logo
episode-header-image
Jul 2025
24m 3s

Is the US heading for a debt crisis?

Financial Times
About this episode

Gideon talks to Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund and author of a new book: How Countries Go Broke. They discuss the size of the US debt and what history tells us about identifying warning signs. Clip: CBS


Free links to read more on this topic:

Is Donald Trump’s ‘big, beautiful bill’ a political curse for Republicans?

Fears over US debt load and inflation ignite exodus from long-term bonds

Donald Trump’s big, beautiful act of self-harm

The fall in the dollar is not scary


Subscribe to The Rachman Review wherever you get your podcasts - please listen, rate and subscribe.

Presented by Gideon Rachman. Produced by Fiona Symon. Sound design is by Breen Turner and the executive producer is Flo Phillips.

Follow Gideon on Bluesky or X @gideonrachman.bsky.social, @gideonrachman


Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com


Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Aug 27
Making the UN great again
The UN is choosing a new secretary-general at a time when it’s struggling to remain relevant. Sidelined in the wars in Ukraine, Sudan and the Middle East, and facing a severe funding crisis, the organisation is under growing pressure. This week, guest host Alec Russell speaks to ... Show More
25m 15s
Aug 20
The making of the modern Middle East
Gideon Rachman speaks to historian and author Simon Sebag Montefiore about his new book, The Cauldron: The Making of the Modern Middle East. They discuss the forces that shaped the region, from the Ottoman Empire and Ataturk to the ongoing tensions between the US, Israel and Iran ... Show More
26m 41s
Aug 13
Iran’s growing strategic ambitions
Gideon talks to Vali Nasr, author of Iran’s Grand Strategy and professor of Middle Eastern Studies at Johns Hopkins University, SAIS, about how the balance of power in the Middle East is changing. After six months of on-off hostilities, Nasr argues, Iran’s core aims are unchanged ... Show More
29m 11s
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2025
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
Jan 2025
Ray Dalio | The All-In Interview
(0:00) Ray Dalio joins Friedberg! (0:50) The current US fiscal situation (6:23) Breaking down "The Big Debt Cycle," a potential US debt spiral, and the impact on real wealth (24:54) USD vs other currencies and assets, best hedges against the dollar (33:20) Portfolio construction, ... Show More
1h 16m
Aug 2025
The Changing World Order: How Countries Go Broke - Ray Dalio - #976
Ray Dalio is the founder of Bridgewater Associates, billionaire investor, philanthropist and an author. How do countries actually go broke? In a world of abundance, it’s easy to think the good times will last. But with global debt soaring, we may be nearing an unprecedented econo ... Show More
1h 26m
Jun 2024
The Changing World Order & the Power of Diversification — ft. Ray Dalio
Ray Dalio, founder of the largest hedge fund in the world, Bridgewater Associates, joins the show to break down America’s place in a shifting world order. He discusses the mechanics of the U.S. deficit, and identifies an asset he’d go long on to hedge against economically uncerta ... Show More
46m 41s
Jan 2019
TIP224: Billionaire Ray Dalio's Book - Big Debt Crises (Business Podcast)
On today's show Preston and Stig discuss billionaire Ray Dalio's new book, Big Debt Crises. IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN: Why Ray Dalio thinks that the US Dollar could depreciate 30%. Why the financial crisis in 2007-2011 was solved much faster than the Great Depression. How to d ... Show More
40m 35s
Feb 2025
Ray Dalio: America’s Hidden Civil War, and the Race to Beat China in Tech, Economics, and Academia
Ray Dalio on AI, the debt crisis and what actually makes people happy. (00:00) The Hidden Civil War Happening in the US (05:00) What Caused This Mass Polarization? (08:03) Will the Advancement of Tech Destroy Us? (16:44) Ray Dalio’s Predictions About AI (21:09) AI’s Impact on Ec ... Show More
45m 43s
Nov 2022
TIP498: Ray Dalio's Book - Big Debt Crises & How the Economic Machine Works
IN THIS EPISODE YOU’LL LEARN: 00:04:24 - How Dalio defines credit and debt. 00:08:55 - Why too much debt can be an issue for the global economy. 00:12:13 - The difference between the short-term and the long-term debt cycle. 00:13:02 - Why credit is the primary driver of our econo ... Show More
59m 16s