The Economics Show

What does it really take to get rich in America? Straight As at an elite university or entrepreneurial parents? And as America holds midterm elections and California votes on whether to tax billionaires on their wealth, what does it mean for the rich to be paying their fair share? Host Soumaya Keynes speaks to economist Owen Zidar, co-author of Everywhere Millionaire, Who Is Really Rich in America and How They Got There, about a fairer approach to taxing the wealthy. Can the US tax the rich more without discouraging the entrepreneurs who drive economic growth?

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Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Katya Kumkova. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Flo Phillips is the FT’s head of audio. Thanks to John Cappuccino for his help recording this episode in the Princeton Broadcast Centre.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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Eight months ago, when the Iran war began, analysts worried that oil could go up to $200 per barrel. That’s a huge jump compared with about $70 before the conflict, and there were fears it would cause a huge shock to the global economy. Luckily, that hasn’t happened. But oil prices have been climbing again since July. Commentator and analyst Rory Johnston joins host Soumaya Keynes to talk through how high prices could still go and why what you pay at the pump doesn’t reflect the cost of unrefined oil.

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Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Katya Kumkova. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Flo Phillips is the FT’s head of audio.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It is not a calm time in themarkets. Investors are losing their cool while bond yields rise along with inflation. So where are central bankers? Offering words of calm? Or adding to the anxiety? The Fed’s Kevin Warsh has been telling people they need to look to the data, not to him. But is it that simple? The FT’s Chris Giles joins host Soumaya Keynes to talk through what makes for good central banker communication – and what happens if the message gets lost.

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Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Katya Kumkova. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Flo Phillips is the FT’s head of audio.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Europe has a China problem. Every single day, Europe buys a billion euros’ worth more stuff from China than it sells back. And the EU wants to stand up to Beijing over surging exports, which are challenging European industry. But China is also a vital market for European businesses and a crucial supplier of goods and raw materials. So how do you pick a trade fight with a country you depend on? Host Soumaya Keynes speaks to Bernd Lange, the German MEP who chairs the European parliament’s international trade committee, about what Brussels can do to level the playing field with China. Plus, with President Donald Trump rewriting the rules of global trade, how can the EU ensure the US plays fair too?

Subscribe to Soumaya's show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Katya Kumkova. Original music by Breen Turner, sound design by Sean McGarrity. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Flo Phillips is the FT’s head of audio.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Tech companies are hiring economists to study how AI is reshaping work and society. But what happens when the companies building the technology also produce the research into its effects? Host Soumaya Keynes talks to Ara Kharazian, chief economist at Ramp and Peter McCrory chief economist at Anthropic, alongside FT data journalist John Burn-Murdoch, about why economists are in such demand, what proprietary data can reveal about AI’s impact, and whether industry-backed research can avoid conflicts of interest.

Want more?

Are economists making themselves too useful in the AI boom?

Find John Burn Murdoch and Sara O’Connor’s The AI Shift newsletter here

Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Original music by Breen Turner, sound design by Sam Giovinco and Sean O’Garrety. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Flo Phillips is the FT’s head of audio.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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The global economy is becoming increasingly hostile with tariffs, export controls and industrial policy being used as geopolitical weapons, while the world’s biggest powers compete for economic advantage. So where does that leave a middle power like Britain? Host Soumaya Keynes speaks to UK senior civil servant Jenny Bates, who’s just completed the Heywood Fellowship at Oxford university, where she got to think about Britain's place in the world and how it should adapt to a changing geopolitical seascape. They discuss what Britain can learn from historic partnerships and why closer co-operation between government and business could be crucial to navigating a more dangerous global economy.

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Further reading:

Mark Carney urges EU to cement trade deal as Ottawa seeks pivot from US

Ursula von der Leyen backs Canada’s ‘associate membership’ bid

Trump lays a new trap for Takaichi

Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Flo Phillips is the FT’s head of audio.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Dads today are doing more childcare than previous generations, so why hasn’t the parenting gap between mothers and fathers disappeared? One reason: mums are doing more too. Host Soumaya Keynes talks to Corinne Low, associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School and author of 'Femonomics’ (titled ‘Having it all’ in the US), about what the data tells us about how couples divide the work of raising a family and what same-sex couples can teach us about gender roles in parenting. Plus, can Soumaya’s parenting spreadsheet really help make childcare more equal?

Subscribe to Soumaya's show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Further reading: 

The perks of parenting by spreadsheet

Can AI improve parenting?

Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Original music and sound design by Samantha Giovinco and Breen Turner. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Flo Phillips is the FT’s head of audio.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Building data centres and running the US government have something in common: they cost a lot of money. Tech companies are borrowing heavily to fund the AI build out, just as Washington is borrowing vast sums to fund the US government, and those two borrowing binges may be on a collision course. Investors are already worried about America’s mounting debt burden and about whether the AI boom has become a bubble. Ruchir Sharma, chair of Rockefeller International and contributing editor to the FT, explains how the two worries might be more closely connected than they first appear, how rising US Treasury yields could raise borrowing costs for AI companies and which number investors should be watching.

Subscribe to Soumaya's show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Further reading: 

Why America’s debt binge is starting to matter

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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In recent months, part of the chip market has been going bananas. Prices for memory chips – which AI data centres use in droves – have rocketed, as US tech companies lock in massive orders. That’s bad news for consumers facing more expensive electronic devices. But what are the broader consequences of misalignment in this market? How will the chip squeeze end? And, as memory chips become a strategic commodity, how are the US and China looking to secure supply? Host Soumaya Keynes is joined by Dan Kim, chief strategy officer at semiconductor analysis firm TechInsights and former chief economist at the CHIPS Program Office at the US Department of Commerce.

Further reading: 

Why memory chips are the new frontier of the AI revolution

Memory chip boom leaves PC and smartphone makers in the cold

Maybe the chips are down because memory’s too expensive

Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Flo Phillips is the FT’s head of audio.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh took to the stage at Jackson Hole under pressure. Inflation is sticky, bond markets have been wobbling and his insistence on minimal Fed communication has been seen by some to make matters worse. Soumaya speaks to Torsten Slok, chief economist at Apollo Global Management, to discuss what Warsh did (and didn’t say), the changing relationship between the Fed and the Treasury and how the central bank should fight America’s growing fiscal issues.

Subscribe to Soumaya's show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Join Soumaya Keynes on Saturday September 5 at Kenwood House Gardens in London, or online as the FT Weekend paper comes to life. Register now atft.com/festival and enjoy 10% off with code FTPODCAST.

Further reading: 

Hawkish Kevin Warsh hints Fed will raise rates if inflation does not fall soon

Warsh settles some nerves at Jackson Hole

Scott Bessent’s bond intervention puts US Treasury on collision course with Fed 

Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Flo Phillips is the FT’s head of audio.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The 1873 Gründerkrach, the spectacular stock market crash that followed Germany’s unification, is one of history’s great financial maelstroms. But its most enduring legacy isn’t about money. Host Robin Wigglesworth speaks to Pulitzer Prize-winning author Liaquat Ahamed about how the resulting economic malaise fuelled social division and transformed old prejudices into antisemitic conspiracy. It gave birth to ideas that would resurface with catastrophic consequences decades later in the 20th century.

Further reading:

1873: The Rothschilds, the First Great Depression, and the Making of the Modern World (2026), by Liaquat Ahamed 

Gold and Iron: Bismarck, Bleichröder, and the Building of the German Empire (1977), by Fritz Stern

Hosts: Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth

Senior producers: Michela Tindera and Laurence Knight 

Executive producer: Manuela Saragosa

Original music and sound design: Breen Turner

Broadcast engineers: Bianca Wakeman and Petros Gioumpasis

Podcast development: Laura Clarke

FT global head of audio: Flo Phillips 

Video editors: Josh Divney and Kristen Kenyon at Podcast Discovery

Learn more at www.ft.com/tsom or get in touch at thestoryofmoney@ft.com

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As wealth becomes increasingly concentrated — and artificial intelligence threatens to shift even more income from workers to investors — has the US tax system become outdated? Stephanie Flanders speaks with Harvard professor Jason Furman, a former economic adviser to President Barack Obama, and Bloomberg reporter Caitlin Reilly about wealth taxes, capital gains, inheritance and whether taxing America's richest is politically or constitutionally possible.

Hear more from Trumponomics: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/trumponomics/id1038108799

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In the midst of the US-China trade conflict last year, Beijing unsheathed its fiercest weapon. By ramping up restrictions on exports of rare earth metals – crucial elements for high-tech manufacturing – China forced the US to climb down. That show of strength was a wake up call for the US. It has since spent huge sums backing mining companies, penned eye-catching deals and moved to collaborate with allies. But after a little more than a year, how much progress has it made in breaking China’s hold on the rare earths supply chain? Featuring: Abigail Hunter of the SAFE Center for Critical Minerals Strategy; Gracelin Baskaran of the Critical Minerals Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies; Cory Combs of Trivium China; and FT commodities correspondent Camilla Hodgson.

Subscribe to Soumaya's show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Further reading: 

China and the new era of critical minerals diplomacy

Hedge funds raise bets against US-backed critical minerals companies 

China restricts trading with some US rare earth companies

Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Original music by Breen Turner. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco. Manuela Saragosa and Topher Forhecz are the executive producers. Flo Phillips is the FT’s head of audio.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Productivity has been a problem for the past 15 years. In developed countries, weak demand, a lack of competition and a paucity of new ideas have all been blamed. Could AI finally reverse that trend? Soumaya speaks to Stanford economics professor Nick Bloom about why CFOs and CEOs expect AI to supercharge their businesses; how concentrated (or otherwise) the gains might be; and why working from home could be good for labour output… and fertility rates.

Subscribe to Soumaya's show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Further Reading

Is AI productivity growth in the room with us right now?

How much value is AI really creating?

Hosted by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Original music by Breen Turner. Sound design by Sean McGarrity. Andrew Georgiades is the broadcast engineer. Edwin Lane is the senior producer. Flo Phillips is the FT’s head of audio.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The US has long been the world’s undisputed leader in AI. Now, that lead looks under threat. Cutting-edge Chinese models such as Kimi K3 are proving almost as capable as leading American models; meanwhile, companies in the US and Europe are turning to cheap, efficient Chinese software from companies including DeepSeek and Z.ai in an attempt to curb high usage costs. As China takes strides – and Beijing considers export controls on its AI models – Soumaya speaks to Kyle Chan, fellow at the Brookings Institution's John L Thornton China Center, to find out more.

Subscribe to Soumaya's show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Further reading: 

Chinese AI start-up Moonshot launches model challenging Anthropic’s lead

Companies turn to Chinese AI models to cut costs

China weighs tighter export controls on AI models and chips

Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner. Edwin Lane is the senior producer. Flo Phillips is the FT’s head of audio.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When the US and Israel started bombing Iran earlier this year, market watchers eyed the oil markets nervously. But as the price of crude oil climbed, so did the price of another key commodity produced in the Gulf: fertiliser. Five months later, the world’s food system is looking better than feared, but as Adam Hanieh, director of the Middle East Institute at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London explains, the worst may yet be to come. Soumaya also assesses his prognosis with the FT’s agriculture correspondent Susannah Savage.

Subscribe to Soumaya's show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the western world, richer people tend to be thinner – especially women. But does wealth make people thin, or does being thin make them wealthy? And could the rise of weight-loss drugs such as Mounjaro and Wegovy give people – especially women – greater control over their economic outcomes? Soumaya speaks to Harvard professor Rebecca Diamond, the author of a new working paper that finds female users of GLP-1 drugs are more likely to find jobs and romantic partners. Soumaya also speaks to FT consumer editor (and GLP-1 user) Claer Barrett to discuss the drugs’ effects on consumer habits – and the economy at large.

Subscribe to Soumaya's show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Further reading: 

The economics of women’s weight

Does the weight-loss revolution show up in the data?

The challenges of a weight-loss economy

Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner. Andrew Georgiades is the broadcast engineer. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Flo Phillips if the FT's head of audio.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, economists were panicked. Several warned that a prolonged closure of the chokepoint could trigger a recession. After all, that’s what oil shocks do. But no recession came – even after oil prices jumped to almost twice their pre-war level. Why didn’t the global economy tumble into a recession – and are we out of the woods? Soumaya speaks to Tyler Goodspeed, author of ‘Recession: The Real Reasons Economies Shrink and What to Do About It’. They discuss why the global economy has become more resistant to recessions, why the US has more downturns than the UK and why would-be recession-forecasters might be better off reading horoscopes.

UK public finances weathering Iran war, Andy Burnham to be told

Iran war could slow global growth to weakest since pandemic, IMF warns

Subscribe to Soumaya's show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner. Broadcast engineering by Andrew Georgiades. Flo Phillips is the FT’s head of audio.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When the US government banned a top AI lab from exporting its newest models, the world took notice. Export controls forbidding foreign access to Anthropic’s Mythos and Fable systems locked most of the world out of using this cutting-edge technology. As AI becomes more embedded in our daily lives, countries want to secure access to frontier models. But unless you’re the US or China, your country doesn’t have a top-tier national champion. So what can other countries do to secure sovereign control over AI? What kind of leverage can they exert? And can they use AI to boost – rather than break – their economies? Soumaya speaks to UK AI minister Kanishka Narayan to discuss.

Subscribe to Soumaya's show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Further Reading

How the DeepMind mafia brought the AI boom to London

UK companies ‘should be worried’ about Anthropic’s latest AI model, minister says

Did Anthropic talk its way into an AI export ban?

Anthropic chief tells G7 leaders to ‘resist the temptation to splinter’ over AI

Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Sound design by Sean McGarrity. Original music by Breen Turner. Broadcast engineering by Andrew Georgiades. Flo Phillips is the FT’s head of audio.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For decades, China accelerated its industrial development through a straightforward bargain: foreign firms invested in China, often through joint ventures, gaining access to the enormous Chinese market, while Chinese companies absorbed western tech and knowhow. Today, that dynamic is changing. China's high-tech industries are now world-leading, and western governments are looking on enviously. So should the US and EU now take a page from China's playbook? Host Soumaya Keynes speaks to John Minnich, assistant professor of international relations at LSE, about the history of Chinese tech transfer, how it drove industrial sophistication and whether the west could — or should — attempt something similar.

Subscribe to Soumaya's show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Further Reading

How China pulled off a great tech reversal

EU to include UK and Japan in ‘Made in Europe’ plans

John Minnich: Divide and Conquer: Industry Market Structure, Inter-Firm Rivalry, and Bargaining over Technology

Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Flo Phillips is the FT’s head of audio.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Just before the UK voted to leave the EU in June 2016, the Treasury (and others) warned the consequences would be catastrophic. GDP would fall and unemployment would rise, Sterling would dip and government borrowing would climb. The shock of Brexit would plunge the UK into a recession. Ten years later, it’s clear some of those predictions were wide of the mark. But Brexit has made the UK’s economy smaller. As would-be Labour leaders Wes Streeting and Andy Burnham openly discuss the case for rejoining the EU, Soumaya asks Anand Menon, head of the UK in a Changing Europe think-tank, what the UK’s relationship with the EU should look like. They discuss the UK’s surprising areas of economic outperformance, why Labour’s “red lines” are hampering its trade ambitions andwhat the EU would demand if the UK moved to rejoin.

Further reading:

Andy Burnham plays down rejoining EU after Wes Streeting advocates Brexit reversal

Ten years on, what’s next for Brexit? You asked, we answered

Britain re-entering the EU ‘an inevitability’, says Treasury minister

Subscribe to Soumaya's show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Flo Phillips is the FT’s head of audio.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Everything looks to be going China’s way: Beijing has a stranglehold on the world’s critical minerals, and its high-tech manufacturing has rapidly become world-leading. Its massive trade surplus is undermining vital industries in the rest of the world. Is this part of a Chinese masterplan for world domination? The truth is a little more nuanced than that. Soumaya Keynes speaks to Jessica Chen Weiss, director of the Institute for America, China, and the Future of Global Affairs at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. They discuss why decoupling is a “fantasy”, what “middle powers” are doing better than the US and the social and the domestic challenges that still hold China back.

Subscribe to Soumaya's show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Further reading

A cold peace between the US and China is good enough

Pete Hegseth says US-China ties are ‘better than in years’

America needs to put the renminbi back on the international agenda

Hosted by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner. The executive producer is Manuela Saragosa.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a reversal of roles, Nobel prize-winning economist Paul Krugman steps into host Soumaya Keynes shoes to quiz her and co-author Chad Bown about their new book "How to Win a Trade War", and the lessons it contains for surviving a global world order where traditional trade rules are being abandoned. They discuss the fragile domestic politics of a trade war, what the rest of the world can learn from China and reasons to be sort of cheerful about the future of global trade.

Further reading

No one wins a trade war. Or do they?

Why Europe must embrace tariffs

Subscribe to Soumaya's show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Africa is traditionally seen as a continent of immense resources, let down by poor governance and excessive violence. Joe Studwell disagrees. In his book, How Africa Works, Studwell flips those assumptions upside down, and argues that low population density, a brutal disease burden and "low-budget" colonialism have hampered the continent’s development. Now, Studwell says, Africa is in a position to follow the blueprint for rapid advancement set by some of Asia’s most impressive economies, such as China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan. Host Soumaya Keynes and Studwell discuss the policy mix African nations should follow, the problems with "leapfrog" development and how "keeping up with the Joneses" could drive continent-wide development.

Further Reading

African economies are more resilient than ever

Subscribe to Soumaya's show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Economists like to think of their discipline as a rational science. But might we make better decisions if we ditched some of our moral aversions? Specifically: would we make better choices if we learned to conquer moral repugnance? Alvin Roth, Nobel laureate, and author of the recent book ‘Moral Economics’, tells host Soumaya Keynes why a free market in kidneys and surrogacy makes economic sense, and what he makes of prediction markets.

The inaugural FT Weekend Festival in New York City is fast approaching, with a line-up featuring Paul Krugman, Martin Wolf, Gillian Tett, and plenty more. Join on Saturday, June 20, at Spring Studios or online. Register now and as a podcast listener, save 10% using our code FTPODCAST.

Further reading

When is it OK for economists to experiment on people?

So you tried to buy a country . . .

Subscribe to Soumaya's show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Between the Iran war, high gas prices, and wobbly jobs numbers, central bankers have plenty to worry about. But some see a light on the horizon: artificial intelligence. AI could lead to abundant production and lower prices, allowing the Fed to lower interest rates, and boost the economy – or so the theory goes. But how will we know if AI is boosting productivity? And what happens if the AI advocates promising an economic transformation are wrong? Soumaya is joined by Austan Goolsbee, head of the Chicago Federal Reserve, to discuss these questions and more. Soumaya and Austan also analyse how Fed chair nominee, Kevin Warsh, might change the central bank; and how Austan feels about Jay Powell’s plans to stick around.

The inaugural FT Weekend Festival in New York City is fast approaching, with a line-up featuring Paul Krugman, Martin Wolf, Gillian Tett, and plenty more. Join on Saturday, June 20, at Spring Studios or online. Register now and as a podcast listener, save 10% using our code FTPODCAST.

Further reading:

AI boom poised to be ‘massively disinflationary’, Northern Trust says

US economy grows at 2% pace in first quarter as AI boom fuels investment  

The real Greenspan lesson for Warsh on inflation

Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval with original music from Breen Turner and sound design by Sam Giovinco. The senior producers are Edwin Lane and Michela Tindera. The FT head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Typically, a society’s population remains stable if women have about 2.1 children each. By that metric, the word has a big problem. In developed countries the total fertility rate is well below that figure. So what are the economic consequences of that shortfall? Soumaya Keynes speaks to Melissa Kearney, a professor at the University of Notre Dame and the director of the Aspen Economic Strategy Group, which recently put out a series on the topic: Demographic Headwinds: The Economic Consequences of Lower Birth Rates and Longer Lives.They discuss why the fertility rate won’t reverse course any time soon — and what happens when the rest of the baby boomers retire.

Further reading:

Why are fertility rates collapsing? Gender roles

Could working from home solve the global fertility crisis?

Subscribe to Soumaya's show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Michela Tindera is the senior producer. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner. The FT head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A few months ago, the oil market looked pretty serene. But the US-Iran war has upended global supplies and pushed energy security to the top of the policy agenda. Importers have realised they need to diversify their energy sources. What role will renewables have to play? And would a shift towards green energy just mean trading one bottleneck for another? Soumaya Keynes speaks to Daniel Yergin, vice-chair of S&P Global and author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning book ‘The Prize: The Epic Quest for Oil, Money, and Power'. 

Subscribe to Soumaya's show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Further reading: 

How to survive an energy crunch

Will the Iran war derail the energy transition?

Middle East war strengthens case for renewables, say clean energy experts

Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. The senior producer was Michela Tindera. Original music by Breen Turner. Sound design by Samantha Giovinco. The FT head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

Join FT journalists and a special guest onWednesday 20 May at 1200 GMT for a subscriber webinar on The Dollar under Trump: markets, monetary policy and the next Fed chair. Register atft.com/trump-dollarand send us your questions

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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The economist John Kenneth Galbraith once quipped that “there can be few fields of human endeavour in which history counts for so little as in the world of finance.”

This show sets out to prove the opposite.

Each week, FT columnist Gillian Tett and FT Alphaville editor Robin Wigglesworth dig into the ideas, personalities and institutions that have shaped global finance.

From unregulated banking in 19th-century frontier America to institutionalised debt jubilees in ancient Mesopotamia, and from the birth of credit derivatives to the great market meltdowns of the past, Robin and Gillian uncover the story of money because time and again, the same manias and mistakes resurface. Tune in and you might just understand where the next financial opportunities and disasters could be hiding. 

Subscribe to The Story of Money wherever you get your podcasts and watch the show on YouTube.

Learn more about the show at ft.com/tsom and find out more about Gillian Tett here and Robin Wigglesworth here.

Follow FT Alphaville here.

Hosts: Gillian Tett and Robin Wigglesworth

Producer: Lulu Smyth

Senior Producer: Michela Tindera

Executive Producers: Flo Phillips and Manuela Saragosa

Original music and sound engineering: Breen Turner

Podcast Development: Laura Clarke

Global Head of Audio: Cheryl Brumley

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China runs an enormous trade surplus, much to the chagrin of some of its trading partners: cheap exports of cars, chemicals and other goods are hampering major economies, especially in Europe. But the Asian nation, the world’s largest exporter, is a net importer of oil. Could higher oil prices help redress global trade imbalances? Soumaya Keynes speaks to Brad Setser, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, to discuss how global trade imbalances have changed, why Beijing’s surplus may be bigger than it looks, and what European leaders should be doing about it.

Subscribe to Soumaya's show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Related reading

What's really shocking about the second China shock?

China shock 2.0: should Europe welcome Chinese investment?

Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval and Sonja Hutson. Edwin Lane is the senior producer. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner. The FT's head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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President Donald Trump backed off his threats to wipe out “a whole civilization". Instead, we have a ceasefire – at least for now. But how much damage has the conflict between Iran, the US and Israel already done to the global economy? Where will that damage show up next? And how long will the effects of the Iran shock be felt? Soumaya Keynes speaks to the FT’s economics commentator Chris Giles to discuss the economic consequences of the war and what policymakers should be doing to mitigate them.

Subscribe to Soumaya's show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Subscribe to Chris Giles on Central Banks here.

Further reading

The Iran war shock is about half the size of Covid-19

The ECB’s three-pronged monetary strategy

Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Original music by Breen Turner. Sound design by Simon Panayi. The FT head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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Warring countries have attacked each other’s economies for hundreds of years. But do the tools of economic warfare – sanctions, tariffs, blockades and embargoes – actually work? Soumaya speaks to Mark Harrison, emeritus professor of economics at Warwick university, and co-editor (with Stephen Broadberry) of Economic Warfare and Sanctions since 1688, about what centuries of economic conflict can teach us about Iran (and Russia) today.

Subscribe to Soumaya's show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Further reading: 

Which chokepoint wins in a game of geoeconomic Top Trumps?

Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Original music by Breen Turner and sound design by Sean McGarrity. The FT head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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Iran’s de facto closure of the Strait of Hormuz has already rocked global oil markets and stock market indices, spooking everyone from politicians to central bankers. But if Iran wants to make matters worse, it can. Soumaya speaks to Edward Fishman, senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and author of ‘Chokepoints: American Power in the Age of Economic Warfare,’ to find out what this conflict means for the future of economic coercion. Soumaya and Edward also discuss how geographical chokepoints differ from economic ones (like rare earths, or the dollar system), and the unintended consequences of the war.

Subscribe to Soumaya's show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Further reading:

Which chokepoint wins in a game of geoeconomic Top Trumps?

How to survive an energy crunch

Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Original music by Breen Turner. Sound design by Sean McGarrity The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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There’s a trope going around these days: western commentators travel to China, tour its factories and when they return home they say that when it comes to innovation, China has won the global race. But how true is that? Host Soumaya Keynes discusses the successes and shortcomings of China's evolving industrial policy with Kyle Chan, author of the High Capacity newsletter and a fellow in the John L Thornton China Center at the Brookings Institution.

Subscribe to Soumaya's show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Further reading: 

How China pulled off a great tech reversal

Which chokepoint wins in a game of geoeconomic Top Trumps?

China’s growth target is a global problem 

Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval and Michela Tindera. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Original music by Breen Turner and sound design by Sam Giovinco. The FT head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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Introducing Opus Dei, a new season of Untold from the Financial Times. Host Antonia Cundy uncovers the cultural and political influence of a controversial Catholic organisation in America. Opus Dei exists to help people get closer to God, but some members say they found other agendas – and unexpected harm – entangled in that spiritual mission. The first episode of Untold: Opus Dei launches March 25. 

Listen onApple Podcasts,Spotify,Pocket Casts or wherever you get your podcasts.

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Banks, consultancies and LinkedIn posts alike are trumpeting the transformative effects of AI, promising an imminent uptick in productivity. Some of these claims are no doubt exaggerated. But there are unmistakable signs that AI is boosting productivity. How is that showing up in economic data? And what does that information tell us about the future of the economy? Soumaya is joined by John Burn-Murdoch and Sarah O’Connor, authors of the FT’s ‘AI Shift’ newsletter, to discuss.

You can sign up to the AI shift newsletter here.

Related Links

Where is AI showing up in the productivity data?

The AI productivity take-off is finally visible

Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Sound design by Sean McGarrity. Original music by Breen Turner. The FT head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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Markets haven’t exactly been calm since the conflict in Iran started. But are they mispricing the risks of a bigger economic blow-up? And how does this conflict compare with what happened after Russia invaded Ukraine? Host Soumaya Keynes discusses these questions with Robin Brooks, author of the Shadow Price Macro substack and senior fellow in the Global Economy and Development program at the Brookings Institution. 

Subscribe to Soumaya's show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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Some believe a deeper pool of common debt would allow the European Union to tackle some of its biggest problems, attracting more investment, reducing the cost of financing, and helping the EU achieve greater strategic autonomy. One such believer: Carlos Cuerpo, Spain’s economy, trade and business minister. In this episode, Soumaya asks him how a common EU safe asset would work, whether money (not politics) is the EU’s issue, and what the bloc could learn from Spain’s economic bounceback.

Related links

Europe’s best bet for financial sovereignty is a true safe asset

Europe is not thinking straight on competitiveness

Subscribe to Soumaya's show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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Shortly after the US Supreme Court ruled Donald Trump’s tariffs were illegal, he hit back. The president vowed to impose a 10% levy on US imports through different means. He raised those duties to 15% the following day. These tariffs – imposed under the Trade Act of 1974, rather than the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) – are only temporary. But Trump has a range of tariff tools at his disposal. How will he use them? Which of his trading partners will be worse off from these new policy changes? And will US companies that have already paid tariffs get their money back? To discuss all this and more, Soumaya is joined by former US trade representative, and president of the Council on Foreign Relations, Michael Froman.

Subscribe to The Economics Show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen. 

Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Original music from Breen Turner, and sound design by Sean McGarrity

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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When Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein released their book ‘Nudge’ in 2008, it caught the public imagination. ‘Nudge theory’ – the idea that people could be encouraged to make better choices through small, subtle interventions – was innovative, and exciting. A decade and a half later, a whole lot of nudging seems to have come to a whole lot of nothing. Why wasn’t ‘nudge theory’ more help in tackling climate change, or helping people enroll in pensions? And, even if it hasn’t saved the world, does behavioural science still have a role in policymaking? Former member of the UK’s Behavioural Insights Team and professor of behavioural science, Nick Chater, reflects on the legacy of nudges.

Related Links

Can we ‘nudge’ our way to higher growth?

The uses — and the limits — of ‘nudge’ economics

What nudge theory got wrong

Subscribe to Soumaya's show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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China’s export powerhouse is feeding global demand for cheaper electronics, cars, clothing, and plenty more besides. But the supercharged competition driving that trend is causing problems within China itself, including deflation and thin or negative profit margins. China’s government has recognised the problem, but what is it actually doing in response – and how should the country’s trading partners react? Soumaya speaks to Yanmei Xie, senior associate fellow at the Mercator Institute for China Studies, to discuss.

Subscribe to Soumaya's show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon and Mischa Frankl-Duval. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner. The FT head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

For China, ‘involution’ is a blessing as well as a curse

Why China is reluctant to make a much-needed shift

Fall in Chinese investment suggests Xi Jinping’s ‘anti-involution’ drive is biting

China battles price wars in fight against deflation

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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If you want to understand food – and eat better – economics is a good place to start. How do immigration patterns shape a country’s cuisine? How do labour laws make our working lunches worse? And why do strip malls serve such good grub? To find out, Soumaya Keynes talks to Tyler Cowen, economics professor at George Mason University and chair of the Mercatus Center think-tank. Cowen has written about food for more than two decades, including in his 2012 book An Economist Gets Lunch.

Read Soumaya’s columns here: https://www.ft.com/soumaya-keynes

Subscribe to The Economics Show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen. 

Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Cheryl Brumley is the FT’s global head of audio. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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The EU-India trade deal was partly a geopolitical statement, directed towards Trump. But what’s actually in it? What were the toughest bits to agree, who gave up concessions, and what will the deal mean for the economies of India and the EU? Soumaya Keynes is back to chat to Nicolas Köhler-Suzuki, adviser for trade and economic security, Jacques Delors Institute, and Ajay Srivastava, founder of the Global Trade Research Initiative in Delhi, and a former trade negotiator. 

Subscribe to Soumaya's show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Further reading: 

EU and India seal trade pact to slash €4bn of tariffs on bloc’s exports

Indian exporters seek new markets after Donald Trump’s trade blitz

EU leaders push to implement Mercosur trade pact

Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon, Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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Are the headline growth figures really telling us the full story about the global economy? Gita Gopinath, a former deputy managing director at the IMF and a professor of economics at Harvard University, discusses this question with Martin Wolf, the FT’s chief economics commentator. They talk about how AI investments are offsetting the economic drag from tariffs, the risk of another financial crisis and whether the dollar can remain the world’s dominant currency. 

Subscribe to Soumaya's show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Further reading: 

Trump is erasing the global economic order

So you tried to buy a country . . .

IMF warns global economic resilience at risk if AI falters

Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon, Alex Bell and Kirsty Loughlin. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner. 

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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It wasn’t the Trump administration’s first attack on the Federal Reserve – but it was perhaps the most shocking. The Department of Justice’s criminal investigation into Jay Powell – nominally over his testimony about the refurbishment of Fed buildings – has ramped up pressure on the Fed chair, whom Donald Trump has frequently criticised over the central bank’s interest rate stance. Will Trump succeed in imposing his will on the Fed, and how might the world’s most important financial institution fight back? Is there any hope that the next Fed chair will stand up to Trump? FT US economics editor Claire Jones speaks to the Fed's former vice-chair Don Kohn.

Further Reading

High-stakes Powell probe carries risks for US justice department

Central bank chiefs ‘stand in full solidarity’ with Jay Powell

Justice department’s probe into Jay Powell galvanises Fed leaders to repel Donald Trump’s attacks

Claire Jones is the FT’s US economics editor. You can find her articles here.

Subscribe to The Economics Show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen. Presented by Claire Jones. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. The executive producer was Manuela Saragosa. Original music from Breen Turner, and sound design by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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Affordability is set to be a key issue in US politics ahead of the country’s midterm elections. And though American politicians often express their support for the country’s middle class, life has become progressively more difficult for that group, Mechele Dickerson argues. The University of Texas law professor explains how sluggish wage growth, housing policy and the growth of personal debt have made it harder to secure the markers of middle class life.

Claire Jones is the FT’s US economics editor. You can find her articles here 

Subscribe to The Economics Show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen. 

Presented by Claire Jones. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Manuela Saragosa is the FT’s acting co-head of audio. Original music from Breen Turner, and sound design by Sam Giovinco.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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Some of the world’s biggest financial institutions are reeling after the collapse of a little-known car parts supplier: First Brands Group. The company filed for bankruptcy last month, and since then, FT reporters have shone a spotlight on billions of dollars of hidden debt and a secretive founder whose borrowing habits left creditors exposed. The FT’s corporate finance editor Robert Smith and banking editor Ortenca Aliaj walk through their investigation and explain how this event has raised questions about potential cracks in private credit.  

This is a repeat of an episode published on Behind The Money, a sister podcast of The Economics Show, on October 29, 2025

For further reading:

The secretive First Brands founder, his $12bn debt and the future of private credit

First Brands Group: dude, where’s my cash?

First Brands bankruptcy: the losers — and winners

Follow Robert Smith on X (@BondHack), or on Bluesky (@bondhack.ft.com). Michela Tindera is on X (@mtindera07) and Bluesky (@mtindera.ft.com), or follow her on LinkedIn for updates about the show and more. 

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The European Commission must urgently dismantle internal trade barriers that are stifling innovation, productivity and investment across the EU. So says Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank, in a conversation with the FT’s chief economics commentator, Martin Wolf, as she calls for immediate structural reforms and explains why this is the moment to do it.

This interview was recorded on December 10 as part of the FT’s The Global Boardroom conference.

Subscribe and listen to this series of The Economics Show on Apple Podcasts,Spotify,Pocket Casts or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

Read Martin’s column here 

Sound design and original music by Breen Turner.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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In this final episode of their series for The Economics Show, FT chief economics commentator Martin Wolf and Nobel laureate Paul Krugman consider listeners’ questions and comments ranging from a critique of globalisation, increasing inequality and plutocracy, the global appetite for US federal debt, China’s economic future and much more.

Subscribe and listen to this series of The Economics Show on Apple Podcasts,Spotify,Pocket Casts or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

Read Martin’s column here 

Subscribe to Paul’s substack here

Find Paul’s cultural coda here.

Find Martin’s cultural coda here.

Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval and Josh Gabert-Doyon. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Tom Hannen is the video editor. Sound design and original music by Breen Turner.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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The US last week released its new national security strategy – and it wasn’t good news for Europe. The document, which sets out US foreign policy priorities, blasted Europe for undermining “political liberty and sovereignty”, de-emphasised the threat from Russia, reframed America’s competition with China and put influence over the western hemisphere at the top of the US agenda. In this episode, FT chief economics commentator Martin Wolf and Nobel laureate Paul Krugman discuss what the impact of this new US strategy may be. How should Europe react to this sharp turn from its strongest historical ally? And is Trump handing China the world on a silver platter?

Email any questions for Martin and Paul to economics.show@ft.com

Subscribe and listen to this series of The Economics Show on Apple Podcasts,Spotify,Pocket Casts or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

Read Martin’s column here 

Subscribe to Paul’s Substack here

Find Paul’s cultural coda here.

Find Martin’s cultural coda here.

Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Tom Hannen is the video editor. Sound design by Breen Turner. Original music by Breen Turner.

The Wolf-Krugman Exchange: America vs the world video

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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Donald Trump promised to bring industrial jobs back to America when he swept to victory in last year’s presidential election, powered by a 12-point lead among male voters, but can he really deliver? In the second of this four-part series, the FT’s chief economics commentator Martin Wolf and Nobel prize-winning economist Paul Krugman discuss the economic plight of American men - why their problems are real, but Maga’s proposed solutions are not. Plus, they consider the policy platform of another populist, the newly elected mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani, and whether his affordability agenda can translate into a nationwide policy for the Democrats.

Subscribe and listen to this series of The Economics Show on Apple Podcasts,Spotify,Pocket Casts or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

Read Martin’s column here 

Subscribe to Paul’s substack here

Find Paul’s cultural coda here

Find Martin’s cultural coda here

Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Sound design by Sam Giovinco and Breen Turner. Original music by Breen Turner.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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As President Donald Trump approaches the one-year anniversary of his second term in office, the FT’s chief economics commentator Martin Wolf, and Nobel prize-winning economist Paul Krugman sit down to discuss the US economy and the state of American democracy. Are American consumers finally feeling the effect of Trump’s tariffs? Is AI to blame for the frozen labour market? Or is the spectre of a weakening democracy and plutocracy to blame for slumping consumer sentiment? In the first of four weekly episodes, Wolf and Krugman unpick the US and world economy, with Krugman explaining why he’s less pessimistic now than he was earlier this year.

Subscribe and listen to this series of The Economics Show on Apple Podcasts,Spotify,Pocket Casts or wherever you listen to podcasts. 

Read Martin’s column here.

Subscribe to Paul’s Substack here.

Find Paul’s cultural coda here.

Find Martin’s cultural coda here.

Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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In this four-part series starting on Wednesday November 26, FT chief economics commentator Martin Wolf and Nobel-prize winning economist Paul Krugman take stock after (almost) a year of Donald Trump’s second term and assess the impact of his presidency on the US and world economy and democracy everywhere.

Martin Wolf is the FT’s chief economics commentator. You can find his articles here: https://www.ft.com/martin-wolf

You can find Paul Krugman’s Substack newsletter here 

Subscribe to The Economics Show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Presented by Martin Wolf. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. The executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner.

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Thirty-five years ago, the global economy could be neatly divided into market economies, socialist economies and poorer non-aligned countries. Today, that picture is rather more complicated. Western-style neoliberalism – expected to become the dominant economic system after the end of the cold war – is in retreat; socialism is no more; China has emerged as a global superpower; and formerly-poor countries in the global south are rising rapidly – all while neoliberalism itself becomes, well… less liberal. If neoliberalism is on the way out, what will replace it? And what does the rise of Asia mean for western consumers who find their spending power dwindling? The FT’s European economics commentator, Martin Sandbu, speaks to Branko Milanović, senior scholar at the Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality at the City University of New York, and a visiting professor at the International Inequalities Institute at the LSE.

Further Reading

Globalisation: Where on the elephant are you? (BBC)

Branko Milanovic: ‘The forces of self-interest and technology cannot be undone’

The economic losers are in revolt against the elites  

Martin Sandbu is the Financial Times's European economics commentator. You can find his articles here: https://www.ft.com/martin-sandbu

Subscribe to The Economics Show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen. 

To sign up for free to the new FT Alphaville newsletter on substack, go to ftav.substack.com

Presented by Martin Sandbu. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval and Lulu Smyth. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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Investors are spending billions of dollars on novel ways to extend human life through inventive treatments, therapies, and even manipulating our genes. And increasingly, it seems as though anti-ageing efforts have moved from the super rich to a mass market consumer industry. In this series, we’re covering the past, present and future of the longevity movement. We’ll be looking at where the fixation on longevity is coming from, and trying to understand the practical and ethical issues at the heart of this cutting-edge field of research. 

From Silicon Valley fantasies, to Singaporean health spas, to Colombian genetic clinics and beyond, the FT’s Hannah Kuchler and Michael Peel ask whether breakthroughs in science and technology can really help us live longer, and even stop us aging altogether.

Free to read: 

US ‘wellness’ industry scents opportunity to go mainstream

The quest to make young blood into a drug

This season of Tech Tonic was produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon. The senior producer is Edwin Lane. Flo Phillips is the executive producer. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco. Fact checking by Simon Greaves, Lucy Baldwin and Tara Cromie. Original music by Metaphor Music. Manuela Saragosa is the FT’s acting co-head of audio.

The FT does not use generative AI to voice its podcasts.

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Money, it’s often said, is a form of trust and central banks are the custodians of that trust; it’s their job to guarantee that the money they issue maintains stable purchasing power. More recently, that’s been no easy task. Witness President Donald Trump’s attacks on the independence of the US Federal Reserve. The FT’s chief economics commentator, Martin Wolf, speaks to Agustín Carstens, former general manager of the Bank for International Settlements – the “central bank of central banks” – and one-time governor of the Bank of Mexico, to discuss what central banks can do to maintain trust in a fractured world and asks if they must modernise to maintain authority.

Martin Wolf is the FT’s chief economics commentator. You can read his columns here: https://www.ft.com/martin-wolf

Subscribe to The Economics Show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen. 

Presented by Martin Wolf. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Original music from Breen Turner, and sound design by Simon Panayi.

Register for a November 28 live webinar on what the UK Budget will mean for your money and put your questions to FT journalists Claer Barrett, Stuart Kirk, Tej Parikh and special guest, tax expert Dan Neidle. Get your free pass now at ft.com/budgetwebinar

The webinar will also be broadcast as a bonus edition on two FT podcasts: Claer's Money Clinic and the weekly UK politics show Political Fix, presented by George Parker while Lucy Fisher is on maternity leave.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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Economists like to model people as rational creatures who make self-interested decisions. But humans don’t act that way. Why do investors, politicians and ordinary people act against their best interests – and how can they be nudged into making better decisions? To find out, FT economics commentator Chris Giles speaks to Richard Thaler, the founding father of behavioural economics. Thaler is a professor at the University of Chicago who won the 2017 Nobel Prize in Economics for his work on how humans make (often irrational) decisions.

On November 28, the FT will be holding a live webinar on what the UK Budget will mean for your money. Viewers will be able to put their questions to FT journalists Claer Barrett, Stuart Kirk, Tej Parikh and special guest, tax expert Dan Neidle. To sign up, get your free pass here. 

Subscribe to The Economics Show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Presented by Chris Giles. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Original music by Breen Turner. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco. Our broadcast engineer is Andrew Georgiades.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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US President Donald Trump’s tariff programme has been a central pillar of his second term in office. But a case being heard by the US Supreme Court could throw this central tenet of his trade policy into disarray. Trump has argued that tariffs are a matter of national security for which the president is ultimately responsible; others say they’re an economic issue, and should be set by Congress, as set out in the US constitution. Which way will the Supreme Court vote – and what could that mean for Trump’s tariff regime? To find out, FT senior trade writer Alan Beattie speaks to Jennifer Hillman, a law professor at Georgetown University, former general counsel of the US trade representative, and one of the few people who predicted Trump’s tariffs were vulnerable to legal challenge.

Alan Beattie is the FT’s senior trade writer. You can find his articles here: https://www.ft.com/alan-beattie

Sign up to Alan’s Trade Secrets newsletter here: https://subs.ft.com/spa3_tradesecrets?segmentId=357afa03-959c-93ed-0842-58e2115025d4

Subscribe to The Economics Show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen. 

Presented by Alan Beattie. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Flo Phillips is the executive producer. Manuela Saragosa is the FT’s acting co-head of audio. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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Many governments in western Europe are grappling with sluggish economic growth and the UK is no exception. From rising unemployment to weak public finances, the UK economy is in the doldrums and there’s pressure on chancellor Rachel Reeves to fix it. Tim Leunig, a former adviser to two chancellors and now a professor at the London School of Economics and chief economist at innovation think-tank Nesta, talks to the FT’s economics editor Sam Fleming about the policy steps he’d take to breathe new life into the UK economy.

Sam Fleming is the FT’s economics editor. You can read his articles here. 

To subscribe to Sarah O'Connor and John Burn-Murdoch's new newsletter about AI and the labour market, go to ft.com/AIShift.

Subscribe to The Economics Show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Presented by Sam Fleming. Produced by Persis Love and Lulu Smyth. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner. Our broadcast engineer is Andrew Georgiades.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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Introducing Toxic Legacy, a new season of Untold from the Financial Times. Host Laura Hughes uncovers a lead poisoning epidemic across the UK. You might be living with lead and not know it: the toxin is often invisible to the human eye, but wreaks havoc on our bodies once we’re exposed. The first episode of Untold: Toxic Legacy launches October 22. 

Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you get your podcasts.

For information on how to live safely with lead, please visit the LEAPP Alliance website.

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Austan Goolsbee, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and a voter on the Fed’s interest rate-setting committee, speaks to the FT’s economics commentator Chris Giles about the outlook for the US economy amid a boom in AI investment, sluggish hiring, President Donald Trump’s tariffs and continued attacks by the White House on central bank independence.

Chris Giles is the FT’s economics commentator. You can sign up to his newsletterhere. 

Chris’ FT interview with Austan Goolsbee is here:‘Top Federal Reserve Official warns against a quick series of rate cuts’ 

Join top FT journalists Chris Giles, Katie Martin, Claire Jones and special guest Lael Brainard on October 23, 1200 GMT for an exclusive subscriber webinar, Markets on edge:central banks, bonds and the risks ahead. Register now and put your questions directly to our panel. Visit ft.com/edge

Subscribe to The Economics Show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen. This episode was produced by Lulu Smyth and Persis Love with original music from Breen Turner. Sound design and mix by Jean-Marc Eck. Andrew Giorgiadis is our broadcast engineer. Our executive producer is Manuela Saragosa.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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When it comes to women controlling their own economic destinies, perhaps nothing has had a more profound impact than the contraceptive pill. But the US may be on the cusp of change. Earlier this year, the Trump administration froze some federal funding for subsidised access to contraceptive services and more changes are on the horizon. That has made understanding the economic impact of contraception all the more pressing. In this week’s episode, the FT’s Sarah O’Connor speaks to Martha Bailey, economics professor and the director of the California Center for Population Research at UCLA.

Sarah O’Connor is employment columnist at the FT. You can read her articles here.

Join top FT journalists Chris Giles, Katie Martin, Claire Jones and special guest Lael Brainard on October 23 1200 GMT for an exclusive subscriber webinar, Markets on edge: central banks, bonds and the risks ahead. Register now and put your questions directly to our panel. Visit ft.com/edge

Subscribe to The Economics Show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Presented by Sarah O’Connor. Produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon and Lulu Smyth. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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Many argue immigration is key to America’s economic success. So as President Trump clamps down on it, what might he be getting wrong and what does the optimal skilled immigration landscape look like for the US and elsewhere? John Burn-Murdoch, the FT’s chief data columnist, speaks to Dr Adam Ozimek, chief economist at the Economic Innovation Group, who co-authored a recent paper on high-skilled immigration,Exceptional By Design. 

Find details of the EIG report here. 

John’s article, co-authored by Stephen Bush: ‘The truth about immigration’. Plus his column on the dangers posed to liberal democracy by failing to address imperfections in immigration policy. 

John Burn-Murdoch is the FT’s chief data columnist and writer. You can read his column Data Points here.  

Join top FT journalists Chris Giles, Katie Martin, Claire Jones and special guest Lael Brainard on October 23, 1200 GMT for an exclusive subscriber webinar, Markets on edge:central banks, bonds and the risks ahead. Register now and put your questions directly to our panel. Visit ft.com/edge

Subscribe to The Economics Show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen. This episode was produced by Lulu Smyth with original music from Breen Turner. Sound design and mix by Simon Panayi. Our executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Andrew Giorgiadis is our broadcast engineer.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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US President Donald Trump has railed against his country’s trade deficit with China. But as Chinese surpluses continue to flow into other countries, it’s worth asking how China got to where it is today, and whether Chinese growth can lift all boats. In this week’s episode, Martin Sandbu, the FT’s European economics commentator, speaks to Michael Pettis, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment. He’s the author of several books, including most recently co-author of Trade Wars Are Class Wars: How Rising Inequality Distorts the Global Economy and Threatens International Peace.

Listen to bands signed to the record label Maybe Mars, formerly owned by Michael Pettis, here, including Carsick Cars, Yang Fan, PK14 and White+

Find details of Michael Pettis’ book choice, Martin Daunton’s The Economic Government of the World, here

Martin Sandbu is the FT’s European economics commentator and writer of the Free Lunch newsletter. You can sign up for his newsletter here and read his articles here.

Subscribe to The Economics Show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

This episode was produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon with original music and sound design from Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco. Our executive producer is Manuela Saragosa. Andrew Giorgiadis is our broadcast engineer.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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Customs duties on imported goods used to be a crucial part of US government funding – in fact, the customs service was among the first federal agencies set up after the constitution. Now, Trump is hoping that – among other things – tariffs could transform the US budget. But do the revenues they raise for government coffers help outweigh their negative economic impacts? Martha Gimbel, executive director of the Budget Lab at Yale and former adviser at the White House Council of Economic Advisers, speaks to Claire Jones, the FT’s US economics editor.

Claire Jones is US economics editor. You can read her articles here. 

Subscribe to The Economics Show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Presented by Claire Jones. Produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Original music and sound design by Samantha Giovinco and Breen Turner.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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China has become a superpower because of its ability to build bridges, cars and electronics at an astonishing pace. But breakneck growth comes with problems. The country is grappling with overproduction and deflation, and policymakers in Beijing are attempting to jumpstart consumer demand. How can China keep building without jeopardising its economic future? Dan Wang, research fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover History Lab and author of 'Breakneck: China’s Quest to Engineer the Future' speaks to the FT’s financial reporter Aiden Reiter.

Aiden Reiter co-writes the Unhedged newsletter. You can read his articles here.

Subscribe to The Economics Show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Presented by Aiden Reiter. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval and Josh Gabert-Doyon. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Original music and sound design by Samantha Giovinco and Breen Turner.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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President Donald Trump's attempt to fire Lisa Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve’s interest rate-setting board, is not the first time in the Fed’s history that there has been an attempt to politicise central banking. But Peter Conti-Brown, associate professor of financial regulation at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, tells the FT’s Chris Giles why Trump’s intervention is different and why there are now reasons to fear for the survival of a key pillar of US and global economic stability. 

Going to the FT Weekend festival at Kenwood House Gardens in London on Saturday September 6? FT Live has a 10% discount for all FT podcast listeners with promo code FTPodcasts.Find a registration link with discount here

Subscribe to The Economics Show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Presented by Chris Giles. Produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon and Mischa Frankl-Duval. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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It’s a widely held assumption that US President Donald Trump has put globalisation into reverse. But Neil Shearing, group chief economist at Capital Economics and author of The Fractured Age: How the Return of Geopolitics Will Splinter the Global Economy, tells the FT’s world trade editor Peter Foster that Trump’s policies are a symptom and not the cause of the global trading system unravelling. They discuss how economic rivalry between the US and China is reshaping world trade – and where it might lead.

Peter Foster is the FT’s world trade editor. You can read his articles here

Book your FT Weekend Festival tickets here

Subscribe to The Economics Show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Presented by Peter Foster. Produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Original music and sound design by Samantha Giovinco and Breen Turner.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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President Donald Trump thinks that Asia's goods exports are automatically America's loss and as part of his ‘reciprocal’ tariff policy, he has imposed some of the highest import taxes on goods from south-east Asia. So what does this mean for the region? And are Trump's policies pushing those countries further into China's orbit? Alan Beattie, the FT’s senior trade writer, discusses these questions and more with Mari Pangestu, Indonesia's former trade minister and a former managing director at the World Bank.

Alan Beattie is the FT's senior trade writer. He writes the Trade Secrets newsletter every Monday. 

Read Alan’s columns here

Sign up to the Trade Secrets newsletter here

Book your FT Weekend Festival tickets here

Subscribe to The Economics Show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Presented by Alan Beattie. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval and Persis Love. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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When the EU and US hit Russia with fresh sanctions in 2022, many analysts expected the country’s economy to crack. Instead, Russia has shown strong GDP growth, powered in large part by a massive boost to war-related industries. Now, the effects of that boost appear to be fading. Have western sanctions finally started to bite? What would happen to Russia’s economy if the Ukraine war were to end? And how difficult might it be for the country’s economy to return to normal? To find out, the FT’s economics editor Sam Fleming speaks to Elina Ribakova. Elina is a non-resident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, a non-resident fellow at Brussels think-tank Bruegel and vice-president for foreign policy at the Kyiv School of Economics.

Sam Fleming is the FT’s economics editor. You can find his articles here: https://www.ft.com/sam-fleming

Want more? Free links:

Russia moves to contain concern over banks’ bad loan exposure

Vladimir Putin’s war economy is cooling, but Russians still feel richer

Russia’s central bank speeds up rate cuts as war economy cools

There's no money to be made in Russia

The FT Weekend Festival returns for its 10th edition on Saturday, September 6 at Kenwood House Gardens in London. Get details and tickets here

Subscribe to The Economics Show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Presented by Sam Fleming. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Flo Phillips is the executive producer. Manuela Saragosa is the FT’s acting co-head of audio. Original music from Breen Turner, and sound design by Breen Turner & Sam Giovinco.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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This week on the Economics Show, we're bringing you an interview with Ray Dalio, from our foreign affairs podcast, the Rachman Review. It originally broadcast on July 3.

Gideon talks to Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund and author of a new book: How Countries Go Broke. They discuss the size of the US debt and what history tells us about identifying warning signs.

Subscribe to The Economics Show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Clip: CBS

Read more:

Is Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ a political curse for Republicans?

Fears over US debt load and inflation ignite exodus from long-term bonds

Donald Trump’s big, beautiful act of self-harm

The fall in the dollar is not scary

Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Breen Turner and the executive producer is Flo Phillips.

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After the Bureau of Labor Statistics released a worse-than-expected US jobs report, President Trump fired the agency’s head, Erika McEntarfer, claiming her numbers were ‘wrong’ and manipulated. There’s no evidence this was the case but many agree gathering reliable data on the health of the economy is getting harder. The FT’s chief data reporter, John Burn-Murdoch, discusses why that’s happening and what to do about it with Erica Groshen, the former BLS commissioner.

Clip: NBC

Further Reading:

US labour data agency was teetering even before Donald Trump fired its chief

Trump’s war on data will do lasting harm

Donald Trump’s attack on US labour statistics agency spooks investors

John Burn-Murdoch is the FT’s chief data reporter. You can find his articles here

Subscribe to The Economics Show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Presented by John Burn-Murdoch. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Original music from Breen Turner, and sound design by Jean-Marc Eck.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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The first two decades of the 21st century were a golden age for global development. International co-operation and funding drove remarkable progress in the developing world. Now, that progress threatens to stall as wealthy nations, including the US and UK, withdraw their support. A global meeting held in Spain last month ended with a new international agreement, the Seville Commitment, on funding development – but will it succeed where others have failed? What role do rich countries, and organisations such as the World Bank, have to play? And will anyone be willing to relieve developing nations of their onerous debt obligations? Financial Times associate editor Pilita Clark speaks to Gates Foundation chief executive Mark Suzman.

Want more? Free links:

Trump shadow hangs over global development talks

Development funds dash for donor cash at World Bank and IMF meetings

Pilita Clark is an associate editor and business columnist at the FT. You can read her columns here: https://www.ft.com/pilita-clark 

Follow Pilita on Bluesky or X: @pilitaclark.bsky.social‬ or @pilitaclark

Subscribe to The Economics Show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Presented by Pilita Clark. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Flo Phillips is the executive producer. Manuela Saragosa is the FT’s acting co-head of audio. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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In the early 20th century Argentina was one of the world’s richest countries. For most of the past 50 years, it has been an economic disaster. But after nine debt defaults, 23 IMF programmes and two years of triple-digit annual inflation, the country’s radical libertarian president, Javier Milei, has steadied the ship. How has Milei revitalised the economy? Can he persuade investors to trust Argentina again? And, most crucially, can his transformation last? The FT’s Latin America editor, Michael Stott, discusses with Alejandro Werner, former head of the IMF’s western hemisphere department, founding director of the Georgetown Americas Institute, and fellow of the Peterson Institute for International Economics

Clips: Sky Australia, Javier Milei via Storyful/ELPELUCAMILEI, Global News, Poder360

Want more? Free links:

Javier Milei’s risky bet on a potent peso

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch says she is Britain’s Javier Milei

Javier Milei lowers Argentina’s monthly inflation below 2% for first time since 2020

Michael Stott is the FT’s Latin America editor. You can find his articles here: https://www.ft.com/michael-stott 

Subscribe to The Economics Show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen. 

Presented by Michael Stott. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Flo Phillips is the executive producer. Manuela Saragosa is the FT’s acting co-head of audio. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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European countries have committed to higher defence spending to face down Russian aggression. But preparing for war isn’t cheap – and in many countries, budgets are already stretched. How will European members of Nato hit their defence targets, a hefty 5% of GDP? Will EU states look beyond their own national champions, and commit to greater co-operation on defence funding and purchases? And what kind of new institutions would be necessary to make that happen? To find out, Sam Fleming speaks to Jeromin Zettelmeyer. He is the director of the Brussels-based think tank, Bruegel, and has previously held senior roles at the IMF, the Peterson Institute, and in the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. 

Clips: BBC, Bloomberg Television, European Commission, French Armed Forces

Sam Fleming is the FT’s economics editor. You can find his articles here: https://www.ft.com/sam-fleming

Subscribe to The Economics Show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen. 

Presented by Sam Fleming. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Flo Phillips is the executive producer. Manuela Saragosa is the FT’s acting co-head of audio. Original music from Breen Turner, and sound design by Breen Turner & Sam Giovinco.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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July 9 marked the end of President Trump’s 90-day pause on his so-called reciprocal tariffs. Now that deadline has passed … what has actually changed? The FT’s senior trade writer Alan Beattie discusses with former trade negotiator Dmitry Grozoubinski, author of ‘Why Politicians Lie About Trade’. Dmitry explains why Trump’s tariff threats are as ineffective as they are unusual, how countries are approaching his ‘vibes-based’ trade policy, and what Dmitry would advise if he was negotiating with the US now.

Want more?

Trump’s tariff shambles is a helpful warning to the world

Donald Trump threatens new tariffs on Canada

Alan Beattie is the FT's senior trade writer. He writes the Trade Secrets newsletter every Monday. 

Read Alan’s columns here: https://www.ft.com/alan-beattie

Sign up to the Trade Secrets newsletter here. 

Subscribe to The Economics Show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen. 

Presented by Alan Beattie. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Flo Phillips is the executive producer. Manuela Saragosa is the FT’s acting co-head of audio. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner. Mix by Sam Giovinco.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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In the sixth of this six-part series of The Economics Show, Martin Wolf, the FT’s chief economics commentator, and Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman tackle a selection of questions, and even some criticisms, sent in by their audience. 

Listen to Paul Krugman’s cultural coda, Carole King’s It's too late,here 

Listen to Martin Wolf’s cultural coda, Va Pensiero from Verdi’s Nabucco, here

Subscribe and listen to this series on The Economics Show onApple Podcasts,Spotify,Pocket Casts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Episodes are also available on theFT’s YouTube channel.

Read Martin’s FT columnhere

Subscribe to Paul’s substackhere

The Wolf-Krugman Exchange was produced by Sandra Kanthal and Mischa Frankl-Duval, and the broadcast engineer was Andrew Georgiades. The sound engineer was Breen Turner. Manuela Saragosa is the FT’s acting co-head of audio.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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In the fifth of this six-part series of The Economics Show, Martin Wolf, the FT’s chief economics commentator, and Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman discuss the way American politics is crashing against both the guardrails of a stable, democratic system and the rules and norms of the postwar economic order and how this could jeopardise the importance of the US on the world stage.

Paul Krugman’s Cultural Coda: 

Stephen Sondheim: "We had a good thing going"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NTbrbiM-slg&list=RDNTbrbiM-slg&start_radio=1

Martin Wolf’s Cultural Coda:

Jonas Kaufmann: Freiheit from Beethoven’s Fidelio

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GvfhmGsFMEo

Subscribe and listen to this series on The Economics Show onApple Podcasts,Spotify,Pocket Casts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Episodes are also available on theFT’s YouTube channel.

If you’d like to get in touch and ask Martin and Paul a question, please email economics.show@ft.com 

Read Martin’s FT columnhere

Subscribe to Paul’s substackhere

The Wolf-Krugman Exchange is produced by Sandra Kanthal. The broadcast engineer was Rod Fitzgerald. The sound engineer is Breen Turner. Manuela Saragosa is the FT’s acting co-head of audio.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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In the fourth of this six-part series of The Economics Show, Martin Wolf, the FT’s chief economics commentator, and Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman ask if advances in artificial intelligence will reshape the working world as we know it. Or are we hearing an old familiar story that has been told many times before? 

Paul Krugman’s Cultural Coda:

Loretta Lynn - "Coal Miner's Daughter": https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9eHp7JJgq8&list=RDf9eHp7JJgq8&start_radio=1

Martin Wolf’s Cultural Coda:

Thomas Mann'sThe Magic Mountain, published in 1924.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Magic_Mountain

Read Martin Wolf's selection of the best economics summer reads for 2025 here

Read Martin’s FT columnhere

Subscribe to Paul’s substackhere

If you’d like to get in touch and ask Martin and Paul a question, please email economics.show@ft.com 

Subscribe and listen to this series on The Economics Show onApple Podcasts,Spotify,Pocket Casts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Episodes are also available on theFT’s YouTube channel.

The Wolf-Krugman Exchange is produced by Sandra Kanthal and Mischa Frankl-Duval, and the broadcast engineer is Andrew Georgiades. The sound engineer is Jean-Marc Eck. Manuela Saragosa is the FT’s acting co-head of audio.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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In the third of this six-part series of The Economics Show, Martin Wolf, the FT’s chief economics commentator, and Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman discuss the dangers facing the world economy and wonder what outcomes are possible at summits such as the G7 in times of political and economic risk.

Paul Krugman’s Cultural Coda:

Peter Gabriel: “Games Without Frontiers”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xZmlUV8muY&list=RD3xZmlUV8muY&start_radio=1

Martin Wolf’s Cultural Coda: 

"The Second Coming" - by William Butler Yeats, 1919

https://youtu.be/QI40j17EFbI

Subscribe and listen to this series on The Economics Show onApple Podcasts,Spotify,Pocket Casts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Episodes are also available on theFT’s YouTube channel.

If you’d like to get in touch and ask Martin and Paul a question, please email economics.show@ft.com 

Read Martin’s FT columnhere

Subscribe to Paul’s substackhere

The Wolf-Krugman Exchange was produced by Sandra Kanthal and Mischa Frankl-Duval, and the broadcast engineer was Andrew Georgiades. The sound engineer was Breen Turner. Our executive producer is Flo Phillips. Manuela Saragosa is the FT’s acting co-head of audio.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the second of this six-part series of The Economics Show, Martin Wolf, the FT’s chief economics commentator, and Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman discuss the way economic trends have fractured societies on both sides of the Atlantic and the jeopardy that poses to liberal democracies in Europe and America. 

Paul Krugman’s Cultural Coda: Let America Be America Again by Langston Hughes

https://poets.org/poem/let-america-be-america-again

Martin Wolf’s Cultural Coda: The Tariff Song by Dan Shore

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=eWtn6kWXAsQ&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

Subscribe and listen to this series on The Economics Show onApple Podcasts,Spotify,Pocket Casts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Episodes are also available on theFT’s YouTube channel.

If you’d like to get in touch and ask Martin and Paul a question, please email economics.show@ft.com 

Read Martin’s FT columnhere

Subscribe to Paul’s substackhere

The Wolf-Krugman Exchange was produced by Sandra Kanthal and Mischa Frankl-Duval, and the broadcast engineer was Andrew Georgiades. The sound engineer was Breen Turner. Manuela Saragosa is the FT’s acting co-head of audio.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In part one of this six-part series of The Economics Show, Martin Wolf, the FT’s chief economics commentator, and Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman discuss how trust in the postwar world economic system is being lost and weigh the costs and consequences of that. 

Paul Krugman’s Cultural Coda: Quarterflash, ”Harden My Heart”- 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNFSED77-GM

Martin Wolf’s Cultural Coda:The Beatles, “For No One”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELlLIwhvknk

Subscribe and listen to this series on The Economics Show onApple Podcasts,Spotify,Pocket Casts or wherever you listen to podcasts. Episodes are also available on theFT’s YouTube channel.

If you’d like to get in touch and ask Martin and Paul a question, please email economics.show@ft.com 

Read Martin’s FT columnhere

Subscribe to Paul’s substackhere

The Wolf-Krugman Exchange was produced by Sandra Kanthal and Mischa Frankl-Duval, and the broadcast engineer was Richard Topping. The sound engineer was Breen Turner. Manuela Saragosa is the FT’s acting co-head of audio.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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In a special six-part series of The Economics Show, Martin Wolf, the FT’s chief economics commentator, and Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman discuss the economic events reshaping the world in the wake of US President Donald Trump’s election. 

Subscribe and listen to this series on The Economics Show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen to podcasts.

Episodes will also be available on the FT’s YouTube channel.

If you’d like to get in touch and ask Martin and Paul a question, please email economics.show@ft.com 

Read Martin’s FT column here

Subscribe to Paul’s substack here

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Churchill never said “we will fight them in the spreadsheets…”. But maybe he should have done. The second world war, like every other war in human history, was decided by how each side allocated its resources. In this episode, Duncan Weldon, author of the new book ‘Blood and Treasure, The Economics of Conflict from the Vikings to Ukraine’, explains how countries have historically thought about the economics of war – and how the Ukraine war is changing that. He and host Soumaya Keynes also discuss how conflict shaped economic institutions and the modern world.

Subscribe to Soumaya's show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Further reading: 

Vladimir Putin’s war economy is cooling, but Russians still feel richer: https://www.ft.com/content/485aba41-1148-4f2c-b0ab-97aac5e50727 

Russia’s war economy fuels rustbelt revival: https://www.ft.com/content/559ca59f-7fdc-4c47-8e87-edb562acdc7b 

Defence spending is up – but on all the wrong things: https://www.ft.com/content/11a6b844-fe57-4e39-86ba-bb04e839bf2f 

Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Flo Phillips is the executive producer. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner. The FT’s acting co-head of audio is Manuela Saragosa.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The tit-for-tat tariff escalations between the US and China are on pause, at least temporarily. But if the world’s two biggest economies don’t make progress by July, they could return with a vengeance. How can the two parties make progress? And what does China actually want from the US? Soumaya Keynes speaks to Jay Shambaugh to find out. Shambaugh was the US Treasury’s undersecretary for international affairs under Joe Biden. In other words, he was in charge of the US’s economic relationship with China. He and Soumaya discuss how the Trump administration could negotiate with China, and how interwoven trade policy and national security have become.

Clips: CNBC Television, PBS News

Further reading:

Will Trump’s tariff climbdown save the US from recession?

The markets are declaring tariff victory too soon

US-China trade war is pushing Asian nations to pick sides, ministers warn

Subscribe to The Economics Show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen. 

Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Flo Phillips is the executive producer. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner. The FT’s acting co-head of audio is Manuela Saragosa.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

US tariffs have sent financial markets into a frenzy in recent weeks, but how much should central bankers be taking trade into account when setting monetary policy? To find out, Soumaya Keynes sits down with Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee member Swati Dhingra – one of the committee’s more dovish members. They discuss why the UK’s open economy makes it more vulnerable to trade shocks, what Dhingra saw in the data that her MPC colleagues didn’t, and why she didn’t vote for an (even) sharper rate cut earlier this month.

Further reading:

Two BoE policymakers warn against rushing to further cut interest rates

Bank of England vote split hits hopes for faster interest rate cuts

Brexit lessons for Trump’s trade war

Subscribe to The Economics Show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen. 

Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Flo Phillips is the executive producer. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner. The FT’s acting co-head of audio is Manuela Saragosa.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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Donald Trump’s trade policies have put global markets through the mill in recent weeks. But his policies didn’t come from nowhere. Aspects of US protectionism preceded Trump’s second term – and countries across the world have been pushing for greater self-sufficiency for some time. Is this drive for greater self-sufficiency misguided? Is true self-sufficiency even possible? Or might the secret to economic security come from more co-operation, not less? The FT’s senior business writer Andrew Hill sits down with Ben Chu to discuss the findings from his new book: "Exile Economics: What Happens if Globalisation Fails." Chu is the policy and analysis correspondent at BBC Verify and was previously the economics editor of BBC Newsnight.

For further reading:

The old global economic order is dead

Britain’s trade deal with Trump may not be good news for the world

Tariffs are a bet on the free market rather than free trade

The business lessons to draw from Trump’s dealmaking

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Presented by Andrew Hill. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Flo Phillips is the executive producer. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner. The FT’s acting co-head of audio is Manuela Saragosa.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Over the past 25 years, the Gates foundation has given away more than $100bn. Much of that money has gone to healthcare and education projects outside the US – and the organisation plans to give $200bn more to various programmes in the next twenty years. But as Elon Musk and Doge feed USAID, a key partner of the foundation, “into the wood chipper,” how can Bill Gates press ahead? The FT’s Africa editor, David Pilling, speaks to Gates about running an apolitical, philanthropic entity in a politically challenging time.

Read more:

Bill Gates is giving away $200bn. Can his plans survive in the Trump era?

Bill Gates accuses Elon Musk of ‘killing’ children with USAID cuts

Elon Musk’s painful departure

Subscribe to The Economics Show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen. 

Presented by David Pilling. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Flo Phillips is the executive producer. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner. The FT’s acting co-head of audio is Manuela Saragosa.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The US dollar has been in slow decline for around a decade – so says Kenneth Rogoff, Harvard professor, and former chief economist of the IMF. Donald Trump’s trade policies have raised a lot of questions about the future of the dollar – and how its decline could affect the rest of the world’s currencies. Rogoff joins Martin Wolf to discuss how the decline of the dollar could empower China, capital flight from the US, and why cryptocurrency is a bigger threat to dollar hegemony than most people realise.

Martin Wolf is chief economics commentator at the Financial Times. You can find his column here: https://www.ft.com/martin-wolf 

Subscribe to The Economics Show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen. 

Presented by Martin Wolf. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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Almost a month since ‘liberation day’, the potential impacts of President Donald Trump’s tariff regime are starting to sink in. US hard data isn’t yet showing much negative impact from changes to US trade policy – but economists are gloomy on US growth prospects. The IMF last week warned of an increased risk of US recession, and lopped nearly a full percentage point off its forecast for US growth this year. Michael Strain, director of economic policy studies at the conservative American Enterprise Institute, joins FT economics editor Sam Fleming to discuss how Trump’s tariff agenda may play out, which forces could force the president to change tack, and what that might look like.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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When China joined the World Trade Organization at the start of this century, its surging exports rattled US manufacturing. Prices fell, jobs became less lucrative, and communities that relied on these jobs were hit hard. President Donald Trump seems determined to bring those jobs back to the US. Is that realistic or even desirable? The FT’s chief economics commentator Martin Wolf speaks to MIT economics professor David Autor about the "China shock" and the (potentially more significant) AI challenge that lies ahead.

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Former Bank of England governor Sir Mervyn King has never shied away from expressing his opinion. Here, he sits down with his friend Martin Wolf — the FT’s chief economics commentator — to discuss some of the thorniest problems central banks now face: Will rate-setters manage to stay independent in the era of Trump 2.0? What should they do about cryptocurrencies? And how can they regain credibility after getting inflation so wrong?

Martin Wolf is chief economics commentator at the Financial Times. You can find his column here

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Presented by Martin Wolf. Produced by Laurence Knight. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Original music by Breen Turner. Audio mix by Simon Panayi. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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As Donald Trump declares a trade war on the rest of the world, it’s time to learn about a field of economic research known as “weaponised interdependence”. The bad news is that the US president’s weapon of choice – imposing tariffs on goods imports – is a fairly outdated tool of economic warfare. Globalisation and advances in financial and communications technology have created an arsenal of additional weapons, which may yet be fired off by the US or by other big players such as China and the EU. To find out more, the FT’s Alan Beattie speaks to the leading world expert on weaponised interdependence, Abraham Newman, professor of political science at Georgetown University, and co-author with Henry Farrell of 'Underground Empire: How America Weaponized the World Economy.' Newman warns that Europe,in particular, needs to completely change its gameplan in response to this new world of dominance relationships.

Presented by Alan Beattie. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval and Laurence Knight. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Original music by Breen Turner. Audio mix by Simon Panayi. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. 

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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For the past few years, Germany has begun to look like the ‘sick man of Europe’ again. Its economy has barely grown since 2019, while its famous manufacturing sector has shrivelled. But earlier this month, financial markets were buoyed by a vote in the German parliament to relax the constitutional limit on government borrowing, the so-called debt brake. It means that Germany’s likely new conservative-led coalition government will be free to borrow unlimited amounts to fund a defence sector build-up, and can also draw on a €500bn fund to spend on infrastructure over the next 10 years. But will more government spending be enough to address Germany’s structural economic problems? The FT’s Martin Sandbu speaks to economist Ulrike Malmendier of the University of California, Berkeley, who is a member of the German Council of Economics Experts, which evaluates the government’s economic policies.

Martin Sandbu writes a regular column for the Financial Times, which you can find here. It includes recent columns on Berlin’s about-turn on debt spending, and the economic choice facing Germany.

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Presented by Martin Sandbu. Produced by Laurence Knight. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Audio mix and original music by Breen Turner. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. 

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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The UK’s Labour government had already inherited a tricky fiscal situation when it came to power last July. But since then, growth has stagnated, borrowing costs have risen, and now the government has committed to a big increase in defence spending. Where will the money come from? The FT’s Sam Fleming interviews Paul Johnson, the long-time director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, an independent think-tank that has been adjudicating the UK’s public finances for more than half a century. As Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves prepares to deliver her Spring Statement on Wednesday, should she break her government’s pledge not to raise personal taxes?

Sam Fleming is the FT’s economics editor. You can find his latest features and columns here.

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Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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Modern industrial economies were made possible by automation and mass production, but also by something similar going on inside the world of management. Where once all the decisions were made by an identifiable boss, now they are farmed out to rule books, bureaucracies and computer algorithms — and nobody is individually accountable for them. The FT’s Andrew Hill speaks to Dan Davies, economist and author of The Unaccountability Machine, who explains how the industrialisation of management decision-making was inevitable in our increasingly complex world but has had unforeseen consequences, such as “accountability sinks” and the rise of populist politicians. Nonetheless, there are solutions, including AI, the 1950s management theory of cybernetics and the return of the much-maligned middle manager.

Andrew Hill is senior business writer at the Financial Times and consulting editor at FT Live. You can find his latest features and columns here, and enjoy his Big Read on the woes of America’s industrial giants here.

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Presented by Andrew Hill. Produced by Edith Rousselot and Laurence Knight. The editor is Bryant Urstadt. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Audio mix and original music by Breen Turner. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. 

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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After decades of double-digit growth, China's economy has been expanding at less than half that since the pandemic. A property market crash, youth unemployment and now a trade war with the US are all adding to the country’s woes. So has the Chinese juggernaut finally run out of gas? Martin Wolf speaks to Keyu Jin, a Chinese economist who has lived and worked most of her life in the US and UK, and is currently a professor with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, as well as at Harvard. She says that China remains widely misunderstood in the west.

Martin Wolf is chief economics commentator at the Financial Times. You can find his column here

Subscribe to The Economics Show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Presented by Martin Wolf. Produced by Laurence Knight. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Audio mix and original music by Breen Turner. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. 

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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The world economy is emitting carbon dioxide faster than ever before, meaning our planet is heating up faster than ever before. Martin Wolf speaks to someone who has spent much of the past two decades at the forefront of the climate debate. Lord Adair Turner chairs the Energy Transitions Commission, a think-tank focused on climate mitigation, and was previously the first chair of the UK government’s committee on climate change in 2008-12. While he fears that US President Donald Trump will act as a drag anchor on international progress in cutting emissions, he believes the EU and China can strike a deal to help the whole world transition to cheap renewable energy.

Martin Wolf is chief economics commentator at the Financial Times. You can find his column here

Subscribe to The Economics Show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Presented by Martin Wolf. Produced by Laurence Knight. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Audio mix and original music by Breen Turner. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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US President Donald Trump has frozen all foreign aid payments, while Elon Musk is putting America’s biggest development agency, USAID, “through the woodchipper”. Meanwhile, the UK government has just announced it will slash its aid budget from 0.5% to 0.3% of GDP. So are the days of generous programmes to promote health and education in the poorest nations now over? And should we fear that rising authoritarian powers, most notably China, are stepping into the breach with their own funds and parallel institutions? In an interview recorded just before the UK’s announcement, Alan Beattie speaks to economist Minouche Shafik, who is a veteran of the international development scene. She has worked at the World Bank, IMF, and the UK’s Department for International Development. And she is not optimistic.

Alan writes the Trade Secrets newsletter. You can sign up here. He is on Bluesky at @alanbeattie.bsky.social. 

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Presented by Alan Beattie. Produced by Laurence Knight. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Audio mix and original music by Breen Turner. The FT’s head of audio is Cheryl Brumley. 

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.