Ones and Tooze

Private investment in artificial intelligence in 2025 reached nearly $300 billion and is likely to grow this year. The companies making those investments include Microsoft, Google, Amazon, and Meta. Who’s winning the AI arms race, and what does it mean for the economy—and for humanity? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Declaration of Independence, which founded the United States as an independent nation, was written in 1776—the same year that Adam Smith published The Wealth of Nations, the most prominent early treatise on international capitalism. Whether that represents a coincidence remains an ongoing debate. What’s clear, however, is that over the past two and a half centuries, the United States emerged a...

Adam and Cameron recorded this episode from Dalian, China, where they’re attending the World Economic Forum’s 17th Annual Meeting of the New Champions, known as “Summer Davos.” They discuss the economy of China. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the 10th anniversary of the Brexit referendum approaches, Adam and Cameron discuss the impact on the British economy. Also on the show: The Allied invasion of Normandy.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Germany is considering a package of reforms to reduce its welfare state and make the economy more productive. This would include changes to labor laws, welfare payments to the unemployed, and the retirement age. In this live show in Berlin, Adam and Cameron discuss the potential reforms and also the Tempelhofer Feld, a huge park in Berlin where some Germans now want to build apartments to address...

Real disposal income has grown in the United States much faster than in Europe since the beginning of the century. Does that mean European economies are falling behind? It’s a debate some prominent economists are having lately, including Nobel winners Paul Krugman and Philippe Aghion. Adam and Cameron discuss. Also on the show: The economics of Morocco. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit mega...

A long-term truce deal between the United States and Iran would likely include some sanctions relief in exchange for the opening of the Strait of Hormuz. Adam and Cameron discuss where that would leave Iran and how the war has changed some core economic positions in the region. Also on the show: the economics of bodybuilding. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Taiwan runs a huge trade surplus, which is partly due to its chip manufacturing industry. Adam and Cameron discuss how the surplus affects Taiwan and other issues related to its economy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Adam and Cameron discuss the current status of Russia’s war in Ukraine and how both countries are faring economically four years into the conflict. Also on the show: What can the British Labour Party learn from other center-left governments? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nearly half of all U.S. consumer spending comes from the top 10 percent of households. Adam and Cameron explain this diverging, “K-shaped” economy. Also on the show: The life and legacy of Margaret Thatcher. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Zohran Mamdani has been mayor of New York for about four months now and though it's early to assess his record, it's not too soon to discuss his approach to running the city—and his particular brand of democratic socialism. Adam and Cameron took up the issue in front of a live audience at the Caveat Theater in Manhattan last month. We thought our listeners would enjoy the segment. Learn more about...

The U.S. Federal Reserve will get a new chairman this month, and it’s likely to be Kevin Warsh, a financier and former Fed governor. Adam and Cameron discuss Warsh’s economic ideas and the impact that he’ll likely have on interest rates and the economy as a whole. Also on the show: The economics of Michael Jackson. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The war in Sudan is entering its fourth year, with tens of thousands killed and millions displaced. And yet the conflict receives limited media attention and little international aid. Adam and Cameron dig in. Also on the show: Islamabad is hosting the negotiations between the United States and Iran. Adam and Cameron discuss the history and economics of this Pakistani city. For listeners in New Yor...

Adam and Cameron taped this show in front of a live audience in Washington, D.C., at an event held by the Institute of International Finance. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The energy crisis generated by the war in Iran has some historical parallels, including the Suez crisis of 1956 and the Arab-Israeli war in 1973. Adam and Cameron discuss the similarities and differences. Also on the show: Viktor Orban is once again up for reelection in Hungary—but this time, he’s fighting an uphill battle. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hello Ones and Tooze Listeners. Our sister show, Foreign Policy Live, aired an interview recently with Ali Vaez, one of the most interesting Iran analysts out there. We wanted to share it with you. FP Live is hosted by Foreign Policy's editor in chief, Ravi Agrawal. For people interested in geopolitical issues related to Iran, Ukraine, Gaza, China, and other hot spots around the world, there's no...

Adam and Cameron look back at the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests in China and discuss what economic factors drove them. This is the first episode in an intermittent series that looks at historical events that may not have been thought of as having an economic dimension. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

With the Iran war now entering its second month, Adam and Cameron consider the long-term implications and which countries will be hit hardest. Brought to you by: betterhelp.com/onestooze upwork.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The price of oil keeps rising as the U.S.-Israel war on Iran enters its fourth week, threatening economic turmoil around the world. Also on the show: The philosophy of Jürgen Habermas. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

China has released a new five-year economic plan that projects GDP growth of around 4.5 percent in the coming year. That would be the country’s slowest growth rate since its era of reforms began in the 1980s. Adam and Cameron dig in. Also on the show: The economics of St. Patrick’s Day. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The war on Iran launched a week ago by Israel and the United States is spiraling into a regional conflict with implications for the global economy. Adam and Cameron discuss. Also: Adam and Cameron will be back at the Caveat theater in New York on April 17 to record a live episode of Ones and Tooze. It’s a smallish venue and tickets tend to sell out quickly. Order yours ⁠here⁠. Learn more about you...

With Adam and Cameron off this week, we bring you an episode of Foreign Policy Live—FP's flagship podcast, hosted by the magazine's editor in chief, Ravi Agrawal. Ravi sat down with former CIA chief David Petraeus to discuss what a U.S. war with Iran might look like. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the first year of U.S. President Donald Trump's second term, he has made some dramatic economic changes—relating to tariffs, immigration, and the size of the U.S. government. The result was a modest 2.2 percent economic growth. So, what went wrong? And what went well? Adam and Cameron dig in. Also on the show: A country report on the Netherlands. Brought to you by: betterhelp.com/onestooze Lear...

Big tech companies are directing a huge portion of their capital expenditures to artificial intelligence—at least $650 billion in the coming year. The effect is to stimulate the economy in the short term, but what happens in the long term? Adam and Cameron discuss. Also on the show: The state of the German economy.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Super Bowl is the most watched event on American television—and a microcosm of American culture. In the first segment of the show, Adam and Cameron discuss the economic and social dimensions of the event. In the second segment, they discuss the cultural and economic world that Jeffrey Epstein inhabited before dying by suicide in prison in 2019. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone...