The Social Economist Season 3 continues! We’re back and we’re delving into the hottest topics impacting the social economy in 2025. This season, we’ll be looking at the wider changing policy landscape influencing the social economy before exploring Europe’s energy transition and the new emphasis on European defence spending. 

In Episode 1, we reviewed the rapidly changing policy landscape that’s emerged since the European Parliament and USA’s Presidential elections in 2024. In Episode 2, host Toby Gazeley from Euclid Network is joined by Cornelius Müller from Sustainable Public Affairs to reflect on the challenges presented to sustainable front runners by the backtracking by the EU on policies promoting sustainability. 

Cornelius and Toby discuss in detail the changes since 2024 reflecting on how sustainability has been put on the back foot by recent decisions such as the abandonment of the Green Claims Directive. They reflect on how simplification is being used to not so subtly deregulate Europe and take a step away from Europe’s previously ambitious industrial policies that had sustainability at their heart. 

Cornelius was kind enough to recommend not a podcast but rather something to read. He recommended: The Ministry for the Future by Kim Stanley Robinson, a book looking at the future and focusing on the need to tackle climate change. Toby of course recommended a podcast rather than something to read, this time recommending Parenting Hell with Rob Beckett and Josh Widdicombe. Another non-news recommendation for some much needed light relief. 

Please do get in touch to [email protected] with questions and comments. 

A special thanks to our producer Jan Kiszowara and the European Commission for making The Social Economist possible. 

Our theme music is ‘another twelve’ by Mikel Patrick Avery at Music for Podcasts.