Macrodose

Planet B Productions
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Your weekly fix of everything economics. Hosted by James Meadway.

  1. Free Gifts w/ Alyssa Battistoni

    5D AGO

    Free Gifts w/ Alyssa Battistoni

    Capitalism is often defended on the basis of freedom — “free markets”, free choice, as well as being credited with producing the wealth and material abundance that has freed countless people from poverty. Marx, meanwhile, described workers under capitalism as “free in the double sense”: “free” to sell their labour power in the market, and “free” or divorced from the means of production: the land, machinery or materials to sustain themselves on their own. In other words: not particularly free, at all.  We can add to this the countless things that are, within market systems, “free” insofar as they are assigned no value, from the free gifts of nature to uncompensated environmental destruction and the unpaid labour that creates and sustains life.  What, then, does freedom really mean within a capitalist society? When wealth is so vastly unequal, can it really be argued that market exchange is “free” in any real sense? And when the harms of our economic actions are invisible in the prices we pay—from deforestation to child labour—can we really be said to be making “free choices”? These are the questions at the heart of Alyssa Battistoni’s book Free Gifts. In this episode, she joins Adrienne to talk about value, the politics of nature, and how we might live freely in a finite world.

    56 min

  2. 6D AGO

    The Illegal War On Iran

    On this week's Macrodose, James Meadway looks at the US and Israel’s illegal war on Iran (1:18), and the stark international economic constraints now facing the UK (9:37). Subscribe to support the show at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/Macrodose.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Your pledge is a donation supporting free public education; perks are thank-you gifts for your support. Got a question or comment? Reach out to us at ⁠macrodose@planetbproductions.co.uk⁠. To learn more about the work we do at Planet B Productions, head to ⁠planetbproductions.co.uk⁠. Apply for Planet B's Digital Content Lead job opportunity: https://planet-b-productions.homerun.co/digital-content-lead/en

    20 min

  3. FEB 25

    Trump's Tariffs Shot Down

    On this week's Macrodose, James Meadway looks at the US supreme court shooting down Trump’s tariff bonanza (1:00), how a global hotel chain is preparing for climate change affecting their business (7:45), and the possible “green shoots” of the UK’s economic recovery (11:14) Subscribe to support the show at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/Macrodose.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Your pledge is a donation supporting free public education; perks are thank-you gifts for your support. Got a question or comment? Reach out to us at ⁠macrodose@planetbproductions.co.uk⁠. To learn more about the work we do at Planet B Productions, head to ⁠planetbproductions.co.uk⁠.

    17 min

  4. FEB 18

    Climate Change Shakes Food Security

    On this week's Macrodose, James Meadway looks at fresh warnings that climate change is coming straight for your supermarket shelf (0:40), and a rare piece of good climate news - from India - where a solar boom is helping leapfrog the old, fossil-fuelled path to industrialisation (8:26). Subscribe to support the show at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/Macrodose.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Your pledge is a donation supporting free public education; perks are thank-you gifts for your support. Got a question or comment? Reach out to us at ⁠macrodose@planetbproductions.co.uk⁠. To learn more about the work we do at Planet B Productions, head to ⁠planetbproductions.co.uk⁠.

    18 min
  5. Beyond Techno-Optimism w/ David Edgerton

    FEB 12

    Beyond Techno-Optimism w/ David Edgerton

    In this episode of The Break–Down, Deputy Editor John Merrick is joined by historian and author David Edgerton to discuss how his historical work has shaped his understanding of the climate crisis, the rise of China as both a major emitter and a green tech powerhouse, the retro revivalism of the British right, and the ubiquity of AI boosterism. The history of the climate crisis is often told as a story about technology. Growing out of the dark satanic mills of the Industrial Revolution and accelerating with new forms of production and consumption in the mid-twentieth century, we are frequently told that it is technological development and innovation that got us into this mess. But technology is also presented as the way out: a new green industrial revolution, expanded nuclear power, or even forms of geoengineering are held up as solutions. In this conversation, Edgerton asks whether a more nuanced history of technology and production might tell us something different about the politics of the climate crisis. And whether it might help us imagine paths beyond fossil-fuelled capitalism altogether.

    46 min

  6. FEB 11

    Past Peak Coal

    On this week's Macrodose, James Meadway looks at how coal use has now passed it's peak since the industrial revolution (0:41), how far short the world is from adapting to the costs of climate change (6:59), and some dodgy claims being made to support the UK government’s rush to roll out data centres (13:07). Subscribe to support the show at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/Macrodose.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Your pledge is a donation supporting free public education; perks are thank-you gifts for your support. Got a question or comment? Reach out to us at ⁠macrodose@planetbproductions.co.uk⁠. To learn more about the work we do at Planet B Productions, head to ⁠planetbproductions.co.uk⁠.

    17 min

  7. FEB 4

    China's Global Reserve Currency Push

    On this week's Macrodose, James Meadway looks at how China is pushing for an end to the dollar’s domination as the global reserve currency (0:35) and how resource constraints in the world economy are pushing governments to build up stockpiles of essentials (10:32). Subscribe to support the show at ⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/Macrodose.⁠⁠⁠⁠ Your pledge is a donation supporting free public education; perks are thank-you gifts for your support. Got a question or comment? Reach out to us at ⁠macrodose@planetbproductions.co.uk⁠. To learn more about the work we do at Planet B Productions, head to ⁠planetbproductions.co.uk⁠.

    16 min
  8. How Wall St. Gambles on Your Future w/ Ann Pettifor

    JAN 29

    How Wall St. Gambles on Your Future w/ Ann Pettifor

    In the latest episode of The Break–Down, host Adrienne Buller is joined by renowned economist Ann Pettifor to discuss her new book, The Global Casino: How Wall Street Gambles with People and Planet. We’ve all heard the refrain. Whenever a politician proposes a policy that might genuinely improve people’s lives — free and fast buses, affordable housing, large-scale renewable energy — the response is immediate: we can’t afford it. Media pundits and technocrats fixate on national debt, balanced budgets and the need not to “spook” the ever-mysterious bond vigilantes. This obsession doesn’t just dominate public debate — it paralyses action on the very challenges we urgently need to confront, from transforming our energy system to properly funding care for the most vulnerable. As this episode makes clear, it’s also profoundly misleading. The Global Casino traces the extraordinary power of Wall Street, revisits Keynes’s legacy, and asks a fundamental question: what is money, really? For Ann Pettifor, money is an extraordinary human invention — one that could be used to reshape our world for the better, rather than to enrich a powerful few. In today’s episode, she explains how — and why it matters now more than ever.

    1h 6m
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About

Your weekly fix of everything economics. Hosted by James Meadway.

Information

  • Creator
    Planet B Productions
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    244
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Planet B Productions
  • Show Website
    Macrodose

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