IEA Podcast

In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, Communications Director Callum Price is joined by Executive Director Tom Clougherty and Managing Editor Daniel Freeman. The conversation covers Andy Burnham’s vision for “Burnhamism” - his self-described “business friendly socialism” outlined in a lengthy New Statesman interview. They examine his proposals for mass renationalisation of buses, railways...

In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, IEA Director of Communications Callum Price interviews Andrew Barclay, entrepreneur and founder of Land of Opportunity, a campaign group exploring economic lessons from America. The conversation examines why the US economy has dramatically outpaced the EU since 2008, with America's GDP skyrocketing ahead while Europe stagnated. Barclay discusses his t...

In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, Head of Media Reem Ibrahim interviews John Penrose, recovering government minister, Chair of the Conservative Policy Forum and Director of the Centre for Small State Conservatives. The conversation examines Britain's economic decline through decades of missed opportunities, comparing the UK's sluggish growth to the United States where compounding effe...

In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, IEA Head of Media and Linda Whetstone Scholar Reem Ibrahim interviews Executive Director Tom Clougherty and Editorial Director Kristian Niemietz. The conversation covers the deteriorating UK economy, examining zero growth in July, persistent inflation at 3.8%, and the highest August borrowing figures in five years. They discuss the Office for Budget R...

In this Institute of Economic Affairs briefing, managing editor Daniel Freeman interviews Stephen Dnes, a competition lawyer with 15 years of experience and lecturer at Royal Holloway, University of London, about his new IEA report, titled “Class Act,” examining the rise of class action litigation in the UK. The discussion covers the dramatic growth of opt-out class actions since their introductio...

In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, IEA Executive Director Tom Clougherty interviews Professor Simon Johnson, 2024 Nobel Prize winner in Economics from MIT. The conversation explores Johnson's groundbreaking research on extractive versus inclusive institutions and how colonial mortality rates shaped economic development patterns that persist today. Johnson explains how European settlers...

Join IEA Managing Editor Daniel Freeman in conversation with Ian Williams, author of "Vampire State: The Rise and Fall of the Chinese Economy," for an analysis of China's mounting economic challenges. Williams, a veteran journalist with 20 years of experience covering China as a foreign correspondent for Channel 4 News and NBC, delivers a chilling account of how the world's second-largest economy...

In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, Communications Director Callum Price interviews Executive Director Tom Clougherty and Editorial Director Kristian Niemietz. The conversation examines Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch's offer to help Labour cut the welfare bill and her party's return to fiscal conservatism. They discuss whether this represents genuine commitment to balanced budgets or...

In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, IEA Communications Director Callum Price interviews Rory Sutherland, Vice Chairman of Ogilvy Group and prolific commentator on economics and society. The conversation explores how markets function as discovery mechanisms, with Sutherland arguing that capitalism's greatest strength lies not in efficiency but in its ability to uncover valuable innovatio...

In this Institute of Economic Affairs interview, our Managing Editor Daniel Freeman interviews Mary Kissel, Executive Vice President at investment bank Stephens and former Senior Advisor to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The conversation examines the current state of US-China relations, China's economic challenges under Xi Jinping, and the national security threats posed by Chinese infiltratio...

In this Institute of Economic Affairs Podcast, Managing Editor Daniel Freeman is joined by Executive Director Tom Clougherty and Editorial Director Kristian Niemietz to examine whether Britain is truly facing fiscal meltdown or if the doom-mongering has been overblown. The conversation unpacks Chris Giles' Financial Times analysis arguing that Britain's fiscal situation, while problematic, may not...

In this episode of Free the Power, the IEA’s COO and resident Energy Analyst Andy Mayer interviews Kathryn Porter, independent energy consultant and founder of Watt-Logic. The conversation examines the devastating blackouts that hit Spain and Portugal on April 28th, 2025, when the entire Iberian Peninsula went offline for ten hours, resulting in eleven fatalities. Porter provides detailed analysis...

In this Institute of Economic Affairs interview, our Director of Communications Callum Price interviews Sam Richards, CEO of Britain Remade and former special adviser at 10 Downing Street. The conversation examines Britain's fundamental growth problem - the country's inability to build essential infrastructure. Richards argues that underpinning Britain's economic challenges, from the world's highe...

In this Institute of Economic Affairs Podcast, Director of Communications Callum Price hosts a discussion with IEA Executive Director Tom Clougherty and Managing Editor Daniel Freeman on Britain's escalating fiscal crisis and the government's response. The conversation examines why UK borrowing costs have reached their highest levels since 1997 - famously dubbed "the highest since Geri Halliwell l...

In this Institute of Economic Affairs interview, our Executive Director Tom Clougherty interviews Professor Cass Sunstein, former Obama administration official and co-author of "Nudge", discussing his new book "On Liberalism: In Defence of Freedom". The conversation explores Sunstein's "big tent liberalism" that encompasses figures from Reagan to Roosevelt, examining how liberalism can unite diver...

In this Institute of Economic Affairs Podcast, Head of Media Reem Ibrahim hosts a discussion with IEA Executive Director Tom Clougherty and Managing Editor Daniel Freeman on the government's upcoming budget and various tax policy proposals currently being floated. The conversation covers a "tax proposal extravaganza" including potential reforms to property taxation, capital gains tax on primary re...

In this Institute of Economic Affairs briefing, our Head of Media, Reem Ibrahim, interviews Chris Snowdon, Head of Lifestyle Economics, about his new discussion paper "Anti-Capitalism and Public Health." The conversation examines how public health discourse has evolved from targeting specific industries like "big tobacco" and "big food" to attacking what academics call "commercial determinants of...

In this Institute of Economic Affairs interview, the IEA’s Director of Communications Callum Price sits down with Sir Simon Clarke, former Conservative MP, Treasury Chief Secretary, and current Director of Onward. The conversation tackles Britain's housing crisis, with Clarke arguing the UK is 4-5 million homes short and criticising government climbdowns on planning reform. He advocates for densif...

In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, the IEA’s Head of Media Reem Ibrahim interviews Stan Veuger, Senior Fellow in Economic Policy Studies at the American Enterprise Institute. The conversation examines the dramatic shift in Trump's second-term trade policy, including unprecedented 25% tariffs on Canada and Mexico, the "reciprocal tariffs" announced in April affecting virtually every cou...

In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, Director of Communications Callum Price is joined by Editorial Director Kristian Niemietz and Managing Editor Daniel Freeman for a wide-ranging discussion on Britain's current challenges. The conversation covers the heated debate around Fraser Nelson's controversial Times article on crime statistics, examining why public perception of rising crime cla...

In this Institute of Economic Affairs Free the Power podcast, the IEA’s Andy Mayer interviews Nicholas Leighton-Hall from the Marginal Cost of Everything blog about the recent government decision to reject zonal pricing for UK electricity markets. The conversation examines how political considerations overtook economic rationality in this crucial energy policy decision, exploring the complex dynam...

In this Institute of Economic Affairs panel discussion, Dr. Kristian Niemietz chairs a conversation on "Government and Economic Growth in the 21st Century" with Dr. Stephen Davies, Senior Education Fellow, Julian Jessop, Economics Fellow, and Cento Veljanovski, IEA Law and Economics Fellow. The discussion examines Britain's 18-year period of economic stagnation since 2007, exploring why an entire...

In this IEA podcast, Managing Editor Daniel Freeman interviews Tom Clougherty, Executive Director, and Dr. Stephen Davies, Senior Education Fellow. The conversation examines Britain's looming £50 billion fiscal black hole identified by the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, exploring why Rachel Reeves will miss her fiscal targets and what this means for the UK's financial future....

In this Free the Power podcast, the IEA's Andy Mayer interviews Tim Gregory, author of "Going Nuclear: How the Atom Will Save the World" and nuclear scientist at Sellafield. The conversation tackles radiophobia and public misconceptions about nuclear safety, examining how accidents like Chernobyl and Fukushima have shaped public perception despite nuclear power being statistically as safe as wind...

In this Institute of Economic Affairs briefing, host Callum Price interviews Matthew Lesh, IEA Public Policy Fellow and author of a 2022 briefing paper on the Online Safety Bill. The discussion covers the implementation of the Online Safety Act and its impact on free speech, examining how age-gating requirements are now forcing platforms to hide legal political content behind age verification syst...