The Economics Show

Federal Reserve chair Kevin Warsh took to the stage at Jackson Hole under pressure. Inflation is sticky, bond markets have been wobbling and his insistence on minimal Fed communication has been seen by some to make matters worse. Soumaya speaks to Torsten Slok, chief economist at Apollo Global Management, to discuss what Warsh did (and didn’t say), the changing relationship between the Fed and the Treasury and how the central bank should fight America’s growing fiscal issues.Subscribe to Soumaya's show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.Join Soumaya Keynes on Saturday September 5 at Kenwood House Gardens in London, or online as the FT Weekend paper comes to life. Register now at ft.com/festival and enjoy 10% off with code FTPODCAST.Further reading: Hawkish Kevin Warsh hints Fed will raise rates if inflation does not fall soonWarsh settles some nerves at Jackson HoleScott Bessent’s bond intervention puts US Treasury on collision course with Fed  Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Flo Phillips is the FT’s head of audio.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

The 1873 Gründerkrach, the spectacular stock market crash that followed Germany’s unification, is one of history’s great financial maelstroms. But its most enduring legacy isn’t about money. Host Robin Wigglesworth speaks to Pulitzer Prize-winning author Liaquat Ahamed about how the resulting economic malaise fuelled social division and transformed old prejudices into antisemitic conspiracy. It gave birth to ideas that would resurface with catastrophic consequences decades later in the 20th century.Further reading:1873: The Rothschilds, the First Great Depression, and the Making of the Modern World (2026), by Liaquat Ahamed Gold and Iron: Bismarck, Bleichröder, and the Building of the German Empire (1977), by Fritz SternHosts: Gillian Tett and Robin WigglesworthSenior producers: Michela Tindera and Laurence Knight Executive producer: Manuela SaragosaOriginal music and sound design: Breen TurnerBroadcast engineers: Bianca Wakeman and Petros GioumpasisPodcast development: Laura ClarkeFT global head of audio: Flo Phillips Video editors: Josh Divney and Kristen Kenyon at Podcast DiscoveryLearn more at www.ft.com/tsom or get in touch at thestoryofmoney@ft.com

As wealth becomes increasingly concentrated — and artificial intelligence threatens to shift even more income from workers to investors — has the US tax system become outdated? Stephanie Flanders speaks with Harvard professor Jason Furman, a former economic adviser to President Barack Obama, and Bloomberg reporter Caitlin Reilly about wealth taxes, capital gains, inheritance and whether taxing America's richest is politically or constitutionally possible.Hear more from Trumponomics: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/trumponomics/id1038108799

In the midst of the US-China trade conflict last year, Beijing unsheathed its fiercest weapon. By ramping up restrictions on exports of rare earth metals – crucial elements for high-tech manufacturing – China forced the US to climb down. That show of strength was a wake up call for the US. It has since spent huge sums backing mining companies, penned eye-catching deals and moved to collaborate with allies. But after a little more than a year, how much progress has it made in breaking China’s hold on the rare earths supply chain? Featuring: Abigail Hunter of the SAFE Center for Critical Minerals Strategy; Gracelin Baskaran of the Critical Minerals Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies; Cory Combs of Trivium China; and FT commodities correspondent Camilla Hodgson.Subscribe to Soumaya's show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.Further reading: China and the new era of critical minerals diplomacyHedge funds raise bets against US-backed critical minerals companies China restricts trading with some US rare earth companiesPresented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Original music by Breen Turner. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco. Manuela Saragosa and Topher Forhecz are the executive producers. Flo Phillips is the FT’s head of audio.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

Productivity has been a problem for the past 15 years. In developed countries, weak demand, a lack of competition and a paucity of new ideas have all been blamed. Could AI finally reverse that trend? Soumaya speaks to Stanford economics professor Nick Bloom about why CFOs and CEOs expect AI to supercharge their businesses; how concentrated (or otherwise) the gains might be; and why working from home could be good for labour output… and fertility rates.Subscribe to Soumaya's show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.Further ReadingIs AI productivity growth in the room with us right now?How much value is AI really creating?Hosted by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Original music by Breen Turner. Sound design by Sean McGarrity. Andrew Georgiades is the broadcast engineer. Edwin Lane is the senior producer. Flo Phillips is the FT’s head of audio.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

The US has long been the world’s undisputed leader in AI. Now, that lead looks under threat. Cutting-edge Chinese models such as Kimi K3 are proving almost as capable as leading American models; meanwhile, companies in the US and Europe are turning to cheap, efficient Chinese software from companies including DeepSeek and Z.ai in an attempt to curb high usage costs. As China takes strides – and Beijing considers export controls on its AI models – Soumaya speaks to Kyle Chan, fellow at the Brookings Institution's John L Thornton China Center, to find out more.Subscribe to Soumaya's show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.Further reading: Chinese AI start-up Moonshot launches model challenging Anthropic’s leadCompanies turn to Chinese AI models to cut costsChina weighs tighter export controls on AI models and chipsPresented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner. Edwin Lane is the senior producer. Flo Phillips is the FT’s head of audio.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

When the US and Israel started bombing Iran earlier this year, market watchers eyed the oil markets nervously. But as the price of crude oil climbed, so did the price of another key commodity produced in the Gulf: fertiliser. Five months later, the world’s food system is looking better than feared, but as Adam Hanieh, director of the Middle East Institute at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London explains, the worst may yet be to come. Soumaya also assesses his prognosis with the FT’s agriculture correspondent Susannah Savage.Subscribe to Soumaya's show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

In the western world, richer people tend to be thinner – especially women. But does wealth make people thin, or does being thin make them wealthy? And could the rise of weight-loss drugs such as Mounjaro and Wegovy give people – especially women – greater control over their economic outcomes? Soumaya speaks to Harvard professor Rebecca Diamond, the author of a new working paper that finds female users of GLP-1 drugs are more likely to find jobs and romantic partners. Soumaya also speaks to FT consumer editor (and GLP-1 user) Claer Barrett to discuss the drugs’ effects on consumer habits – and the economy at large.Subscribe to Soumaya's show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.Further reading: The economics of women’s weightDoes the weight-loss revolution show up in the data?The challenges of a weight-loss economyPresented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner. Andrew Georgiades is the broadcast engineer. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Flo Phillips if the FT's head of audio.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

When Iran closed the Strait of Hormuz, economists were panicked. Several warned that a prolonged closure of the chokepoint could trigger a recession. After all, that’s what oil shocks do. But no recession came – even after oil prices jumped to almost twice their pre-war level. Why didn’t the global economy tumble into a recession – and are we out of the woods? Soumaya speaks to Tyler Goodspeed, author of ‘Recession: The Real Reasons Economies Shrink and What to Do About It’. They discuss why the global economy has become more resistant to recessions, why the US has more downturns than the UK and why would-be recession-forecasters might be better off reading horoscopes.UK public finances weathering Iran war, Andy Burnham to be toldIran war could slow global growth to weakest since pandemic, IMF warnsSubscribe to Soumaya's show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner. Broadcast engineering by Andrew Georgiades. Flo Phillips is the FT’s head of audio.Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com