The Econoclasts

By UnHerd

The Econoclasts is a new podcast from UnHerd hosted by economist Yanis Varoufakis and journalist Wolfgang Munchau. While they don't always agree politically, they are united in one conviction: the

... more

4.7

116116 ratings

Download on the App Store

Download on the App Store

Get it on Google Play

FAQs about The Econoclasts:

How many episodes does The Econoclasts have?

The podcast currently has 166 episodes available.

The Econoclasts episodes:

March 31, 2026 Europe’s Iran delusion & Palantir’s road to extinction
In this episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau dismantle the orthodoxies of European leadership and AI-driven warfare, breaking down how the EU’s structural fragmentation make it incapable of filling the global power vacuum, and exposing how corporations like Palantir provide absolution from accountability by replacing human judgment with the clinical, automated efficiency of cloud capital.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
...more
40min
March 25, 2026 Econoclasts LIVE: Iran and the New World Disorder
Live from a packed Emmanuel Centre, the Econoclasts brought their podcast to London for a sweeping ‘around-the-globe’ deconstruction of the failing orthodoxies shaping our modern world. From the structural drivers of ‘forever wars’ in the Middle East to a sobering analysis of the Ukraine-Russia stalemate and the undeniable rise of Chinese technological supremacy, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau strip away the myths regarding China’s industrial success and Europe’s own productivity collapse, and debate whether the West’s current trajectory can be reversed or if we are witnessing a permanent shift in the global balance of power.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
...more
57min
March 18, 2026 The West’s Iran crisis: Global recession & Russian revenue
In this episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau dismantle the narratives surrounding the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, breaking down how the resulting energy shock could trigger a permanent global recession. As the West faces systemic economic damage and a depleted military arsenal, and Russia reaps a massive financial windfall, is the West sleepwalking into a dual defeat in both Iran and Ukraine?
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
...more
36min
March 11, 2026 How Iran exposed the West’s military weakness
🔗 Click the following link to get tickets to 'The Econoclasts LIVE' in London on March 23rd: https://unherd.com/econoclastslive

In this episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau strip away the orthodoxies surrounding the ongoing conflict with Iran, and – via analysis of the 1953 CIA coup to the modern-day ‘Syrianisation’ of the Middle East - reveal a strategy-less West paralysed by its own deindustrialisation, dangerously dependent on China, and projecting power externally to mask a profound systemic rot at home.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
...more
34min
March 07, 2026 NATO’s hidden agenda & why Europe will fail Ukraine
In this episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau target the orthodoxy of NATO’s post-1991 expansion as well as dismantling the prevailing narrative surrounding the war in Ukraine, including the logistical delusion of a Western victory and the dereliction of duty by European leadership that risks a global escalation.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
...more
37min
March 02, 2026 Trump’s Iran strikes and the new forever war
🔗 Click the following link to get tickets to 'The Econoclasts LIVE: Is Russia really a threat to Europe?' in London on March 23rd: https://unherd.com/econoclastslive

In this episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau dissect the geopolitical fallout of the U.S. bombing campaign against Iran, arguing that the strikes signal a definitive shift toward a "permanent war doctrine" and expose how Donald Trump has abandoned his non-interventionist promises to embrace a neocon agenda of regional destabilisation. From the erosion of European sovereignty to the strategic victories handed to China and Russia, Yanis and Wolfgang challenge the "weapons of mass destruction" pretexts of the past and analyse the high economic and human cost of a conflict that seems designed to have no end.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
...more
27min
February 25, 2026 Why Trump will win the tariff war
🔗Go to unherd.com/econoclastslive to get your tickets to Yanis & Wolfgang's upcoming event!

In this episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau pull back the curtain to reveal the shifting tectonic plates of the global economy, arguing that the world’s fixation on Donald Trump’s tariffs and Supreme Court rulings is a dangerous distraction from a much more profound transformation – namely a new form of power that allows Big Tech to hold the West to ransom, and an AI revolution that will permanently dismantle the foundations of human agency, private property, and the free market.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
...more
34min
February 18, 2026 Marco Rubio’s new world order & Starmer’s plan to rejoin Europe
In this episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau dissect the false orthodoxies surrounding the current state of the transatlantic relationship and the UK’s post-Brexit strategy. Pointing to Marco Rubio’s Munich speech as a signal that America has pivoted its priorities away from its security guarantee with Europe, and highlighting Keir Starmer’s attempt to seek a backdoor return to the EU through regulatory alignment, they paint a stark picture of a West in transition, where old alliances are crumbling and delusional European leaders remain unable to confront the fiscal and military realities of a changing world order.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
...more
38min
February 11, 2026 The Starmer-Mandelson-Epstein scandal & Musk’s merger
In this episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau confront the false orthodoxies of finance and power, beginning with a deep dive into the “rigged” valuation of the SpaceX-xAI merger and toxicity of stock buybacks, before clashing over Keir Starmer’s appointment of Peter Mandelson as US Ambassador, Mandelson's links to Jeffrey Epstein, and the resignation of Morgan McSweeney as proof of a clownish and ultimately doomed political strategy.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
...more
37min
February 04, 2026 Why gold and silver crashed & Trump’s Fed Chair pick
Following a historic price crash for gold and silver after President Trump picked Kevin Warsh to lead the Federal Reserve, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau dismantle the orthodoxies surrounding the slump and connect the dots between Warsh’s Mar-a-Lago family ties, the toxic legacy of Quantitative Easing, and the inevitable shift toward fiscal dominance, exposing why the crash is a symptom of a dying central banking era and a warning of the dollar debasement yet to come.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
...more
34min

FAQs about The Econoclasts:

How many episodes does The Econoclasts have?

The podcast currently has 166 episodes available.

More shows like The Econoclasts

The LRB Podcast by The London Review of Books

The LRB Podcast

315 Listeners

Page 94: The Private Eye Podcast by Page 94: The Private Eye Podcast

Page 94: The Private Eye Podcast

410 Listeners

Political Fix by Financial Times

Political Fix

152 Listeners

The Politics Show by The New Statesman

The Politics Show

133 Listeners

Coffee House Shots by The Spectator

Coffee House Shots

177 Listeners

The Briefing Room by BBC Radio 4

The Briefing Room

68 Listeners

Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government by Institute for Government

Inside Briefing with the Institute for Government

24 Listeners

The Rachman Review by Financial Times

The Rachman Review

140 Listeners

Ones and Tooze by Foreign Policy

Ones and Tooze

356 Listeners

The Rest Is Politics by Goalhanger

The Rest Is Politics

3,371 Listeners

The Rest Is Politics: Leading by Goalhanger

The Rest Is Politics: Leading

751 Listeners

Past Present Future by David Runciman

Past Present Future

337 Listeners

How To Win An Election by Times Radio

How To Win An Election

23 Listeners

Political Currency by Persephonica

Political Currency

136 Listeners

Not Another One by Steve Richards, Miranda Green, Tim Montgomerie and Iain Martin

Not Another One

25 Listeners