On this week's MACRODOSE, James Meadway dives into growing concerns over the use of surveillance technology by US supermarkets and how it’s being leveraged to drive price gouging (1:14), before turning to a recent BBC report on the UK’s health crisis and it's economic fallout (5:29).

Check out our new ELECTION ECONOMICS series, available only for MACRODOSE supporters on Patreon, covering all things political economy ahead of the US election on 5th November. You can find tomorrow's episode with Adam Tooze at patreon.com/Macrodose. 

Got a question or comment? Reach us at [email protected]

For more about the work we do at Planet B Productions, go to planetbproductions.co.uk

We have become incredibly good at producing food. In doing so we have transformed our planet. Yet when we go to the supermarket or eat at a restaurant, the supply chains, labour and environmental impacts that went into our food are all but invisible. 

Those impacts are huge. Today, humans and livestock make up 96% of all mammals. Agriculture consumes about 70% of global freshwater, and is responsible for some 80% of deforestation. And yet despite producing more than enough food to feed everyone on earth, every day a minimum of 800 million people go hungry, while a fifth of all food produced for human consumption goes to waste.

Clearly, something’s got to give. Thankfully, here to help us out of the mess is Dr. Sonali McDermid, a climate scientist and Chair of the Department of Environmental Studies at NYU. In this episode, she breaks down how climate and ecological crisis threaten our food systems — and how we can feed the world without wrecking the planet.

Find more about the Break Down at break-down.org and be sure to follow us across social media to stay up-to-date with upcoming episodes, essay launches and more.

On this week's MACRODOSE, James Meadway breaks down how climate change is wreaking havoc on Britain's harvests and threatening food security (2:04), why Modern Monetary Theory (MMT) doesn't offer the answers we need for today’s economic challenges (6:49), and the reasons behind the rising cost of butter, with climate change once again playing a key role (14:53)

Check out our new ELECTION ECONOMICS series, available only for MACRODOSE supporters on Patreon, covering all things political economy ahead of the US election on 5th November.

Got a question or comment? Reach us at [email protected]

For more about the work we do at Planet B Productions, go to planetbproductions.co.uk

FULL EPISODE: patreon.com/Macrodose

Election Economics is back! Over the next few weeks, James will be joined by an array of expert thinkers to cover all things political economy in the run-up to the US Presidential Election on 5th November.

On this week’s show, James sat down with the writer and economic historian Andrew Elrod, whose recent piece in Phenomenal World asks the simple but vital question: What Was Bidenomics: from build back better to the national security synthesis.

You can check out the full article here, as well as the rest of the sharp analysis published by our friends over at Phenomenal World.

https://www.phenomenalworld.org/analysis/what-was-bidenomics/ 

Got a question or comment? Reach us at [email protected]

For more about the work we do at Planet B Productions, go to planetbproductions.co.uk

On this week's Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: China’s economic slowdown and new stimulus package (1:39), and how much will it actually cost to fix Britain’s broken economy? (9:37).

We'll be releasing tickets for our upcoming live event to Patrons on Friday. Support the show and receive updates here: https://www.patreon.com/macrodose

Got a question or comment? Reach us at [email protected]

For more about the work we do at Planet B Productions, go to planetbproductions.co.uk

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down the global economic impact of Storm Helene and how it could disrupt the tech supply chain (0:36), plus a listener question about changes to the fiscal rules and their potential effect on Keir Starmer's government (7:40).

For more content and to support the show, visit: https://www.patreon.com/macrodose

Got a question or comment? Reach us at [email protected]

For more about the work we do at Planet B Productions, go to planetbproductions.co.uk

Today's episode of The Break Down explores the idea and the power of utopian fiction with guest Kim Stanley Robinson, the acclaimed science fiction author whose most recent novel, The Ministry for the Future, offers a harrowing and detailed vision of how we might respond to the climate crisis. 

Among other things, Adrienne and Stan discuss the politics of science and technology; the place of speculative fiction in an era dominated by nostalgia and the importance of utopia at a time when our political imaginations are so constrained. 

Like The Ministry for the Future itself, this episode is dedicated to the late Fredric Jameson. You can find many of Jameson's incredible works here: https://shorturl.at/fYDNJ

Find more about the Break Down at break-down.org and be sure to follow us across social media to stay up-to-date with upcoming episodes, essay launches and more.

On this week’s Macrodose, James Meadway breaks down: Rachel Reeves’ first speech as Chancellor at Labour Party Conference (0:46), the reopening of Three Mile Island to fuel a Microsoft data center (7:13), and a listener question on the concept of public luxury in an era of economic stagnation (12:08).

For more content and to support the show, visit: https://www.patreon.com/macrodose

Got a question or comment? Reach us at [email protected]

For more about the work we do at Planet B Productions, go to planetbproductions.co.uk

On this week’s Macrodose James Meadway breaks down: the resurgence of US fossil fuel power and its impact on the energy transition (0:39) Feedback from last week's theory episode, on the role of technology in combating the rising costs of climate change (5:17)

For more content and to support the show, visit: https://www.patreon.com/macrodose

Got a question or a comment? Reach us at [email protected]

For more about the work we do at Planet B Productions, go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠planetbproductions.co.uk⁠⁠

Followers of Macrodose may remember our Roundtable episode from earlier this year, in which Adrienne spoke to James and the brilliant Brett Christophers about the many and varied reasons why — despite all the hype about how cheap renewables have become — the transition to renewable energy cannot be left to the market and the profit motive. What that conversation didn't leave us with, however, was an answer to the obvious question: if not the market, then what?

Here to make the case for a simple but radical solution are Chris Hayes and Melanie Brusseler, the Chief Economist and US Programme Director, respectively, at Common Wealth, a progressive UK based think tank and our partners in this series. In today’s episode, Chris and Melanie break down how public ownership can transform our energy system, providing not only a faster and cheaper path to 100% clean energy, but also the foundations of a more just and democratic economy overall.