The Economic and Political History Podcast

Javier Mejia
  • 5.0 (1)
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  • 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. 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

    58 min

  2. 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

    42 min

  3. 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

    51 min

  4. 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

    1h 1m

  5. 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/

    1h 14m

  6. 12/27/2025

    How the Maya Thrived for Millennia | Lisa J. Lucero with Javier Mejia

    Interview with Lisa J. Lucero, author of 'Maya Wisdom and the Survival of Our Planet' Maya Wisdom and the Survival of Our Planet presents the Maya way of seeing and interacting with the world, which embodies lessons and provides solutions to ensure a sustainable future of Earth. This book is based on over three decades of working with Maya associates in Belize, Central America, to study the ancestral Maya as an archaeologist, and it approaches the future through the lens of the Maya nonanthropocentric inclusive worldview. Ancestral Maya people worked with, not against, nature. Nor did they privilege humans at the expense of nonhumans. Their engagement with the tropical environment was expressed in a landscape of green cities, farmsteads, gardens, fields, forests, and sacred places. The Maya built green cities that drew people in through royal reservoirs, a system that lasted over 1,000 years in the southern lowlands (c. 300 bce to 900 ce). After taking the reader on a journey through Maya history, their tropical world, and how they lived in it and engaged with nonhumans through ceremonies, the book concludes with concrete solutions that bridge the past and present for the future. Conditions are not going to change, but people can. Maya resilience is a testament for how to move forward, and this book provides a roadmap of how to do so. ------- 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/

    1h 5m

  7. 11/28/2025

    The Collapse of Antiquity | Walter Scheidel with Javier Mejia

    Interview with Walter Scheidel, author of 'What is Ancient History?'It’s easy to think that ancient history is, well, ancient history—obsolete, irrelevant, unjustifiably focused on Greece and Rome, and at risk of extinction. In What Is Ancient History?, Walter Scheidel presents a compelling case for a new kind of ancient history—a global history that captures antiquity’s pivotal role as a decisive phase in human development, one that provided the shared foundation of our world and continues to shape our lives today. ------- 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/

    51 min

  8. 11/01/2025

    Political Conflict in the History of France | Julia Cagé with Javier Mejia

    Interview with Julia Cagé, co-author with Thomas Piketty of 'A History of Political Conflict: Elections and Social Inequalities in France, 1789–2022' Who votes for whom and why? Cagé and Piketty comb through more than two hundred years of data from some 36,000 French municipalities to show how inequality has shaped the formation of political coalitions, with stark consequences for economic and political development.Cagé and Piketty argue that today’s tripartite division of French political life—a competition among a bourgeois central bloc and distinct factions of the urban and rural working classes—has a precise, and revealing, historical analogue. To understand contemporary tensions, we can look to the end of the nineteenth century and the beginning of the twentieth, another period when runaway economic inequality produced such a three-way rivalry. Cagé and Piketty show that tripartition has always been unstable, whereas the binary political conflict enabled by relative equality and typical of most of the twentieth century facilitated social and economic progress. Comparing these configurations over time helps us envisage possible trajectories for the French political system in the coming decades.With its many changes in governmental structure since 1789, France is an ideal laboratory for studying the vicissitudes of modern political life in general, and electoral democracy in particular. Using France as a model, A History of Political Conflict offers a powerful framework for understanding the complex project of building and sustaining democratic majorities. ------- 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

    50 min
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About

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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