What if rational economic man existed? How would they view the current state of the planet? How would they solve ‘the economic problem’? If it was to be solved by extreme methods, how would you respond? In this new play by your friendly neighbourhood economists, Pete and Gav, these issues are tackled in a fun and thought-provoking manner. Will you side with Dr Becker, the doctor who has created ‘Homo Economicus’ or will you side with Adam The Clone? Listen to the play and then have a think about some of the questions that have been put online to discuss. Thanks always goes to Nic for his production wizardry and to Kate for being the narrator.

Imagine looking at the world and seeing economics everywhere. Whether it was in family dynamics, discrimination in the workplace, the criminal mind…absolutely anything!!! When first mooted this was an alien idea to many, including many economists but this was the novel approach of the highly influential and award-winning economist Gary Becker. Becker is many economists' favourite economist, at least those economists keenest on market-based, "rational" approaches. Where once economics stayed in its lane, now, post-Becker, Economics goes wherever it chooses, with tools such as cost-benefit analyses applied in all areas of human activity. Nothing is safe from economics thanks to Gary Becker! Whether he deserves our thanks our opprobrium for this is debatable but in this episode of their award winning podcast, Pete and Gav, your friendly neighbourhood economists, explore his life and ideas. So if you are wondering why students should now do an investment appraisal before going to university or why siblings are nice to each other, even when they are horrible to other people, then this podcast is for you! As always there is a quiz, some music and book recommendations and a cocktail you can make to compliment the episode. Technical support comes from ‘Ace of Bass’ Nic.

Have you ever wanted to walk in the footsteps of the great economists? Do you want to breathe the same air they breathed? Do you want to be inspired by the ghosts of Economics past? Well now's your chance. Ye olde London Town is rich with economic history and in this podcast special, your friendly neighbourhood economists, Pete and Gav, take you on a 3 mile journey around Central London. Starting at the British Library and ending at the LSE, you will find out why certain landmarks are important within the world of economics. It should take you just over an hour to walk and on the journey, you can pay homage to the likes of Marx, Keynes and Fawcett. Technical support as always comes from 'The Stitcher' Nic.

One could argue that the modern discipline that is Economics is, to a large degree, a branch of applied mathematics. This is a far cry from its early roots found in the work of more philosophical thinkers such as Adam Smith. How did we end up here? One major reason is the "Marginal Revolution" of the nineteenth century. In this episode of their award winning podcast, Pete and Gav, your friendly neighbourhood economists, explore the life and ideas of William Stanley Jevons, one of the proponents of this less than bloody revolution. He was the man who turned Political Economy into Economics and said in his most famous book ‘Theory of Political Economy‘ - ‘Economics, if it is to be a science at all, must be a mathematical science’. As always, there is a quiz for you to enjoy linked to the Jevon's Number, a poem that distils his life in rhyme and a discussion about whether the weather has any impact on business cycles whatsoever! Technical support as always comes from Nic.

Abraham Lincoln once said “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time.” This quote has been wheeled out to the point of cliche but we believe it epitomises the work of Nobel Prize winning economist Robert E Lucas Jr. The (perhaps reluctant?) leader of the New Classical school of economics, he made his name with his deceptively simple analysis of "rational expectations" and was lauded (at least by some) for putting Keynesianism to the sword after its long period of ascendancy in the post-war era. In this second episode of Season Seven your friendly neighbourhood economists, Pete and Gav explore his life and ideas and explain the various economic phenomena that have Lucas in their name - his wedge, paradox and most famously his "Lucas critique". Ardent fans will be delighted by our usual quiz, which this time is based around the number 50, as this is the fiftieth episode of our show. You will also be the grateful recipients of a poem and more book recommendations than you can shake a stick at! Technical support as always comes from our homeboy Nic.

At the height of the financial crisis in 2008, the late Queen Elizabeth II asked economists at the London School of Economics the obvious question "why did nobody notice it?". Doubtless there was much muttering and shuffling of feet at that point but there was at least one economist who had predicted what would happen (albeit some years earlier), namely Hyman P. Minsky. Before the Credit Crunch Minsky had been largely ignored by mainstream economists but now was his "Minsky Moment". His slogan that "stability created instability" was now taken up with some enthusiasm; his recommendation that it was essential that governments tightly regulated financial markets perhaps less so. In this first episode of Season Seven, your friendly neighbourhood economists, Pete and Gav explore Minksy’s life and ideas and explain what a ‘Minsky Moment’ is. Along the way you will consider whether you are a fox or a hedgehog, reflect on which parent had more influence on your social or political ideas and take part in a quiz which will establish your knowledge of financial innovations. Technical support as always comes from Nic The Ledge!

In Shakespeare’s ‘As You Like It’, the seven ages of man are described by "melancholy Jacques" the professional misery-guts killing the mood in the Forest of Arden. To celebrate the Bard’s birthday, your friendly neighbourhood economists have produced a Shakespearian special that focuses on some economics associated with each of these seven ages. Pete and Gav will be your guides through each stage of life from "mewling and puking" through to "mere oblivion", to see what Economics can teach us. Along the way you will learn about the economy of Shakespeare’s England, how Pete was an imperious King Malcolm in "the Scottish Play" and how teenagers undermine conventional economics. As always there is a challenging quiz and a stirring modern makeover of the seven ages verses in one of Gav's unforgettable poems. Technical support comes from ‘All the world's a stage’ Nic.

Leon Walras was described as ‘the greatest economist’ by Joseph Schumpeter and in his own lifetime he struggled to have his unique voice heard by economists in his native France, let alone those colleagues across the Channel and the Atlantic. So what were the ideas touted by Walras that would force such a claim from Schumpeter? This is what your friendly neighbourhood economists, Pete and Gav explore in our last episode of our sixth season. You will discover how Walras helped kick-start the ‘Marginal Revolution’ and laid out the groundwork for the theory that has captured the attention of many mathematically-minded economists - General Equilibrium Theory. You will also hear some of the worst French spoken in history, a rant by Pete about the state of economics today and another wonderful poem that describes the life and ideas of Walras in rhyming couplets! What more could you want from a podcast? Technical support comes from "Franglais" Nic.

Have you ever found yourself considering the "economic" view of the world with a sense that something vital is missing? This was very much Herman Daly's viewpoint. He wondered why economic models didn’t include where resources came from and where they went afterwards, once used. This surprisingly caused quite a lot of controversy and so did his call for a ‘steady-state’ economy. He also coined the distinctly unfashionable term ‘uneconomic growth’. In this episode, your friendly neighbourhood economists, Pete and Gav, take you on a journey to explore the life and ideas of the founding father of Ecological Economics, Herman Daly and ask why his ideas have never been fully accepted by the economics profession. Along the way, you’ll find out about famous people who suffered from polio, why BP and Shell are not helping as much as they could be with regards sustainability and of course, you’ll hear a wonderful poem about our economist. Technical support as always comes from ‘Mr San Francisco’ Nic.

Irving Fisher was once lauded by fellow economist Joseph Schumpeter as the ‘greatest economist America has ever produced’. This is high praise indeed but one could easily argue that the most recent Economic Nobel Prize laureates owe Fisher a considerable debt for their award. The financial crisis of 2008 spurred a renewed interest in Fisher’s work after what could be seen as a lengthy period of neglect.  In his own life-time he went from being the first "celebrity economist" to seeing his reputation in tatters after some overly optimistic and in hindsight ill-advised comments on what was to turn out to be the eve of the Great Depression.  In this episode, your friendly neighbourhood economists, Pete and Gav, take you on a journey or rediscovery to find out more about this fascinating man and his ideas. We suspect you will find yourself agreeing at least in part with the accolade Schumpeter laid at his feet. Along the way, you’ll find out why it’s important to chew your food for your health and wellbeing, who the mysterious ‘Bonesmen’ are and why AI can’t yet match the poetry skills of our economists. Technical support as always comes from ‘Chatbot’ Nic.

When it comes to influencing the macroeconomy, governments have two big levers at their disposal - monetary policy and fiscal policy. In this new special by Pete and Gav, your friendly neighbourhood economists,  we delve into the second of these, fiscal policy. As always we discuss 10 key questions, which will hopefully give the listener a good overview of what fiscal policy is and provide some insight into some of the key debates surrounding how it is used (and abused). Along the way, you will come across a quiz about fiscal policy including questions about the Chancellor's famous ‘red box’ and other historical minutiae about the UK Treasury. As always you will come away confidently armed with the economic terminology needed to bust through the jargon and engage more fully in economic debate (this is as close as we get to a mission...).  We even finish triumphantly with a poem about Fiscal Policy that is even worse than our Monetary Policy one! Technical support as always comes from Nic. Enjoy.

PS The well-worn maxim that a "week is a long time in politics" has perhaps never been more appropriate when looking at UK politics so please forgive the references to the short-lived Truss/Kwarteng partnership that now seems like a distant memory...

PPS When Gav refers to John Lanchester's book 'Whoops!' he meant to refer to 'How to Speak Money' although both are excellent recommended reads!