EQUALS: Reimagining Our Economy

On International Women’s Day, Max and Nafkote interviewed Bhumika Muchhala, a development and feminist economist, on the possibility of being a feminist in an economic system that thrives on the exploitation of people and nature. This episode explores the importance of the way our global economy is organized in understanding the fight for gender equality. How issues like labour rights, fair taxation and debt cancellation are feminist issues.Bhumika is the Political Economist and Senior Advisor at Third World Network.As always remember to share the podcast on social media and leave a review! You can find us on X at @EQUALShope. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nafkote and Max interview Dr. Faiza Shaheen on how capitalism has failed on its main selling point – work hard and you will succeed. The idea that everyone has equal opportunity in life is just a myth. Your success in life is significantly influenced by where you are born, your social class, race, and education.This episode is a powerful critique of our system - one that perpetuates wealth concentration among the rich while leaving the majority behind.Faiza Shaheen is Professor of Economics at London School of Economics and the author of the book Know Your Place.Remember to share the podcast on social media and leave a review! You can find us on Twitter at @EQUALShope. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Max and Nafkote interview the brilliant Dr. Clara Mattei on the history of austerity and how it was created to maintain “the capital order”. Austerity today the world over remains a favored tool of policymakers. And yet it is far more than just a policy. We examine the roots of austerity and its fundamental role in entrenching capital, and disciplining people to never dare to create alternative economic systems. Dr. Clara Mattei is Associate Professor of Economics at the New School for Social Research. She is the author of The Capital Order: How Economists Invented Austerity and Paved The Way to Fascism. Remember to share the podcast on social media and leave a review! You can find us on Twitter at @EQUALShope. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nafkote and Nabil welcome the pioneering Senegalese development economist Ndongo Samba Sylla onto EQUALS.We talk about the untold vision of former Burkina Faso President Thomas Sankara for economic liberation.The role of the French colonial currency in today’s world.What Modern Monetary Theory can mean to the Global South.And what a Green Bandung Woods – picking up from where liberation leaders left off – can do to rethink the global financial architecture.Ndongo Samba Sylla is a Senegalese development economist. He has previously worked as a technical advisor at the Presidency of the Republic of Senegal, and is Programme manager at the West Africa office of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation. He is the co-author of Africa’s Last Colonial Currency: The CFA Franc Story and author of The Fair Trade Scandal.As always, do leave us a review and follow us on social media. We’re at @EQUALShope on Twitter. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Max and Nafkote interview the world-famous economist Professor Ha Joon Chang to ask what is causing the inequality crisis and what governments can do to stop it.How are traffic lights, neoliberalism, and the Catholic Church in medieval times linked? How can we create a new generation of developmental states that face down corporates and build equal societies? An EQUALS episode not to be missed, with a giant of economic thinking.As ever follow us on Twitter and leave us a review. Tune in to our new season’s previous episodes on Wall Street Consensus by Daniela Gabor and Climate inequality with Oxfam’s Climate Inequality minds.Read Inequality Inc., Oxfam's latest inequality report. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

EQUALS is back. Max and Nabil speak to Dr. Daniela Gabor, who says we’ve entered a new era of the “Wall Street Consensus”. Her macro analysis is lighting up debates around the world about how much power we’re giving up to global private finance - and what exactly comes after neoliberalism.Daniela, Professor of Economics and Macro-Finance at UWE Bristol, breaks down what is driving this new paradigm, how it drives inequality, and what a true alternative - a Big Green State - looks like.As ever follow us on Twitter, leave a review, and tune into past episodes from interviewing Professor Verene Shepherd on reparative justice to PilAto on music as political power.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Introducing a new EQUALS season and our new podcast co-host, Nafkote Dabi, Climate Policy Lead at Oxfam International.Joining Nafkote and Max in this episode are Astrid Nilsson Lewis and Ashfaq Khalfan. Together, they delve into the latest Oxfam report “Climate Equality: A planet for the 99%” How are the climate and inequality crises intertwined?In this episode, we expose the profound disparities stemming from the dual crises of climate breakdown and staggering inequality. We uncover the extent of this twin disaster that is currently gripping the world.As always, we provide a ray of hope by exploring how a global redistribution of incomes could raise everyone to a level of $25 a day, all while effectively curbing carbon emissions. Astrid Nilsson Lewis, Oxfam Sweden's Lead Researcher on Climate, and Ashfaq Khalfan, Oxfam America's Director of Climate Justice, offer their insights on these critical issues.Don't miss out on this important conversation! Share the podcast on your social media platforms and be sure to leave us a review. Connect with us on X @EQUALShope. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A season five wrap-up with just the co-hosts! Nadia is sadly leaving the podcast (and Oxfam). The co-hosts get together to look back on their time together and reflect on over fifty episodes of EQUALS. We’ll be back for season six folks. Inequality’s sky-high. The fight’s on this decade but there’s hope. You’ve asked us to cover issues from the global debt crisis facing developing countries to the new scramble for minerals across the world. Join us then - watch this space!Follow us on @EQUALShope on Twitter and as ever share the podcast with your family and friends.The EQUALS team has launched an Equals Substack newsletter. Please Read our newsletters and subscribe now. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nadia and Nabil interview Nobel Prize Laureate Professor Joseph Stiglitz to ask just how dire the state of inequality is - and what we’ve got to do about it.  Is it realistic to tax the richest at rates above 70%? What’s the connection between Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and IMF-backed austerity in low income countries?An EQUALS episode not to be missed with a giant of economic thinking.Make sure you share the podcast on social media and write a review! We’re at @EQUALShope on Twitter.With Nabil Ahmed and Nadia Daar.The views expressed in episodes do not necessarily represent the views of the podcast and its producers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

How exactly can rich countries address their past wrongs of slavery and colonialism? Well, there’s a plan. Jamaican scholar and UN leader Verene Shepherd outline what Caribbean nations have called for.This EQUALS episode is the second of a two-part special on reparations. In the first episode, we heard the case for reparations – and went back to the 15th century to the moment European men began an era of the slave trade of colonialism.Now we ask “how”. Nabil and Nadia speak to Professor Shepherd about the CARICOM reparations plan, and what it means for issues like debt and aid. And then they ask Zambian scholar Dr. Grieve Chelwa about what this means for Africa.Professor Verene Shepherd is a social historian and the Director of the Centre for Reparation Research at The University of the West Indies. She is the Chair of the United Nations Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and was Vice Chair of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Reparation Commission.Dr. Grieve Chelwa is the Director of Research at the Institute on Race, Power, and Political Economy at The New School, and formerly a Senior Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Economics at the University of Cape Town’s Graduate School of Business. Before that, he was the Inaugural Postdoctoral Fellow at the Centre for African Studies at Harvard University.Make sure you share the podcast on social media and leave a review! We’re at @EQUALShope on Twitter.The views expressed in episodes do not necessarily represent the views of the podcast and its producers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We start on the shores of the Caribbean islands of the 15th century. As white European men landed on its shores, the story of centuries of colonialism and slavery, and today’s global inequality begins.This EQUALS is the first of a two-part special on the case for reparations. Nabil and Nadia speak with the Jamaican scholar Professor Verene Shepherd who with others across the world is demanding repair for those atrocities.Professor Verene Shepherd is a social historian and the Director of the Centre for Reparation Research at The University of the West Indies. She is the Chair the United Nation’s Committee for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and was Vice Chair of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Reparation Commission.Make sure you share the podcast on social media and leave a review! We’re at @EQUALShope on Twitter.The views expressed in episodes do not necessarily represent the views of the podcast and its producers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, Nafkote Dabi, Harjeet Singh, and extinction rebellion activist Teun Ott join Max and Nadia to talk about billionaires, inequality, and climate breakdown.Nafkote and Harjeet joined us directly from the COP last week. Nafkote, Climate Lead at Oxfam describes how billionaires contribute to carbon emissions not only through their lifestyles but also through their investments. Harjeet, Head of Global political strategy at Climate Action Network tells us about Loss and Damage and the capture of the COP by corporates and billionaires. Teun, a young climate activist from Extinction Rebellion tells us about the occupation he took part in blocking the private planes of the super-rich at Schipol airport in the Netherlands.The latest in our EQUALS season on the climate crisis and carbon billionaires. Do tune in!Do leave us a review and follow us on social media. We’re at @EQUALShope on Twitter.The views expressed in episodes do not necessarily represent the views of the podcast and its producers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ann Pettifor joins Max and Nabil on EQUALS. She famously predicted the global financial crash in 2007/8 and she’s worried again. She says it’s not just simply supply and demand that’s driving global food system shocks - and tells the story of how gambling-like practices in global financial markets are affecting all of us.She’s got some big ideas to on reining in capital, and why poorer countries being crushed under mountains of debt need to be able to declare themselves bankrupt.The latest in our EQUALS season on the cost-of-living crisis. Do tune in!Do leave us a review and follow us on social media. We’re at @EQUALShope on Twitter.The views expressed on episodes do not necessarily represent the views of the podcast and its producers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We speak to three people reckoning with today’s massive cost of living crisis – with stories from Malawi, the United Kingdom and South Africa. Max speaks with Nellie Kumambala, a secondary school teacher in Lumbadzi, Malawi, and Walter, a security guard in London, United Kingdom. Nabil speaks with Wafaa Abdurahman, the National Coordinator, Fight Inequality Alliance South Africa.Different countries, same story. People are suffering. They’re ready to act. What are their solutions?Make sure you share the podcast on social media and leave a review! We’re at @EQUALShope on Twitter. The views expressed on episodes do not necessarily represent the views of the podcast and its producers.Women picking fruits: Photo by Brett Sayles Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

EQUALS is back! We're asking: What has *really* been happening in the board rooms of multinational companies? And what's that got to do with today's cost-of-living crisis being felt across the globe?This new season on EQUALS we’ll focus on the crisis, bringing stories and solutions from across the globe.Nabil and Nadia speak with Dr. Lindsay Owens and Irit Tamir. Lindsay is the Executive Director at the Groundwork Collaborative, formerly Economic Policy Advisor to Senator Elizabeth Warren and taught domestic poverty and inequality at Georgetown University. Irit is Oxfam America's Director of Private Sector Department. She is focused on working with companies to ensure that their business practices result in positive social and environmental impacts for vulnerable communities throughout the world.Make sure you share the podcast on social media and leave a review! We’re at @EQUALShope on Twitter. Sound Effect “NewsReportMusic” from PixabayThe views expressed on episodes do not necessarily represent the views of the podcast and its producers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nadia and Nabil welcome former New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark on the EQUALS podcast for a special episode.The IMF, World Bank and the G20 all are meeting this week. The world is facing multiple crises that are converging from the COVID-19 pandemic to the Ukraine crisis, to soaring food and fuel prices.Two years into the pandemic, we ask PM Clark what governments should have done to respond to the pandemic; what still needs to happen; and how to prevent future crises. And could we have ended the pandemic if we had more women leaders today?Helen Clark is a member of Club de Madrid, the world’s largest forum of democratic former Presidents and Prime Ministers, and a Commissioner to its ground-breaking Global Commission on Democracy and Emergencies. She was also appointed by the WHO to co-Chair the Independent Panel for Pandemic Preparedness and Response.Please share the podcast and leave a review! We’re @EQUALShope on Twitter. For more on the PVA, check out @peoplesvaccine Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

It’s a wrap on Season 4 of EQUALS! Liz, Max, Nabil and Nadia reflect on the season, and on 2 years since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. We talk race, inequality, political power, access to justice, and we discuss campaigning for a People’s Vaccine.14 episodes in, which ones stand out for us and why? Make sure you share the podcast on social media and leave a review! We’re at @EQUALShope on Twitter. For more information about the people’s vaccine movement check out @peoplesvaccine.If you’re joining us on EQUALS for the first time, tune in to our earlier interviews – from talking with the award-winning journalist Gary Younge on what we can learn from Martin Luther King Jr to fight inequality, to rebel feminist economist Jayati Ghosh, best-selling author Anand Giridharadas on whether we need billionaires, and the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva on what communism has to do with today’s pandemic.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a few days, a 36-year-old former student leader who wants to fight inequality will become the President of Chile. He says, “If Chile was the cradle of neoliberalism, it will also be its grave”.We find out about what President-elect Gabriel Boric wants to do, and about the movement of young people whose protests have swung the pendulum of power in Chile.We take a trip to 1973 to the birth of neoliberalism – the economic ideology that would go on to spread across the world – under military dictatorship.And we ask if this is part of a wider progressive wave across Latin America.Co-hosts Nadia and Nabil are joined by two amazing guests for this fascinating conversation.Noam Titelman played a vital part in the Chilean youth movement as an activist, was the spokesperson of national university students' confederation (CONFECH), and was a founding member of the Broad Front (Frente Amplio) Chilean political coalition established by former student activists. Currently he's a PhD researcher in the London School of Economics and Political Science.We also speak to Ana Caistor Arendar who is campaigns lead at Progressive International, which unites, organizes, and mobilizes progressive forces around the world. She was formerly a journalist in Latin America before going on to become an expert, activist and advocate on inequality on the continent and worldwide. Make sure you share the podcast on social media and leave a review! We’re at @EQUALShope on Twitter. For more information about the people’s vaccine movement check out @peoplesvaccine.If you’re joining us on EQUALS for the first time, tune in to our earlier interviews – from talking with the award-winning journalist Gary Younge on what we can learn from Martin Luther King Jr to fight inequality, to rebel feminist economist Jayati Ghosh, best-selling author Anand Giridharadas on whether we need billionaires, and the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva on what communism has to do with today’s pandemic.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Max and Nabil welcome former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown on the Oxfam EQUALS podcast for an incisive interview.The pandemic is far from over. Vaccine inequality rages on. We ask Gordon what he would do if he was leading the G20 today – and how to rally the world’s leaders to act, as he did in response to the global financial crash.Gordon Brown is the World Health Organization’s Ambassador for Global Health Financing, and a member of Club de Madrid forum – the world’s largest forum of democratic former Presidents and Prime Ministers.Make sure you share the podcast on social media and leave a review! We’re at @EQUALShope on Twitter. For more information about the people’s vaccine movement check out @peoplesvaccine.If you’re joining us on EQUALS for the first time, tune in to our earlier interviews – from talking with the award-winning journalist Gary Younge on what we can learn from Martin Luther King Jr to fight inequality, to rebel feminist economist Jayati Ghosh, best-selling author Anand Giridharadas on whether we need billionaires, and the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva on what communism has to do with today’s pandemic.Photo Credit: Christian Aid/www.alexbakerphotography.com Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We are witnessing a COVID-19 driven explosion in inequality. This week, Oxfam released its annual report, Inequality Kills, showing that the pandemic is killing at least 1 person every 4 seconds, while the ten richest men have doubled their fortunes during this same pandemic. This is the biggest single increase in billionaire wealth in recorded history. Max and Nadia talk to Branko Milanovic, world-renowned authority on inequality, to find out why.Branko is a Senior Scholar at City University of New York’s Stone Center on Socio-economic Inequality and Centennial Professor at London School of Economics' International Inequalities Institute (III). He was the Lead Economist in the World Bank’s Research Department for almost 20 years, before leaving to write his book on global income inequality, Worlds Apart (2005). He has since authored three more award-winning books – The Haves and the Have-nots (2011), Global Inequality (2016) and Capitalism, Alone  (2019).Please do share the episode on your social media.If you’re joining us on EQUALS for the first time, tune in to our earlier interviews – from talking with the award-winning journalist Gary Younge on what we can learn from Martin Luther King Jr to fight inequality, to best-selling author Anand Giridharadas on whether we need billionaires, Zambian music artist PilAto on the power of music, thinker Ece Temelkuran on beating fascism, climate activist Hindou Ibrahim on nature, and the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva on what comes after the pandemic. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.