After last week’s ACFM on the meaning and morality of personal debt, Keir and Nadia zoom out to the macroeconomics of debt. Joining them to make sense of concepts like sovereign debt, structural adjustment and international ratings agencies is Heidi Chow, executive director of Debt Justice. She explains how and why countries borrow money, why […]
Oct 6
Downstream: Was the 20th Century a Catastrophe, or a Miracle? w/ Yanis Varoufakis
Economist, and former finance minister of Greece, Yanis Varoufakis joins Aaron to discuss his most recent book Raise Your Soul: A Personal History of Resistance, a memoir about the women in Yanis’ family who raised him, and gave him his political conscience. They discuss the Hege ... Show More
1h 52m
Sep 29
Downstream: The Right Is Stirring up Anti-Muslim Hate – and It’s Getting Worse w/ Myriam François
In the summer of 2024, hotels sheltering Muslim asylum seekers across Britain were attacked by violent mobs. A year later, as the summer of 2025 drew to a close, a far-right demonstration of 100,000 people marched through London, bearing St George’s flags and led by Tommy Robinso ... Show More
1h 41m
Sep 2024
How to cut government debt, with Robin Wigglesworth
Jamaica’s economy struggled for decades, and at one point it had amassed debts worth more than 140 per cent of GDP. Even the IMF wouldn’t return its calls. But somehow, in the 2010s, it managed to halve its government debt – over just seven years. Today on the show, we ask how th ... Show More
28m 24s
Aug 11
Introducing the Rachman Review: Is the US heading for a debt crisis?
This week on the Economics Show, we're bringing you an interview with Ray Dalio, from our foreign affairs podcast, the Rachman Review. It originally broadcast on July 3.Gideon talks to Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund and author of a ne ... Show More
24m 3s
Oct 2024
1100: Americans Are Being Crushed by Credit Card Debt - Episode 1100
There’s a huge problem impacting our economy and we need to talk about it – Americans are absolutely drowning in credit card debt. In the fourth quarter of 2023, Americans’ total credit card balances increased by $50 billion, reaching a total of $1.129 trillion, according to data ... Show More
9m 17s
Aug 2024
Michael Drury on China's Trillion Dollar Secret and Why The U.S. Is Not Headed Imminently Into A Recession
This interview with Michael Drury explores how China’s problems affect the global economy, its economic advantages, and where it spends its trillion-dollar surplus. We also discuss the US economy’s resilience, why Michael doesn’t see a recession, and much more.–Follow Jack Farley ... Show More
1h 17m
Dec 2023
Private Credit 2024 Outlook; Asean Bank Resilience
Private credit will hog the limelight in 2024, with ever-larger deals and continued expansion, even as high rates and a slowing economy add risks. To discuss the outlook for next year, Paula Seligson and Lisa Lee — senior reporters in Bloomberg’s global private credit news team — ... Show More
33m 18s
Jun 2024
Emily Zackin and Chloe N. Thurston, "The Political Development of American Debt Relief" (U Chicago Press, 2024)
A political history of the rise and fall of American debt relief. Americans have a long history with debt. They also have a long history of mobilizing for debt relief. Throughout the nineteenth century, indebted citizens demanded government protection from their financial burdens ... Show More
58m 27s