This week, Macrodose teams up with our partner show The Break Down for a special crossover episode. James Meadway and Adrienne Buller look back on the whirlwind that was 2024 – a year defined by political upheaval, economic instability, and escalating climate crises.

They revisit the standout stories of the year, from surging infectious diseases and climate-driven inflation to the unraveling of the post-war global order.

Looking ahead to 2025, they explore the big macroeconomic trends we need to be tracking and ask: how do we make sense of these challenges, and what does a hopeful, sustainable path forward look like?

A huge thank you to our Patreon supporters for making this show possible over the past twelve months. From all of us at Macrodose and The Break Down, we wish you a joyful and restful winter break.

For exclusive content, including The Fix—Macrodose's monthly newsletter—and to support the show, visit: https://www.patreon.com/macrodose.

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

To learn more about the work we do at Planet B Productions, head to planetbproductions.co.uk.

On this week's MACRODOSE: James Meadway explores the new Cold War as Trump gears up to escalate US-China trade tensions (1:47) and examines the broader geopolitical and environmental shifts challenging the postwar order (12:04).

AI-Generated Production Networks Paper: https://aipnet.io/paper/

For exclusive content, including The Fix—Macrodose's monthly newsletter—and to support the show, visit: https://www.patreon.com/macrodose.

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

To learn more about the work we do at Planet B Productions, head to planetbproductions.co.uk.

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.

On this week's MACRODOSE, James Meadway discusses the battle to develop climate-resilient potatoes (0:50), a new proposal on revamping Britain’s council farms (7:33) and a brief note on Trump’s new appointments, what can we expect from MAGA 2.0? (11:23).

Abundance Report: https://www.in-abundance.org/latest/new-report-food-systems-in-common

For more content, including The Fix - Macrodose's monthly newsletter - and to support the show, visit: https://www.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 

On this week's MACRODOSE, James Meadway explores the disappointing outcomes of COP29 in Baku, focusing on the economics of financing green transitions in the Global South (0:38), and examines how China’s $2 billion bond sale in Saudi Arabia reflects the rise of a multipolar world (8:16).

For more content, including The Fix - Macrodose's monthly newsletter - and to support the show, visit: https://www.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.

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

For more content and to support the show, visit: https://www.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

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?

For more content and to support the show, visit: https://www.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.

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.

Support Macrodose and receive updates here: https://www.patreon.com/macrodose

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

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

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