De Dépendance Podcast

How rich is too rich? In this episode, we revisit a conversation recorded at De Dépendance in 2024 with philosopher Ingrid Robeyns and economic historian Guido Alfani, two leading thinkers on wealth, inequality, and the history of capitalism.

The discussion took place on the occasion of the publication of Robeyns' book Limitarianism: The Case Against Extreme Wealth and Alfani's As Gods Among Men: A History of the Rich in the West. Together, these books ask a pressing question: what happens when extreme riches become concentrated in the hands of a few?

In conversation, Robeyns and Alfani explore the moral, political, and historical case against extreme wealth. They discuss why today's unprecedented concentration of riches poses a threat to democratic societies, how the role of the wealthy has changed over time, and whether placing limits on personal wealth could help build a fairer and more resilient society. Drawing on philosophy, economics, and history, they reflect on what inequality reveals about the kind of world we have created—and what it would take to imagine a different one.

In this episode, we bring you a recording of a special event we hosted with economic historian Arnaud Orain, whose work offers a new perspective on the history and future of capitalism. He is joined by journalist and European affairs commentator Caroline de Gruyter, one of Europe's most perceptive observers of politics and the liberal order.

The conversation took place on the occasion of the Dutch translation of Orain's book The Finitude of the World: Boundless Capitalism from the Seventeenth Century to Today. In this groundbreaking work, Orain argues that while the neoliberal promise of endless growth may have reached its limits, capitalism itself remains far from exhausted. Instead, he contends, we have entered a recurring historical phase he calls "Finitude Capitalism": a form of capitalism that emerges when the world is perceived as finite and resources become objects of intensified competition, extraction, and control.

Together, they discuss how this logic manifests today in the privatisation and militarisation of the seas, the rise of monopolistic and rentier forms of trade, and the growing power of private corporations that exercise quasi-sovereign authority over both physical and digital spaces. Drawing on history, political economy, and contemporary geopolitics, Orain and De Gruyter reflect on what the return of finitude means for capitalism, democracy, and the future of the global liberal order.

In this episode, we bring you a recording of a conversation hosted by De Dépendance with historian Quinn Slobodian and writer and technologist Ben Tarnoff, co-authors of the new book Muskism: A Guide for the Perplexed.

Quinn Slobodian is Professor of International History at Boston University and the author of Crack-Up Capitalism, Hayek's Bastards, and Globalists. Ben Tarnoff is the author of Internet for the People and co-author of Voices from the Valley, and writes extensively on technology, power, and digital politics.

In conversation with journalist Nuria Ribas Costa, they explore the idea of "Muskism": a political and economic logic embodied by Elon Musk but extending far beyond any single individual. Rather than treating Musk as an exceptional figure, they examine him as a symptom of a broader postliberal age, one in which technological sovereignty, private power, and visions of engineered futures increasingly shape public life.

Together, they discuss the relationship between technology and state power, the appeal of techno-libertarianism, and the ways digital platforms, AI, and infrastructure are reshaping politics and society. Drawing on history, political economy, and contemporary tech culture, Slobodian and Tarnoff ask what Muskism reveals about our present moment—and the kind of future it seeks to build.

In this episode we are bringing you a recording of a special event we hosted with anthropologist Anna Tsing, whose work has reshaped how we think about capitalism, ecology, and life in a damaged world. Anna Tsing is Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and Aarhus University. She is the acclaimed author of In the Realm of the Diamond Queen, Friction, and The Mushroom at the End of the World.

In this conversation with journalist Nuria Ribas Costa, she explores the idea of the Patchy Anthropocene: a world of fragmented landscapes shaped by extraction, environmental crisis, and the uneven impacts of global capitalism. Together they discuss how dominant economic systems exhaust ecosystems, communities, and forms of life, while also considering the unexpected forms of coexistence that emerge in the ruins. Drawing on her research into human and more-than-human worlds, Tsing reflects on what it means to live, collaborate, and imagine futures in environments that are already profoundly altered.

In this episode, acclaimed sociologist and Princeton professor Ruha Benjamin joins De Dépendance Podcast for a compelling conversation on the occasion of her new book, Imagination: A Manifesto. Interviewed by historian Marianne Klerk, Benjamin explores how emerging technologies—especially algorithms and AI—shape inequality, and why we must treat imagination as a powerful site of struggle and possibility. If we hope to dismantle systems shaped by white supremacy, patriarchy, capitalism, and colonialism, she argues, we must first learn to imagine the world anew.

Benjamin lays out a poetic yet pragmatic vision for worldbuilding—one that invites listeners to reflect on how their everyday choices help maintain or transform the status quo. She is joined by Sennay Ghebreab, Professor of Socially Intelligent AI at the University of Amsterdam and director of the Civic AI Lab, whose work investigates how artificial intelligence can be designed in service of equity and social justice.

Together, they delve into the politics of technology, the urgency of critical imagination, and the practical steps toward building fairer futures.

In this episode, political scientist and philosopher Lea Ypi joins us to discuss the ideas behind her new book Indignity: A Life Reimagined. Named one of the world’s top ten thinkers by Prospect magazine, Ypi draws on her upbringing in communist Albania to examine the intertwined questions of freedom, democracy, memory, and political change. Building on the success of her memoir Free, Indignity blends philosophy and personal history to reimagine Europe’s past—from Ottoman aristocracy to the rise of modern Albania and Greece, and from war and communism to the global financial crisis.

In conversation with De Dépendance-editor Nuria Ribas Costa, Ypi reflects on what it means to survive in an age of extremes, exploring the fragile boundary between truth and narrative, fact and fiction. Together, they confront difficult questions about moral judgment, inherited histories, and what the crises of liberal democracy might teach us about our present moment.

In this episode, De Dépendance editor Hani Salih sits down with political commentator, economist, and author Grace Blakeley to delve into the ideas behind her new book Vulture Capitalism: Corporate Crimes, Backdoor Bailouts and the Death of Freedom. Blakeley argues that today’s economic, social, and democratic crises aren’t signs of a system in collapse, but the intended outcomes of a capitalist model functioning exactly as designed. From JPMorgan to Boeing, and from Henry Ford to Richard Nixon, she traces how free-market ideology has empowered corporations and undermined democracy. Together, they explore what it would take to turn the tide and reclaim control over our collective future.

In this episode, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist and creator of The 1619 Project, Nikole Hannah-Jones, joins us for a powerful conversation on the state of American democracy. At a moment when history itself is being rewritten for political ends, Hannah-Jones reflects on how the stories a nation tells — and those it chooses to forget — shape its democratic foundations. Together with moderator Hani Salih, she unpacks the struggle over narrative, the power of memory, and what it takes to defend democracy when its core ideals are under siege.

In this episode, we welcome Meredith Whittaker, President of the Signal Foundation and one of the world’s leading tech critics, for a powerful conversation on privacy, surveillance, and the future of technology. Whittaker, who also co-founded the AI Now Institute, shares her insights on how surveillance and AI are deeply intertwined, and how tech giants profit from large-scale data extraction. She highlights Signal as a radical alternative—a privacy-focused, non-profit messaging app that challenges the dominance of surveillance capitalism. Joined by Evelyn Austin of Bits of Freedom, Whittaker discusses how current tech infrastructures shape our lives, the urgent need for oversight in AI deployment, and what it takes to build digital tools that truly serve the public good.

In this episode, we dive into The Big Con, the provocative book by economists Mariana Mazzucato and Rosie Collington, which exposes the deep entanglement between the consulting industry and the modern management of business and government. From McKinsey to PwC, the authors argue that these firms don’t just advise—they shape policy, stifle innovation, and erode accountability. In this lecture by Rosie Colington, followed by a discussion with professor of public administration Martijn van der Steen, we unpack how decades of privatization, financialization, and risk aversion have empowered consultancies to act as unchallenged arbiters of expertise, often to the detriment of the public good. Collington calls for a bold reimagining of how we build capacity within our institutions, shifting from outsourced dependency to collective intelligence—reclaiming the promise of both democracy and innovation.