The Econoclasts

In this episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau dissect the political fallouts in Brazil and Serbia to debunk the prevailing narrative that the rise of the Right is an inevitable force that can only be mitigated by centrist technocracy, while revealing the looming threat of a silent AI-driven hiring freeze that risks permanently locking young workers out of the economy.

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In this episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau dissect the catastrophic collapse of Emmanuel Macron’s ‘revolutionary centrist’ experiment in France, exposing how a decade of technocratic austerity and underinvestment has fuelled widespread social unrest and pushed the country to the brink of insolvency, while revealing the cowardice and hypocrisy of the EU’s current Ukraine strategy that they warn is steadily bankrupting Europe, deepening its geopolitical vassalage to the United States, and leaving the continent powerless to shape the inevitable outcome of the war.

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In this episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau dissect Trump’s Russian diesel deal to expose the collapse of Western unity, while debunking the myth of French fiscal incompetence to reveal why France’s €3.6 trillion debt crisis is a structurally inevitable flaw of the euro.

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In this episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau dissect the gathering financial and political storm in France, expose the self-defeating mechanics of European austerity, and reveal the dangerous escalation of 'war fever' across the continent, where hybrid-war narratives and NATO-Russia tensions threaten to drag an economically fragile, unprepared Europe into a devastating pre-1914 style conflict.

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In this episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau dissect the escalating geopolitical tensions between Western powers, Russia, and China, expose the dangerous anti-diplomacy bias within mainstream media and centrist political establishments that pushes Europe toward a pre-war posture, and debunk the political myth that military Keynesianism and factory-focused reindustrialisation can restore high-paying blue-collar jobs in an automated age.

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In this episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau dissect the systemic breakdown of German centrist politics, reveal the uncomfortable truth about Europe’s total lack of defence sovereignty under US hegemony, and debunk the conventional political narrative by exposing how the centre-Left bears primary responsibility for the continent’s long-term deindustrialisation and geopolitical decline.

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In this AI focussed episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau expose the recent apocalyptic warnings from tech bosses as tricks for regulatory capture, reveal how weaponised AI and China’s robotic lead threaten stability, and dissect Europe’s failure to retain sovereignty in an era of cloud capital.

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In this episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau dissect the political fallout from the AfD’s electoral breakthrough in Germany, debunk the establishment myth of how Hitler came to power in order to draw alarming parallels to what is happening with the AfD today, and reveal why the European Union’s current structure is inherently incapable of preventing systemic decay and the rise of ethnonationalism.

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Get your tickets for The Econoclasts Live: The world after capitalism, here: http://unherd.com/econoclastslive

In this episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau dissect the fallout of Iceland’s historic referendum vote to reject European Union accession talks, reveal the widening cracks in the transatlantic financial consensus, and debate whether a European capital markets union can revive investment or simply feed a stagnant ‘rent trap.’

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In this episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau debunk the mainstream economic orthodoxy that reserve currency status grants America immunity from default, exposing how the US is heading towards an uncontrollable sovereign debt spiral, while exploring how China is pursuing an alternative path to escape economic stagnation through state-directed open-source automation.

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In this episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and guest Richard D. Wolff analyse the decline of US imperial hegemony, tracing how eroding global power, systemic economic instability, and the rollback of social democratic reforms have fuelled widespread political alienation, while offering a critical critique of mainstream economic theory and exploring the potential for a renewed socialist movement in America.

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In this episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau debunk dominant economic orthodoxies surrounding wealth taxes as a quick-fix silver bullet for inequality, expose how central bank policies and globalisation are stripping nation-states of their democratic sovereignty, and reveal the grim economic stagnation, debt, and regulatory traps awaiting the UK should it attempt to rejoin the European Union.

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In this episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and guest Representative Ron Paul join forces across the traditional Left-Right political spectrum to debunk the conventional economic orthodoxy of central banking, expose the covert tax of inflationary money printing, reveal how post-2008 financial bailouts transformed free-market capitalism into a system of corporate welfare, and dissect the collusion between big tech algorithms, state violence, and the military-industrial complex that erodes individual liberty and democratic accountability worldwide.

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In this episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau reveal the hidden macroeconomic realities behind China’s ongoing growth recession and local debt crisis, and expose how decades of central bank bailouts and Quantitative Easing have fuelled an inflated wealth bubble that leaves a fragile Western financial system dangerously vulnerable and dependent on US asset inflation.

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In this episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau dissect the political delusions stalling Western growth, debunking the idea that state investment alone can revive the UK, exposing Europe’s dangerous tech gap behind America and China, and revealing how flawed economic data hides declining US living standards.

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In this episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau dissect the establishment’s self-defeating 'lawfare' strategy against rising right-wing populists like Marine Le Pen, and Nigel Farage, while debunking the myth that capitalism is synonymous with free markets by contrasting Western state-protected monopolies like SpaceX with China’s highly competitive, state-guided economic model.

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In this episode ofThe Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau analyse the structural decay of American hegemony at its 250-year milestone, while exposing the corporate and political motivations behind the media's distorted Ukraine war narrative used to justify a domestic defence heist funded by ballooning public debt.

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In this episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau debunk the popular orthodoxy surrounding Brexit, exposing the phoney statistics used to fabricate a narrative of British macroeconomic self-harm, while dissecting the existential reality of Germany's inevitable structural collapse through its automakers' loss of the critical AI and EV race to China.

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In this episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau dissect the fallout of Keir Starmer’s resignation to expose a broader Western leadership crisis, before debunking the myth of the free market to reveal the hidden corporate swindle rigging European electricity prices - a systemic failure that is not only driving up consumer bills but starving the continent of the energy capacity needed to compete with the US and China in the AI race.

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In this episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau expose the dangerous flaws of a newly hyped Trump-Iran pre-deal, reveal how Europe's aggressive shift toward wasteful defence spending is a delusion built on exaggerated threats, and uncover a widening technological chasm where aggressive US nationalist regulations and a stagnant European mindset are combining to leave the West severely outpaced by China’s productivity-boosting integration of AI and robotics.

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In this episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau debunk conventional wisdom by analysing Germany’s shocking UN Security Council voting failure as a symptom of its diplomatic hubris and international unpopularity, while tearing down the illusion of British sovereignty to reveal how the United Kingdom has become a financial vassal completely trapped by its dependence on leveraged American capital.

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In this episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau debunk the delusions surrounding artificial intelligence by examining how its recent ability to solve complex mathematical problems signals a massive structural threat to the global labour market, while warning against the transhumanist endgame of 'Techlord' Silicon Valley elites like Elon Musk and Peter Thiel, who view Homo sapiens as mere primitive hardware to be replaced by cyborgs.

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In this episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau debunk the mainstream economic orthodoxies surrounding Europe's aggressive tariff strategy against China while simultaneously warning that the rise of AI and Big Tech is not the future of market capitalism but rather its death knell, as centralised platforms trap society in a new era of techno-feudalism.

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In this episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau debunk the mainstream narratives around Donald Trump’s recent Beijing summit, reveal how the West’s geopolitical delusions disadvantage it in a new cold war with China, and expose the flawed economic strategy of Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham as he attempts to replace a failing Keir Starmer.

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🔗Get your tickets for The Econoclasts Live with Hasan Piker here: http://unherd.com/econoclastslive

In this episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau dissect Keir Starmer’s attempts to maintain power in a declining UK economy alongside the paradoxical surge in US market wealth triggered by Donald Trump’s war with Iran - a conflict that is failing to smoke out Tehran while simultaneously enriching a narrow elite of tech lords and fracking independents at the expense of the global working class.

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In this episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau debunk the myth of European strategic sovereignty and the lie at the heart of the City of London, exposing how Germany’s failure to innovate within its declining car industry leaves it defenceless against Trump’s revenge tariff assault, while the UK’s ‘finance curse’ has replaced productive industrial investment with a parasitic reliance on property speculation and shareholder payouts.

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In this episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau debunk the orthodox view that the newly established U.S. dollar swap lines for Gulf states are a charitable bailout for the Middle East, arguing instead that these facilities are a desperate signalling mechanism designed to bail out the American financial system and the petrodollar recycling machine, as the escalating war in Iran threatens to permanently dismantle U.S. economic hegemony.

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In this episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau pull back the curtain on the fairy tales of Western geopolitical and technological independence, arguing that Europe is sleepwalking into a decade of industrial decline and techno-vassalage because it has allowed its core innovation to be hollowed out by Silicon Valley, while simultaneously failing to acknowledge the reality that its own energy security and economic survival will ultimately force a desperate reconnection with Russia, even as China successfully weaponises Western sanctions and digital isolation to leapfrog a generation ahead in the global AI war.

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In this episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau dismantle the orthodoxies surrounding the Iran war and Hungarian election by arguing that Donald Trump’s "blockade of the blockade" in the Strait of Hormuz is less a repeat of the 1956 Suez crisis than a catalyst for a new electro-economy and a non-dollar financial architecture, while simultaneously warning that the landslide victory of Péter Magyar over Viktor Orbán is not the liberal restoration the West is celebrating, but rather the replacement of one right wing leader with a fresh face of the same illiberal nationalism.

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In this episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau dissect the crumbling facade of Western geostrategic and economic orthodoxies, arguing that the United States has already reached a military checkmate against Iran, while simultaneously warning that Europe’s delusion of energy independence and perilous vulnerability to supply shocks will likely collapse into a humiliating, American-mediated return to Russian gas.

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In this episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau dismantle the orthodoxies of European leadership and AI-driven warfare, breaking down how the EU’s structural fragmentation make it incapable of filling the global power vacuum, and exposing how corporations like Palantir provide absolution from accountability by replacing human judgment with the clinical, automated efficiency of cloud capital.

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Live from a packed Emmanuel Centre, the Econoclasts brought their podcast to London for a sweeping ‘around-the-globe’ deconstruction of the failing orthodoxies shaping our modern world. From the structural drivers of ‘forever wars’ in the Middle East to a sobering analysis of the Ukraine-Russia stalemate and the undeniable rise of Chinese technological supremacy, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau strip away the myths regarding China’s industrial success and Europe’s own productivity collapse, and debate whether the West’s current trajectory can be reversed or if we are witnessing a permanent shift in the global balance of power.

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In this episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau dismantle the narratives surrounding the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, breaking down how the resulting energy shock could trigger a permanent global recession. As the West faces systemic economic damage and a depleted military arsenal, and Russia reaps a massive financial windfall, is the West sleepwalking into a dual defeat in both Iran and Ukraine?

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🔗 Click the following link to get tickets to 'The Econoclasts LIVE' in London on March 23rd: https://unherd.com/econoclastslive

In this episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau strip away the orthodoxies surrounding the ongoing conflict with Iran, and – via analysis of the 1953 CIA coup to the modern-day ‘Syrianisation’ of the Middle East - reveal a strategy-less West paralysed by its own deindustrialisation, dangerously dependent on China, and projecting power externally to mask a profound systemic rot at home.

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In this episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau target the orthodoxy of NATO’s post-1991 expansion as well as dismantling the prevailing narrative surrounding the war in Ukraine, including the logistical delusion of a Western victory and the dereliction of duty by European leadership that risks a global escalation.

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In this episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau dissect the geopolitical fallout of the U.S. bombing campaign against Iran, arguing that the strikes signal a definitive shift toward a "permanent war doctrine" and expose how Donald Trump has abandoned his non-interventionist promises to embrace a neocon agenda of regional destabilisation. From the erosion of European sovereignty to the strategic victories handed to China and Russia, Yanis and Wolfgang challenge the "weapons of mass destruction" pretexts of the past and analyse the high economic and human cost of a conflict that seems designed to have no end.

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In this episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau pull back the curtain to reveal the shifting tectonic plates of the global economy, arguing that the world’s fixation on Donald Trump’s tariffs and Supreme Court rulings is a dangerous distraction from a much more profound transformation – namely a new form of power that allows Big Tech to hold the West to ransom, and an AI revolution that will permanently dismantle the foundations of human agency, private property, and the free market.

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In this episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau dissect the false orthodoxies surrounding the current state of the transatlantic relationship and the UK’s post-Brexit strategy. Pointing to Marco Rubio’s Munich speech as a signal that America has pivoted its priorities away from its security guarantee with Europe, and highlighting Keir Starmer’s attempt to seek a backdoor return to the EU through regulatory alignment, they paint a stark picture of a West in transition, where old alliances are crumbling and delusional European leaders remain unable to confront the fiscal and military realities of a changing world order.

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In this episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau confront the false orthodoxies of finance and power, beginning with a deep dive into the “rigged” valuation of the SpaceX-xAI merger and toxicity of stock buybacks, before clashing over Keir Starmer’s appointment of Peter Mandelson as US Ambassador, Mandelson's links to Jeffrey Epstein, and the resignation of Morgan McSweeney as proof of a clownish and ultimately doomed political strategy.

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Following a historic price crash for gold and silver after President Trump picked Kevin Warsh to lead the Federal Reserve, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau dismantle the orthodoxies surrounding the slump and connect the dots between Warsh’s Mar-a-Lago family ties, the toxic legacy of Quantitative Easing, and the inevitable shift toward fiscal dominance, exposing why the crash is a symptom of a dying central banking era and a warning of the dollar debasement yet to come.

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In this week’s Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau engage in a deconstruction of multiple modern economic and geopolitical myths, from Mark Carney’s Davos speech to the shifting power dynamics between Europe and the United States. Was Carney’s much-lauded call for a new multilateral alliance actually a muddled and hypocritical attempt to revive a global order that has already ruptured? And was Europe’s “victory” over Trump with regard to Greenland actually delusional cheerleading, when the declining continent remains trapped by a deep dependency on American technology, the dollar, and security infrastructure?

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In the week when President Donald Trump vowed to implement a wave of increasing tariffs on European allies until the United States is allowed to buy Greenland, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau dissect the terminal decline of European sovereignty and the shifting pillars of the global economy. Is Europe unable to confront Trump due to its total reliance on American technology and defence? And while the U.S. and China embrace disruptive economic models to maintain their dominance, why does the EU choose to preserve a failing status quo rather than pursuing the radical political union necessary for survival?

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In the week when the Trump administration threatened criminal charges against Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau expose the high-stakes power struggle to dismantle central bank independence and privatise the U.S. dollar. Added to Bulgaria’s controversial entry into the eurozone, Yanis and Wolfgang argue that the era of technocratic consensus is dead, replaced by a volatile new age of economic ‘techno-feudalism’ where the lines between state power and private profit have finally vanished.

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In today’s Venezuela special, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau expose the reality behind the abduction of Nicolás Maduro and the dawn of a ‘Donroe Doctrine’ that signals the end of international law. As the first days of 2026 unfold, could Trump’s gangster-style intervention actually be emboldening Putin and Xi, and are Greenland and Canada truly the next targets on the list? And in a ‘Putinised’ West where European leaders remain non-entities, is this merely a regime change in Caracas, or a strategic flooding of the zone designed to shatter the transatlantic alliance and usher in a new era of transactional warfare?

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In this special year-end edition of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau dissect 2025 - a pivotal year and annus horribilis for the European Union in a world reshaped by a G2 power structure, where a resurgent Russia, a technologically dominant China, and a tariff-wielding Trump administration have left Europe and the UK strategically "snookered." From the collapse of international law and the death of the green transition to the rise of Cloud Capital and autonomous AI warfare, Yanis and Wolfgang shatter the comforting myths of the centrist establishment. As capitalism mutates into a predatory digital feudalism, how can we make the distinction between empirical optimism and the necessity of human hope as we enter 2026?

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This week on a special Q&A edition of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau confront the uncomfortable truths of 2025. From the economic death trap currently paralysing German society, to why nationalist parties like the AfD are sympathetic to Putin, America’s waning interest in NATO, and BRICS’s blockchain-based new world order - Yanis and Wolfgang look back on a year in which global values were rubbished.

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This week, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau take aim at two prevailing myths: the widespread belief that Greece's recovery is a heartwarming success story—a model for debt-laden nations like Germany and the UK—and the soft centre-left idea that the EU can "go it alone" and challenge the United States politically and economically. Is Greece's success real, or just a financial illusion? And is a meaningful decoupling from a tariff-wielding America possible, or is the dream of a strategically independent Europe dead?

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This week, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau take aim at two prevailing orthodoxies. Is the explosive AI boom really a bubble, or is the technology itself forcing a non-reversible shift away from capitalism and toward a new age of Techno-Feudalism? Plus, are Trump's orders to sink Venezuelan boats and kill sailors really about a "War on Drugs," or is that just a cynical cover story when what the administration really want from Venezuela is oil? And if the term "war crime" is wrong, should these acts be called something far more chilling: extrajudicial murder?

The Econoclasts is the podcast from UnHerd in which Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau each week pick pillars of the economic orthodoxy – so-called ‘settled facts’ – and shatter them. Why? Because, while they don’t always agree politically, they’re united in one conviction: the consensus is rotten and the establishment’s model is failing.

If you have a question for Yanis and Wolfgang then now is your chance. Send us your Econoclastic questions and they'll answer them on a future episode of the show. Email your questions to us at econoclasts@unherd.com

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This week, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau take aim at Europe's core illusions. Are Europe's 'values' anything more than a slogan when its leaders fail to defend a French ICC judge sanctioned by the Trump administration? And why is Europe fixated on rapidly increasing defence spending to 3.5% of GDP - is this target a genuine strategy to counter Russia and achieve independence, or is it a doomed exercise that will only funnel money inefficiently and increase Europe's reliance on American arms suppliers?

The Econoclasts is the podcast from UnHerd in which Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau each week pick pillars of the economic orthodoxy – so-called ‘settled facts’ – and shatter them. Why? Because, while they don’t always agree politically, they’re united in one conviction: the consensus is rotten and the establishment’s model is failing.

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This week on The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau challenge two global orthodoxies: Europe's cynical strategy in the Ukraine war and the alleged freedom of the cryptocurrency world. Are European leaders actively frustrating any Ukraine peace plan to buy time for re-armament? And did last week’s crypto winter confirm that the digital currency universe has been taken over by an unholy alliance of Big Government and Big Finance that will guarantee future global financial chaos? Prepare to see the world's strategic priorities—from Kyiv to Bitcoin—in a new and alarming light.

The Econoclasts is the podcast from UnHerd in which Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau each week pick pillars of the economic orthodoxy – so-called ‘settled facts’ – and shatter them. Why? Because, while they don’t always agree politically, they’re united in one conviction: the consensus is rotten and the establishment’s model is failing.

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On this episode of The Econoclasts, in an important week for the British economy, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau debate speculation over Keir Starmer’s leadership and whether political instability is now a permanent feature of Westminster - before dissecting the fatal mistake at the heart of Rachel Reeves’ budget, her reliance on economic “experts”, and why Reeves is paralysed by a crisis of her own choosing.

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This week on The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau debunk two more establishment orthodoxies. First, Wolfgang challenges the widespread belief that the euro is a safe and permanent currency and investigates the deep structural flaws that were never fixed, exploring whether a new political shock in a major country like France could be the trigger that finally unravels the entire project. Next, Yanis shatters the foundational myth that capitalism is synonymous with free markets, exploring the cozy relationship between big business and the state, and questioning whether the 'free market' is just an ideological smokescreen. Is the system secretly designed to secure monopoly power, and will AI be a force for true competition, or will it be the ultimate weapon for existing tech giants to solidify their control forever?

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This week on The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau debunk two more establishment orthodoxies. First, Yanis challenges the widespread belief that China is actively trying to dethrone the US dollar as the world's reserve currency, arguing that while Beijing wants independence from US sanction power, it is strongly opposed to the idea of taking on the burden of the reserve currency. And second, Wolfgang debunks the "cordon sanitaire", or "firewall" orthodoxy that European centrist parties must never form coalitions with the far-Right, exposing how this failed tactic forces centrists into permanent coalitions that deliver only stagnation and ultimately guarantees the rise of far-Right parties

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In this first episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau debunk two failed economic orthodoxies shaping our world. First, they dismantle the narrative that Europe is helping Ukraine - and striking a powerful blow against Russia - by raiding Russia’s frozen assets. More than this being legally questionable, is it also economically and geopolitically self-defeating? Next, they expose the "battle" between central banks and anti-establishment crypto rebels as a false choice, revealing it as a dangerous illusion that serves the powerful. Far from being revolutionary, are stablecoins turbo-charging financial instability for the next global crash?

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The Econoclasts is a new podcast from UnHerd hosted by economist Yanis Varoufakis and journalist Wolfgang Munchau. While they don't always agree politically, they are united in one conviction: the consensus is rotten. Mainstream economics has consistently failed to predict the events that shape our world, yet this broken orthodoxy still dominates policy and media. Each week, they choose two pillars of the established orthodoxy — the "settled facts" — and shatter them, cutting through the spin to connect the dots between money, geopolitics, and the real forces shaping our future.

Don't forget to rate, like and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

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This week, Tom and Helen follow on from the previous episode by analysing Donald Trump's response to the multipolar world and its implications, especially for Europe. They dive into Trump's clear actions towards Russia, the complications with China, the broader strategic shifts, European interests, NATO's current state, and rising geopolitical tensions involving Turkey.

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In this week's episode, Tom and Helen zoom out to look at the wider geopolitical world order coming into being in the midst of Donald Trump's second term, and whether American acceptance of a multipolar world is the key thread in Trump's geopolitical ambitions.

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This week, Tom and Helen discuss the growing American debt crisis and whether Donald Trump's bold political moves can be understood as a response to this escalating financial challenge.

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This week, Tom and Helen discuss the growing focus on the US-Ukraine minerals deal and its potential impact on intelligence sharing and arms supplies. They also explore whether the war in Ukraine has evolved into a battle over resources amid rising global geopolitical tensions.

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This week, Tom and Helen discuss the recent whirlwind of political events: Keir Starmer's meeting with Donald Trump after announcing a boost in British defense spending, Volodymyr Zelensky’s fiery Oval Office press conference, and European leaders’ efforts to draft a peace plan for presentation to the U.S.

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This week, Tom and Helen discuss the aftermath of Germany's election, where the Christian Democrats won but with their second-lowest vote tally ever. They explore what these results mean for the future of European politics and the shifting dynamics of Europe’s relationship with the United States.

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This week Tom and Helen discuss the impact that peace talks with Russia might have on the United States security commitment to Europe.

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In this episode of These Times, Tom and Helen discuss the deep history behind Trump's latest round of tariffs on China, Mexico and Canada; how the US has used tariffs throughout history, how protectionism shifted between the Democratic and Republican parties, and what it all means for global politics.

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Following on from the previous episode, this week, Tom and Helen expand even further on the topic of Europe and its dependance on the United States.

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This week, Tom and Helen discuss what Donald Trump's presidency means for Europe, historically, after his revealing first week in office.

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This week, Tom and Helen delve into Joe Biden's farewell address, why he warned of a new tech oligarchy and the possible new epoch in American politics.

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This week, Tom and Helen delve into Donald Trump's open attempt to annex Greenland, retake the Panama Canal, and seduce Canada into joining the United States.

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For the first episode of 2025, Tom and Helen take a deep dive into the life and worldview of the world's richest man; who is Elon Musk, what does he believe - and what does he want?

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On the final episode of the year, Tom and Helen reflect on the events of 2024 and how they may effect the geopolitical future.

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For our Christmas special episode Tom and Helen take a look back at the state of British politics this year and ask the question - Is British politics unravelling?

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This week Tom and Helen return to the extraordinary situation in Syria and question whether it's really possible to have a unified Syrian state.

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Following the collapse of the French government, Tom and Helen discuss the Franco-German crisis in the new age of Trump.

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The Economist's Defence Editor Shashank Joshi joins Tom and Helen for an early episode this week to discuss how the Assad regime fell so rapidly and what this means for Syria and the world.

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This week on the podcast Helen and Tom explore why Keir Starmer's government has come so far adrift so quickly and what this means for the future of British politics.

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In this week's episode Tom and Helen explore the recent military escalation over Ukraine and what this might mean for the current geopolitical world.

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Following Joe Biden's controversial decision over the weekend to authorise Ukrainian forces to fire American missiles deep into Russia itself, Tom and Helen explore what a Trump presidency means for war and peace across the world, not just in Ukraine, but in China, the Middle East and the border with Mexico...

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Donald Trump won the podcast battle by appearing on the shows of right-leaning stars like Joe Rogan, Lex Fridman and Theo Von. On the other hand, Kamala Harris went on the 'Call Her Daddy' podcast. Tom is joined in the studio by James Marriott to discuss the decline of liberal dominance in the world of popular culture, from The Rest is History, to Batman the Dark Knight...

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What awaits Europe after Donald Trump's second coming? Will it mark the end of the war in Ukraine or the end of America's defence of Europe? What role does Elon Musk have to play? From the China trade war to space travel, Tom and Helen bring it all into focus...

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As the dust begins to settle in the US, Tom is is joined by Emily Jashinsky, host of Undercurrents, to discuss Trump's great American triumph and the existential disaster facing the Democrats.

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As the US goes to the polls, Tom and Helen look back at the last decades of US politics and ask why the current moment, of Trump vs Harris, feels so much more polarised than ever...

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Tom McTague sits down with the controversial Tory firebrand Kemi Badenoch to talk about immigration, being a black Tory politician and why she is the right person to lead the opposition...

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After four weeks, Israel's anticipated revenge attack on Iran was complete. Missiles launched at Iranian missile targets from Israel threatened even more escalation. Tom and Helen dive into the details of what occurred and what the ramifications might be for the region and the wider world.

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On 5 November, the American people will go to the polls in what may prove to be the most important election in modern history. From Ukraine to Taiwan, the world is watching with bated breath. Tom and Helen explore these topics in a special These Times live recording, and analyse how both Kamala Harris and Donald Trump could redefine the geopolitical fault lines shaping our world...

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With soaring deficits, immigration debates, and a flock of North Korean soldiers arriving in Ukraine to fight alongside Russia, the continent feels adrift. Tom and Helen explore who can really lead Europe out of crisis...

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With Keir Starmer's approval ratings at an all-time low and the Tory leadership race staggering to an exhaustive conclusion, Tom and Helen ask why Britain's two main political parties are so useless without any apparent political strategy. Does the ghost of Margaret Thatcher have anything to do with it?

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For our 100th episode, we remain in the Middle East. Israel has just relocated a battalion from Gaza to Lebanon. The anniversary of October 7th has heightened the already feverish tension in the region. Lebanon endures heavy assault, and Israel prepares its retaliation against Iran; Helen Thompson and Tom McTage delve into the developing crisis and explore why oil is so essential…

Please join us for our live show in Westminster. Tickets below

https://club.unherd.com/event/these-times-us-election/

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Hezbollah are in disarray. Their leadership is decapitated, and Israeli troops amass at the border. Iran has vowed revenge. In this week's episode, Tom and Helen explore what the assassination of Hassan Nasrallah means for the crisis in the Middle East...

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Tom chats with Tory leadership hopeful Tom Tugendhat about his personal and political philosophies and what is so egregious about Keir Starmer as PM...

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In this special episode, These Times heads to Liverpool to delve into Starmer's reset of the Labour Party. Are Labour in crisis, or is Kier just getting started?

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After an astonishing week in the Middle East, Tom and Helen delve into the rapidly escalating conflict between Israel and Hezbollah. Why has Netanyahu chosen to intensify Israel's attacks on Hezbollah, and what happens to Lebanon now?

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Tom chats to Robert Jenrick, the supposed front-runner in the race to become the next leader of the Conservative Party, about his leadership credentials, Margaret Thatcher, and the issue of immigration...

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After former central bank president Mario Draghi reported that the EU has to invest 800 billion euros a year to compete with the US and China, Tom and Helen, turn to the crises in France and Germany and explore why politics has become so much harder for the two European powerhouses…

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After a controversial interview between Tucker Carlson and Darryl Cooper, in which Cooper claimed Churchill was, in fact, the villain of WWII, Tom talked to Churchill expert Andrew Roberts to explore the true political and personal history of Sir Winston Churchill from the British Empire to the beaches of Normandy. 

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Shashank Joshi joins Tom and Helen to discuss Ukraine's recent shock incursion into Russian soil and whether there are still conditions in Western democracies to provide military and economic support for Ukraine...and would a Trump presidency spell the end for Ukraine?

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After the AfD's dominant election victory in East Germany, Tom and Helen explore Keir Starmer's plans to reset relations with the EU, and whether his goals are realistic in a drastically changing geopolitical world...

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After The European elections in June, the French and British elections in early July, and a recent speech by Viktor Orban calling into question the entire future direction of the EU, Tom and Helen explore the fragmentation of the European project...

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After Israel's double assassination, first Fuad Shukr, Hezbollah military commander in Beirut, and then Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, Tom and Helen explore what the history of Israel's political assassinations reveals about the present dangers around a regional war in the Middle East...

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In this week's episode, Tom and Helen turn to the desperately volatile situation in the Middle East, where Israel stands on the Brink of war with Hezbollah following the attack on the Golan Heights on Saturday. Is the Israel-Hamas war moving towards a wider Middle East conflagration, and how does the politics of the American election impact everybody's choices? 

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This week Tom and Helen discuss Joe Biden's withdrawal from the race to be the next U.S President and what this means for the Democratic Party.

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