cambridge. Thompson's current research concentrates on the political economy of energy and the long history of the democratic, economic, and geopolitical disruptions of the twenty-first century, which she explores magisterially in her new book “Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century.”  For those of us who grew up in the 1980s and 1990s, the nature of the world as we knew it to be only seemed to be getting better and better. The price of energy and the cost of capital kept getting cheaper, the world kept getting safer and more interconnected, and liberal democracy and free-market capitalism were seen as inevitable outcomes of the end of history. Today, all of that feels like it was almost a dream. The last two decades have brought a powerful tide of geopolitical, economic, and democratic shocks onto the world. Their fallout has led central banks to create over twenty-five trillion dollars of new money, brought about a new age of geopolitical competition, destabilized the Middle East, ruptured the European Union, and exposed old political fault lines in the United States--fault lines that seem to challenge even those of the tumultuous 1960s and 1970s when the specter of nuclear war and the trauma of violent riots and political assassinations cast a long shadow over the future of the Republic. This conversation between Helen Thompson and Demetri Kofinas endeavors to draw a line of continuity between those turbulent years and the present political moment as we try to imagine how a future situated in the long arch of human history with all its political challenges, economic imperatives, and destructive wars might unfold. It recounts three histories. One about geopolitics, one about the world economy, and one about western democracies, and explains how in the years of political disorder prior to the pandemic, the disruption in each became part of one big story, much of which originates in problems generated by fossil-fuel energies and our efforts to control them. And it explains why, as the green transition takes place, the longstanding predicaments that energy invariably shapes will remain firmly in place. You can access the full episode, transcript, and intelligence report to this week's conversation by going directly to the episode page at HiddenForces.io and clicking on "premium extras." All subscribers gain access to our premium feed, which can be easily added to your favorite podcast application. If you enjoyed listening to today's episode of Hidden Forces you can help support the show by doing the following: Subscribe on Apple Podcasts | YouTube | Spotify | Stitcher | SoundCloud | CastBox | RSS Feed Write us a review on Apple Podcasts & Spotify Subscribe to our mailing list at https://hiddenforces.io/newsletter/ Producer & Host: Demetri Kofinas Editor & Engineer: Stylianos Nicolaou Subscribe & Support the Podcast at https://hiddenforces.io Join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter at @hiddenforcespod Follow Demetri on Twitter at @Kofinas Episode Recorded on 07/06/2022

In the first of a two part special, Luke Bartholomew and Paul Diggle are joined by Professor Helen Thompson, Professor of Political Economy at Cambridge University, and author of the recent book Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century. In this episode they discuss the geopolitics of energy supply, and how this helps to explain aspects of Russia's war in Ukraine, the green transition, and other features of the global economy. The key takeaways are:  Energy markets provide a vital frame to understand 20th and 21st century geopolitics. US energy independence has complicated the relationship between the US, Russia, and the Middle East; while European energy dependence has been an ongoing source of political and economic volatility. The German energy strategy of binding Russia's economic interests with Europe's through mutual dependence on energy ties failed in part because Russia judged that non-European sources of demand reduced its dependence on European demand. The transition to renewable energy is likely to bring further geopolitical tensions in part due to China's dominance in the supply of key resources involved in green technologies. The political response to today's high energy prices has so far revolved around subsidising demand rather than cutting demand through moral suasion and a ‘politics of sacrifice'. That may change this winter if Russia cuts gas supplies to Europe. Conditions of war may be more conducive to appeals to sacrifice, but politicians have so far struggled to mobile this rhetoric around using less energy as a necessary component of net zero. 

Fascinating interview exploring the interwoven geopolitical, economic, and political history of Western democratic societies since the early 20th century, revealing the way in which the battles for energy and for resources has shaped  politics, the fault lines ultimately leading to many recent crises. Helen shares her perspective on the evolving relationship between the US and China—the underlying dynamics, emphasising how the Chinese leadership thinks in strategic terms about green energy –unlike the US. Helen also highlights the scale of the challenge of the energy transition which, she argues, is often underestimated, pointing out how energy transitions in the age of fossil fuels has largely been about more energy sources, not directly replacing one energy source with another.Helen Thompson is Professor of Political Economy at Cambridge and a fellow and Director of Studies at Clare College, Cambridge. Her current research concentrates on the political economy of energy and the long history of the democratic, economic, and geopolitical disruptions of the twenty-first century. She is the author of Oil and the Western Economic Crisis (2017), China and the Mortgaging of America (2010), and Might, Right, Prosperity and Consent: Representative Democracy and the International Economy (2008). Helen is a contributing writer to the New Statesman and has written articles for the London Review of Books, the New York Times, and the Financial Times. Her new book Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st century was published in February. 

In her latest book Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century (Oxford) Helen Thompson argues that while the earthquake that was the Covid-19 pandemic profoundly shocked the world order, the fault lines along which it operated had been building for decades. Her story begins with the energy crises of the 1970s, takes in the financial crash of 2008 before leading us to our current state of unease, disorder and instability. Thompson is in conversation with Ann Pettifor, economist and author of The Production of Money and The Case for the Green New Deal.Find our upcoming events, online and in-person, here: lrb.me/upcomingevents See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

We live in strange, unsettling, perhaps even exceptional times. How did we get here? In particular, how have our dependence on energy, our need for economic growth and our distrust in politics combined to shape our unstable 21st century. In this episode, Nick Spencer speaks to Prof. Helen Thompson about her book Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century.

The world is not just seeing high oil prices, it is at the beginning of a fully-fledged energy crisis, says Helen Thompson, a professor of Political Economy at Cambridge University. Thompson's latest book Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century, explains the overlapping geopolitical, economic, and political shocks of recent years, showing how much unrest has originated in problems generated by fossil-fuel energies, and the major role played by banks and debt. Thompson's previous books include Oil and the Western Economic Crisis (2017) and China and the Mortgaging of America (2010).

Öl und Gas, derzeit hitzig diskutiert wie nie zuvor, sind buchstäblich die Treibstoffe der Moderne – die gesamte Fortschrittserzählung der Welt und besonders des Westens in den industriellen Revolutionen des 20. Jahrhunderts wurde angetrieben vom Verfeuern dieser fossilen Brennstoffe. Noch immer verschlingen unsere Volkswirtschaften ungeheure Mengen von beiden nicht unbegrenzt verfügbaren Ressourcen. Das hat nicht nur fatale Folgen für den Klimawandel – wir alle lernen in diesen Tagen auch, was es heißt, als moderner Staat ohne nennenswerte Bodenschätze existentiell abhängig zu sein von einem Regime wie der russischen Autokratie unter Präsident Putin. Das neue Buch der Cambridge-Professorin für Politische Ökonomie, Helen Thompson, heißt Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century und hat sich vorgenommen, die heutige geopolitische und ökonomische Instabilität durch drei miteinander verflochtene Geschichten über Öl und Gas, Geld und Macht zu erklären – es wurde an dem Tag veröffentlicht, an dem Russland seinen Angriffskrieg in der Ukraine begann. Thompson erklärt uns, wieso das akute Energie-Dilemma, das der Bundesregierung Kopfzerbrechen bereitet, eigentlich schon in den ersten Tagen nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg seinen Anfang nahm – in der Ölgarantie, die Amerika der zerbrechlichen jungen Westrepublik gab, ohne die Ölfelder des Nahen Ostens militärisch unter Kontrolle zu haben. Sie zeigt in dieser Folge, wie der Handel mit fossilen Brennstoffen zum Kompass der kompletten Geopolitik des 20. und 21. Jahrhunderts wurde – ein schmutziges und oft blutiges Geschäft. Putins Aggression und der drohende Klima-Kollaps treiben die Öko-Wende an – aber damit werden die geopolitischen Karten auch völlig neu gemischt. Thompson wurde international mit dem Hit-Podcast Talking Politics bekannt und schreibt u.a. für den London Review of Books, die New York Times und die Financial Times. Danach spricht der Professor für Ordnungs- und Wettbewerbspolitik an der Universität Freiburg, Tim Krieger, mit uns über Deutschlands Drahtseilakt zwischen der Solidarität mit der Ukraine einerseits – und knallharten Wirtschaftsinteressen andererseits. Shownotes: "Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century" - Helen Thompson Moderation & Redaktion: René Freudenthal Produktion & Mitarbeit: Hanna Langreder Original-Logo zum Podcast: Simon Krause Original-Musik zum Podcast: Edward Fernbach

This week, Rafael Behr and Professor Helen Thompson discuss her new book Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century. The book, which was released on the day Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022, recounts three histories—one about geopolitics, one about the world economy, and one about western democracies. She explains how a confluence of different crises, building over many years, has created the current mood of global, epoch-defining disorder. It shows how much of this turbulence originated in problems generated by fossil-fuel energies, and it explains why, as the green transition takes place, the longstanding predicaments energy invariably shapes will remain in place. In light of her new book and the war raging in Ukraine, in this edition of Politics on the Couch Rafael and Helen discuss a wide-range of ideas and issues: Topics discussed: Was the Russian invasion of Ukraine an inflection point in history and how do we know if we're living through one? Do individuals and charismatic personalities shape history or merely express longer-running trends and bigger forces? Does Johnson have any ideology? If so, what is it? Can the year we're born can shape our optimism about the future? Has the pandemic affected the way citizens view making big sacrifices for a greater good? How can strong political identities be forged from adversity? Do Western liberal democracies have the capacity to drive through the change needed to make the green transition? Is China as an authoritarian state at an advantage? What lessons has the Ukrainian war taught us about energy policy and green transition? Links mentioned in this episode: Helen's new book: https://uk.bookshop.org/books/disorder-hard-times-in-the-21st-century/9780198864981 Helen's Cambridge University page: https://www.polis.cam.ac.uk/Staff_and_Students/dr-helen-thompson US academic Rafael mentions, Liliana Mason: https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/author/M/L/au27527357.html This podcast is hosted by ZenCast.fm

Air Date 5/4/2022 Today we take a look at the tectonic shifts in the geopolitics happening under our feet; the long, slow decline of the US empire and the neoliberal order, the role of the war in Ukraine in hastening the end of globalization, and the rise of both China in the east and of the oceans around us all. Be part of the show! Leave us a message at 202-999-3991 or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com  Transcript BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Get AD FREE Shows and Bonus Content) Join our Discord community! What is Discord? Check out Will Be Wild wherever you get your podcasts! BestOfTheLeft.com/Advertise Sponsor the show! SHOW NOTES Ch. 1: Ukraine and an Empire's Decline - Economic Update - Air Date 4-16-22 Wolff talks with host and journalist Chris Hedges about Ukraine and the end of the US empire. Ch. 2: A World to Win Imperialism and the Energy Crisis w/ David Wearing - Jacobin Radio - Air Date 4-1-22 Grace chats to David Wearing, post-doctoral researcher at SOAS and author of AngloArabia: Why Gulf Wealth Matters to Britain. Ch. 3: Is the war in Ukraine ushering in a new world order? - Inside Story Al Jazeera English - Air Date 3-27-22 The new war in Europe has been described as a turning point in human history. It's been more than a month since Russia invaded Ukraine - causing death and destruction across much of the country. Ch. 4: “Russia & China, Together at Last”: Historian Al McCoy Predicts Ukraine War to Birth New World Order - Democracy Now! - Air Date 3-21-22 President Biden reportedly warned Chinese President Xi Jinping via video call Friday that China would face “consequences” if it provided material support to Russia amid the war in Ukraine. Ch. 5: U.S. vs. China vs. Climate Change: Alfred McCoy, plus Kristina Wong on Mutual Aid - Start Making Sense - Air Date 12-8-21 Alfred McCoy argues that American global hegemony will end around 2030 replaced by China as world leader but Chinese hegemony will last only for about 20 years and that by 2050, climate change will have brought environmental catastrophe to both countries. Ch. 6: Climate Catastrophe, the Fall of America, and a New World Order - WhoWhatWhy - Air Date 1-14-22 A bleak but fascinating look across five continents and seven centuries points to climate and political destruction ahead. MEMBERS-ONLY BONUS CLIP(S) Ch. 7: Oil & Disorder ft. Helen Thompson - Bungcast - Air Date 3-29-22 Helen Thompson, podcaster and professor of political economy at Cambridge and author of Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century, joins us to talk about the geopolitics of oil, stretching from the 1956 Suez Crisis to the Fracking Revolution of today. Ch. 8: Alexander Cooley and Daniel Nexon on the End of American Hegemony - Democracy Paradox - Air Date 7-13-20 Alexander Cooley and Daniel Nexon are the authors of Exit from Hegemony: The Unraveling of the American Global Order. We had a 90-minute conversation on some important topics for the study of international relations. VOICEMAILS Ch. 9: Pyramid scheme sticker club - Alan from Connecticut FINAL COMMENTS Ch. 10: Final comments on how people find math so hard that many pyramid schemes likely get started by accident MUSIC (Blue Dot Sessions): Opening Theme: Loving Acoustic Instrumental by John Douglas Orr  Voicemail Music: Low Key Lost Feeling Electro by Alex Stinnent Activism Music: This Fickle World by Theo Bard (https://theobard.bandcamp.com/track/this-fickle-world) Closing Music: Upbeat Laid Back Indie Rock by Alex Stinnent   Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Listen Anywhere! Follow at Twitter.com/BestOfTheLeft Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com

Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century is a long history of this present political moment. It recounts three histories - one about geopolitics, one about the world economy, and one about western democracies - and explains how in the years of political disorder prior to the pandemic the disruption in each became one big story. It shows how much of this turbulence originated in problems generated by fossil-fuel energies, and it explains why as the green transition takes place the long-standing predicaments energy invariably shapes will remain in place. (London Review of Books)Helen meets Jack at The Palmerston in East DulwichFollow The Booking Club:Twitter: @bookingclubpodInstagram: @bookingclubpodFacebook: @bookingclubpod Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We can all agree that the global world order has become rather disorderly. We also seem to have trouble coming up with consistent and convincing explanations of what brought about this disorder, pointing useless at shocks such as the passage of Brexit to the Trump to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But for political scientist Helen Thompson, the author of the excellent book, "Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century," the makings of our current geopolitical problems were cast deep in the faultlines of history going back to the end of the Cold War and, more recently, the departure from global economic orthodoxy observed from 2005-2008.  Thompson argues that the process of democratization in many countries did not quite go as planned. There was not a massive enfranchisement of lower classes in many nations - instead we saw the rich and powerful become more rich and powerful, with a greater concentration of wealth and inequality taking place within democratic societies.  "What we see by the 1990s is once again the rise of aristocratic excess," Thompson says in her conversation with Amsterdam. "We can see it in the United States with the growing importance of finance in campaigns and elections. (...) In terms of European countries, this aristocratic excess was primarily shaped through the technocratic elements of the European monetary union." Thompson argues that the financialization of society laid the faultlines for the disruptive events we are currently experiencing and struggling mightily to overcome. A fascinating conversation with a deep thinker.

On energy, the material basis for all our politics? Helen Thompson, podcaster and professor of political economy at Cambridge and author of Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century, joins us to talk about the geopolitics of oil, stretching from the 1956 Suez Crisis to the Fracking Revolution of today. How does US energy independence help explain shifting politics in Europe and the Middle East? Plus, did the End of History stay afloat on a sea of cheap oil?   Readings: Profits from fossil fuel energy power Russia's war machine, and Ukraine suffers, Helen Thompson, New Statesman What Is Fueling Our Century's Global “Disorder”?, Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins, The Nation How Did Europe Get Hooked On Russian Energy?, Paul J. Davies, Bloomberg

With the Russian invasion of Ukraine images of war in Europe dominate the news, and questions rage about the political failure to both prevent and end the atrocities. Amol Rajan discusses the political forces that have allowed the West to flourish and the cracks that are beginning to widen. Developed in the wake of European wars of religion and nationalism, Liberalism was designed as a system to govern diverse societies, with a strong emphasis on the rights of individuals, equality and the rule of law. In Liberalism and Its Discontents Francis Fukuyama argues for a return to its classical form but shows how attacks from both the left and right have left it in a state of crisis. Europe's dependence on Russian oil is central to Helen Thompson's book, Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century. She looks back at the historical origins of today's overlapping geopolitical, economic and political failures. Shifts in the global balance of power in the 19th century between Old Europe and the New World of American Imperialism are at the heart of Edward Shawcross's extraordinary tale. He describes the ignoble end of a Habsburg Archduke, aided by Napoleon III, who crossed the world to become The Last Emperor of Mexico. Producer: Katy Hickman Image credit: Francis Fukuyama – © Djurdja Padejski

Cambridge Professor of Political Economy Helen Thompson analyzes the intersecting energy, financial, and democratic crises facing our world today and reveals the disruptions that have led us to this turbulent point.

In her book Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century (Oxford UP, 2022), Cambridge academic Helen Thompson gets beyond the ephemeral and analyses instead the role of more fundamental drivers of events – including the energy markets and the international monetary system. That's one way in which her book is distinctive. It's also a very broad book. While much of academic output has a very narrow focus, this book is unusual in attempting a sweeping overview of what's happening in the world. What role has energy played in disrupting politics especially since the 1970s? How has the US dominance of the international financial system impacted international relations? And how has the EU influenced democratic development in Europe? Owen Bennett-Jones is a freelance journalist and writer. A former BBC correspondent and presenter he has been a resident foreign correspondent in Bucharest, Geneva, Islamabad, Hanoi and Beirut. He is recently wrote a history of the Bhutto dynasty which was published by Yale University Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

In her book Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century (Oxford UP, 2022), Cambridge academic Helen Thompson gets beyond the ephemeral and analyses instead the role of more fundamental drivers of events – including the energy markets and the international monetary system. That's one way in which her book is distinctive. It's also a very broad book. While much of academic output has a very narrow focus, this book is unusual in attempting a sweeping overview of what's happening in the world. What role has energy played in disrupting politics especially since the 1970s? How has the US dominance of the international financial system impacted international relations? And how has the EU influenced democratic development in Europe? Owen Bennett-Jones is a freelance journalist and writer. A former BBC correspondent and presenter he has been a resident foreign correspondent in Bucharest, Geneva, Islamabad, Hanoi and Beirut. He is recently wrote a history of the Bhutto dynasty which was published by Yale University Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/political-science

In her book Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century (Oxford UP, 2022), Cambridge academic Helen Thompson gets beyond the ephemeral and analyses instead the role of more fundamental drivers of events – including the energy markets and the international monetary system. That's one way in which her book is distinctive. It's also a very broad book. While much of academic output has a very narrow focus, this book is unusual in attempting a sweeping overview of what's happening in the world. What role has energy played in disrupting politics especially since the 1970s? How has the US dominance of the international financial system impacted international relations? And how has the EU influenced democratic development in Europe? Owen Bennett-Jones is a freelance journalist and writer. A former BBC correspondent and presenter he has been a resident foreign correspondent in Bucharest, Geneva, Islamabad, Hanoi and Beirut. He is recently wrote a history of the Bhutto dynasty which was published by Yale University Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/world-affairs

In her book Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century (Oxford UP, 2022), Cambridge academic Helen Thompson gets beyond the ephemeral and analyses instead the role of more fundamental drivers of events – including the energy markets and the international monetary system. That's one way in which her book is distinctive. It's also a very broad book. While much of academic output has a very narrow focus, this book is unusual in attempting a sweeping overview of what's happening in the world. What role has energy played in disrupting politics especially since the 1970s? How has the US dominance of the international financial system impacted international relations? And how has the EU influenced democratic development in Europe? Owen Bennett-Jones is a freelance journalist and writer. A former BBC correspondent and presenter he has been a resident foreign correspondent in Bucharest, Geneva, Islamabad, Hanoi and Beirut. He is recently wrote a history of the Bhutto dynasty which was published by Yale University Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/environmental-studies

In her book Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century (Oxford UP, 2022), Cambridge academic Helen Thompson gets beyond the ephemeral and analyses instead the role of more fundamental drivers of events – including the energy markets and the international monetary system. That's one way in which her book is distinctive. It's also a very broad book. While much of academic output has a very narrow focus, this book is unusual in attempting a sweeping overview of what's happening in the world. What role has energy played in disrupting politics especially since the 1970s? How has the US dominance of the international financial system impacted international relations? And how has the EU influenced democratic development in Europe? Owen Bennett-Jones is a freelance journalist and writer. A former BBC correspondent and presenter he has been a resident foreign correspondent in Bucharest, Geneva, Islamabad, Hanoi and Beirut. He is recently wrote a history of the Bhutto dynasty which was published by Yale University Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/national-security

In her book Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century (Oxford UP, 2022), Cambridge academic Helen Thompson gets beyond the ephemeral and analyses instead the role of more fundamental drivers of events – including the energy markets and the international monetary system. That's one way in which her book is distinctive. It's also a very broad book. While much of academic output has a very narrow focus, this book is unusual in attempting a sweeping overview of what's happening in the world. What role has energy played in disrupting politics especially since the 1970s? How has the US dominance of the international financial system impacted international relations? And how has the EU influenced democratic development in Europe? Owen Bennett-Jones is a freelance journalist and writer. A former BBC correspondent and presenter he has been a resident foreign correspondent in Bucharest, Geneva, Islamabad, Hanoi and Beirut. He is recently wrote a history of the Bhutto dynasty which was published by Yale University Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/european-studies

In her book Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century (Oxford UP, 2022), Cambridge academic Helen Thompson gets beyond the ephemeral and analyses instead the role of more fundamental drivers of events – including the energy markets and the international monetary system. That's one way in which her book is distinctive. It's also a very broad book. While much of academic output has a very narrow focus, this book is unusual in attempting a sweeping overview of what's happening in the world. What role has energy played in disrupting politics especially since the 1970s? How has the US dominance of the international financial system impacted international relations? And how has the EU influenced democratic development in Europe? Owen Bennett-Jones is a freelance journalist and writer. A former BBC correspondent and presenter he has been a resident foreign correspondent in Bucharest, Geneva, Islamabad, Hanoi and Beirut. He is recently wrote a history of the Bhutto dynasty which was published by Yale University Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/economics

In her book Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century (Oxford UP, 2022), Cambridge academic Helen Thompson gets beyond the ephemeral and analyses instead the role of more fundamental drivers of events – including the energy markets and the international monetary system. That's one way in which her book is distinctive. It's also a very broad book. While much of academic output has a very narrow focus, this book is unusual in attempting a sweeping overview of what's happening in the world. What role has energy played in disrupting politics especially since the 1970s? How has the US dominance of the international financial system impacted international relations? And how has the EU influenced democratic development in Europe? Owen Bennett-Jones is a freelance journalist and writer. A former BBC correspondent and presenter he has been a resident foreign correspondent in Bucharest, Geneva, Islamabad, Hanoi and Beirut. He is recently wrote a history of the Bhutto dynasty which was published by Yale University Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/economics

In her book Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century (Oxford UP, 2022), Cambridge academic Helen Thompson gets beyond the ephemeral and analyses instead the role of more fundamental drivers of events – including the energy markets and the international monetary system. That's one way in which her book is distinctive. It's also a very broad book. While much of academic output has a very narrow focus, this book is unusual in attempting a sweeping overview of what's happening in the world. What role has energy played in disrupting politics especially since the 1970s? How has the US dominance of the international financial system impacted international relations? And how has the EU influenced democratic development in Europe? Owen Bennett-Jones is a freelance journalist and writer. A former BBC correspondent and presenter he has been a resident foreign correspondent in Bucharest, Geneva, Islamabad, Hanoi and Beirut. He is recently wrote a history of the Bhutto dynasty which was published by Yale University Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/science-technology-and-society

In her book Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century (Oxford UP, 2022), Cambridge academic Helen Thompson gets beyond the ephemeral and analyses instead the role of more fundamental drivers of events – including the energy markets and the international monetary system. That's one way in which her book is distinctive. It's also a very broad book. While much of academic output has a very narrow focus, this book is unusual in attempting a sweeping overview of what's happening in the world. What role has energy played in disrupting politics especially since the 1970s? How has the US dominance of the international financial system impacted international relations? And how has the EU influenced democratic development in Europe? Owen Bennett-Jones is a freelance journalist and writer. A former BBC correspondent and presenter he has been a resident foreign correspondent in Bucharest, Geneva, Islamabad, Hanoi and Beirut. He is recently wrote a history of the Bhutto dynasty which was published by Yale University Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/finance

In her book Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century (Oxford UP, 2022), Cambridge academic Helen Thompson gets beyond the ephemeral and analyses instead the role of more fundamental drivers of events – including the energy markets and the international monetary system. That's one way in which her book is distinctive. It's also a very broad book. While much of academic output has a very narrow focus, this book is unusual in attempting a sweeping overview of what's happening in the world. What role has energy played in disrupting politics especially since the 1970s? How has the US dominance of the international financial system impacted international relations? And how has the EU influenced democratic development in Europe? Owen Bennett-Jones is a freelance journalist and writer. A former BBC correspondent and presenter he has been a resident foreign correspondent in Bucharest, Geneva, Islamabad, Hanoi and Beirut. He is recently wrote a history of the Bhutto dynasty which was published by Yale University Press. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Helen Thompson is Professor of Political Economy at the University of Cambridge, a columnist for The New Statesman, and has been a regular contributor to the Talking Politics podcast. Her new book, Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century, looks at decades of geopolitical history that have fed into our current moment: one of war and conflict, nations competing for dwindling natural resources, and the climate emergency casting a long shadow. She joins journalist and author Andrew Mueller to discuss how we got here. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As its title suggests, Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century is a book about the many and varied crises our world is facing. However by tracing the roots of these crises back over decades rather than years, and by focussing less on the political or economic shocks themselves, and more on the systemic and cross-continental fault lines that allowed for and amplified these shocks, Disorder, acts as a welcome antidote the short-termism and parochial thinking that has come to define a lot of political analysis.And while Disorder may not make the crises we face any less frightening, it certainly makes them far less confusing, and that is a source of a certain relief in itself.Buy Disorder here: https://shakespeareandcompany.com/I/9780198864981/disorder-hard-times-in-the-21st-century*SUBSCRIBE NOW FOR BONUS FEATURESLooking for Friends of Shakespeare and Company read Ulysses? https://podfollow.com/sandcoulyssesIf you want to spend even more time at Shakespeare and Company, you can now subscribe for regular bonus episodes and early access to Friends of Shakespeare and Company read Ulysses.Subscribe on Patreon here: https://www.patreon.com/sandcoSubscribe on Apple Podcasts here: https://podcasts.apple.com/fr/podcast/shakespeare-and-company-writers-books-and-paris/id1040121937?l=enAll money raised goes to supporting “Friends of Shakespeare and Company” the bookshop's non-profit, created to fund our noncommercial activities—from the upstairs reading library, to the writers-in-residence program, to our charitable collaborations, and our free events.*Helen Thompson is Professor of Political Economy at Cambridge University. She is the author of Oil and the western economic crisis (2017); China and the mortgaging of America (2010); and Might, right, prosperity and consent: representative democracy and the international economy (2008). Since 2015, Helen has been a regular contributor to the podcast Talking Politics and has written articles for the London Review of Books, The New York Times, and The Financial Times.Follow Helen on Twitter here: https://twitter.com/HelenHet20Adam Biles is Literary Director at Shakespeare and Company. Buy a signed copy of his novel Feeding Time here: https://shakespeareandcompany.com/S/9781910296684/feeding-timeListen to Alex Freiman's Play It Gentle here: https://open.spotify.com/album/4gfkDcG32HYlXnBqI0xgQX?si=mf0Vw-kuRS-ai15aL9kLNA&dl_branch=1Shak Get bonus content on Patreon See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In her new book Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century, Helen Thompson, a professor of political economy at Cambridge University, gets to grips with the overlapping geopolitical, economic, and political crises faced by Western democratic societies in the 2020s. She talks to Hugh about some of these moments and the disorder that emerged from them. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In this episode of “Keen On”, Andrew is joined by Helen Thompson, the author of “Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century”. Helen Thompson is Professor of Political Economy at the University of Cambridge. Her current research concentrates on the political economy of energy and the long history of the democratic, economic, and geopolitical disruptions of the twenty-first century. She is a regular panellist on Talking Politics and a columnist for the New Statesman. Visit our website: https://lithub.com/story-type/keen-on/ Email Andrew: a.keen@me.com Watch the show live on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ajkeen Watch the show live on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ankeen/ Watch the show live on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lithub Watch the show on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/LiteraryHub/videos Subscribe to Andrew's newsletter: https://andrew2ec.substack.com/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For our penultimate episode, David talks to Helen about her new book Disorder: Hard Times in the Twenty-First Century. It's a conversation about many of the themes Helen has explored on Talking Politics over the years, from the energy transition to the perils of QE, from the travails of the Eurozone to the crisis of democracy, from China to America, from the past to the present to the future. In this book, she brings all these themes together to help make sense of the world we're in.Talking Points: Suez is often seen as a crisis of British imperial hubris. But it's also about energy.The US wanted Western European countries to import oil from the Middle East.But the US at the time was not a military power in the region.So the US essentially became a guarantor of Western European energy security, but implementation was dependent on British imperial power in the region.When Eisenhower pulled the plug on Suez, Europe panicked. The aftermath was hugely consequential.France turned to Algeria, but that went badly.Europe also embraced nuclear power to pursue energy self-sufficiency.And finally, this precipitated a turn to Soviet oil and gas and the construction of pipelines between Soviet territories and Western Europe.The shale boom was a double-edged sword: it also destabilized the alliance with Saudi Arabia and increased competition between the US and Russia.Meanwhile, Chinese demand has been increasing. The US today imports much less oil from the Persian Gulf, but the US Navy still provides energy security in the region, even though most of that oil goes to China and Japan. QE created a wholly new situation in the Eurozone.Everyone in the Eurozone game essentially understands that if QE is going to continue, there will be constraints around what can happen in Italian domestic politics.The current prime minister of Italy is the former president of the ECB.One of the risks of democracy is democratic excess. But democracies can also experience aristocratic excess.In US elections, people need a lot of money to compete. This means that there is not really an outlet for genuine democratic demands.Mentioned in this Episode:Helen's book, DisorderJames Macdonald, A Free Nation Deep in DebtFurther Learning: More on Nord Stream 2 Helen, on how the rich captured modern democraciesHelen on Ukraine for the New StatesmanWhy the Ukraine crisis is a modern crisisAnd as ever, recommended reading curated by our friends at the LRB can be found here: lrb.co.uk/talking See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information. Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/talkingpolitics.