The Break Down

Adrienne Buller and Common Wealth
The Break Down

The Break Down is dedicated to examining how capitalism has both shaped, and is being reshaped by, accelerating climate and ecological crisis. Launched in May 2024, we publish long-form interviews, original essays and resources that break down complex questions about how we got here, what the future might look like, and how we can build the power to change it. The Break Down is a not-for-profit project, hosted in partnership with Common Wealth.

  1. Episode 18: Legacies of Empire w/ Kojo Koram

    23. JAN.

    Episode 18: Legacies of Empire w/ Kojo Koram

    In much of the media, the importance of the legacies of empire and colonialism are often dismissed, with the public conversation dominated by the "culture war" elements, from debates about statues to institutions like the National Trust becoming "woke". The implication within much of this discourse is that empire and colonialism are features of the past, and should be left there. In reality, it is far from that simple. Our guest for Episode 18 is legal scholar Kojo Koram, whose first book, Uncommon Wealth: Britain and the Aftermath of Empire, unpacks how the legacies of empire continue to structure every part of our unequal global economy, from international tribunals that protect corporate interests to the systems that leave countries trapped in cycles of debt. Rather than a thing of the past, Kojo expertly breaks down just how present empire really is, and critically, how it has shaped both the roots and impacts of climate and ecological crisis.

    51 min
  2. Episode 17: Capitalism Without Growth? w/ Hans Stegeman

    16. JAN.

    Episode 17: Capitalism Without Growth? w/ Hans Stegeman

    Around the world, politics is incredibly polarised, but if there’s one thing politicians of all major parties can agree on, it’s growth — that their political rivals failed to deliver growth, that we need more of it, and that getting it will solve all of our problems, from inequality and poverty to crumbling public services and stalling investment. But not everyone agrees. For a growing movement of post-growth and degrowth economists, economic growth is neither neutral nor desirable. Instead, many increasingly call for the abandonment of our growth-dependent economic model on the basis that unfettered growth is driving our climate and ecosystems to the brink.  My guest today, Hans Stegeman, is an unusual figure in this community — a banker who wants finance, and the wider economy, to move beyond growth for the sake of the planet. Hans is Chief Economist at Triodos Bank, as well as a leading writer and thinker on post-growth economics. In today’s episode, Hans and Adrienne discuss degrowth, the myth of green finance, and why breaking the rules of mainstream economics is the first step to a sustainable future.

    43 min
  3. Episode 16: Year in Review: A Macrodose x Break Down Crossover

    18.12.2024

    Episode 16: Year in Review: A Macrodose x Break Down Crossover

    A lot has happened in the six months since we launched this project. It feels like every week of 2024 has packed a decade’s worth of news. In just the past few weeks, we've seen crises hit the French and German governments, the fall of the Assad regime in Syria, a day of martial law in South Korea, and, of course, Trump’s reelection to the White House. Amidst all of it, climate has generally taken a political backseat. This is despite 2024 having been a bumper year for the climate as well — whether it’s record breaking investment in energy; the hottest year on record; the highest annual emissions on record; or an alarming number of supposedly “once in a lifetime” storms and heatwaves.  With all of this in mind, progressive and independent media voices covering climate feel more important than ever. We’re therefore delighted to welcome James Meadway, host of the hit weekly economics podcast Macrodose, to the Break Down. For today’s crossover episode, James and Adrienne take a look back at a tumultuous 12 months.  If you're not already familiar with Macrodose, you can find their feed wherever you get your podcasts.  Thank you for joining us this year on The Break Down. We’ll see you in 2025. Further Reading Ned Beauman, Venemous Lumpsucker, Sceptre, 2022 Thomas Ferguson and Servaas Storm, "Oil Prices, Oil Profits, Speculation and Inflation", Institute for New Economic Thinking Michaël Aklin and Matto Mildenberger, "Prisoners of the Wrong Dilemma: Why Distributive Conflict, Not Collective Action, Characterizes the Politics of Climate Change", Global Environmental Politics Isabella Weber et al., "Inflation in times of overlapping emergencies: Systemically significant prices from an input–output perspective", Industrial and Corporate Change Jinshan Hong and Bhuma Shrivastava, "Yes, Everyone Really Is Sick a Lot More Often After Covid", Bloomberg

    43 min
  4. Episode 15: After Overshoot w/ Andreas Malm

    05.12.2024

    Episode 15: After Overshoot w/ Andreas Malm

    In 2024, we’re set to break a major climate threshold for the first time: this will be the first calendar year in which global average temperatures breach the 1.5 degree Celsius threshold enshrined in the Paris Agreement. Importantly, while one year at this temperature doesn’t mean all is lost, it does fire a profound warning shot over our faltering progress on mitigating and adapting to the climate crisis. While every fraction of a degree matters when it comes to the climate, the consensus is clear that above 1.5C the severity of impacts and risk of tipping points like mass coral reef die off or the collapse of the Greenland ice sheet become substantially higher. You might therefore expect this to be front page news. Yet compared with its gravity, it has barely made headlines. If, like us, you’re wondering why — as it turns out, this was always part of the plan. In this episode, Adrienne and Andreas Malm break down the concept of “overshoot”, how it’s tied up with the power of fossil fuels, and the future of climate politics, from ecofascism to geoengineering. Andreas Malm is an associate professor at Lund University, an activist and the author of several books, most recently Overshoot: How The World Surrendered to Climate Breakdown, co-written with Wim Carton.

    43 min
  5. Episode 14: Climate Change as Class War w/ Matt Huber

    14.11.2024

    Episode 14: Climate Change as Class War w/ Matt Huber

    In the wake of the US election, hot takes and autopsies of the Democrats’ fairly spectacular loss are a dime a dozen. Amid the swirl of diagnoses there has also been real fear about what a Trump presidency means for the climate — an issue that felt almost entirely absent from either campaign, despite its significant role in Biden’s policy platform.  How should we understand what just happened? What comes next for climate policy, both in the US and, through its huge influence, in countries around the world. And crucially, in a moment where it feels so politically sidelined, how can we build a broad base of popular support for action on climate? Joining us on The Break Down to work through these questions is Matt Huber, a Professor at Syracuse University and author of “Climate Change as Class War”. If the book’s title is any indication, Matt makes the case that climate and ecological crisis are fundamentally class issues, and that any chance of political success means taking climate out of the world of technocrats and experts, and connecting it to the everyday issues that shape people’s lives.

    1 t 1 min
  6. Episode 13: US Election Special w/ Kate Aronoff and Waleed Shahid

    31.10.2024

    Episode 13: US Election Special w/ Kate Aronoff and Waleed Shahid

    Amid the threat of “Project 2025”, ongoing genocide in Gaza, and a nation-wide battle over reproductive rights, to name a few major issues, the climate crisis has been considerably sidelined in the US election taking place on November 5th. But even if it’s not grabbing headlines, what the United States does — or does not do — on climate has profound implications for the entire world.   So where does climate stand in this election? With Kamala Harris praising both the Green New Deal and her role as a champion of fracking, how should we understand the Democratic position on climate? What is the legacy of the Inflation Reduction Act, and does it even register with voters? What, if anything, is the future of the Green New Deal? And, for the many people who don’t feel represented by either major party, is voting for a third party — or not voting at all — the answer? These are big questions — here to help us answer them are two brilliant guests, journalist Kate Aronoff and Democratic strategist Waleed Shahid. In this special episode, Adrienne, Kate and Waleed unpack the chaos and the stakes of the US election, and what it means for climate action in the US and beyond.

    47 min
  7. Episode 12: Cycles of Extraction: Ecuador, oil and the IMF w/ Andrés Arauz

    24.10.2024

    Episode 12: Cycles of Extraction: Ecuador, oil and the IMF w/ Andrés Arauz

    In a 2023 referendum, the people of Ecuador voted 59 per cent to 41 per cent to stop exploiting oil in the Yasuní region, one of the most biodiverse places on Earth, with more tree species in one single hectare than in all of the landmass of Canada and the US combined. It was a massive break with the global status quo, in a year when fossil fuel use around the world reached record highs and profits soared. However, the referendum was not an overnight success. It built on years of struggle, including the failed Yasuní-ITT initiative undertaken by then-president Rafael Correa in 2007, which asked foreign governments to pay Ecuador not to exploit the oil in this region.  So how did it happen, and what lessons can the rest of the world learn from Ecuador? Here to answer these questions, and many more, is Andrés Arauz, a Senior Fellow at the Center for Economic Policy Research and, formerly, a politician in the Ecuadorian government. In this special episode, Adrienne speaks to Andrés about Ecuador’s pursuit of climate and environmental justice, as well as the barriers facing lower income countries in the context of a highly unequal global economic system. From the International Monetary Fund to the rules of international trade, Andrés unpacks the ways that injustice is built into global capitalism, and lays out a blueprint for a radical alternative.

    35 min
  8. Episode 11: Reaping What We Sow w/ Sonali McDermid

    17.10.2024

    Episode 11: Reaping What We Sow w/ Sonali McDermid

    We have become incredibly good at producing food. In doing so we have transformed our planet. Yet when we go to the supermarket or eat at a restaurant, the supply chains, labour and environmental impacts that went into our food are all but invisible.  Those impacts are huge. Today, humans and livestock make up 96 per cent of all mammals. Agriculture consumes about 70 per cent of global freshwater, and is responsible for some 80 per cent of deforestation. And yet despite producing more than enough food to feed everyone on earth, every day a minimum of 800 million people go hungry, while a fifth of all food produced for human consumption goes to waste. Clearly, something has got to give. Thankfully, here to help us out of the mess is Dr. Sonali McDermid, a climate scientist and Chair of the Department of Environmental Studies at NYU. In this episode, she breaks down how climate and ecological crisis threaten our food systems — and how we can feed the world without wrecking the planet.

    49 min
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Om

The Break Down is dedicated to examining how capitalism has both shaped, and is being reshaped by, accelerating climate and ecological crisis. Launched in May 2024, we publish long-form interviews, original essays and resources that break down complex questions about how we got here, what the future might look like, and how we can build the power to change it. The Break Down is a not-for-profit project, hosted in partnership with Common Wealth.

Informasjon

  • Skaper
    Adrienne Buller and Common Wealth
  • År i produksjon
    2024 - 2025
  • Episoder
    20
  • Vurdering
    Ren
  • Copyright
    © Adrienne Buller and Common Wealth
  • Vis nettsted
    The Break Down

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