SystemShift

Kojo Koram sheds light on the impacts of Britain's colonial past on our current economic model. He explains how the legacies of the British empire are not just symbolic or cultural, but are deeply connected to our economy, legal system, and political structure. Kojo looks beyond the mainstream culture wars debate around Empire and emphasises the material motivations behind imperialism - the extrac...

In this episode, Eva von Redecker, applies the lens of critical theory and feminist philosophy to challenge the notion that the current economic system is inevitable and offers insights into how we can begin to change it and build something new in its place. Redecker calls for a reevaluation of our assumptions about work, value, and care, and advocates for prioritising the needs of the most vulner...

Indy Johar, an architect who specialises in re-imagining institutions and envisioning different economies and relationships, argues that we are vastly underestimating the scale of the challenges we face. According to Indy, the next few decades will completely redesign everything around us, including our material world such as our clothes, food, and furniture, as well as some of our concepts, inclu...

Juliet Schor explores the urgent need to address the ecological crisis by fundamentally shifting our economic focus from growth to sustainability. Schor sheds light on the relationship between extreme inequality and climate breakdown, highlighting how unequal power structures prevent climate action. Drawing from her research, Schor argues for reduced work hours, increased leisure time, and a focus...

Ann Pettifor demystifies the complex concept of money creation in modern economies, which is no longer backed by gold reserves held by central banks. Pettifor uses accessible imagery and language to explain how money, history's most misunderstood invention, was created and sets out her diagnosis of the problems plaguing the world's monetary system. She also offers a prescription for how these issu...

Tim Jackson delivers a thought-provoking exploration of the urgent need to redefine and measure progress in a different way, given that our current economic system is clearly unsustainable and toxic. Jackson challenges the myth of eternal economic growth and its impact on our finite resources and a rapidly warming planet. He questions the predominant measure of progress across the world, Gross Dom...