EQUALS: Reimagining Our Economy

Imagine a private company creating its own jurisdiction in a sovereign country. It sets up its own laws, currency, and tax, labour and environmental regulations regardless of their compatibility with national laws. And when the democratically elected government steps in, the company sues it in little-known ‘corporate courts’ for billions of dollars citing its projected financial loss. Listen to our dystopian story of how the private sector is “buying up sovereignty” and the shocking abuses of power now happening.Nabil and Max interview the amazing Ana Arendar on corporate owned-and-run cities in Honduras and the Caribbean Islands and how countries, both in Global North and Global South, are fighting back.Ana is the Campaign Strategist for Progressive International.Remember to share the podcast and leave a review! You can find us on X at @EQUALShope and on LinkedIn.

In this episode of EQUALS, we talk about how wealth and power defy gravity by making water flow… upwards!Max and Nafkote interview Sushmita Mandal about water inequality and how climate breakdown is already affecting water access for people around the world.Sushmita shares amazing stories about a young boy in India (who observed water flowing upwards from his community to posh apartment buildings), ecosystems on the Mekong River and a dam threatening fishers’ livelihoods.Sushmita Mandal is a Senior Research Fellow for Water, Food and Ecosystems at Stockholm’s Environmental Institute in Asia.As always, please leave us a review and connect us on X and on LinkedIn.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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. 

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.