Macrodose

This week on The Curve, James Meadway is joined by Nicholas Beuret - author of Or Something Worse:Why We Need to Disrupt the Climate Transition ⁠ . Together, they discuss mounting speculation over the upcoming budget and the longevity of Keir Starmer's premiership. In the extended episode, available to Macrodose members on Patreon, they discuss Nicholas' new book on how the push for net ze...

How can we be resilient to what comes next? One of Spain’s worst disasters was driven by climate change. But it ended up boosting climate deniers. This episode explores how to avoid this, what it really means to prepare for a world above 1.5°C, and why governments are clinging to fantasy preparation plans. And we hear the stories of how we can stay focused on navigating the growing climate storm. ...

On this week's episode of Macrodose, James Meadway takes a look at: First, with warnings from both the Bank of England and IMF this week, the spectre of the AI bubble bursting is looming larger than ever before (0:35). Second, what should we make of renewed escalation in the US-China trade war (10:24). Subscribe to support the show at  patreon.com/Macrodose.  Your pledge is a donation supporting f...

What do the people in charge think is going to happen? Sue Owen was enjoying her retirement until she asked her pension fund what it thought catastrophic climate change would do to the economy. Not very much, according to them. This episode follows the campaigners and experts uncovering how pension funds, governments, and the other people in charge are using misleading economics that wildly undere...

This week on The Curve, James Meadway sits down with Laurie Laybourn, executive director of the Strategic Climate Risks Initiative to talk about his podcast Overshoot - a new series about how we navigate a warming world beyond 1.5C. In the extended episode, available to Macrodose members on Patreon, James and Laurie discuss the recent Labour and Green party conferences, as well as the government&#...

Who’s going to clean up the mess? Dangerous amounts of carbon have been dumped in the atmosphere - so someone has to clean up the mess. Enter the dream - or delusion - of sucking carbon out of the sky. We trace how a backup plan for tackling climate change became plan A, why fossil fuel companies love it, and the staggering scale of the carbon sucking that must now be done - and whether it can eve...

If the world didn’t win, then has it lost?  The world is overshooting 1.5°C, a level of global heating long seen as the marker of climate safety. But does that mean we’re doomed? In this opening episode, we hear the extraordinary story of how the 1.5°C goal was set, and how it shapes the ways we think about climate change. We learn why some people are now turning to fatalism and what it might real...

The world missed its goal for tackling climate change. What happens next?  In 2015, the world agreed to limit global heating to 1.5°C. Ten years later, temperatures are spiralling beyond this and climate chaos is wreaking havoc across the globe.  In a major four-part series, host Laurie Laybourn explores how the world ended up here and uncovers the huge misconceptions and the high-tech fantasies t...

Returning from spending the summer writing his new book, James looks back at the key economic stories of the summer along with some important ones you may have missed. Plus: Javier Milei's economic experiment in Argentina has collapsed, leading to his government asking Trump’s United States for a $20 billion bailout. Subscribe to support the show at patreon.com/Macrodose. Your pledge is a dona...

As public dissatisfaction with the current government deepens & Reform UK lead in the polls, the need for a coherent, credible alternative has become increasingly urgent. To meet this moment, leading think tank the Autonomy Institute and Macrodose hosted some of the UK’s leading, activists, academics and campaigners from across the progressive spectrum, to chart the ideas and strategies needed...

Our final guest hosted episode of the summer comes from Quinn Slobodian - author of Hayek's Bastards . Reading an extract from his book, he explains some of the surprising connections between the neoliberal intellectual movement and the so-called populist right that we’ve seen on the rise over the past decade.

This week on The Curve, Nick Dearden from Global Justice Now is in the hosting chair, joined by journalist and author Sarah Jaffe. They discuss the upcoming second state visit of US President Donald Trump and the tech bosses that are accompanying him. In the extended episode, available to Macrodose members on Patreon, Nick and Sarah discuss the massive immigration raid at a Hyundai factory in Geor...

Our third guest hosted episode of the summer comes from Kevin O'Koth - author of Red Africa: Reclaiming Revolutionary Black Politics. Reading an extract from his book, he takes a look at the Bandung Conference – a pivotal 1955 gathering of leaders from Asia and Africa, united in their resistance to colonialism and their vision for a new, non-aligned world.

This week on The Curve, Faiza Shaheen is in the hosting chair and is joined by Laurie Macfarlane - co-director of Future Economy Scotland. They discuss the latest research on UK unemployment and whether or not we can confidently trust the figures coming out of the Office for National Statistics. In the extended episode, available to Macrodose members on Patreon, Faiza and Laurie discuss Trump's br...

This week on The Curve, Grace Blakeley is hosting chair and is joined by Faiza Shaheen - executive director of Tax Justice UK and visiting Professor in practice at the London School Of Economics. They discuss the latest rumours of new tax rises being considered by the chancellor Rachel Reeves and what they would mean for the UK economy In the extended episode, available to Macrodose members on Pat...

Our second guest hosted episode of the summer comes from Nat Dyer - author of Ricardo’s Dream: How Economists Forgot the Real World and Led Us Astray. Reading an extract from his book, he takes a look at how conventional economics developed, and why many of its ideas have wrecked such havoc on society and the living world. Subscribe to support the show at patreon.com/Macrodose. Your pledge is a do...

Our first guest hosted episode of the summer comes from Emily Kenway, former carer, doctoral researcher and author of 'Who Cares: The Hidden Crisis of Caregiving And How We Solve It', Today she is reading an abridged excerpt from her book which explores why conventional assumptions about solving the so-called ‘care crisis’ are founded on deep misunderstandings. She invites you to rethink y...

With James Meadway away this week, we're bringing you another conversation from our State Of The Nation live event earlier this month. Kwajo Tweneboa is a housing activist confronting the worst living conditions people are having to experience in the UK, who sat down with Dalia Gebrial - Lecturer in Geography and Social Justice at Kings College London. Together, Tweneboa & Gebrial explore...

James Meadway is away this week, so in place of THE CURVE we're bringing you this exclusive conversation. Earlier this month, former trader Gary Stevenson joined Orwell Prize nominee Kojo Koram for a discussion on the state of British politics, rising inequality, and how economic decline is reshaping the public sphere. Together, Stevenson and Koram examined Britain’s offshore empire, the roots...

On this week's MACRODOSE, James continues our economics history series with a look at the life and legacy of one of the most famous economists of the 20th century - John Maynard Keynes. Subscribe to support the show at patreon.com/Macrodose. Your pledge is a donation supporting free public education; perks are thank-you gifts for your support. Got a question or comment? Reach out to us at ⁠mac...

This week on The Curve, James Meadway is joined by Jane Hayward - lecturer in China and global affairs at the Lau China institute at King’s College London - to explore the political economy of China. Together James and Jane discuss: whether the supposed coming collapse of China is real; if China's economy can be considered socialist or capitalist; and will the Chinese be able to move their eco...

On this week's MACRODOSE, James kicks off our economics history series with a look at the life and impact of the Jewish Polish-German revolutionary and Marxist theorist Rosa Luxembourg, and why her work has renewed relevance today (2:22). Subscribe to support the show at patreon.com/Macrodose. Your pledge is a donation supporting free public education; perks are thank-you gifts for your suppor...

This week on The Curve, James Meadway is joined by Kate Aronoff - staff writer at The New Republic - to discuss Zohran Mamdani's resounding victory in the democratic primary for New York City Mayor (0.57). In the full episode, available to Macrodose patrons, James & Kate also break down: - Attempts by US republicans to take from the poor and give to the rich via Donald Trump’s Big Beautifu...

On this week's MACRODOSE, James unpacks the big news story of the week: the US’ direct entry into the war in the Middle East, the bombing of Iranian nuclear sites, and the potential long term geopolitical and economic fall outs (2:11). Subscribe to support the show at patreon.com/Macrodose. Your pledge is a donation supporting free public education; perks are thank-you gifts for your support....

This week on The Curve, James Meadway is joined by Laleh Khalili - Professor of Gulf Studies at the University of Exeter and author of Sinews of War and Trade and Extractive Capitalism. Together, James and Laleh discuss the latest developments in the Middle East, with Israel escalating it’s U.S.-backed war on Iran. What are the potential geopolitical and economic consequences of escalating tension...