The Economic and Political History Podcast

Javier Mejia
  • 5.0 (2)
  • Books
  • Updated Semiweekly

The Economic and Political History Podcast delves into the intersection of economics, political science, and history. Join us as we introduce you to the world's most influential economists, political scientists, and historians, engaging in informal and insightful conversations about their careers and latest work. Our aim is to bring their expertise to a wider audience through new media, exploring cutting-edge ideas and the implications of their latest books. Tune in to stay informed and inspired by the forefront of academic thought on the key issues shaping our world today.

  1. 4d ago

    Did World War II Actually Make the U.S. Economy More Productive? | Alexander J. Field with Javier Mejia

    Did World War II really transform the United States into a more productive economy? In this episode of the Economic and Political History Podcast, I speak with Alexander J. Field, the Michel and Mary Orradre Professor of Economics at Santa Clara University and author of The Economic Consequences of U.S. Mobilization for the Second World War, published by Yale University Press. The conventional story is familiar: World War II mobilized American industry, generated extraordinary increases in production, created new technologies, and laid the foundations for the postwar economic boom. Alexander Field challenges an important part of that story. His research finds that U.S. manufacturing productivity actually declined during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, total factor productivity fell substantially, and the evidence suggests that much of the celebrated wartime learning did not translate into lasting increases in productive capacity after the war. Why? One answer is surprisingly simple: the American economy was suddenly forced to produce things it had very little experience producing. Factories shifted from familiar civilian products to aircraft, tanks, ships, weapons, and other military goods. The transition itself was enormously disruptive. We discuss the difference between production and productivity, why the distinction matters, and why the fact that the U.S. still had substantial unused economic capacity in 1941 changes how we should understand wartime mobilization. We also explore some extraordinary episodes from the war economy: • The productivity boom of the 1930s—and why the Depression decade may have been one of America's most technologically progressive periods• Ford's transition from the Model T to the Model A as an analogy for wartime production• The catastrophic loss of natural rubber after the fall of Singapore• The enormous U.S. synthetic rubber program—and the political fight over alcohol versus petroleum as its feedstock• German U-boats and the disruption of the Gulf-to-East-Coast petroleum supply chain• The Big Inch and Little Big Inch pipelines• Why some sectors that were starved of labor and capital nevertheless became more productive• “Learning by doing without”• Military logistics and the origins of linear programming• Kantorovich, Koopmans, and George Dantzig• Why the conventional “production miracle” narrative has proved so durable• Wartime business advertising and the changing claims managers made about productivity• What the history of World War II can teach us about economic history itself Field's book is ultimately a challenge to a very familiar idea: that war mobilization necessarily strengthens an economy's long-run productive capacity. The question is not whether American production during World War II was extraordinary—it unquestionably was. The question is what that extraordinary production actually did to productivity and long-run economic potential. The Economic and Political History Podcast explores the intersection of economics, politics, institutions, and history. I’m Javier Mejia, a lecturer in political science at Stanford University. If you enjoyed this conversation, subscribe to the podcast, leave a comment, and share the episode with someone interested in economic history, World War II, productivity, or the history of American capitalism. -------------------------------- Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/JavierMejiaC Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/javier_mejia_c/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/javier-mejia-cubillos-64504562/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3WqEZXavqg3qstoLKwtllF?si=589f4216d414448f Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-economic-and-political-history-podcast/id1708348817

  2. Sep 5

    Why Golden Ages Rise—and Why They Always End | Johan Norberg with Javier Mejia

    Why do some societies experience extraordinary periods of prosperity, creativity, and human flourishing—and why do those golden ages eventually come to an end?In this episode of the Economic and Political History Podcast, Javier Mejia speaks with Johan Norberg, Senior Fellow at the Cato Institute and author of Peak Human: What We Can Learn from the Rise and Fall of Golden Ages.Norberg examines seven historical golden ages and asks what they have in common. The conversation moves from the ancient Mediterranean to Abbasid Baghdad, Song China, the Italian and Dutch republics, and Britain’s Industrial Revolution.Along the way, we discuss a central puzzle of history: why do societies that become prosperous through innovation, openness, experimentation, and economic freedom so often develop institutions and political attitudes that eventually undermine those very conditions?We discuss:• What exactly makes a historical period a “golden age”—and golden for whom?• The “Great Status Quo Filter” and why successful elites can become hostile to the innovations that made them successful• Athens, Sparta, and Rome• The intellectual and economic achievements of the Abbasid Golden Age—and its decline• Song China and its remarkable approach to technology, commerce, property rights, and urbanization• Why the Ming dynasty reversed many of those developments• Why golden ages repeatedly emerged in fragmented Europe• The Italian and Dutch republics and why they eventually lost their leadership• Britain’s Industrial Revolution and the importance of “savants and fabricants”—thinkers and tinkerers• Whether Britain’s empire and colonialism caused its rise, or whether British power was itself a consequence of economic development• The role of slavery, empire, coercion, trade, and innovation in the history of modern wealth• The warning signs that may indicate the end of our own golden age• Whether the golden age of global liberalism has already come to an endNorberg's book asks us to look at history not simply as a succession of technological breakthroughs or political regimes, but as a recurring struggle between the forces that encourage experimentation and those that seek to preserve the status quo.The final question is perhaps the most consequential: if historians look back at our own era two centuries from now, what will they identify as the moment when we chose the “Spartan path”?Johan Norberg is the author of Peak Human: What We Can Learn from the Rise and Fall of Golden Ages.Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/JavierMejiaCInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/javier_mejia_c/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/javier-mejia-cubillos-64504562/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3WqEZXavqg3qstoLKwtllF?si=589f4216d414448fApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-economic-and-political-history-podcast/id1708348817

  3. Jul 24

    Can the U.S. Dollar Survive? The History of Global Currencies | Barry Eichengreen with Javier Mejia

    Why do some currencies become global—and why do they eventually disappear?In this episode of the Economic & Political History Podcast, Stanford political scientist Javier Mejia speaks with renowned economic historian Barry Eichengreen about more than 2,500 years of monetary history.From the first coins of Ancient Lydia and Classical Athens to the Spanish dollar, the Dutch guilder, the British pound, the U.S. dollar, China's renminbi, cryptocurrencies, and central bank digital currencies, this conversation explores the forces that determine which currencies become global.They discuss:• Why international currencies almost always emerge from politically stable states• The surprising history of Ancient Greece, Byzantium, Florence, Amsterdam, and London• Why the dollar has remained dominant despite repeated predictions of its decline• Whether China can challenge the dollar• Bitcoin, stablecoins, CBDCs, and the future of money• What history teaches us about the next international monetary orderBarry Eichengreen is the George C. Pardee and Helen N. Pardee Distinguished Professor of Economics and Political Science at UC Berkeley and one of the world's leading historians of international finance.If you enjoy long-form conversations about economics, political economy, history, and public policy, subscribe for future episodes.Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/JavierMejiaCInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/javier_mejia_c/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/javier-mejia-cubillos-64504562/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3WqEZXavqg3qstoLKwtllF?si=589f4216d414448fApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-economic-and-political-history-podcast/id1708348817

  4. Jun 27

    The Ideas behind American Slavery | John Harpham and Javier Mejia

    How did one of history's greatest moral crimes come to be seen as legitimate? In this episode, I speak with historian John Samuel Harpham about his remarkable new book The Intellectual Origins of American Slavery. Rather than focusing on plantations or nineteenth-century defenses of slavery, Harpham takes us back to sixteenth- and seventeenth-century England to uncover the ideas that made slavery thinkable long before it became central to the American economy. We discuss: • Why an intellectual history of slavery matters• Roman law and the rejection of Aristotle's theory of natural slavery• The paradox of English liberty and the rise of the slave trade• How seventeenth-century English writers viewed Africa• Whether racism preceded slavery—or developed alongside it• What this history tells us about moral blind spots in every society Whether you're interested in American history, political thought, intellectual history, or the history of ideas, this conversation offers a fresh perspective on one of the defining institutions of the modern world. John Samuel Harpham is the author of The Intellectual Origins of American Slavery: English Ideas in the Early Modern Atlantic World. If you enjoy conversations on history, economics, political theory, and the history of ideas, consider subscribing to the channel. ------ Javier Mejia is a Stanford University lecturer who specializes in the intersection of social networks and economic history. His research interests also include entrepreneurship and political economy, with a particular focus on Latin America and the Middle East. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Los Andes University. Mejia has previously been a Postdoctoral Associate and Lecturer at New York University-Abu Dhabi and a Visiting Scholar at the University of Bordeaux. He is also a frequent contributor to various news outlets, currently serving as an op-ed columnist for Forbes Magazine. Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/JavierMejiaC Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/javier_mejia_c/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/javier-mejia-cubillos-64504562/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3WqEZXavqg3qstoLKwtllF?si=589f4216d414448f Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-economic-and-political-history-podcast/id1708348817

  5. Apr 19

    What Is a Revolution? | Dan Edelstein and Javier Mejia on the History of Revolutionary Thought

    Interview with Dan Edelstein, author of 'The Revolution to Come: A History of an Idea from Thucydides to Lenin' (Princeton University Press) Rather than telling the story of revolutions themselves, Edelstein traces the evolution of the idea of revolution—from ancient fears of political instability to the modern belief in revolution as a force for progress. We explore how Enlightenment thinkers transformed the meaning of revolution, why modern revolutions often turn against pluralism, and how these ideas shaped events like the French and Bolshevik Revolutions. Topics include: -What is a revolution (and how it differs from revolt or rebellion) -Ancient vs modern understandings of political change -The Enlightenment and the idea of progress -The French Revolution as a turning point -Why revolutions often become anti-pluralist -The “Red Leviathan” and revolutionary authority -The legacy of revolutionary thinking today --------Follow The Civic Agora onYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@UCK4HRxXhgWCeELg8XV6keFQ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/4DFAAkrAb9ySguVq7X4IQSGoogle Podcasts: https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy9lOGUzOGU0MC9wb2RjYXN0L3JzcwAmazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/d0476371-ace7-4616-a111-cfd3c2241a82/the-civic-agoraApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-civic-agora/id1708437088------ Javier Mejia is a Stanford University lecturer who specializes in the intersection of social networks and economic history. His research interests also include entrepreneurship and political economy, with a particular focus on Latin America and the Middle East. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Los Andes University. Mejia has previously been a Postdoctoral Associate and Lecturer at New York University-Abu Dhabi and a Visiting Scholar at the University of Bordeaux. He is also a frequent contributor to various news outlets, currently serving as an op-ed columnist for Forbes Magazine. Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/JavierMejiaC Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/javier_mejia_c/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/javier-mejia-cubillos-64504562/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3WqEZXavqg3qstoLKwtllF?si=589f4216d414448f Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-economic-and-political-history-podcast/id1708348817

  6. Mar 21

    Is More Choice Really Freedom? | Sophia Rosenfeld with Javier Mejia

    Interview with Sophia Rosenfeld, author of 'The Age of Choice: A History of Freedom in Modern Life' (Princeton University Press) What does it mean to be free? Today we tend to think freedom means having more choices—more products to buy, more careers to pursue, more partners to date, more opinions to hold. But this idea is surprisingly new. In this episode, historian Sophia Rosenfeld joins the podcast to discuss her book The Age of Choice, which traces how modern societies came to equate freedom with individual choice. We explore how everyday practices—shopping, reading, dating, and voting—helped create the modern idea of the “choosing self.” Along the way, we discuss the promises and limits of choice, the role of women in the history of modern freedom, and why the ideal of choice may now be reaching its limits. Topics include:- How consumer culture helped create the idea of personal choice- The history of choosing beliefs and opinions- Why romantic relationships reveal the limits of freedom-as-choice- How voting became a form of individual selection- The role of psychology and economics in defining the “rational chooser”- Whether modern societies have too much choiceThis conversation explores one of the most powerful ideas shaping modern life: that freedom means choosing for yourself. ------Javier Mejia is a Stanford University lecturer who specializes in the intersection of social networks and economic history. His research interests also include entrepreneurship and political economy, with a particular focus on Latin America and the Middle East. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Los Andes University. Mejia has previously been a Postdoctoral Associate and Lecturer at New York University-Abu Dhabi and a Visiting Scholar at the University of Bordeaux. He is also a frequent contributor to various news outlets, currently serving as an op-ed columnist for Forbes Magazine. Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/JavierMejiaC Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/javier_mejia_c/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/javier-mejia-cubillos-64504562/ Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3WqEZXavqg3qstoLKwtllF?si=589f4216d414448f Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-economic-and-political-history-podcast/id1708348817

  7. Feb 22

    How Capitalism Began — A Global History | Sven Beckert with Javier Mejia

    Interview with Sven Beckert, author of 'Capitalism: A Global History' (Penguin Random House)Rather than treating capitalism as a natural or inevitable system, Beckert traces its emergence over the past millennium—showing how capitalism arose unevenly, through global connections, state power, coercion, and conflict.We discuss capitalism as a historical rupture, the idea of “islands of capital,” the role of merchants before capitalism fully existed, the necessity of the state, Europe’s divergence without Eurocentrism, the relationship between capitalism and the Industrial Revolution, resistance and rebellion, and what history can tell us about capitalism’s future.This conversation is for anyone interested in political economy, economic history, globalization, and the long-run forces that shaped the modern world.Topics covered:– What makes capitalism historically unique– Why capitalism emerged globally, not nationally– The role of the state in capitalist development– Capitalism and the Industrial Revolution– Crisis, reconstruction, and survival– Is capitalism inevitable—or transformable?Javier Mejia is a Stanford University lecturer who specializes in the intersection of social networks and economic history. His research interests also include entrepreneurship and political economy, with a particular focus on Latin America and the Middle East. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Los Andes University. Mejia has previously been a Postdoctoral Associate and Lecturer at New York University-Abu Dhabi and a Visiting Scholar at the University of Bordeaux. He is also a frequent contributor to various news outlets, currently serving as an op-ed columnist for Forbes Magazine.Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/JavierMejiaCInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/javier_mejia_c/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/javier-mejia-cubillos-64504562/Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/3WqEZXavqg3qstoLKwtllF?si=589f4216d414448fApple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-economic-and-political-history-podcast/id1708348817

  8. Jan 24

    India's Moral Economy | Jason Jackson with Javier Mejia

    Interview with Jason Jackson, author of 'Traders, Speculators, and Captains of Industry' (Harvard University Press)We discuss:• Why standard explanations of Indian economic policy fall short• The rise of Indian economic nationalism and its internal paradoxes• How technology, joint ventures, and industrial policy became moral questions• The expulsion of Coca-Cola and what it symbolized• “Cowboy multinationals,” “one-night stands,” and capitalist legitimacy• What India reveals about capitalism as a moral and political system• Why these debates matter even more in today’s fractured global economyThis conversation is not just about India—it’s about how states everywhere decide who deserves to be a capitalist. ------- Javier Mejia is a Stanford University lecturer who specializes in the intersection of social networks and economic history. His research interests also include entrepreneurship and political economy, with a particular focus on Latin America and the Middle East. He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Los Andes University. Mejia has previously been a Postdoctoral Associate and Lecturer at New York University-Abu Dhabi and a Visiting Scholar at the University of Bordeaux. He is also a frequent contributor to various news outlets, currently serving as an op-ed columnist for Forbes Magazine. Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/JavierMejiaC Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/javier_mejia_c/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/javier-mejia-cubillos-64504562/

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The Economic and Political History Podcast delves into the intersection of economics, political science, and history. Join us as we introduce you to the world's most influential economists, political scientists, and historians, engaging in informal and insightful conversations about their careers and latest work. Our aim is to bring their expertise to a wider audience through new media, exploring cutting-edge ideas and the implications of their latest books. Tune in to stay informed and inspired by the forefront of academic thought on the key issues shaping our world today.

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