On this week's MACRODOSE, James Meadway examines the growing political battle over food policy as farmers protest inheritance tax changes (0:46), new forecasts from the Network for Greening the Financial System on the economic damage climate change could inflict globally (7:11), and finally, James tackles a listener question: do we need more than a Green New Deal to revive our struggling economy? (11:24).

NGFS Report: https://www.ngfs.net/sites/default/files/media/2024/11/05/ngfs_scenarios_high-level_overview.pdf

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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. 

Notes and Further Reading

Cedric Durand, Elena Hofferberth & Matthias Schmelzer, "Planning Beyond Growth: The Case for Economic Democracy Within Ecological Limits", Journal of Cleaner Production

Matt Huber, Climate Change as Class War, Verso, 2022

Matt Huber, The Problem with Degrowth, Jacobin

Gabriel Winant, "Exit Right", Dissent Magazine

On this week's MACRODOSE, James Meadway dives into the fallout from the US election, exploring what another four years of Trump could mean for US climate policy and the global economy (1:16), before turning to another major election—this time in Japan—where the ruling conservative coalition lost its majority in a snap election (7:58).

With incumbents failing across the world, what lessons can we learn for the future of economics?

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Today we're publishing a crossover episode with our friends over at the Politics Theory Other podcast. Alex and James discussed what the result means for the global economy, US domestic policy and the wider context of a world in crisis.

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Support PTO, and receive some of the best political insights available anywhere: https://www.patreon.com/poltheoryother

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Last week we celebrated our 100th episode of the show with another live event!

James was joined by Co-Leader of the Green Party, Carla Denyer MP, and economists Faiza Shaheen, and Grace Blakeley, to break down Labour's Autumn Budget.

A massive thank you to everyone who joined us at Space4!

Apologies to anyone awaiting our ELECTION ECONOMICS episode with Thea Riofrancos - we've had to delay that recording but we'll be posting a review of the election results once they are in. As always you'll find that at patreon.com/macrodose. 

Got a question or comment? Reach us at [email protected]

For more about the work we do at Planet B Productions, go to planetbproductions.co.uk

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 a third party, or not voting, 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.

Kate Aronoff is a journalist, Staff Writer at the New Republic and Fellow at The Roosevelt Institute. She is also the author of books including Overheated: How capitalism broke the planet — and how we fight back (2021), and A Planet To Win: Why We Need a Green New Deal (2019). 

Waleed Shahid is a Democratic strategist and movement organiser. He previously served as the Director of Communications for the Justice Democrats, the political initiative that worked to elect “The Squad” and helped to launch The Green New Deal in the US.

NOTES AND FURTHER READING

Kate Aronoff, "Green Industrial Policy’s Unfinished Business: A Publicly Managed Fossil Fuel Wind-Down", Roosevelt Institute

Kate Aronoff, "The IRA Is An Invitation to Organizers", Dissent Magazine

Waleed Shahid, "Democrats, Parties and Palestine: Five stages of political grief", Convergence

Waleed Shahid, "What The Left Can Learn From Jamaal Bowman's Loss", The Nation

On this week's MACRODOSE, James Meadway looks ahead to this afternoon’s Autumn Budget, breaking down what you need to know about Labour's devoutly “pro-growth” agenda and how it all fits into a bigger picture of our changing political and economic landscape (2:20).

Check out our new ELECTION ECONOMICS series, available only for MACRODOSE supporters on Patreon, covering all things political economy ahead of the US election on 5th November. You can find our recent episode with Adam Tooze at patreon.com/Macrodose.

Got a question or comment? Reach us at [email protected].
For more about the work we do at Planet B Productions, go to planetbproductions.co.uk.

FULL EPISODE: patreon.com/Macrodose

Election Economics is back! Over the next few weeks, James will be joined by an array of expert thinkers to cover all things political economy in the run-up to the US Presidential Election on 5th November.

On this week’s show, James sat down with renowned economic historian Adam Tooze to discuss his recent writings on US political economy and foreign policy, how the two are shaped by longer term trends in American and global history, and where the upcoming election might leave us all.

We’ll be posting new episodes of Election Economics weekly. So if you’re enjoying the series, make sure to subscribe to stay updated. As always, you can find that over at patreon.com/Macrodose. 

You can find Adam's work here: https://adamtooze.com

Got a question or comment? Reach us at [email protected]

For more about the work we do at Planet B Productions, go to planetbproductions.co.uk

In a 2023 referendum, the people of Ecuador voted 59% to 41% 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.

Andrés Arauz is an economist and Senior Research Fellow at the Center for Economic Research and Policy in DC. He has an extensive and diverse background in economic policy, research, organising, and politics, serving in several positions in the Ecuadorian government and running as Vice President in the 2023 Ecuadorian elections.

On this week's MACRODOSE, James Meadway dives into growing concerns over the use of surveillance technology by US supermarkets and how it’s being leveraged to drive price gouging (1:14), before turning to a recent BBC report on the UK’s health crisis and it's economic fallout (5:29).

Check out our new ELECTION ECONOMICS series, available only for MACRODOSE supporters on Patreon, covering all things political economy ahead of the US election on 5th November. You can find tomorrow's episode with Adam Tooze at patreon.com/Macrodose. 

Got a question or comment? Reach us at [email protected]

For more about the work we do at Planet B Productions, go to planetbproductions.co.uk

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% of all mammals. Agriculture consumes about 70% of global freshwater, and is responsible for some 80% 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’s 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.

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