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About this episode: The wellness industry covers everything from fitness to biohacking, yoga to peptides, and it's backed by culturally and financially powerful players. In this episode: a new paper in the Milbank Quarterly covers how social media fuels the industry's proliferation, the growing skepticism of traditional medicine that allows it to thrive, and the tension between the concepts of wellness and public health. Guest: Nancy Karreman, PhD, is a researcher of public health interventions at the University of Cambridge. Nason Maani, PhD, MPH, is a senior lecturer in inequalities and global health policy at the University of Edinburgh. Host: Dr. Josh Sharfstein is distinguished professor of the practice in Health Policy and Management, a pediatrician, and former secretary of Maryland's Health Department. He served as the Baltimore City Commissioner of Health from 2005 to 2009. Show links and related content: The Political Economy of Wellness: Commercial Determinants of a Burgeoning Industry—Millbank Quarterly The Outlook on Direct-to-Consumer Health Care—Public Health On Call (February 2026) Dietitian Influencers On Social Media Are Being Paid By the Food Industry to Promote Products and Messages—Public Health On Call (October 2023) Transcript information: Looking for episode transcripts? Open our podcast on the Apple Podcasts app (desktop or mobile) or the Spotify mobile app to access an auto-generated transcript of any episode. Closed captioning is also available for every episode on our YouTube channel. Contact us: Have a question about something you heard? Looking for a transcript? Want to suggest a topic or guest? Contact us via email or visit our website. Follow us: @PublicHealthPod on Bluesky @PublicHealthPod on Instagram @JohnsHopkinsSPH on Facebook @PublicHealthOnCall on YouTube Here's our RSS feed Note: These podcasts are a conversation between the participants, and do not represent the position of Johns Hopkins University.
From cannabis legalisation in the United States to the rise of psychedelics as wellness and productivity tools, the global politics of drugs is being rapidly transformed. But who really benefits from the legalisation of recreational drugs? In this episode, journalist and author Atossa Araxia Abrahamian speaks with Kojo Koram, Professor of Law and Political Economy at Loughborough University, about his new book The Next Fix. Drawing on reporting from Colombia, Ghana, Scotland and the United States, Koram traces the shifting relationship between criminalisation, capitalism and public health. The conversation examines the roots of drug regulation in empire, the racial inequalities embedded in prohibition, and the growing tension between movements seeking justice and corporations seeking profit from newly legal markets. Koram also explores how substances once associated with criminality are being rebranded for elite consumption - as therapeutic treatments, Silicon Valley productivity aids and investment opportunities. At its centre is a wider question about power and inequality: who benefits when drugs move from the underground economy into the mainstream? Kojo Koram is Professor of Law and Political Economy at Loughborough University. He is the author of The Next Fix: The Winners and Losers in the Future of Drugs. Atossa Araxia Abrahamian is a journalist who writes about the cracks in the nation-state system. She is the author of The Hidden Globe: How Wealth Hacks the World. If you'd like to become a Member and get access to all our full 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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Air Date: 6/12/2026 Today we examine how America caused a loneliness epidemic by tearing down the places where people used to find each other, how big tech is offering AI as a lackluster substitute for connection, and how people are building the opposite of loneliness with block parties, labor unions, and community gardens. Full Show Notes Transcript Be part of the show! Leave a voice message, message us on Signal at the handle bestoftheleft.01, or email Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com BestOfTheLeft.com/Support (Members Get Bonus Shows + No Ads!) Use our links to shop Bookshop.org and Libro.fm for a non-evil book and audiobook purchasing experience! Join our Discord community! TOP TAKES KP 1: How Capitalism Causes Loneliness Part 1 - Second Thought - Air Date 6-2-23 KP 2: Anthropic Discovers the Axis of Evil, and AIs Loneliness Economy - The AI Fix - Air Date 2-3-26 KP 3: The Political Economy of Love Attention, Affection, & What Capitalism Can't Buy Part 1 - Rev Left Radio - Air Date 1-19-26 KP 4: What Do We Mean by Humane Tech Part 1 - Your Undivided Attention - Air Date 6-4-26 KP 5: Stone Soup A Recipe for Community Organizing Marina Barnett Part 1 - TEDxWidenerUniversity - Air Date 10-24-22 KP 6: The Simple Habit for a Happier Social Life Nicholas Epley Part 1 - TEDTalks - Air Date 5-19-26 (00:49:32) NOTE FROM THE EDITOR Why the Left Needs to Have More Fun to Build Real Power My commentaries on YouTube - Share them! DEEPER DIVES (00:59:32) SECTION A: THE LONELINESS WE LIVE IN A1: Loneliness - Capitalism's Collateral Damage - Democracy At Work - Air Date 8-29-22 A2: How Capitalism Causes Loneliness Part 2 - Second Thought - Air Date 6-2-23 A3: Loneliness - Capitalism's Collateral Damage Part 2 - Democracy At Work - Air Date 8-29-22 A4: The Political Economy of Love Attention, Affection, & What Capitalism Can't Buy Part 2 - Rev Left Radio - Air Date 1-19-26 (01:29:54) SECTION B: AI COMPANION MACHINE B1: Can AI Companionship Cure Loneliness – or Deepen It Part 1 - PBS NewsHour - Air Date 2-27-26 B2: People Are Lonelier Than Ever. Enter AI. - Your Undivided Attention - Air Date 5-30-25 B3: The Dark Side of AI Companions, and the 1930s LLM - The AI Fix - Air Date 5-5-26 B4: What Do We Mean by Humane Tech Part 2 - Your Undivided Attention - Air Date 6-4-26 B5: Can AI Companionship Cure Loneliness – or Deepen It Part 2 - PBS NewsHour - Air Date 2-27-26 (02:18:26) SECTION C: REFRACTIONS AND REACH-OUTS C1: Gladiators, Real Housewives and the Pull of Reality TV Part 1 - Throughline - Air Date 4-30-26 C2: If Hope Is a Muscle, Then How Do I Build It Part 1 - How to Survive the End of the World - Air Date 4-10-26 C3: Gladiators, Real Housewives and the Pull of Reality TV Part 2 - Throughline - Air Date 4-30-26 C4: If Hope Is a Muscle, Then How Do I Build It Part 2 - How to Survive the End of the World - Air Date 4-10-26 C5: The Simple Habit for a Happier Social Life Nicholas Epley Part 2 - TEDTalks - Air Date 5-19-26 (02:58:25) SECTION D: BUILDING IT BACK D1: Stone Soup A Recipe for Community Organizing Marina Barnett Part 2 - TEDxWidenerUniversity - Air Date 10-24-22 D2: How People Are Combatting Loneliness with Community Connections - The Newsfeed - Air Date 5-22-26 D3: Solo How Do We Make the Left Fun Again - The Bardo Podcast - Air Date 3-10-26 D4: Being Human with Marshall Ganz Part 1 - Practical Wisdom for Leaders - Air Date 5-20-26 D5: Biko Koenig, Worker Centered Allyship & Action in the Contemporary Labor Movement (Oxford UP, 2024) Part 1 - In Conversation An OUP Podcast - Air Date 3-11-26 D6: Being Human with Marshall Ganz Part 2 - Practical Wisdom for Leaders - Air Date 5-20-26 D7: Biko Koenig, Worker Centered Allyship & Action in the Contemporary Labor Movement (Oxford UP, 2024) Part 2 - In Conversation An OUP Podcast - Air Date 3-11-26 Produced by Jay! Tomlinson Visit us at BestOfTheLeft.com Listen Anywhere! BestOfTheLeft.com/Listen Listen Anywhere! Follow BotL: Bluesky | Mastodon | Threads | X Like at Facebook.com/BestOfTheLeft Contact me directly at Jay@BestOfTheLeft.com
In the late 2000s, two movements emerged in Sao Paulo, each trying to make the city more humane and livable for its residents. On the one hand, green policy elites worked on a downtown revitalization plan that would model a moreintelligently dense, and hence lower-carbon, style of urbanism. On the other, the city's housing movement occupied vacant buildings to pressure state actors to build up affordable housing and democratize urban planning. These groupscould have been allies, but first, they ended up on opposite sides of a battle over the future of the city. What were the conditions for the climate and housing agenda to pull in the same direction?There is a line of argumentation that says: “working class people don't care about the environment or climate change; this is a privilege of the middle class or urban educated elites, that is incapable of accounting for the immediate necessities many families have”. And yet, this itself fails to recognize that many working class struggles already have a green agendaof sorts: they want good housing in central places; they want transit systems that work and access to urban amenities that the wealthy already have. In other words, what the environmentalist movement – and its critics - sometimes miss isthat some of the most important climate actors are not always the people who speak in the language of carbon emissions and bike lanes, but rather fight for the right to the city.Talking through this today is Daniel Aldana Cohen, who is not only Assistant Professor of Sociology at UC Berkeley, but is also one of my models for public intellectual and leftist policynerds, particularly around working class politics and climate change. In this episode, we talk about Daniel's upcoming book, titled Street Fight: Climate Change and Inequality in the 21st Century City. We look at the case of Nova Luz, a downtown redevelopment project sold as a green and dense revitalization urbanism, but that was actually experienced by housing movements as a kind of displacement from above. But the framing that there is an intrinsic conflict between climate and social justice is a strawman – instead, we need to understand the distinction between luxury and democratic ecologies and who reaps the benefits or pays the costs of these different political projects. There is a critique, but also hope in this! The environmental movement is doomed to alienate working class people if it shifts the costs of changes onto the people already bearing the worst brunt of climate change and inequality.But by integrating working class needs – including appropriate measures – such as protecting housing security to avoid green gentrification, or creating affordable housing in central locations – then the power of both movements can reinforce each other. This isn't necessarily easy, and there are tensions tonavigate – but it's the only long-term strategy that can create a deep leftist project of public affluence and climate justice. Daniel Aldana Cohen is Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley, where he is Director of the Socio-Spatial Climate Collaborative, or (SC)2, and serves as a member of the Graduate Group of the Designated Emphasis in Political Economy. He is also Founding Co-Director of the Climate and Community Institute (CCI), a progressive climate and economy think tank. He has been a CIFAR Azrieli Global Scholar (2021-24), and Member of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ (2018-19). He is the co-author of A Planet to Win: Why We Need a Green New Deal (Verso 2019).
Courtney Radsch reports on the political and economic impact of synthetic media and the stultifying consequences of our increasingly low-quality, high-fat media diet. Courtney and Kimberly discuss the range of journalistic endeavors; synthetic media's entrée on the scene; disinformation vs. propaganda; competing with AI in the marketplace of ideas; content verification, labeling and trust; how synthetic media depends on and undermines journalism; information as a social, political and economic concern; embedded AI ideologies; equating regulation with censorship; information warfare; cognitive liberty in an age of corporate dominance; infrastructure and intent; the need for bright line protections, pluralism and independent oversight.Dr. Courtney Radsch, PhD is the Director of the Center for Media and Digital Governance (formerly CJL) and a non-resident Fellow at the Brookings Institution. An award-winning journalist, scholar, diplomat, and human rights advocate, Courtney was recently named one of the 100 Brilliant Women in AI Ethics.Related Resources:Same Gatekeepers, New Tollbooths: Mapping the AI Content Licensing Market (CMDG Research Report)The Algorithm Loses Its Immunity (Article)The Pentagon Wants Its Panopticon (Article)The Battle for Cognitive Liberty in the Age of Corporate AI (Tech Policy Press)A transcript of this episode is here.
Audio of "The Poverty of Philosophy" by Karl Marx, published in 1847. Read online at: https://www.marxists.org/archive/marx/works/1847/poverty-philosophy/ (including pdf and docx). Recording based on https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/The_Poverty_of_Philosophy See the article on it here https://workersliberty.org/story/2026-05-05/our-reference-points-1-debunking-religion-class-struggle And study notes: https://www.workersliberty.org/story/2019-04-11/poverty-philosophy-notes-study-sessions Contents and (approximate) timestamps: 00:00 Translator's foreword; Preface by Engels from 1884; Author's Preface Chapter 1 — A Scientific Discovery: 43:05 Ch. 1 Section 1 — Opposition of Utility Value to Exchange Value 1:09:04 Ch. 1 Section 2 — Constituted or Synthetic Value 2:03:10 Ch. 1 Section 3 — Application of the Law of the Proportion of Value: (a) Money, (b) Surplus Labour Chapter 2 — The Metaphysics of Political Economy: 2:54:39 Ch. 2 Section 1 — The Method 3:42:35 Ch. 2 Section 2 — The Division of Labor and Machinery 4:19:37 Ch. 2 Section 3 — Competition and Monopoly 4:37:58 Ch. 2 Section 4 — Property and Rent 5:02:48 Ch. 2 Section 5 — Strikes and the Combination of Workmen Appendices: 5:20:17 Appendix 1 — Proudhon Judged by Marx 5:39:14 Appendix 2 — John Gray and his Theory of Labor Notes 5:47:50 Appendix 3 — Free Trade #2 from Marxist points of reference: a reading list https://workersliberty.org/marxist-points-reference-reading-list Playlist of recordings from that list here https://soundcloud.com/workers-liberty/sets/marxist-points-of-reference-a Audiobook public domain from librivox; music public domain. Subscribe to the podcast "Solidarity & more" by "Workers' Liberty" wherever you listen to podcasts. More info: https://workersliberty.org/audio
Anne McElvoy and guests discuss the concentration, distribution and morality of wealth now and look back at An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, published by the Scottish economist and philosopher Adam Smith in 1776, which gives an early account of what builds nations' wealth and introduced concepts such as free markets, the division of labour, and productivity.Our guests for this episode of BBC Radio 4's Friday night ideas discussion programme are:Vicky Pryce, economist and business consultant and co-author of Mismanaged Decline What Politicians Won't Tell You About the EconomyMaha Rafi Atal, Adam Smith Senior Lecturer in Political Economy at the University of Glasgow. The University is holding a series of events to mark the 250th anniversary of the publication of The Wealth of Nations.Dafydd Daniel, Lecturer in Divinity at the University of St AndrewsAllister Heath, business journalistHettie O'Brien, Guardian writer and author of The Asset Class: How Private Equity Turned Capitalism Against ItselfProducer: Eliane GlaserYou can hear another discussion about searching for economic solutions in the most recent episode of Start the Week, Radio 4's Monday morning discussion programme where Tom Sutcliffe was joined by Mariana Mazzucato, Jeremy Hunt and Patrick Foulis.
Jennifer and Jacques unpick what is happening in the Australian electorate with some big shifts in community sentiment and voting trends, such as a move to One Nation and the demise of the National-Liberal Coalition.They argue that the changing voting patterns are not temporary anomalies, but a response to the inequity that has grown over several decades of market-rules neoliberalism. As argued by Kim Carr, former Labor Senator, governments need to restore people's confidence in democratic institutions that can deliver economic security and fairness.ReferencesAmy Remeikis, 'Ham-fisted embrace of "Australian values" exposes a craven hollowness', The New Daily, 16 April 2026.Karen Barlow, 'The rules have changed: Inside the push for a teal party', The Saturday Paper, 30 May 2026.Kos Samaras, 'Three Australias: new polling shows deepening divide'. Pearls and Irritations, 29 May 2026.
Guest: Dr. Dale McKinley |Political Analyst Wasanga Mehana speaks to political economist Dr Dale McKinley following President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Budget Vote address in Parliament, where he outlined a crackdown on illegal immigration, warned against xenophobia, and flagged failing local governments and service delivery challenges. The discussion explores whether government’s response goes far enough to address deeper economic and governance pressures. Early Breakfast with Africa Melane is 702’s and CapeTalk’s early morning talk show. Experienced broadcaster Africa Melane brings you the early morning news, sports, business, and interviews politicians and analysts to help make sense of the world. He also enjoys chatting to guests in the lifestyle sphere and the Arts. All the interviews are podcasted for you to catch-up and listen.Thank you for listening to this podcast from Early Breakfast with Africa Melane For more about the show click https://buff.ly/XHry7eQ and find all the catch-up podcasts here https://buff.ly/XJ10LBUListen live on weekdays between 04:00 and 06:00 (SA Time) to the Early Breakfast with Africa Melane broadcast on 702 https://buff.ly/gk3y0Kj and CapeTalk https://buff.ly/NnFM3NSubscribe to the 702 and CapeTalk daily and weekly newsletters https://buff.ly/v5mfetcFollow us on social media:702 on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TalkRadio702702 on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@talkradio702702 on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/talkradio702/702 on X: https://x.com/Radio702702 on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@radio702 CapeTalk on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CapeTalkCapeTalk on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@capetalkCapeTalk on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/CapeTalk on X: https://x.com/CapeTalkCapeTalk on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@CapeTalk567See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Is the conflict in Iran, with its knock-on effect on oil supplies, accelerating the shift away from fossil fuels? Tom Heap and Helen Czerski debate the issues with a panel of experts: Josh Gabbatiss from the environmental journalism website Carbon Brief; Helen Thompson, Professor of Political Economy at Cambridge University; and Cornish farmer Stuart Oates.Producer: Emma Campbell
In this episode, we're joined by Palestinian scholars Diana Buttu and Adam Hanieh to analyze what this moment reveals about the architecture of the US empire, the regional order being remade in real time, and what it means for the Palestinian liberation struggle at the center of it all.
Welcome to our new series, The Hayekian Triangle. This series will feature a range of conversations between our hosts: Virgil Storr, Chris Coyne, and Peter Boettke. On this episode, the three sit down to mark the 250th anniversary of Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations — and to ask a deceptively simple question: why are we still reading a book written a quarter-millennium ago?From the invisible hand to the division of labor, Smith's ideas have become so embedded in how we think about markets and society that it's easy to forget just how radical they originally were. Virgil, Chris, and Pete dig into what Smith actually said, why the standard takes on laissez-faire and self-interest so often miss the mark, and what a Scottish moral philosopher writing in 1776 still has to teach us about wealth, poverty, and the institutions that make human flourishing possible.Whether you're coming to Smith for the first time or returning to him with fresh eyes, this conversation is a reminder that the greatest works in political economy aren't monuments to be admired from a distance — they remain living inputs into the science of today.**This episode was recorded on April 3, 2026**Show Notes:Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations (Liberty Fund, 1982)Adam Smith, The Theory of Moral Sentiments (Liberty Fund, 1982)Kenneth Boulding, "After Samuelson, Who Needs Adam Smith?" (History of Political Economy, 1971)Kenneth Boulding, "Economics as a Moral Science" (The American Economic Review, 1969)Daron Acemoglu and James Robinson, The Narrow Corridor: States, Societies, and the Fate of Liberty (Penguin Press, 2019)Raghuram Rajan, The Third Pillar: How Markets and the State Leave the Community Behind (Penguin Press, 2019)Deirdre McCloskey, The Bourgeois Virtues: Ethics for an Age of Commerce; Bourgeois Dignity: Why Economics Can't Explain the Modern World; Bourgeois Equality: How Ideas, Not Capital or Institutions, Enriched the World (University of Chicago Press, 2006, 2010, 2016)Martha Nussbaum, The Cosmopolitan Tradition: A Noble but Flawed Ideal (Belknap Press/Harvard University Press, 2019)Ludwig von Mises, “Why Read Adam Smith Today?” (FEE, 2015)Richard Ebeling, "Celebrating Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations at 250 Years" (Future of Freedom, 2026)If you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.Check out our other podcast from the Hayek Program! Virtual Sentiments is a podcast in which political theorist Kristen Collins interviews scholars and practitioners grappling with pressing problems in political economy with an eye to the past. Subscribe today!Follow the Hayek Program on Twitter: @HayekProgramFollow the Mercatus Center on Twitter: @mercatusCC Music: Twisterium
Ho-fung Hung on the Political Economy of China. Shownotes Ho-fung Hung Prof. Ho-fung Hung at the Johns Hopkins University: https://soc.jhu.edu/directory/ho-fung-hung/ The Conference ‘China and Us: Perspectives on Peace, Human Rights and Socio-Ecological Transformation': https://www.attac.de/china-konferenz/startseite Ho-fung, H. (2015). The China Boom. Why China Will Not Rule the World. Columbia University Press. https://cup.columbia.edu/book/the-china-boom/9780231540223/ on Citic Press: https://www.group.citic/en/Diversified_Portfolio/New_Consumption/Citic_Publish/ on the 1989 protests in China: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989_Tiananmen_Square_protests_and_massacre on the fiscal reform in China in 1994: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax-Sharing_Reform_of_China_in_1994 on Carl Schmitt: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Schmitt https://www.bpb.de/shop/zeitschriften/apuz/archiv/537943/ortung-und-ordnung-carl-schmitt-im-nationalsozialismus/ on Benito Mussolini: https://www.dhm.de/lemo/biografie/benito-mussolini https://nationalgeographic.de/geschichte-und-kultur/2023/09/benito-mussolini-aufstieg-und-fall-eines-faschistischen-diktators/ the Constitution of the People's Republic of China: https://english.www.gov.cn/archive/lawsregulations/201911/20/content_WS5ed8856ec6d0b3f0e9499913.html on Foucault's ‘Regime of Truth': Lorenzini, D. (2015). What is a ‘Regime of Truth'?. Le foucaldien 1(1). https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317961938_What_is_a_Regime_of_Truth the mentioned article by Ho-fung Hung in the Jacobin: Ho-fung, H. (2023). Mussolini in Beijing. Jacobin. https://jacobin.com/2023/02/mussolini-in-beijing on China's falling CO2 emissions: https://www.carbonbrief.org/analysis-chinas-co2-emissions-have-now-been-flat-or-falling-for-21-months/ on renewable energy in China: https://www.carbonbrief.org/china-briefing-5-february-2026-clean-energys-share-of-economy-record-renewables-thawing-relations-with-uk/ Ho-fung, H. (2026). The China Question. Eight Centuries of Fantasy and Fear. Cambridge University Press. https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/china-question/C15B207366F98DC034ED279435A8CCCA on the case of Solyndra: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solyndra on the economic policy of Mao Zedong and China's relationship to the Soviet Union, Felix Wemheuer's youtube channel ‘Studying Maoist China' is recommended: https://www.youtube.com/@felixwemheuerstudyingmaois1051 on Chile during the Cold War: Lockhart, J. (2016). Reimagining Chile's Cold War Experience: From the Conflict's Origins to Salvador Allende's Inauguration. University of Arizona. https://repository.arizona.edu/handle/10150/620841 on Salvador Allende: www.britannica.com/biography/Salvador-Allende on the Paris Commune: Badiou, A. (2021). The Paris Commune: Marx, Mao, Tomorrow. Monthly Review 73(1). https://monthlyreview.org/articles/the-paris-commune-marx-mao-tomorrow/ Weber, I. M. (2021). How China Escaped Shock Therapy. The Market Reform Debate. Routledge. https://www.routledge.com/How-China-Escaped-Shock-Therapy-The-Market-Reform-Debate/Weber/p/book/9781032008493 the mentioned publication on i.a. guerilla policymaking: Heilmann, S. & Perry, E. J. (2011). Mao's Invisible Hand. The Political Foundations of Adaptive Governance in China. Harvard University Press. https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674060630 the quote ‘it's easier to imagine the end of the world than the end of capitalism' is commonly attributed to Frederic Jameson: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fredric_Jameson on Wolfgang Streeck: https://www.mpifg.de/457994/Streeck on the 2026 Hungarian parliamentary election: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_Hungarian_parliamentary_election Relevant Episodes of Future Histories S04E02 | Merle Groneweg zu Staatskapitalismus, Ökologie und Klimapolitik in China https://www.futurehistories.today/episoden-blog/s04/e02-merle-groneweg-zu-staatskapitalismus-oekologie-und-klimapolitik-in-china/ S03E60 | Felix Wemheuer zu unserer Zukunft mit China https://www.futurehistories.today/episoden-blog/s03/e60-felix-wemheuer-zu-unserer-zukunft-mit-china/ S02E09 | Isabella M. Weber zu Chinas drittem Weg https://www.futurehistories.today/episoden-blog/s02/e09-isabella-m-weber-zu-chinas-drittem-weg/ Future Histories Contact & Support If you like Future Histories, please consider supporting us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/join/FutureHistories Contact: office@futurehistories.today Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/futurehpodcast/ Mastodon: https://mstdn.social/@FutureHistories English webpage: https://futurehistories-international.com Episode Keywords #Ho-fungHung, #JanGroos, #Interview, #JohnHopkinsUniversity, #FutureHistories, #China, #PoliticalEconomy, #Capitalism, #MarketSocialism, #Socialism, #Mao, #Governmentality, #Democracy, #Imagination, #Society, #Communism, #ClimateChange
The fiat money system has survived the Great Inflation, the global financial crisis, and a pandemic. But can it survive digital currencies?Bitcoin and the blockchain solved a genuine problem in computer science: how to stop people spending the same money twice. Forty years of successful inflation control means central bank money is stable; that is the stability in stablecoins, attempting to solve the volatility problem. What's next? What if the unit of account itself were indexed to consumer prices? Digitalisation might finally make that approach viable at scale. Price stability, by design.Will we still need cash? Maybe not now, But if you never use it, it may not be there if the blackout comes.The research behind this episode:Stracca, Livio. 2025. Redefining the Monetary Standard in the Digital Age: Digital Innovations and the Future of Monetary Policy. Springer Nature.To cite this episode:Phillips, Tim, and Livio Stracca. 2026. "Redefining the monetary standard." VoxTalks Economics (podcast). Assign this as extra listening. The citation above is formatted and ready for a reading list or VLE.About the guestLivio Stracca is Deputy Director General for International and European Relations at the European Central Bank, where he has worked for more than two decades. His research spans monetary economics, international finance, and the implications of digitalisation for central banking, with extensive work on exchange rates, capital flows, and the architecture of the international monetary system. Research cited in this episodeThe double-spend problem. The fundamental challenge in any decentralised digital payment system: how to prevent a participant from spending the same unit of money twice when there is no trusted central authority to verify transactions. Bitcoin's 2008 white paper offered an innovative solution by making the transaction ledger public, cumulative, and computationally expensive to rewrite. The trade-off is that transparency sacrifices privacy; every transaction is visible to all participants in the network.The blockchain. A distributed ledger in which transactions are grouped into sequential blocks, each cryptographically linked to the one before. Reversing any transaction requires rewriting every subsequent block, which demands enormous computational effort. This design solves the double-spend problem in a decentralised network but makes the system slow and costly to operate at scale.The payment trilemma. A framework discussed in the episode and in Stracca's book: any digital payment system can optimise for at most two of three properties simultaneously (universal access, security against fraudulent transactions, and privacy). Cash is the only instrument that escapes the trilemma; digital systems must accept a trade-off among the three, and the choice is often made implicitly by the designer of the system rather than through democratic deliberation.Hayek, Friedrich A. 1976. Denationalisation of Money. London: Institute of Economic Affairs. The classic argument for currency competition: let currencies compete freely and the one providing the most stable prices will win. Economists, including Milton Friedman, largely rejected the proposal on the grounds that money exhibits strong network externalities; the more people use a currency, the more attractive it becomes to the next user, producing a natural tendency towards monopoly. A formal modern revisitation, finding similar conclusions, is Fernández-Villaverde, Jesús, and Daniel Sanches. 2019. "Can Currency Competition Work?" Journal of Political Economy 127 (3): 1017 to 1058.Irving Fisher's compensated dollar. A proposal published in Fisher, Irving. 1913. "A Compensated Dollar." Quarterly Journal of Economics 27 (2): 213–235 (the same year the Federal Reserve was created). Fisher argued for a dollar whose purchasing power was held constant by adjusting its gold content in line with prices. The mechanical details of his proposal are no longer relevant, but its animating idea (indexing the unit of account to a price level) has gained new plausibility in a digital context.The Unidad de Fomento. Chile's inflation-indexed unit of account, in operation since 1967 and updated daily against the consumer price index. It is used widely in long-term contracts, including mortgages, and functions as a security that can be traded. Stracca cites it as evidence that an indexed monetary standard is operationally feasible, and as a prototype for what a digital equivalent might look like at larger scale.The Great Moderation. The period of low and stable inflation in advanced economies running roughly from the mid-1980s until the inflation episode of 2021 to 2023. Economists attribute it to improved monetary policy frameworks, particularly central bank independence, inflation targeting, and (crucially, in Stracca's account) the introduction of interest on reserves, which gave central banks precise control over the short-term interest rate without draining liquidity. Stracca treats the Great Moderation as the benchmark against which any proposed reform of the monetary standard must be judged.Programmable money. A form of digital money in which payment is conditional on an independently verifiable event, potentially confirmed by a machine rather than a human intermediary. Example: a payment that executes automatically when a delivery is confirmed by a sensor. Decentralised ledgers make such conditional payments technically straightforward; traditional banking systems can approximate them but with far greater friction. Stracca notes significant enthusiasm for programmable money but also real scepticism about whether the benefits outweigh the complexity in practice.More VoxTalks Economics episodesStablecoins and Global Imbalances, Gilles Moëc explains why we can think of stablecoins as a radical macroeconomic experiment that has arrived at exactly the moment the US external position is showing signs of stress.Can blockchain decentralise money, contracts, and finance? Bruno Biais on blockchain's potential, its flaws, and its future.Do stablecoins threaten financial stability? Richard Portes thinks so.
We welcome back Dr. Michael Pakaluk, Professor of Political Economy in the Busch School of Business at the Catholic University of America, to discuss how social media, AI, and surveillance capitalism are weakening attention spans and threatening the bonds of parish and home. How can practical steps such as delayed smartphone use and stronger family formation help to reclaim the domestic church? Show Notes Catholics and “Surveillance Capitalism” The Best Privacy-Friendly AI Services (Update 2026) The Age of Surveillance Capitalism: The Fight for a Human Future at the New Frontier of Power iCatholic Mobile The Station of the Cross Merchandise - Use Coupon Code 14STATIONS for 10% off | Catholic to the Max Read Fr. McTeigue's Written Works! "Let's Take A Closer Look" with Fr. Robert McTeigue, S.J. | Full Series Playlist Listen to Fr. McTeigue's Preaching! | Herald of the Gospel Sermons Podcast on Spotify Visit Fr. McTeigue's Website | Herald of the Gospel Questions? Comments? Feedback? Ask Father!
Educator and author Arjun Jayadev joins This Is Hell! to talk about the new book published by The University Of Chicago Press that he co-wrote with J.W. Mason called “Against Money”, which talks about how money has gotten to dominate the lives of humans world wide as it become the most influential human creation. https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/A/bo265118979.html Arjun Jayadev is professor of economics and director of the Centre for the Study of the Indian Economy at Azim Premji University in India. He has previously taught at the University of Massachusetts-Boston. He is also a Senior Economist at the Institute for New Economic Thinking. His research combines quantitative and theoretical analysis of Finance, Development, Political Economy and Intellectual Property. He is also a fellow at the Groundwork Collective. https://groundworkcollaborative.org/ We will have new installments of Rotten History and Hangover Cure. We will also be sharing your answers to this week's Question from Hell! from Patreon. Help keep This Is Hell! completely listener supported and access bonus episodes by subscribing to our Patreon: www.patreon.com/thisishell
President Trump fired the head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics in August 2025, claiming without evidence that the agency's data were "rigged." One consequence of the firing was an erosion of trust in data that businesses, investors, and policymakers depend on. A recent paper (https://www.nber.org/papers/w35135) quantifies the cost of this erosion of trust, estimating that Commissioner McEntarfer's firing shrunk GDP by almost $20 billion, and reduced payroll employment by over 30,000 jobs. Two of the paper's co-authors, Erica Groshen and Michael Strain, join EconoFact Chats to discuss their findings, and more broadly, to highlight why it's extremely difficult for agencies to "rig" statistics, as well as what happens when elected officials undermine public trust in data. Erica served as Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics from 2013 to 2017 and is currently Senior Economics Advisor at the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations. Michael is Director of Economic Policy Studies and the Arthur F. Burns Scholar in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute.
In this episode, CII General Counsel Jeff Mahoney sits down with Edward Rock, the Martin Lipton Professor of Law, and Director of the Institute for Corporate Governance & Finance, at the NYU School of Law. Professor Rock is the co-author of a recent research paper entitled "The New Political Economy of Delaware Corporate Lawmaking." The paper discusses how changes in the capital and legal markets, particularly the rise of dual-class controlled companies, are reshaping the state's lawmaking process. To address these changes, the authors propose replacing the current “Corporation Law Council” with a legislatively created “Corporation Law Commission” that prioritizes the creation of a balanced and technically excellent corporate law over making changes that serve immediate client interests.
Today's episode is the final in Season One of AFTER ORDER. It was recorded as a live show in collaboration with the Alameda Institute at the Art House in Bethnal Green, East London, earlier this week. The conversation is hosted by Juliano Fiori (Alameda), featuring James Meadway (Macrodose), Clara Mattei (University of Tulsa), and Aditya Chakrabortty (The Guardian).Together they explore the idea that we are no longer living between stable political and economic systems, but through an era defined by overlapping and ongoing crises.From economic turbulence to geopolitical fragmentation, many of the frameworks that once made sense of the world are breaking down. The discussion asked what might replace them - and how we rethink political economy for a world shaped by uncertainty, conflict, and rapid technological change.Across the evening, the panel reflected on what these shifts mean for power, politics, and the possibilities for building a different future.It is your support that makes this show possible. Pleases consider becoming a subscriber today: patreon.com/Macrodose. To learn more about the work we do, head to planetbproductions.co.uk.
Most people see action on climate change as essential. But powerful lobbies continue to push the other way. Understanding what drives corporate opposition to climate policy therefore matters enormously. New research examines one underexplored factor: company ownership structures. Are publicly listed firms more likely to oppose climate action than privately held ones? Does it matter how concentrated a company's ownership is, or how short-term its investors' horizons are? And what are the implications for governments trying to advance climate policy? Joining host Alan Renwick to discuss the findings is Jared Finnegan, Lecturer in Public Policy at the UCL Department of Political Science and one of the study's co-authors. Mentioned in this episode: Fighting the Future: Short-Term Investors and Business Opposition to Climate Policy by Jared J. Finnegan and Jonas Meckling, British Journal of Political Science.
On this week's Tech Nation, what is ransomware? And is it still going strong?Moira speaks with King's College London Professor of Political Economy, Anja Shortland, about her book “Dark Screens: Hackers and Heroes in the Shadowy World of Ransomware.” Then, Dr. Jonas Hannestad & Dr. Joanne Taylor discuss how Gain Therapeutics is taking a new approach to treating Parkinson's by targeting the disease itself. And, Dr. Daniel Kraft shares how he thinks the future of healthcare could be more like a Waymo
Within the last years four books have been published exploring the political economy of the private rental sector, with a focus on inequality and resistance. This episode would bring together all four authors (see below) to explore the political economy forces driving the growth of the private rental sector and associated forms of housing injustice (e.g. unaffordability, evictions), the analytical approaches that can best draw out what is at stake in all this (especially from a political perspective), and how this all relates to the renaissance of tenant organizing across many countries in the Global North. By bringing together four of the most prominent authors/activists in this area, the episode aims to capture a crucial moment in the articulation of the emerging politics of the private rental sector. The four books all share a critical urban political economy orientation, drawing on concepts such as financialization and rent. They are all also all interested in ‘residents as agents', and the practices and organizational forms through which movements seek to create ‘tenants as subject'. The episode would not focus on any of the four books as such, but rather discuss the cross-cutting themes. As the books reflect a variety of different cities/countries, this discussion has the potential to gain a wide listenership and to inform tenant organizing and scholar activism.
It is with great pleasure that I have invited Pascale Massot back into the Virtual Studio for this episode of the ‘Now' Series. This is Episode 2 of Season 4. With Pascale today I am particularly interested in how she sees the recent ‘Middle Power' actions of Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney and how the Carney government is dealing with Trump trade and foreign policy actions. I was also very interested in Pascale's view of China's foreign policy actions, after a visit to China. I was keen to explore the state of US-China relations as the Trump-Xi Summit approaches. Pascale is an Associate Professor in the School of Political Studies at the University of Ottawa, a non-resident Honorary Fellow, Political Economy at the Asia Society Policy Institute's Center for China Analysis in New York, and a Senior Fellow at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada in Vancouver. Pascale is the author of China's Vulnerability Paradox: How the World's Largest Consumer Transformed Global Commodity Markets, Oxford University Press, 2024. Her research interests include the global political economy of China's rise, China's impact on global extractive commodity markets—including debates around de-risking, critical minerals and economic security, Canada-China relations, and the advent of Indo-Pacific strategies around the world.
This episode features a conversation with urban geographer, Malini Ranganathan, and historian, Juned Shaikh, on the centrality of caste to urbanization in India. Through a focus on 20th century Bombay (now Mumbai) and 21st century Bangalore (now Bengaluru), we explored the symbiotic relationship between caste and capitalism manifest in the political economy of urbanization from the heyday of industrial capitalism to contemporary neoliberalism. We also delved into the continuities between rural and urban caste relations as seen, for instance, in caste networks that remain key to the movement of capital from rural land to real estate. In addition to the centrality of caste in shaping urbanization, we also considered changes to caste wrought by its role within urban processes. The final part of the episode shifted to a discussion of oppositional mobilization among the urban poor, from the upsurge of literary and political activity among Dalits in Bombay and Bangalore in the 1950s-70s to the ongoing pushback against the threat of dispossession and displacement by real estate and finance capital. Guest bios Malini Ranganathan, Associate Professor, School of International Service, American University Juned Shaikh, Associate Professor of History, University of California, Santa Cruz References Khumbarwada: a historic potters' colony now located within Dharavi, Mumbai (Bombay). OBC: shorthand for Other Backward Classes, a Government of India classification for socially and educationally disadvantaged castes who are beneficiaries of affirmative action. OBCs are distinct from and considered to be relatively more advantaged than the Scheduled Castes, or Dalits, and Scheduled Tribes, or Adivasis, who also benefit from affirmative action. SC/ST: shorthand for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (see above). Malini Ranganathan, David Pike, and Sapna Doshi, Corruption Plots: Stories, Ethics, and Publics of the Late Capitalist City (2024) Malini Ranganathan, “Towards a Political Ecology of Caste and the City” (2022) Malini Ranganathan, “Caste, racialization and the making of environmental unfreedoms in urban India” (2022) Juned Shaikh, Outcaste Bombay: City Making and the Politics of the Poor (2021) Juned Shaikh, “Imaging Caste: Photography, the Housing Question, and the Making of Sociology in Colonial Bombay, 1900-1939 (2014) Frank Conlon, A Caste in a Changing World: The Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmans, 1700-1935 (1977) Nikhil Rao, House, but No Garden: Apartment Living in Bombay's Suburbs, 1898-1964 (2012) C. J. Fuller and Haripriya Narasimhan, Tamil Brahmans: The Making of a Middle-Class Caste (2014) Ajantha Subramanian, The Caste of Merit: Engineering Education in India (2019) K. Balagopal, Probings in the Political Economy of Agrarian Classes and Conflicts (2020) Sushmita Pati, Properties of Rent: Community, Capital, and Politics in Globalizing Delhi, Cambridge University Press (2022). Rajnarayan Chandavarkar, The Origins of Industrial Capitalism in India: Business Strategies and the Working Classes in Bombay, 1900-1940 (1994) Priyanka Srivastava, The Well-Being of the Labor Force in Colonial Bombay: Discourses and Practices (2018) Dana Kornberg, “From Balmikis to Bengalis: The 'Casteification' of Muslims in Delhi's Informal Garbage Economy,” Economic and Political Weekly (2019) Amita Baviskar, Uncivil City: Ecology,. Equity, and the Commons in Delhi (2020) Mukul Sharma, Dalit Ecologies: Caste and Environmental Justice (2024) Liza Weinstein, The Durable Slum: Dharavi and the Right to Stay Put in Globalizing Mumbai (2014) Siddalingaiah, A Word With You, World: The Autobiography of a Poet (2013) Dharavi: a residential area in Mumbai (Bombay) considered one of the world's largest slums. Chico Mendes: a Brazilian rubber tapper, trade union leader, and environmentalist who fought to preserve the Amazon rainforest and advocated for the human rights of Brazilian peasants and Indigenous people. 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
This episode features a conversation with urban geographer, Malini Ranganathan, and historian, Juned Shaikh, on the centrality of caste to urbanization in India. Through a focus on 20th century Bombay (now Mumbai) and 21st century Bangalore (now Bengaluru), we explored the symbiotic relationship between caste and capitalism manifest in the political economy of urbanization from the heyday of industrial capitalism to contemporary neoliberalism. We also delved into the continuities between rural and urban caste relations as seen, for instance, in caste networks that remain key to the movement of capital from rural land to real estate. In addition to the centrality of caste in shaping urbanization, we also considered changes to caste wrought by its role within urban processes. The final part of the episode shifted to a discussion of oppositional mobilization among the urban poor, from the upsurge of literary and political activity among Dalits in Bombay and Bangalore in the 1950s-70s to the ongoing pushback against the threat of dispossession and displacement by real estate and finance capital. Guest bios Malini Ranganathan, Associate Professor, School of International Service, American University Juned Shaikh, Associate Professor of History, University of California, Santa Cruz References Khumbarwada: a historic potters' colony now located within Dharavi, Mumbai (Bombay). OBC: shorthand for Other Backward Classes, a Government of India classification for socially and educationally disadvantaged castes who are beneficiaries of affirmative action. OBCs are distinct from and considered to be relatively more advantaged than the Scheduled Castes, or Dalits, and Scheduled Tribes, or Adivasis, who also benefit from affirmative action. SC/ST: shorthand for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (see above). Malini Ranganathan, David Pike, and Sapna Doshi, Corruption Plots: Stories, Ethics, and Publics of the Late Capitalist City (2024) Malini Ranganathan, “Towards a Political Ecology of Caste and the City” (2022) Malini Ranganathan, “Caste, racialization and the making of environmental unfreedoms in urban India” (2022) Juned Shaikh, Outcaste Bombay: City Making and the Politics of the Poor (2021) Juned Shaikh, “Imaging Caste: Photography, the Housing Question, and the Making of Sociology in Colonial Bombay, 1900-1939 (2014) Frank Conlon, A Caste in a Changing World: The Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmans, 1700-1935 (1977) Nikhil Rao, House, but No Garden: Apartment Living in Bombay's Suburbs, 1898-1964 (2012) C. J. Fuller and Haripriya Narasimhan, Tamil Brahmans: The Making of a Middle-Class Caste (2014) Ajantha Subramanian, The Caste of Merit: Engineering Education in India (2019) K. Balagopal, Probings in the Political Economy of Agrarian Classes and Conflicts (2020) Sushmita Pati, Properties of Rent: Community, Capital, and Politics in Globalizing Delhi, Cambridge University Press (2022). Rajnarayan Chandavarkar, The Origins of Industrial Capitalism in India: Business Strategies and the Working Classes in Bombay, 1900-1940 (1994) Priyanka Srivastava, The Well-Being of the Labor Force in Colonial Bombay: Discourses and Practices (2018) Dana Kornberg, “From Balmikis to Bengalis: The 'Casteification' of Muslims in Delhi's Informal Garbage Economy,” Economic and Political Weekly (2019) Amita Baviskar, Uncivil City: Ecology,. Equity, and the Commons in Delhi (2020) Mukul Sharma, Dalit Ecologies: Caste and Environmental Justice (2024) Liza Weinstein, The Durable Slum: Dharavi and the Right to Stay Put in Globalizing Mumbai (2014) Siddalingaiah, A Word With You, World: The Autobiography of a Poet (2013) Dharavi: a residential area in Mumbai (Bombay) considered one of the world's largest slums. Chico Mendes: a Brazilian rubber tapper, trade union leader, and environmentalist who fought to preserve the Amazon rainforest and advocated for the human rights of Brazilian peasants and Indigenous people. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/anthropology
This episode features a conversation with urban geographer, Malini Ranganathan, and historian, Juned Shaikh, on the centrality of caste to urbanization in India. Through a focus on 20th century Bombay (now Mumbai) and 21st century Bangalore (now Bengaluru), we explored the symbiotic relationship between caste and capitalism manifest in the political economy of urbanization from the heyday of industrial capitalism to contemporary neoliberalism. We also delved into the continuities between rural and urban caste relations as seen, for instance, in caste networks that remain key to the movement of capital from rural land to real estate. In addition to the centrality of caste in shaping urbanization, we also considered changes to caste wrought by its role within urban processes. The final part of the episode shifted to a discussion of oppositional mobilization among the urban poor, from the upsurge of literary and political activity among Dalits in Bombay and Bangalore in the 1950s-70s to the ongoing pushback against the threat of dispossession and displacement by real estate and finance capital. Guest bios Malini Ranganathan, Associate Professor, School of International Service, American University Juned Shaikh, Associate Professor of History, University of California, Santa Cruz References Khumbarwada: a historic potters' colony now located within Dharavi, Mumbai (Bombay). OBC: shorthand for Other Backward Classes, a Government of India classification for socially and educationally disadvantaged castes who are beneficiaries of affirmative action. OBCs are distinct from and considered to be relatively more advantaged than the Scheduled Castes, or Dalits, and Scheduled Tribes, or Adivasis, who also benefit from affirmative action. SC/ST: shorthand for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (see above). Malini Ranganathan, David Pike, and Sapna Doshi, Corruption Plots: Stories, Ethics, and Publics of the Late Capitalist City (2024) Malini Ranganathan, “Towards a Political Ecology of Caste and the City” (2022) Malini Ranganathan, “Caste, racialization and the making of environmental unfreedoms in urban India” (2022) Juned Shaikh, Outcaste Bombay: City Making and the Politics of the Poor (2021) Juned Shaikh, “Imaging Caste: Photography, the Housing Question, and the Making of Sociology in Colonial Bombay, 1900-1939 (2014) Frank Conlon, A Caste in a Changing World: The Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmans, 1700-1935 (1977) Nikhil Rao, House, but No Garden: Apartment Living in Bombay's Suburbs, 1898-1964 (2012) C. J. Fuller and Haripriya Narasimhan, Tamil Brahmans: The Making of a Middle-Class Caste (2014) Ajantha Subramanian, The Caste of Merit: Engineering Education in India (2019) K. Balagopal, Probings in the Political Economy of Agrarian Classes and Conflicts (2020) Sushmita Pati, Properties of Rent: Community, Capital, and Politics in Globalizing Delhi, Cambridge University Press (2022). Rajnarayan Chandavarkar, The Origins of Industrial Capitalism in India: Business Strategies and the Working Classes in Bombay, 1900-1940 (1994) Priyanka Srivastava, The Well-Being of the Labor Force in Colonial Bombay: Discourses and Practices (2018) Dana Kornberg, “From Balmikis to Bengalis: The 'Casteification' of Muslims in Delhi's Informal Garbage Economy,” Economic and Political Weekly (2019) Amita Baviskar, Uncivil City: Ecology,. Equity, and the Commons in Delhi (2020) Mukul Sharma, Dalit Ecologies: Caste and Environmental Justice (2024) Liza Weinstein, The Durable Slum: Dharavi and the Right to Stay Put in Globalizing Mumbai (2014) Siddalingaiah, A Word With You, World: The Autobiography of a Poet (2013) Dharavi: a residential area in Mumbai (Bombay) considered one of the world's largest slums. Chico Mendes: a Brazilian rubber tapper, trade union leader, and environmentalist who fought to preserve the Amazon rainforest and advocated for the human rights of Brazilian peasants and Indigenous people. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/south-asian-studies
This episode features a conversation with urban geographer, Malini Ranganathan, and historian, Juned Shaikh, on the centrality of caste to urbanization in India. Through a focus on 20th century Bombay (now Mumbai) and 21st century Bangalore (now Bengaluru), we explored the symbiotic relationship between caste and capitalism manifest in the political economy of urbanization from the heyday of industrial capitalism to contemporary neoliberalism. We also delved into the continuities between rural and urban caste relations as seen, for instance, in caste networks that remain key to the movement of capital from rural land to real estate. In addition to the centrality of caste in shaping urbanization, we also considered changes to caste wrought by its role within urban processes. The final part of the episode shifted to a discussion of oppositional mobilization among the urban poor, from the upsurge of literary and political activity among Dalits in Bombay and Bangalore in the 1950s-70s to the ongoing pushback against the threat of dispossession and displacement by real estate and finance capital. Guest bios Malini Ranganathan, Associate Professor, School of International Service, American University Juned Shaikh, Associate Professor of History, University of California, Santa Cruz References Khumbarwada: a historic potters' colony now located within Dharavi, Mumbai (Bombay). OBC: shorthand for Other Backward Classes, a Government of India classification for socially and educationally disadvantaged castes who are beneficiaries of affirmative action. OBCs are distinct from and considered to be relatively more advantaged than the Scheduled Castes, or Dalits, and Scheduled Tribes, or Adivasis, who also benefit from affirmative action. SC/ST: shorthand for Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (see above). Malini Ranganathan, David Pike, and Sapna Doshi, Corruption Plots: Stories, Ethics, and Publics of the Late Capitalist City (2024) Malini Ranganathan, “Towards a Political Ecology of Caste and the City” (2022) Malini Ranganathan, “Caste, racialization and the making of environmental unfreedoms in urban India” (2022) Juned Shaikh, Outcaste Bombay: City Making and the Politics of the Poor (2021) Juned Shaikh, “Imaging Caste: Photography, the Housing Question, and the Making of Sociology in Colonial Bombay, 1900-1939 (2014) Frank Conlon, A Caste in a Changing World: The Chitrapur Saraswat Brahmans, 1700-1935 (1977) Nikhil Rao, House, but No Garden: Apartment Living in Bombay's Suburbs, 1898-1964 (2012) C. J. Fuller and Haripriya Narasimhan, Tamil Brahmans: The Making of a Middle-Class Caste (2014) Ajantha Subramanian, The Caste of Merit: Engineering Education in India (2019) K. Balagopal, Probings in the Political Economy of Agrarian Classes and Conflicts (2020) Sushmita Pati, Properties of Rent: Community, Capital, and Politics in Globalizing Delhi, Cambridge University Press (2022). Rajnarayan Chandavarkar, The Origins of Industrial Capitalism in India: Business Strategies and the Working Classes in Bombay, 1900-1940 (1994) Priyanka Srivastava, The Well-Being of the Labor Force in Colonial Bombay: Discourses and Practices (2018) Dana Kornberg, “From Balmikis to Bengalis: The 'Casteification' of Muslims in Delhi's Informal Garbage Economy,” Economic and Political Weekly (2019) Amita Baviskar, Uncivil City: Ecology,. Equity, and the Commons in Delhi (2020) Mukul Sharma, Dalit Ecologies: Caste and Environmental Justice (2024) Liza Weinstein, The Durable Slum: Dharavi and the Right to Stay Put in Globalizing Mumbai (2014) Siddalingaiah, A Word With You, World: The Autobiography of a Poet (2013) Dharavi: a residential area in Mumbai (Bombay) considered one of the world's largest slums. Chico Mendes: a Brazilian rubber tapper, trade union leader, and environmentalist who fought to preserve the Amazon rainforest and advocated for the human rights of Brazilian peasants and Indigenous people. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
More than one in eight people living in the EU today was born in another country. In fourteen of the bloc's largest economies, it is closer to one in six. For ten years, the same team of researchers has asked what happens to those people next: do they find work, close the gap with their native-born neighbours, and build a settled life? The tenth Migration Observatory report is about to be published, and the decade-long picture it paints is not what the political debate might lead you to expect.Tommaso Frattini of the University of Milan, one of the report's editors, joins Tim Phillips to examine what a decade of consistent, comparable data actually reveals about immigrant integration across Europe. Who are Europe's immigrants, and has that changed? Is the employment gap between migrants and natives closing, stable, or widening? And does it matter whether a migrant arrives from inside the EU or out? The politics of migration is often poisonous, but the data tells a different story.The research behind this episodeFrattini, Tommaso, and Anissa Bouchlaghem. 2026. "Immigrant Integration in Europe." Migration Observatory Annual Report, 10th edition. Collegio Carlo Alberto / LdA / CEPR Press. Free download from CEPR Press, forthcoming on 18 May.To cite this episodePhillips, Tim, and Tommaso Frattini. 2026. "Immigration and integration in Europe." VoxTalks Economics (podcast).Assign this as extra listening. The citation above is formatted and ready for a reading list or VLE.About the guestTommaso Frattini is Professor of Economics at the University of Milan and a member of the CEPR Research Policy Network on the Political Economy of Migration. His research spans labour markets, immigration economics, and the long-run integration of migrant populations in Europe. He is one of the founding editors of the Migration Observatory Annual Report series, now in its tenth year, and a co-author of the Collegio Carlo Alberto / LdA reports that underpin this episode.Research cited in this episodeEuropean Union Labour Force Survey (EU-LFS). Eurostat, collected annually by national statistical offices and harmonised across EU member states. The EU-LFS is the primary source for the Migration Observatory's comparative analysis of employment outcomes across countries and over time. The figures cited in this episode are drawn from the 2024 edition, the most recent available at the time of publication.The employment gap. A measure of labour market integration defined as the percentage-point difference in the probability of being employed between migrants and native-born residents of the same country. A gap of zero would indicate full employment parity. The Migration Observatory computes the gap both raw and adjusted for observable characteristics such as age, education, and gender; the adjusted figure isolates the portion of the gap that cannot be explained by differences in workforce composition between the two groups.Migration Observatory Annual Report series. Published annually since 2016 by the Collegio Carlo Alberto and the LdA (Laboratorio di Economia Applicata), in partnership with CEPR. Each edition uses the EU-LFS to benchmark migrant labour market outcomes against those of natives across EU member states. The tenth edition, published in 2026, is the first to offer a consistent decade-long comparison across the full series.The EU Pact on Migration and Asylum. Agreed by EU member states in 2024, the Pact is the EU's most significant attempt to harmonise migration and asylum policy across member states. Frattini describes it as a step forward on harmonisation; he also notes that European policy continues to prioritise border control over integration, a balance he argues the data does not support.More VoxTalks Economics episodesImmigration and Public Goods (June 2023). Do immigrants put pressure on local schools, hospitals, and public finances? Research from the United States tests the most common fears directly. The findings have only become more relevant since the episode aired.
Nicholas Eberstadt, the Henry Wendt Chair in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute, joins School of War to discuss global population decline. What does a shrinking and aging population mean for the United States? What does it mean for China, whose demographic crisis may be even more severe? How could population decline reshape economic growth, military power, and geopolitical competition? And what happens to the international order when the world stops growing? 03:02 Population decline in America 006:15 Deaths exceeding births in the US 07:31 Global birth crash 14:49 Grounds for optimism 17:12 Small family trend 18:17 GDP relationship with population size 19:23 Individual prosperity vs. National strength 21:24 Rise in human life expectancy 24:36 Ben Carson's prediction 27:11 Ukraine's military revolution 30:47 American bad habits 33:48 AI and the labor market 37:25 Chinese depopulation crisis 48:50 What would a world war look like today? 51:48 US Alliance relationships Follow along on Instagram, X @schoolofwarpod, and YouTube @SchoolofWarPodcast Find more at The Free Press.
For the better part of the 20th century, the American economy relied on the steady social peace of "Fordism"—an era of mass production and consumption that helped reconcile capitalism with democracy. Today, a radical new paradigm threatens to upend that equilibrium: "Muskism". While conventional wisdom suggests that Silicon Valley billionaires are libertarians desperate to escape government oversight, historian Quinn Slobodian argues they actually want to achieve state symbiosis by turning the government into a dependent client. This vassalization of the state means private actors absorb critical public functions without any democratic constraints. Discussing insights from his and co-author Ben Tarnoff's new book, Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed, Slobodian unpacks how Elon Musk's worldview is reshaping the global political economy. This episode also dives into the parallels between American tech supremacy and the Chinese economic model. Slobodian posits that the real vulnerability in the United States is not the excess of regulation that the Abundance agenda focuses on, but rather a failure to discipline capital. Connect with us:
Wednesday's hopeful news of a possible end to hostilities in Iran and opening of the Strait of Hormuz comes just as the macro impact of events is starting to be felt and seen in economic data. A resolution does not change the realities of high near-term inflation and the varying policy responses to it. Geopolitical disruptions are still going to resonate for some time. This week, we speak to Noel Dixon, Senior Macro Strategist at State Street Markets, on all these topics, and to position in FX markets accordingly.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Lisa Rusczyk and Dona Murphy have Kimmie back to the show to discuss PTSD and energy.Thank you, Kimmie!This is a video podcast on Spotify and YouTube.Want to know more about Kimmie?Kimmie Haliburda is a psychic intuitive, medium, animal communicator, and energy healing practitioner in Knoxville, TN. Kimmie has been involved in animal rescue for over 17 years, and enjoys fostering special needs dogs. She also holds a Master's in sociology with a concentration in Political Economy and Globalization from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and she understands the importance of not appropriating cultural practices. You can book remote or in-person services, including classes, with Kimmie through her website at kimmiehaliburdapsychic.com. You can also find her on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok.Kimmie's YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KimmieHaliburdaPsychicKimmie's Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KimmieHaliburdaPsychicKimmie's Instagram: kimmie.haliburdaKimmie's TikTok: @kimbleeassembleeThank you for watching and listening.
In this episode of GREAT POWER PODCAST, host Ilan Berman talks with Nicholas Eberstadt of the American Enterprise Institute about China's growing demographic problems, and what they signify for the PRC's future - and for Beijing's strategic rivalry with Washington. MATERIALS REFERENCED IN THIS EPISODE:-- The PRC's Chinese New Year robot demonstration can be seen at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mUmlv814aJoBIO:Nicholas Eberstadt holds the Henry Wendt Chair in Political Economy at the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), where he researches and writes extensively on international security in the Korean Peninsula and Asia, demographics, and economic development. Domestically, he focuses on poverty and social well-being. Dr. Eberstadt is also a senior adviser to the National Bureau of Asian Research.His many books and monographs include Men Without Work: Post-Pandemic Edition (2022); Russia's Peacetime Demographic Crisis: Dimensions, Causes, Implications (2010); The Poverty of “the Poverty Rate” (2008); The End of North Korea (1999); The Tyranny of Numbers (1995); and Poverty in China (1979). His latest is Lessons for an Unserious Superpower: The “Scoop” Jackson Legacy and US Foreign Policy (2024).
On this episode of Virtual Sentiments, Kristen Collins speaks with Henry Farrell about AI, democracy, and political economy. Farrell argues that large language models are best understood not as emerging individual intelligences, but as “social technologies” that process and reorganize vast stores of human cultural information, much like markets, bureaucracies, and democracies process knowledge. The conversation explores deliberative democracy, civil society, Silicon Valley, AI regulation, and the risks of treating politics as an optimization problem. Farrell emphasizes the messiness of democratic life as essential to resisting authoritarianism and building a better future.Henry Farrell is the SNF Agora Professor of International Affairs at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. He is the author of various books, including Underground Empire: How America Weaponized the World Economy (Henry Holt and Co., 2023) and Of Privacy and Power: The Transatlantic Fight over Freedom and Security (Princeton University Press, 2019), both coauthored with Abraham Newman, as well as The Political Economy of Trust: Institutions, Interests, and Inter-Firm Cooperation in Italy and Germany (Cambridge University Press, 2009).**This episode was recorded on January 7, 2026**Show Notes:Virtual Sentiments | State Capture and the Meaning of Democracy with Samuel BaggHenry Farrell's Substack, Programmable MutterHenry Farrell and Abraham Newman, The Enshittification of American Power (Wired, 2025)Henry Farrell and Hahrie Han, AI and Democratic Publics (Knight First Amendment Institute, 2025)Farrell, Gopnik, Shalizi, and Evans, Large AI models are cultural and social technologies (Science, 2025)Farrell, Mercier, and Schwartzberg, Analytical Democratic Theory: A Microfoundational Approach (APSR, 2022)Farrell, Where Trump is Vulnerable and How to Act on It (New York Times, 2025)Farrell, The Same Old Fantasies Behind AI and New Technology (Lawfare, 2025)Herbert A. Simon, The Sciences of the Artificial (The MIT Press, 1970)F.A. Hayek, The Use of Knowledge in Society (Liberty Fund, 2013)Cosma Shalizi, The Singularity in Our Past Light-Cone (Three-Toed Sloth, 2010)Andrew Lentini, Reimagining Democracy in the Age of AI (SNF Agora, 2024)Hugo Mercier and Dan Sperber, Why do humans reason? Arguments for an argumentative theory (BBS, 2011)North, Wallis, and Weingast, Violence and Social Orders (Cambridge University Press, 2009)Cory Doctorow, The Bezzle: A Martin Hench Novel (Tor Books, 2025)If you like the show, please subscribe, leave a 5-star review, and tell others about the show! We're available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you get your podcasts.Follow the Hayek Program on Twitter: @HayekProgramLearn more about Academic & Student ProgramsFollow the Mercatus Center on Twitter: @mercatus
In this episode we talk to Gabriela Arguedas-Ramirez about her paper in the Special Issue on Climate Change, Issue 18 Vol 1 "Dead Food, the Political Economy of Disease and Climate Injustice: Cynical Reason and Decolonial Feminist Bioethics" We chat about taking these more structural analyses and how the work came about and what's next for her.
“It's like wrecking a car to steal a pair of sunglasses. The sunglasses are the ransom. The damage to the car is fifty to seventy-five billion dollars a year.” — Anja Shortland Cybercrime is booming. Ransomware attacks — where criminal gangs encrypt your servers and hold your data hostage until you pay — cost victims somewhere between fifty and seventy-five billion dollars a year in damage. The hackers themselves pocket around a billion. As Anja Shortland, professor of political economy at King's College London and author of Dark Screens: Hackers and Heroes in the Shadowy World of Ransomware, puts it: “it's like wrecking a car to steal a pair of sunglasses.” The sunglasses are the ransom. The wrecked car is the damage to the rest of us. Shortland is an expert in extortive crime — transactions where a legal entity has to make a deal with a criminal group under conditions of zero trust. She has studied kidnap for ransom, Somali piracy, art theft, and now the booming business of ransomware. What fascinates her is not the crime itself but the institutions that emerge in the space between the legal world and the criminal underworld: the insurance companies that price the risk, the negotiators who manage the transaction, the norms that make it possible for a corporation to pay a criminal gang and actually get its data back. In Russia, hacking Westerners isn't even a crime. In North Korea, it's an actual department with a small army of government employees. In Iran, it's a foreign policy. Criminality, Shortland thus argues, is defined by whoever holds power. The game-changer, she argues, is cryptocurrency. Without it, ransomware doesn't work — you can't move money anonymously at scale without it. Regulate cryptocurrency, and you take the profit motive out of most of what she studies. The irony is that the current American administration is amongst the most crypto-friendly in history. Meanwhile, AI — specifically Anthropic's Claude Mythos, the hacking model that was leaked rather than released — is about to give criminals tools that only well-resourced banks and corporations can currently deploy defensively. So cybercrime will continue to boom. Expect a pile-up of wrecked cars on our information highway.Five Takeaways • We Know You Can Pay a Million: The title of the UK edition of Shortland's book is the most revealing line in ransomware. Criminal gangs don't pick ransom figures arbitrarily. They spend weeks inside the victim's systems, studying cash flow, cash reserves, and insurance coverage, before setting a demand on the painful side of affordable. The victim usually pays — because the alternative is losing access to patient records, customer data, or patents permanently. The hackers know this. The negotiation that follows is, in Shortland's framing, a transaction between parties with zero trust and one thing in common: both want a deal. • In Russia, It's Not a Crime: Ransomware is not a uniform global crime. In Russia, theft and extortion directed at Westerners is not considered a criminal act. In North Korea, hacking is organised as a government department — a state revenue stream, not a criminal enterprise. The line between crime and legitimacy is drawn by whoever holds power. This complicates any enforcement response: you cannot extradite a North Korean government employee. You cannot prosecute a Russian hacker in a Russian court. The only effective levers are diplomatic, financial, and technical — and all three are currently being weakened. • Insurance Orders Criminality: Shortland's most counterintuitive argument: insurance companies are not passive bystanders in ransomware. They are active market-makers. By pricing the risk, they create the conditions under which a corporation can make a rational decision to pay. By negotiating on behalf of victims, they create norms — what a fair ransom looks like, what proof of decryption looks like, what happens if the hackers don't deliver. Insurance, in Shortland's telling, is what makes the criminal market function. Most people think insurance is boring. They are not thinking about this. • Cryptocurrency Is the Real Game-Changer: Ransomware as a profitable business model did not exist before cryptocurrency. Without the ability to move money anonymously at scale, without blockchain verification that payment has been received, the transaction between criminal and victim cannot be completed. Regulate cryptocurrency — apply the anti-money-laundering frameworks that govern wire transfers and bank accounts — and you take the profit motive out of most of what Shortland studies. The irony: the current American administration is among the most crypto-friendly in history, and the president's own family has direct financial interests in the sector. • Claude Mythos and the Asymmetric AI Problem: Anthropic's Claude Mythos — the AI model built to find software vulnerabilities, which was leaked rather than formally released — is the next phase of this war. The defensive use case is real: a well-resourced bank can use it to find and fix its vulnerabilities before attackers do. The problem is asymmetry. A large financial institution can deploy Claude Mythos defensively. Wiltshire County Council, a local hospital, a dental practice, a legal firm — the soft targets that ransomware gangs prefer — cannot. The hackers will eventually get it. The debate about who should be allowed to use it, and under what conditions, has not happened. That is what worries Shortland most. About the Guest Anja Shortland is a Professor of Political Economy at King's College London and the author of Dark Screens: Hackers and Heroes in the Shadowy World of Ransomware (Princeton University Press, 2025; US edition April 2026) and Kidnap: Inside the Ransom Business. She was a member of the Ransomware Task Force. References: • Dark Screens: Hackers and Heroes in the Shadowy World of Ransomware by Anja Shortland (Princeton University Press, US edition April 2026). • Steven Levy, Hackers: Heroes of the Computer Revolution (1984) — referenced in the interview as the origin story of hacking culture. • Episode 2885: Keith Teare on Adulting — the week Anthropic's Claude Mythos was discussed; the Shortland interview is the companion piece on what it means in practice. About Keen On America Nobody asks more awkward questions than the Anglo-American writer and filmmaker Andrew Keen. In Keen On America, Andrew brings his pointed Transatlantic wit to making sense of the United States — hosting daily interviews about the history and future of this now venerable Republic. With nearly 2,900 episodes since the show launched on TechCrunch in 2010, Keen On America is the most prolific intellectual interview show in the histo...
"Mary Barton: A Tale of Manchester Life" was Mrs Gaskell's first full-length novel. It was published anonymously in that tumultuous year of political change, 1848. Elizabeth Gaskell's own personal contact with the plight of the poor cotton workers of Lancashire compelled her to a compassionate examination of their lives; but as a middle-class woman, married to a Unitarian minister, her approach to her subject took on a emotionally complex significance; influenced by religious faith but also by more personal considerations.In the brief preface to the novel, Mrs Gaskell hints at her initial impulse. The loss of a beloved child in infancy led her to seek a therapeutic outlet, but one which left her uncertain of her capacity to contextualize her public, writerly response to the tragedies occurring in the surrounding society of Manchester's poorest classes: "I know nothing of Political Economy, or the theories of trade..." She was, however, determined to portray, in novelistic form, the intimate connection between the private experience of her characters and the social forces of her time. The success of the novel led her to proclaim her authorship and move on to further works of fiction, which have secured her in our times a mounting reputation as one of the leading novelists of the mid-Victorian period.Our reader Tony Foster is a resident of Manchester and a near-neighbour of Mrs Gaskell (allowing for their separation in time). His superb narration renders the native speech of her characters with an authenticity which ideally conveys the spirit of this book. A truly moving experience awaits everyone who gives ear to this 'Tale of Manchester Life'. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
"Mary Barton: A Tale of Manchester Life" was Mrs Gaskell's first full-length novel. It was published anonymously in that tumultuous year of political change, 1848. Elizabeth Gaskell's own personal contact with the plight of the poor cotton workers of Lancashire compelled her to a compassionate examination of their lives; but as a middle-class woman, married to a Unitarian minister, her approach to her subject took on a emotionally complex significance; influenced by religious faith but also by more personal considerations.In the brief preface to the novel, Mrs Gaskell hints at her initial impulse. The loss of a beloved child in infancy led her to seek a therapeutic outlet, but one which left her uncertain of her capacity to contextualize her public, writerly response to the tragedies occurring in the surrounding society of Manchester's poorest classes: "I know nothing of Political Economy, or the theories of trade..." She was, however, determined to portray, in novelistic form, the intimate connection between the private experience of her characters and the social forces of her time. The success of the novel led her to proclaim her authorship and move on to further works of fiction, which have secured her in our times a mounting reputation as one of the leading novelists of the mid-Victorian period.Our reader Tony Foster is a resident of Manchester and a near-neighbour of Mrs Gaskell (allowing for their separation in time). His superb narration renders the native speech of her characters with an authenticity which ideally conveys the spirit of this book. A truly moving experience awaits everyone who gives ear to this 'Tale of Manchester Life'. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
"Mary Barton: A Tale of Manchester Life" was Mrs Gaskell's first full-length novel. It was published anonymously in that tumultuous year of political change, 1848. Elizabeth Gaskell's own personal contact with the plight of the poor cotton workers of Lancashire compelled her to a compassionate examination of their lives; but as a middle-class woman, married to a Unitarian minister, her approach to her subject took on a emotionally complex significance; influenced by religious faith but also by more personal considerations.In the brief preface to the novel, Mrs Gaskell hints at her initial impulse. The loss of a beloved child in infancy led her to seek a therapeutic outlet, but one which left her uncertain of her capacity to contextualize her public, writerly response to the tragedies occurring in the surrounding society of Manchester's poorest classes: "I know nothing of Political Economy, or the theories of trade..." She was, however, determined to portray, in novelistic form, the intimate connection between the private experience of her characters and the social forces of her time. The success of the novel led her to proclaim her authorship and move on to further works of fiction, which have secured her in our times a mounting reputation as one of the leading novelists of the mid-Victorian period.Our reader Tony Foster is a resident of Manchester and a near-neighbour of Mrs Gaskell (allowing for their separation in time). His superb narration renders the native speech of her characters with an authenticity which ideally conveys the spirit of this book. A truly moving experience awaits everyone who gives ear to this 'Tale of Manchester Life'. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
"Mary Barton: A Tale of Manchester Life" was Mrs Gaskell's first full-length novel. It was published anonymously in that tumultuous year of political change, 1848. Elizabeth Gaskell's own personal contact with the plight of the poor cotton workers of Lancashire compelled her to a compassionate examination of their lives; but as a middle-class woman, married to a Unitarian minister, her approach to her subject took on a emotionally complex significance; influenced by religious faith but also by more personal considerations.In the brief preface to the novel, Mrs Gaskell hints at her initial impulse. The loss of a beloved child in infancy led her to seek a therapeutic outlet, but one which left her uncertain of her capacity to contextualize her public, writerly response to the tragedies occurring in the surrounding society of Manchester's poorest classes: "I know nothing of Political Economy, or the theories of trade..." She was, however, determined to portray, in novelistic form, the intimate connection between the private experience of her characters and the social forces of her time. The success of the novel led her to proclaim her authorship and move on to further works of fiction, which have secured her in our times a mounting reputation as one of the leading novelists of the mid-Victorian period.Our reader Tony Foster is a resident of Manchester and a near-neighbour of Mrs Gaskell (allowing for their separation in time). His superb narration renders the native speech of her characters with an authenticity which ideally conveys the spirit of this book. A truly moving experience awaits everyone who gives ear to this 'Tale of Manchester Life'. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
"Mary Barton: A Tale of Manchester Life" was Mrs Gaskell's first full-length novel. It was published anonymously in that tumultuous year of political change, 1848. Elizabeth Gaskell's own personal contact with the plight of the poor cotton workers of Lancashire compelled her to a compassionate examination of their lives; but as a middle-class woman, married to a Unitarian minister, her approach to her subject took on a emotionally complex significance; influenced by religious faith but also by more personal considerations.In the brief preface to the novel, Mrs Gaskell hints at her initial impulse. The loss of a beloved child in infancy led her to seek a therapeutic outlet, but one which left her uncertain of her capacity to contextualize her public, writerly response to the tragedies occurring in the surrounding society of Manchester's poorest classes: "I know nothing of Political Economy, or the theories of trade..." She was, however, determined to portray, in novelistic form, the intimate connection between the private experience of her characters and the social forces of her time. The success of the novel led her to proclaim her authorship and move on to further works of fiction, which have secured her in our times a mounting reputation as one of the leading novelists of the mid-Victorian period.Our reader Tony Foster is a resident of Manchester and a near-neighbour of Mrs Gaskell (allowing for their separation in time). His superb narration renders the native speech of her characters with an authenticity which ideally conveys the spirit of this book. A truly moving experience awaits everyone who gives ear to this 'Tale of Manchester Life'. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
"Mary Barton: A Tale of Manchester Life" was Mrs Gaskell's first full-length novel. It was published anonymously in that tumultuous year of political change, 1848. Elizabeth Gaskell's own personal contact with the plight of the poor cotton workers of Lancashire compelled her to a compassionate examination of their lives; but as a middle-class woman, married to a Unitarian minister, her approach to her subject took on a emotionally complex significance; influenced by religious faith but also by more personal considerations.In the brief preface to the novel, Mrs Gaskell hints at her initial impulse. The loss of a beloved child in infancy led her to seek a therapeutic outlet, but one which left her uncertain of her capacity to contextualize her public, writerly response to the tragedies occurring in the surrounding society of Manchester's poorest classes: "I know nothing of Political Economy, or the theories of trade..." She was, however, determined to portray, in novelistic form, the intimate connection between the private experience of her characters and the social forces of her time. The success of the novel led her to proclaim her authorship and move on to further works of fiction, which have secured her in our times a mounting reputation as one of the leading novelists of the mid-Victorian period.Our reader Tony Foster is a resident of Manchester and a near-neighbour of Mrs Gaskell (allowing for their separation in time). His superb narration renders the native speech of her characters with an authenticity which ideally conveys the spirit of this book. A truly moving experience awaits everyone who gives ear to this 'Tale of Manchester Life'. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
"Mary Barton: A Tale of Manchester Life" was Mrs Gaskell's first full-length novel. It was published anonymously in that tumultuous year of political change, 1848. Elizabeth Gaskell's own personal contact with the plight of the poor cotton workers of Lancashire compelled her to a compassionate examination of their lives; but as a middle-class woman, married to a Unitarian minister, her approach to her subject took on a emotionally complex significance; influenced by religious faith but also by more personal considerations.In the brief preface to the novel, Mrs Gaskell hints at her initial impulse. The loss of a beloved child in infancy led her to seek a therapeutic outlet, but one which left her uncertain of her capacity to contextualize her public, writerly response to the tragedies occurring in the surrounding society of Manchester's poorest classes: "I know nothing of Political Economy, or the theories of trade..." She was, however, determined to portray, in novelistic form, the intimate connection between the private experience of her characters and the social forces of her time. The success of the novel led her to proclaim her authorship and move on to further works of fiction, which have secured her in our times a mounting reputation as one of the leading novelists of the mid-Victorian period.Our reader Tony Foster is a resident of Manchester and a near-neighbour of Mrs Gaskell (allowing for their separation in time). His superb narration renders the native speech of her characters with an authenticity which ideally conveys the spirit of this book. A truly moving experience awaits everyone who gives ear to this 'Tale of Manchester Life'. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
"Mary Barton: A Tale of Manchester Life" was Mrs Gaskell's first full-length novel. It was published anonymously in that tumultuous year of political change, 1848. Elizabeth Gaskell's own personal contact with the plight of the poor cotton workers of Lancashire compelled her to a compassionate examination of their lives; but as a middle-class woman, married to a Unitarian minister, her approach to her subject took on a emotionally complex significance; influenced by religious faith but also by more personal considerations.In the brief preface to the novel, Mrs Gaskell hints at her initial impulse. The loss of a beloved child in infancy led her to seek a therapeutic outlet, but one which left her uncertain of her capacity to contextualize her public, writerly response to the tragedies occurring in the surrounding society of Manchester's poorest classes: "I know nothing of Political Economy, or the theories of trade..." She was, however, determined to portray, in novelistic form, the intimate connection between the private experience of her characters and the social forces of her time. The success of the novel led her to proclaim her authorship and move on to further works of fiction, which have secured her in our times a mounting reputation as one of the leading novelists of the mid-Victorian period.Our reader Tony Foster is a resident of Manchester and a near-neighbour of Mrs Gaskell (allowing for their separation in time). His superb narration renders the native speech of her characters with an authenticity which ideally conveys the spirit of this book. A truly moving experience awaits everyone who gives ear to this 'Tale of Manchester Life'. Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy
This week on the program, we celebrate Independent Media and press freedom with Izzy Fest 2026 and the 18th annual Izzy Award named after the legendary muckraker, I.F. Stone. First up, we have documentary filmmaker Abby Martin of Empire Files who is sharing the Izzy Award this year for her documentary Earths Greatest Enemy about how the Pentagon is the worlds greatest polluter and why we must all act to reverse the global damage caused by US military. Next up Izzy judge and professor Victor Pickard discusses the state of our free press, the challenges journalists face from the current administration, and how independent media can light the way to a more informed and just world. Abby Martin is an independent journalist, filmmaker, and host of The Empire Files. She is the director of the 2019 documentary Gaza Fights for Freedom and the 2026 documentary Earths Greatest Enemy. Victor Pickard is the C. Edwin Baker Professor of Media Policy and Political Economy at the Annenberg School for Communication, where he co-directs the Media, Inequality & Change (MIC) Center. The News That Didn't Make the News. Each week, co-hosts Mickey Huff and Eleanor Goldfield conduct in depth interviews with their guests and offer hard hitting commentary on the key political, social, and economic issues of the day with an emphasis on critical media literacy. The post Project Censored – April 24, 2026 appeared first on KPFA.
The US economy looks great on paper: high GDP, low unemployment, and booming markets. So why does it feel like the system is broken for so many people? To unpack the disconnect between macroeconomic data and everyday financial anxiety, we're joined by Chicago Booth professor Steve Kaplan. A staunch defender of the free market, Kaplan argues that despite our collective pessimism, American capitalism is actually delivering unprecedented prosperity. Are we just looking at the data wrong, or is the market failing us? From the staggering costs of the US healthcare system to the lasting scars of the China labor shock, we debate the deepest fractures in our modern economic framework. Recorded alongside the Stigler Center's economic conference "Can Capitalism Be Popular?" the conversation covers how to actually measure an economic system, the U.S. vs. Europe debate, the opioid crisis, health care lock-in, teachers' unions, UBI, and the core tension of the whole show: if capitalism is working, why doesn't it feel that way? Connect with us:
In this sixth episode of Season 5, I interview Mr. Chris Griswold. An alum of Wheaton College and Princeton Theological Seminary, he was formerly a senior advisor to then Senator Marco Rubio, and is currently the Policy Director for American Compass—a leading center-right public policy think-tank. Recently, he contributed to the book, The New Conservatives (2025), an anthology edited […]
In this sixth episode of Season 5, I interview Mr. Chris Griswold. An alum of Wheaton College and Princeton Theological Seminary, he was formerly a senior advisor to then Senator Marco Rubio, and is currently the Policy Director for American Compass—a leading center-right public policy think-tank. Recently, he contributed to the book, The New Conservatives (2025), an anthology edited by his colleague, Oren Cass, that re-articulates a conservative economic vision for the country. Drawing on it, we discuss the crisis of America's political economy, from questions surrounding current AI, automation, and the end of free trade; political instability and populism; how economic policy can best serve American workers and families; and what makes us hopeful for the country's future during its 250th anniversary. Hosted by Ryan Shinkel, Madison's Notes is the podcast of Princeton University's James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions. The transcript for this interview is available on our new Substack page, “Madison's Footnotes.” 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 this sixth episode of Season 5, I interview Mr. Chris Griswold. An alum of Wheaton College and Princeton Theological Seminary, he was formerly a senior advisor to then Senator Marco Rubio, and is currently the Policy Director for American Compass—a leading center-right public policy think-tank. Recently, he contributed to the book, The New Conservatives (2025), an anthology edited by his colleague, Oren Cass, that re-articulates a conservative economic vision for the country. Drawing on it, we discuss the crisis of America's political economy, from questions surrounding current AI, automation, and the end of free trade; political instability and populism; how economic policy can best serve American workers and families; and what makes us hopeful for the country's future during its 250th anniversary. Hosted by Ryan Shinkel, Madison's Notes is the podcast of Princeton University's James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions. The transcript for this interview is available on our new Substack page, “Madison's Footnotes.” 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 this Extra Slice of The Pie, guest host Ben Krause sits down with Raghuram Rajan, Katherine Dusak Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at Chicago Booth, for a wide-ranging conversation on everything from what 25,000 CEO letters reveal about corporate America's shift from maximizing shareholder value to prioritizing customers and employees, to why communities matter as much as markets and the state, the political equilibrium that determines whether societies thrive or collapse, how inequality drove the 2008 financial crisis, and why AI could create catastrophic outcomes without better support for workers. Rajan reflects on his path from observing development gaps as a child to prescient warnings about financial crises, explains why modern firms are fundamentally about managing power struggles between stakeholders, and makes the case for "inclusive localism," or, empowering communities while keeping borders open to competition.
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