Weekly Economics Podcast

As the Guardian's US correspondent, Gary Younge documented America’s social and economic challenges, the role of race in the country’s politics, and the deadly consequences of US gun laws. Now the Guardian’s editor-at-large, Gary took an unusual approach to covering the 2016 presidential election, reporting from one small town in Indiana, called Muncie, nicknamed ‘Middletown, America’. In this week's podcast, Ayeisha Thomas-Smith asks Gary about Middletown today. Can it help explain a US election result that few people predicted? And do we have ‘Middletowns’ in the UK that can help us understand our own political upheaval? Enjoying the show? Tweet us your comments and questions @NEF! Produced by James Shield and Huw Jordan. Music: Podington Bear and Jahzzar, licenced under Creative Commons. The award-winning Weekly Economics Podcast is brought to you by the New Economics Foundation – the UK's only people powered think tank. Find out more at www.neweconomics.org

Technology is transforming the world of money. Or at least that’s what the Bitcoin junkies would have you believe. They say digital currencies have arrived and are about to revolutionise the way we buy things. But recent downturns in their prices have led some to wonder whether digital currencies have fuelled a dangerous speculative bubble that needs to be curbed by regulators. Is the Bitcoin boom over? Or was it just the start for digital currencies? This week, Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is joined by Carl Miller from Demos, Fran Boait from Positive Money, and Duncan McCann from NEF. Enjoying the show? Tweet us your comments and questions @NEF! Produced by James Shield and Huw Jordan. Music: A Life in Pictures by David Hilowitz, licenced under Creative Commons. The award-winning Weekly Economics Podcast is brought to you by the New Economics Foundation – the UK's only people powered think tank. Find out more at www.neweconomics.org

There's been a panic in the stock markets in recent weeks after the Dow Jones plunged more than 1000 points on a single Monday in the first week of February. When the stock market plunges should we all be worried? Or does it only affect those wealthy enough to be trading? This week, Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is joined by Frank van Lerven, NEF economist, and Anna Isaac, economics correspondent at The Telegraph. Enjoying the show? Tweet us your comments and questions @NEF! Produced by James Shield and Huw Jordan. The award-winning Weekly Economics Podcast is brought to you by the New Economics Foundation – the UK's only people powered think tank. Find out more at www.neweconomics.org

Brexit dominates the news agenda. But with all the talk of the single market, impact assessments and trade deals, it sometimes feels as if this debate is only happening in the comment pages of newspapers, or the corridors of Westminster. What happened to the people? The Weekly Economics Podcast is back with a special episode: a discussion we recorded live in London at the end of 2017, between political theorist Maurice Glasman, activist Ruth Ibegbuna, and the academic Rob Ford. The question journalist Mary Riddell put to them was: where are the people in the Brexit debate? Plus: Ayeisha Thomas-Smith gives an update on CabFair, our plan to create an ethical alternative to Uber. Enjoying the show? Tweet us your comments and questions @NEF! Produced by James Shield and Huw Jordan. Music this week is by Simon Mathewson and Podington Bear. The award-winning Weekly Economics Podcast is brought to you by the New Economics Foundation – the UK's only people powered think tank. Find out more at www.neweconomics.or

Chancellor Philip Hammond got out his red box out again last week, to let us know how the country's finances are – or aren't – holding up, and what the Government's going to be doing with its money this year. The headlines were mixed, so what should our take-away be? Will the Chancellor's proposals be enough to make our economy "fit for the future"? And with Brexit looming, is the Government doing enough to deal with the country's economic problems? This week, David Powell is joined by Kate Bell, Head of Economic and Social Affairs at the Trades Union Congress, and Miatta Fahnbulleh, the new CEO of the New Economics Foundation. Enjoying the show? Tweet us your comments and questions @NEF! Produced by James Shield and Huw Jordan. The award-winning Weekly Economics Podcast is brought to you by the New Economics Foundation – the UK's only people powered think tank. Find out more at www.neweconomics.org

Pro-Brexit campaigners have argued leaving the EU means Britain can "take control" of its fisheries. But what does Brexit really mean for fishing communities, and for the future of our fish stocks? This week, Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is joined by Fernanda Balata, Senior Programme Lead for Coastal Economies at the New Economics Foundation, Griffin Carpenter, NEF Senior Researcher, and James Wilson, a mussel farmer in Bangor, North Wales. We also ask NEF Principal Director for Policy and Advocacy Andrew Pendleton for his predictions and expectations of this week's budget. Enjoying the show? Tweet us your comments and questions @NEF! Produced by James Shield and Huw Jordan. This week's music: Dolphin by Candlegravity http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Candlegravity/Dolphin/ Fishing by David Szesztay http://freemusicarchive.org/music/David_Szesztay/Acoustic_Guitar/Fishing Lilywhite by Podington Bear http://freemusicarchive.org/music/Podington_Bear/Background/Lilywhite The award-winning Weekly Economics Podcast i

The single market. The customs union. Making a deal with the EU or leaving on WTO terms. There’s a lot of jargon to contend with when we’re discussing the economics of Brexit. Sometimes it feels like we get so caught up in pretending we know what it all means that we forget to talk about the impact it’s going to have on people’s everyday lives. When we leave the EU, will some people lose their jobs? Will the things we buy become more expensive? Will businesses do better or worse under new trading rules? This week, Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is joined by Annie Quick, Subject Lead for Inequality at the New Economics Foundation and Sam Lowe, who leads on trade and Brexit at Friends of the Earth. — Enjoying the show? Tweet us your comments and questions @NEF! — Produced by James Shield and Huw Jordan. The award-winning Weekly Economics Podcast is brought to you by the New Economics Foundation – the UK's only people powered think tank. Find out more at www.neweconomics.org

Politicians and economists have increasingly been talking about the risks of a future where robots make all of our jobs obsolete. But is that future already upon us? And in the meantime, are big companies using technology to create 21st century workhouses with bad conditions and even worse pay? In this episode from the archives, Stefan Baskerville, NEF’s Principal Director for Unions and Business, joins podcast regulars Alice Martin and Annie Quick to tackle the big issues – and the threat of robots revolting… — Enjoying the show? Tweet us your comments and questions @NEF! To find out more about how we're working to build a fairer alternative to Uber and to support our Crowdfunder, click here: http://bit.ly/2y9DISw — Produced by James Shield and Huw Jordan. The award-winning Weekly Economics Podcast is brought to you by the New Economics Foundation – the UK's only people powered think tank. Find out more at www.neweconomics.org

Last month, Transport for London announced it was withdrawing ride-hailing firm Uber's license to operate in the capital. Despite complaints over passenger safety and poor treatment of drivers, many Londoners came to Uber's defence, valuing its convenience. But what if we could build something better than Uber – something that is just as convenient and competitive on price, but treats its passengers and drivers with respect? This week host Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is joined by NEF's Principal Director for Unions and Business, Stefan Baskerville, and researcher Duncan McCann. — Enjoying the show? Tweet us your comments and questions @NEF! — Produced by James Shield and Huw Jordan. The award-winning Weekly Economics Podcast is brought to you by the New Economics Foundation – the UK's only people powered think tank. Find out more at www.neweconomics.org

A characteristic feature of British society in 2017 is division. Leavers are pitched against Remainers, young against old, graduates against non-graduates. But perhaps the starkest way of understanding social division in the UK is to consider the places where people live. A new report by the New Economics Foundation and Professor Will Jennings shows how electoral divisions have opened up between towns and cities in England. To explore this more, Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is this week joined by Lisa Nandy MP and Will Brett, Director of News and Media at NEF. — Enjoying the show? Tweet us your comments and questions @NEF! — Produced by James Shield and Huw Jordan. The award-winning Weekly Economics Podcast is brought to you by the New Economics Foundation – the UK's only people powered think tank. Find out more at www.neweconomics.org

After its recent ban in Scotland, fracking is firmly back on the media and political agendas. But is fracking a necessary economics boost for the country, or an environmental disaster we should avoid at all costs? This week host Ayeisha Thomas-Smith welcomes back NEF’s Environment Lead, David Powell alongside Weekly Economics Podcast newbie Hanna Wheatley, Researcher at NEF. — Enjoying the show? Tweet us your comments and questions @NEF! — Produced by James Shield and Huw Jordan. The award-winning Weekly Economics Podcast is brought to you by the New Economics Foundation – the UK's only people powered think tank. Find out more at www.neweconomics.org

We’re in the midst of political party conference season and we've already had more headlines and drama than most years... But apart from politicos and journalists gossiping about party splits, are the party conferences actually offering any answers to the problems this country faces? Lots of the headlines have been about internal disagreements in Labour and the Conservative party, but what have they and the other parties had to say about housing, Brexit, investment, our environment and the pound in your pocket? This week host Ayeisha Thomas-Smith welcomes back NEF’s Senior Economist, Sara Mahmoud and Principal Director, Policy and Advocacy Andrew Pendleton. — Enjoying the show? Tweet us your comments and questions @NEF! — Produced by James Shield and Huw Jordan. The award-winning Weekly Economics Podcast is brought to you by the New Economics Foundation – the UK's only people powered think tank. Find out more at www.neweconomics.org

This week we're bringing you something a bit different - the first episode of a new podcast miniseries from our friends at the Centre for Labour and Social Studies (or CLASS for short). It's called CLASS on Class, and made by the same production team behind the Weekly Economics Podcast. Dr Faiza Shaheen presents an attempt to move past the superficial discussion of class politics we’ve had in Britain since the Brexit vote, featuring an all-star collection of guests. If you enjoyed this episode, you can find the rest of the 3-part CLASS on Class miniseries here: Apple Podcasts: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/class-on-class/id1284525511?mt=2 Soundcloud: http://bit.ly/2xmflEy Ayeisha will be back as normal with a new series of the Weekly Economics Podcast next week.

As large swathes of the Caribbean have been left devastated by Hurricane Irma, the issue of climate change is once again back on the global news agenda. It’s easy to feel defeated when the environmental crises we face are so immediate and huge. But action is urgently needed. In this special edition of the Weekly Economics Podcast (recorded before Irma took place), we explore some of the possible solutions, debate what real action looks like and how those most affected can be the most powerful agents for change. David Powell, Environment Lead at the New Economics Foundation, takes over hosting duties and is joined by Alice Bell, Director of Communications at 10:10, and Asad Rehman, Executive Director at War on Want. — Enjoying the show? Tweet us your comments and questions @NEF! — Produced by James Shield. The award-winning Weekly Economics Podcast is brought to you by the New Economics Foundation – the UK's only people powered think tank. Find out more at www.neweconomics.org.

The housing crisis is a hot topic at the moment. We often talk about who can buy, sell and rent houses - and how much they cost - but we rarely talk about the land beneath them. Lots of land in the UK is owned by the government and local authorities - public land. But a load of it is being sold off, from old hospitals to sites owned by the Ministry of Defence. The government says that we should sell it to developers to build houses on to deal with the housing shortage. But is that really happening? Is selling off our public land really helping to solve the housing crisis? This week host Ayeisha Thomas-Smith welcomes back NEF’s Subject Lead on Housing, Alice Martin, to talk us through these thorny questions. She’s joined by NEF researcher Duncan McCann and journalist and author Dawn Foster, both experts on the issues of housing and land. — Enjoying the show? Tweet us your comments and questions @NEF! — Produced by James Shield. Programme editor for the New Economics Foundation is Huw Jordan. The award-winni

For years ‘industrial strategy’ wasn’t talked about at all. But the phrase has recently made a comeback. The government thinks there are some ‘long term challenges’ for the economy in this country, and they need to get involved to do something about them. Host Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is joined by NEF's Senior Economist Sara Mahmoud and Will Brett, NEF's Director of News and Media, to discuss exactly what these challenges are, and to address the question: what should the UK’s industrial strategy look like? — Enjoying the show? Tweet us your comments and questions @NEF! — Produced by James Shield. Programme editor for the New Economics Foundation is Huw Jordan. The award-winning Weekly Economics Podcast is brought to you by the New Economics Foundation – the UK's only people powered think tank. Find out more at www.neweconomics.org.

Personal debt is at record levels with one in six of us at risk of a debt crisis. Credit cards, overdrafts and payday loans are propping up households across the country as wages continue to fall in real terms. And many people are struggling under the pressure of paying back what they owe. But what is the effect on the wider economy? And what should we do about it? Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is back with us this week and is joined by Sarah Lyall, NEF's Social Policy Lead and special guest Dr Jo Michell, Senior Lecturer in Economics at the University of the West of England. — Enjoying the show? Tweet us your comments and questions @NEF! — Produced by James Shield. Programme editor for the New Economics Foundation is Huw Jordan. The award-winning Weekly Economics Podcast is brought to you by the New Economics Foundation – the UK's only people powered think tank. Find out more at www.neweconomics.org.

Big data. It’s one of those terms that’s far more widely used than it is understood. What is it? And just as importantly – who benefits from it? To get the full picture on big data, we are joined this week by a special guest – Will Davies, Director of the Political Economy Research Centre and a Senior Lecturer at Goldsmiths, University of London. Our regular host Ayeisha Thomas-Smith returns next week – so Will Brett, NEF’s Director of News and Media, steps into the role of host. They talk about the impact of big data on how we understand society, and on how we experience the world of work. Also joining the discussion are NEF’s Stefan Baskerville, Director of Unions and Business and Alice Martin, Subject Lead for Housing and Work. Enjoying the show? Tweet us your comments and questions @NEF! Produced by James Shield. Programme editor for the New Economics Foundation is Huw Jordan. The award-winning Weekly Economics Podcast is brought to you by the New Economics Foundation – the UK's only people powered

The latest episode of the Weekly Economics Podcast asks whether The Great Repeal Bill will mean we 'take back control' of our laws. Stepping in for our host Ayeisha Thomas-Smith this week is producer Huw Jordan, who will be trying to make sense of the 'Great' Repeal Bill and the legal tangle of Britain leaving the EU. He'll be joined by Dave Powell, who leads on NEF's environment work, and special guest Karla Hill, Programme Director at ClientEarth. Enjoying the show? Tweet us your comments and questions @NEF! Produced by James Shield. Programme editor for the New Economics Foundation is Huw Jordan. The award-winning Weekly Economics Podcast is brought to you by the New Economics Foundation – the UK's only people powered think tank. Find out more at www.neweconomics.org.

What more does the environment have to do to become an election issue? Joining our host Ayeisha Thomas-Smith this week are Dave Powell, Subject Lead on Environment at the New Economics Foundation, Fernanda Balata, who leads NEF's work on coastal economies and Andrew Pendleton, Principal Director of Policy and Advocacy at NEF to discuss the environment, the election and the prospects for saving our planet. — Enjoying the show? Tweet us your comments and questions @NEF! — Produced by James Shield. Programme editor for the New Economics Foundation is Huw Jordan. The award-winning Weekly Economics Podcast is brought to you by the New Economics Foundation – the UK's only people powered think tank. Find out more at www.neweconomics.org.