EQUALS: Reimagining Our Economy

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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