Economics & Beyond with Rob Johnson

Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET)

About

Rob Johnson is not your average economist, and this is not your average economics podcast. Every week, Rob talks about economic and social issues with a guest who probably wasn’t on your Econ 101 reading list, from musicians to activists to rebel economists. A podcast of The Institute for New Economic Thinking (INET).

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182 episodes

Rohinton Medhora: One Earth, One Family, One Future

Rohinton Medhora (INET's Board Chair, member of our Commission on Global Economic Transformation, and Distinguished Fellow at CIGI) discusses global social healing, India and the G20 with INET President Rob Johnson.

41m
Nov 02, 2023
Adair Turner: India’s Leadership and Global Challenges of Climate and Finance

If we're going to address environmental catastrophe, we need to support each other on a global scale. Rob Johnson checks in with Adair Turner about his work, and practical solutions to address the climate crisis.

43m
Oct 26, 2023
Angus Deaton: An Immigrant Economist Explores the Land of Inequality

Economics Nobel laureate Sir Angus Deaton discusses his latest book, Economics in America, which takes an autobiographical approach to how the field of economics addresses the most pressing issues of our time—from poverty, retirement, and the minimum wage to the ravages of the nation’s uniquely disastrous health care system.

1h 7m
Oct 19, 2023
Michael Spence: A Plan to Fix a Fractured World

Mike Spence talks with Rob Johnson about his upcoming co-authored book "Permacrisis", India and the G20, and bringing the world together to address our shared challenges. Book: "Permacrisis: A Plan to Fix a Fractured World" https://www.simonandschuster.co.uk/bo... https://www.youtube.com/redirect?event=video_description&redir_token=QUFFLUhqbE5wanpqUVBxRjRYTURVT3ZYVDhQakM3T2pjd3xBQ3Jtc0ttMjRGWERoOHEtbXg5Wjg3WkVfbmxsZHJXb0dlT3Y3U3EwZUJZSm0wMkZpanhCMmhpRjFhTmlZbldaM1paUVQ5TlVBZHEzU0p4N3FwMTBYbkE4WnhGUnkxQ01Gekh4b242VGo0LU04UjQtUXVBblpzYw&q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.simonandschuster.co.uk%2Fbooks%2FPermacrisis%2FGordon-Brown%2F9781398525610&v=HVqFP58i5Lo Do you feel like we’re in a permacrisis? Chances are you feel some anxiety about the state of the world. Gordon Brown, Mohamed A. El-Erian, and Michael Spence certainly did. Three of the most internationally respected and experienced thinkers of our time, these friends found their pandemic Zooms increasingly focused on a cascade of crises: sputtering growth, surging inflation, poor policy responses, an escalating climate emergency, worsening inequality, increasing nationalism, and a decline in global co-operation.

50m
Oct 12, 2023
Alan Blinder: Looking Back and Looking Ahead: 15 Years After the Lehman Collapse

Former Fed vice chair and Princeton University economics professor Alan Blinder takes a close look at what lessons still remain to be learned in the aftermath of the Great Financial Crisis.

58m
Sep 28, 2023
Thomas Ferguson: The Lehman Disaster and Why It Matters Today

On September 15, 2008, Lehman Brothers, a giant investment bank with a storied history, filed for bankruptcy. The shock was profound; world markets melted down.   Over the next few days, one financial behemoth after another, including American International Group (AIG), Washington Mutual, and Wachovia collapsed. The crown jewels of Wall Street – Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs – slid toward the abyss. The Federal Reserve, the Treasury, and other regulators were forced to step in, sometimes in conjunction with famous private investors, to rescue the system. The government in effect nationalized AIG and, after two cliffhanging votes in Congress, it directly injected capital into leading private banks.  Ever since then, debates have raged about why the authorities – the Fed and the Treasury -- allowed Lehman to go broke, after earlier helping to salvage a series of other institutions.  In this Podcast, INET President Robert Johnson and INET Research Director Thomas Ferguson review those dramatic events. They also draw disquieting parallels between the Lehman debacle and more recent episodes of financial deregulation, including recent controversies over crypto and private equity.  

54m
Sep 13, 2023
Christian Madsbjerg: How to Pay Attention in a Turbulent Distracted World

In a world that increasingly promotes distraction and isolation, the ability to pay attention to each other has become ever more important. Philosopher Christian Madsbjerg talks to Rob about his new book, Look https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/712956/look-by-christian-madsbjerg/, which outlines how we can recapture our ability to pay attention.

1h 0m
Jul 18, 2023
Steven Herrmann: The Shaman’s Call and Finding Your Inner Voice

Steven Herrmann, Jungian psychoanalyst and author of the books, William James and C. G. Jung and of William Everson: The Shaman’s Call, among others, engages in a wide-ranging conversation about finding one's calling, the poet William Everson, and the importance of dreams. Referenced during the podcast: Robinson Jeffers on Moral Beauty, the Interconnectedness of the Universe, and the Key to Peace of Mind https://www.themarginalian.org/2019/06/03/robinson-jeffers-sister-mary-james-power/ by Maria Popova

1h 21m
Jun 08, 2023
Simon Johnson: Our Thousand-Year Struggle over Technology and Prosperity

Simon Johnson, the co-author of the just-released book Power and Progress (co-authored with Daron Acemoglu), discusses the book, what new technologies hold in store for us, and how societies might better manage and govern them.

54m
May 16, 2023
Brendan Ballou: Plunder - Private Equity’s Plan to Pillage America

Brendan Ballou, talks to Rob about his forthcoming book, Plunder, about the growing harmful role of private equity in the US. Ballou is a federal prosecutor and served as Special Counsel for Private Equity in the Justice Department's Antitrust Division.

59m
Apr 27, 2023
Naomi Oreskes and Erik Conway: The Big Myth of Market Fundamentalism

Historians Naomi Oreskes (Harvard University) and Erik Conway (Caltech) talk to Rob about their just-released book, The Big Myth: How American Business Taught Us to Loathe Government and Love the Free Market.

48m
Mar 16, 2023
Jim Chanos: The Golden Age of Fraud in Finance

Jim Chanos, the president and founder of Kynikos Associates and well-known investment manager talks to Rob about the post-pandemic financial system, which has become more steeped in a casino culture than it has been in a very long time, and whether China's financial situation serves as an example or as a warning.

1h 2m
Feb 23, 2023
Survival of the Richest

Oxfam's Economic Justice Director, Nabil Ahmed, and Oxfam International's Inequality Policy & Advocacy Lead, Max Lawson, discuss their latest Global Inequality Report, which highlights the accelerating pace at which the world's billionaires have increased their wealth exponentially in recent years. They also discuss the ways in which governments can reverse this trend through taxation.

39m
Feb 16, 2023
The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism

Financial Times columnist Martin Wolf discusses his just-released book, The Crisis of Democratic Capitalism, which explores the reasons why Liberal democracy is threatened by authoritarianism and what needs to be done to resurrect democratic capitalism. Link to the book https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/554951/the-crisis-of-democratic-capitalism-by-martin-wolf/

1h 35m
Feb 07, 2023
Iconik: Beyond ESG

Alex Thaler, the CEO of the software platform Iconik, and Iconik advisor Adam Cummings discuss how the platform helps shareholders create personalized voting profiles for shareholder meetings, allowing them to increase their influence over companies and give management a clearer awareness of investor goals without abrupt and embarrassing conflict.   Iconik website: https://www.iconikapp.com/

54m
Feb 02, 2023
Perry Mehrling: Charles P. Kindleberger and the Dollar System

Boston University economic professor Perry Mehrling discusses his recently released INET book, in collaboration with Cambridge University Press, "Money and Empire," which chronicles the life of Charles P. Kindleberger and how he helped shape the emerging global dollar system. INET Book page: Money and Empire https://www.ineteconomics.org/research-books/money-and-empire

1h 22m
Jan 26, 2023
Time Bomb in Global Finance

A Bank for International Settlements study says 60+ trillion dollars of off-the-books currency swaps could be a profound, systematic risk. Rob Johnson joins Paul Jay on theAnalysis.news.

43m
Jan 12, 2023
The Misguided Forces Driving Conflict Escalation Between the US and China

Yale Law School Fellow Stephen Roach, discusses his just-released book, Accidental Conflict. Roach explores how much of the adversarial nationalist rhetoric in both China and the USA is dangerously misguided and more a reflection of each nation’s fears and vulnerabilities than a credible assessment of the risks they face.

1h 5m
Dec 01, 2022
The New Economics of Debt and Financial Fragility

University of Bonn and Sciences Po economics professor Moritz Schularick talks to Rob about the soon-to-be-released book, Leveraged https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/L/bo154076466.html, which he edited based on papers from an INET-sponsored conference. The book takes a close look at what we have learned about the costs and causes of financial fragility since 2008.

1h 7m
Nov 17, 2022
Rana Foroohar: The Path to Prosperity in a Post-Global World

Financial Times columnist and author Rana Foroohar talks about her new book Homecoming: The Path to Prosperity in a Post-Global World https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/688161/homecoming-by-rana-foroohar/

48m
Oct 20, 2022
Albert Wenger: The World After Capital

We are in the midst of another global transformation, but this time we might have the tools to get it right.

36m
Aug 09, 2022
Frank McCourt: Trading Fear for Hope

Frank McCourt discusses his work to reinspire hope in the American experiment, and to build the framework necessary for that better tomorrow.

23m
Jul 21, 2022
Alan Murray: The Search for the Soul of Business

Corporate responsibility needs to evolve if businesses are going to rebuild trust and provide real value for society.

29m
Jul 14, 2022
Thomas Piketty: Quality of Life for Billions of People is at Stake

World-renowned economist and inequality researcher Thomas Piketty in conversation with Rob Johnson, about Piketty’s just-released book, A Brief History of Equality.

1h 5m
Jun 16, 2022
Gary Gerstle: The Rise and Fall of the Neoliberal Order

Cambridge University's American History professor Gary Gerstle discusses his most recent book, about how the neoliberal order came about, why it is faltering, and the indeterminacy of what comes next.

1h 4m
Jun 09, 2022
Jeffrey Sachs: Peace is the Result of Diplomacy, Never of War

Columbia University's renowned economist Jeffrey Sachs talks about the lessons he has learned from consulting with governments around the world, about how global problems, such as the war in Ukraine, will only be solved via efforts to understand the other side, never through force.

56m
Jun 02, 2022
Chen Long: Creating a Digital Circular Economy for Net Zero

Luohan Academy's Director Chen Long discusses the academy's latest report, on the benefits of creating a "digital circular economy," which would go a long way towards reaching net zero carbon emissions and addressing the climate crisis. Report link: https://www.luohanacademy.com/insights/bc89734b94adf00c

59m
May 19, 2022
Peter Temin: Black and White America Always on Separate Trajectories

MIT economic historian Peter Temin discusses his new INET-CUP book, Never Together: The Economic History of a Segregated America, in which he shows how efforts to bridge the gap between races were always undermined, resulting in constant economic hardship for Black people.

47m
May 05, 2022
Norman Solomon: The Ukraine War and the Madness of Militarism

Author and peace activist Norman Solomon talks about the double standards in US foreign policy that have smoothed the path for Russia's inexcusable invasion of Ukraine. The role of the military-industrial-complex in the US is one of the main reasons we lack a single standard for the use of military force and human rights, says Solomon.

1h 5m
Apr 28, 2022
Joanna Chiu—China vs. West: New World Disorder

The Toronto Star journalist Joanna Chiu discusses her book, China Unbound: A New World Disorder, which argues that we need to go beyond the typical over-simplifications of democratic West versus autocratic China if we hope to engage China in a way that seriously addresses issues such as human rights, climate change, and economic development.

1h 9m
Apr 21, 2022