Sometimes as economists we need to analyse complex decisions to understand what the outcomes might be. On the more baffling end of the scale we have Saudi Arabia spending billions on football, golf and Formula 1 stars who are mostly a little past their prime to come and play in the largely unknown Saudi leagues. Is this simply sports-washing (a PR stunt) or ... Show More
Dec 22
Did China Just Drop The Ball On Global Dominance?
China’s position as the world’s factory is shifting. Growth is slowing to approximately 4-5%, wages are rising, the workforce is shrinking due to an aging population, the property crisis is weighing on GDP, and Western tariffs are restricting exports. For decades, China produced ... Show More
16m 15s
Dec 2
A Short Story About Why You Cannot Buy A House
Home ownership is now unattainable in every major city worldwide. For the first time, none of the 95 cities tracked by Demographia are considered affordable. In cities such as Hong Kong (14.4 times income), Sydney (13.8 times), Vancouver, London, and San Francisco, housing prices ... Show More
12m 51s
Nov 17
The $400 Trillion Problem No One Wants to Talk About
The world’s pension promise is unraveling. In the 1950s, sixteen workers supported each retiree; today, that number has shrunk to just 2.7. This dramatic shift is straining pay-as-you-go pension systems to the breaking point. By 2050, one in six people will be over 65, yet politi ... Show More
17m 5s
Jun 2023
Golf, soccer, F1: Saudi Arabia's big sports bet
If you're a sports fan, you may have noticed Saudi Arabia making billions of dollars of investments in everything from Formula 1 to professional tennis. In two high profile moves, the Saudis backed the merger of LIV Golf with the PGA tour earlier this month, and recruited soccer ... Show More
28m 32s
Aug 2023
Future of Football: Will the Saudi Pro League change transfers forever?
In a special podcast on the Saudi Pro League, Sky Sports News chief reporter Kaveh Solhekol talks to Peter Smith about why there has suddenly been big spending from clubs in Saudi Arabia on European-based players, what the league must do to attract elite players, and what the big ... Show More
22m 25s
Mar 2024
World Corrupt: Episode 1 - Football in the House of Saud
<p>Roger Bennet and Tommy Vietor are back for Season 2 of World Corrupt! And this time, Rog and Tommy are diving into how Saudi Arabia, the biggest exporter of oil in the world and a nation in the news for human rights abuses, became the latest geopolitical powerplayer sweeping g ... Show More
47m 58s
Aug 2023
#194 Why Saudi Arabia Wants To Own World Football
Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema, and Neymar have all joined the Saudi Pro League on nine-figure annual contracts. And the oil-rich league isn’t slowing down anytime soon, bidding to host marquee FIFA events and compete with Europe’s top football clubs. So today’s podcast examine ... Show More
25m 1s
Apr 2024
S2: Can Saudi Money Whitewash a Murder?
In the final episode of this four-part series, Rog and Tommy trace the massive flow of Saudi money into Hollywood, Silicon Valley and Wall Street, and how the biggest venture capitalists and A-list celebrities seem to no longer care about Saudi Arabia’s human rights record. They ... Show More
59m 51s