Head2Head

In this episode of Head2Head I talk with two remarkable political economists who are passionate and informed advocates of the “compassionate economy “ - the idea that economy should serve the people and not the other way around and is kinder to our life sustaining planet.

Professor Liz Grant holds a chair in Global Health and Development at the University of Edinburgh and is responsible for developing and supporting global health partnerships with colleagues in low- and middle-income country (LMIC) communities, and for local and global advocacy translating global health research into action.

Liz is a co-director of the University’s Global Compassion Initiative developing work on the value base of the Sustainable Development Goals, the science of compassion, and the contribution that faith communities make to the Sustainable Development Goals.

Liz has led the development of a suite of global health MSc programmes, MOOCs and coordinates the Global Health PhD programme all specifically designed for students from resource constrained countries. She currently is the Co-Director of the Masters of Family Medicine and the MSc in Global Health Challenges

Her own research interests span planetary health and palliative care in contexts of poverty and conflict – new beginnings and better endings.

She sits on the Scottish Government NHS Global Citizenship Board and was on the Board of Directors for the Consortium of Universities for Global Health, (CUGH), an association of over 170 Academic institutions training in Global Health, and currently chairs the CUGH Research Committee.

DR KATHERINE TREBECK is a political economist, writer and advocate for economic system change. She co-founded the Wellbeing Economy Alliance and also WEAll Scotland, its Scottish hub. She is writer-in-residence at the University of Edinburgh’s Edinburgh Futures Institute and a Strategic Advisor to Australia’s Centre for Policy Development. She sits on a range of boards and advisory groups such as The Democracy Collaborative, the C40 Centre for Urban Climate Policy and Economy, and the Centre for Understanding Sustainable Prosperity.She is a New Economics Senior Fellow at the ZOE Institute, a Fellow of The Leaders Institute and a Distinguished Fellow of the Schumacher Institute. She worked for Oxfam GB for eight years’, where she developed Oxfam’s Humankind Index and led work on downscaling the ‘doughnut’ for various contexts.Katherine has Bachelor Degrees in Economics and in Politics (University of Melbourne) and holds a PhD in Political Science from the Australian National University. She was Honorary Professor at the University of the West of Scotland and Senior Visiting Research Fellow at the University of Strathclyde.In 2019 she co-authored The Economics of Arrival: Ideas for a Grown Up Economy (with Jeremy Williams and published by Policy Press), and her report Being Bold: Budgeting for Children’s Wellbeing was launched in March 2021.

Head2Head is made possible because of the generosity of paid subscribers to my Substack who value independent public journalism that speaks truth to power, gives a voice to those who have none, and promotes positive ideas that will make the world a better place for the the many, not the few.

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On the eve of Trump imposing tariffs that will upend the world economy I interview renowned world political economist, and New York based, Prof Richard Wolff.

He is a professor emeritus of economics at the University of Massachuesetts Amherst and a visiting professor in the graduate program in international affairs of the New School. He has also taught economics at Yale University, City University of New York, University of Paris (Sorbonne) and The Brecht Forum in New York City.

If you listen to no other podcast on economics this year I urge you to listen to this one. Over the course of our hour long conversation Prof Wolff not only unpacks Trumpism and the impact his tariff agenda will have on the world economy, he provides a razor sharp analysis of Capitalism and offers practical solutions on how we could put an end to the rule of the oligarchs and a create a fairer society.

If you would like to know more about Prof Wolff’s work and how we can return to having a meaningful democracy in our daily lives please visit :

https://www.democracyatwork.info

His youtube channel has just over 500,000 subscribers and you can find here:

https://www.youtube.com/c/democracyatwrk/videos

Prof Wolff will be beaming in from the USA as a key speaker at the Post-Capitalist Aotearoa: Wellington Conference to Explore a New Economic Future at St Andrew’s On The Terrace

April 23 -24 2025 which you can find out about and register at

www.proutresearch.nz

Or contact

Bruce Dyer

Email: [email protected]

It is because of my paid subscribers that I can record interviews like this one .

I post something every day. Free subscribers receive about 30% of what is available on my site so please consider upgrading and supporting my public journalism work.

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Grace Blakeley is a British political economist, writer and commentator. She is a staff writer for Tribune Magazine and the author several books, the latest of which is Vulture Capitalism : Corporate Crimes, Backdoor Bailouts and the Death of Freedom.

It is a highly readable critique of modern capitalism which has made the Sunday Times best seller list and is a great book to read if you want to understand the economics of how we got here, what went wrong and how we can have a post capitalist society.

Grace is one of the most erudite and engaging people I’ve had the privilege of interviewing. She was the former economic spokesperson for the New Statesman and a former Research Fellow at The Institute of Public Policy . She has a first class honours degree from St Peter’s College Oxford in philosophy,politics an economics and a Master’s degree in African Studies from St Antony’s College Oxford.

Grace will be beaming in from the UK as a key speaker at the Post-Capitalist Aotearoa: Wellington Conference to Explore a New Economic Future at St Andrew’s On The Terrace

April 23 -24 2025 which you can find out about and register at

www.proutresearch.nz

Or contact

Bruce Dyer

Email: [email protected]

Please consider helping to fund my public journalism by taking our a subscription for $9 a month including GST. It will give you access to the many articles, posts, podcasts and documentaries on my site and allow you to chat with a great group of people who want us all to live in a fairer country.

My thanks again to my paid supporters who make interviews like this one possible

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I contacted Ricardo a couple of weeks ago when NZ First MP Shane Jones shouted in parliament “Send the Mexicans home!” after Deputy Prime Minister Winston Peters said Green Party migrant MPs should "show some gratitude" for being in New Zealand.

Why? Because I have never met Ricardo and I wondered what it is about him that so obviously riled these NZ First MP’s.

Now I think I know.

He is a highly intelligent man with a very carefully thought out economic and political philosophy, who can communicate his ideas clearly and succinctly.

I can see how that would frighten Peters and Jones,, especially given the latest polls which appears to show support for NZ First as falling, while support for the Greens is on the rise.

By becoming a paid subscriber for $9 a month (including GST) you can help me continue my public interest journalism- speaking truth to power and giving a voice to those who have none.Membership will also give you access to all my posts , allow you to comment and join our chat group for discussions. Please restack and share posts you think are worthwhile as it all helps to build readership.

And to my paid subscibers - Thank you again for your support.

Look at this ! Vans equipped with washing machines so that homeless people and folks experiencing hardship can get access to free laundry and shower services, plus have the opportunity for regular connection with other people. Isn’t that a brilliantly simple idea?

You can find Orange Sky vans in a number of centres around the country.

I recently spoke with Kat Doughty who is the Senior Impact Manager for the Charity who told me how Orange Sky got started and how its services are open everyone regardless of circumstance and at no cost.

She said one important aspect of their work is the many hours ​having kōrero with their community because homelessness is not just ​about their living situation but also the ​absence of human connection and a ​sense of belonging.

You can find out more about Orange Sky and how to support them here.

https://orangesky.org.nz

Monday is Hope Day is a regular feature I run as a reminder there many good people in our part of the world who think beyond themselves to help others. Kia kaha!

By becoming a paid subscriber for $9 a month (including GST) you can help me continue my public interest journalism.Membership will also give you access to all my posts , allow you to comment and join our chat group for discussions. Please restack and share posts you think are worthwhile as it all helps to build readership.

And to my paid subscibers - Thank you again for your support.

In this episode of Head 2 Head I catch up with Paul Hunt who was New Zealand’s Chief Human Rights Commissioner between 2019 - 2024 and who is now Professor of Law at the Human Rights Centre, University of Essex.

Among the issues he raises is the need for human rights to be incorporated in our legislation and how proposed the Treaty Principles Bill is wrong in both its conception and process.

Paul studied law at Cambridge University and Waikato University. He has lived and undertaken human rights work in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Aotearoa.

For more than a decade, he served as an independent human rights expert for the United Nations, reporting to the UN General Assembly and UN Human Rights Council. He wrote and presented some 30 UN reports, including on the World Trade Organisation, World Bank, IMF, Guantanamo Bay, the Israel-Lebanon conflict in 2006, and on numerous countries.

Paul’s focus was the human rights to healthcare and health protection. Between 2011 and 2013, he was senior human rights adviser to WHO Assistant Director-General Dr. Flavia Bustreo.

He has published extensively on human rights and has been awarded two Honorary Doctorates in recognition of his scholarship.

In 2021 he was awarded the Ann Dysart Distinguished Service Award by the civil society organisation, Multicultural New Zealand..

By becoming a paid subscriber for $9 a month (including GST) you can help me continue to do interviews like this one , to speak truth to power and give a voice to those who have none. Membership will also give you access to all my posts , allow you to comment and join our chat group for discussions. Please restack and share post you think are worthwhile as it all helps to build readership.

Dr Tony Ellis is a leading New Zealand and International Human Rights lawyer whose work has covered public and criminal law and is well know for compensation cases including prisoner’s rights including abuses and deaths while in custody.

I met Tony some years ago when making an episode of The Investigator which looked at the case of a 15 year old girl who had wrongly been convicted of assault who tried to get her case heard on Appeal. The Appeal Court Judges refused her request without giving it proper court hearing and she became one a group of such cases which Tony took to the Privy Council in London, who declared that the Appeal Court Judges had acted illegally … but I’ll let him tell you about what happened next along with some of the other important cases he has argued.

I know there are a lot of calls on subscription dollars and that times are tough for a lot of people . But if you can afford $9 a month ( including GST) I would appreciate it if you would consider becoming a Paid Subscriber and help me give a voice to those who have none. All subscription money, by the way, goes to meet the costs of production.

And thank you again to my paid subscribers for your support. It is much appreciated.

I talk vaccines, child mortality and the relationship between deprivation and life expectancy, with Dr Osman (Oz) Mansoor who is a public health medicine (PHM) specialist with national and international policy experience in immunization, programme design and implementation, and communicable disease control.

He has had clinical experience across medical specialties before establishing a general practice in Wellington. He continued to work in his practice while national policy lead on immunization for the New Zealand Ministry of Health. He then worked internationally, as New Vaccines Officer for the World Health Organization at the regional office and then at UNICEF headquarters. Since his return to Aotearoa (NZ), he has worked in local public health units in Wellington, Napier and Gisborne. He is currently Medical Officer of Health in Gisborne, NZ.

Please share and restack post you find worthwhile as it helps to build readership.

I know there are a lot of calls on subscription dollars and that times are tough for a lot of people . But if you can afford $9 a month ( including GST) I would appreciate it if you would consider becoming a Paid Subscriber and help me give a voice to those who have none. All subscription money, by the way, goes to meet the costs of production.

And thank you again to my paid subscribers for your support. It is much appreciated.

One of our reader community recently sent me a link to The Dark Times Academy, so I looked it up.

https://darktimesacademy.co.nz

It is jointly owned by Mandy Henk and Byron Clark, and is a community education project that puts teachers and students of all ages together with courses designed to build, they say, “the kinds of communities that help us get through hard times.”

Well that sounded interesting, so I called Mandy and our chat not only covered why she and Byron started The Dark Times Academy, what it is and what it does, but, because Mandy is American, we wandered off into talking about how it was that Trump got elected for a second term and what that portends for the future of the USA and the World.

Thanks to the generosity of my paid supporters all Head2Head interviews are free to anyone to watch and/or listen to. Please consider supporting my public journalism work by subscribing $9 a month ( including GST) . Thanks.

Blake Forbes has a disability. He has spastic cerebral palsy with mild autism and ADHD, but that hasn’t stopped him running a very effective interview podcast called BFG (short for Blake Forbes Gentle) which he produces with co-host Paul Barlow.

Paul has a media background and, in addition to working with Blake, runs his own podcast show wittily entitled Paul The Other One, for reasons I’ll let him explain.

Blake has become an effective advocate for people with disabilities and at the moment is rightly concerned about the loss of respite funding for care givers.

Kia kaha Blake and Paul .Thank you for a very enjoyable and informative conversation.

If you want to check out Blake’s Channel you can find it here:

https://www.youtube.com/@thebfgpodcast

Paul’s personal channel Paul The Other One is here:

https://www.youtube.com/@Paul...theotherone

He is a former political commentator with a background in media studies and pop culture, and has over 35000 followers of his content from across Aotearoa.

This content is also available in video formats on Tik Tok, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram as well as audio versions from wherever you get your Podcasts.

Thanks to the generosity of my paid subscribers who help fund my Head2Head interviews are free to access. Please consider supporting my public journalism work by becoming a paid subscriber for $9 a month (including GST) as only paid subscribers can comment in the chat room.