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

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FAQs about The Econoclasts:

How many episodes does The Econoclasts have?

The podcast currently has 166 episodes available.

The Econoclasts episodes:

January 28, 2026 “This isn’t over”: Trump, Greenland & the Davos delusion
In this week’s Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau engage in a deconstruction of multiple modern economic and geopolitical myths, from Mark Carney’s Davos speech to the shifting power dynamics between Europe and the United States. Was Carney’s much-lauded call for a new multilateral alliance actually a muddled and hypocritical attempt to revive a global order that has already ruptured? And was Europe’s “victory” over Trump with regard to Greenland actually delusional cheerleading, when the declining continent remains trapped by a deep dependency on American technology, the dollar, and security infrastructure?
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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39min
January 21, 2026 Europe’s fatal Greenland mistake & China’s real power
In the week when President Donald Trump vowed to implement a wave of increasing tariffs on European allies until the United States is allowed to buy Greenland, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau dissect the terminal decline of European sovereignty and the shifting pillars of the global economy. Is Europe unable to confront Trump due to its total reliance on American technology and defence? And while the U.S. and China embrace disruptive economic models to maintain their dominance, why does the EU choose to preserve a failing status quo rather than pursuing the radical political union necessary for survival?
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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39min
January 14, 2026 Trump’s war on the Fed & Bulgaria’s Euro disaster
In the week when the Trump administration threatened criminal charges against Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau expose the high-stakes power struggle to dismantle central bank independence and privatise the U.S. dollar. Added to Bulgaria’s controversial entry into the eurozone, Yanis and Wolfgang argue that the era of technocratic consensus is dead, replaced by a volatile new age of economic ‘techno-feudalism’ where the lines between state power and private profit have finally vanished.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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38min
January 07, 2026 Venezuela special: Maduro, oil, and Trump’s next target
In today’s Venezuela special, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau expose the reality behind the abduction of Nicolás Maduro and the dawn of a ‘Donroe Doctrine’ that signals the end of international law. As the first days of 2026 unfold, could Trump’s gangster-style intervention actually be emboldening Putin and Xi, and are Greenland and Canada truly the next targets on the list? And in a ‘Putinised’ West where European leaders remain non-entities, is this merely a regime change in Caracas, or a strategic flooding of the zone designed to shatter the transatlantic alliance and usher in a new era of transactional warfare?
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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32min
December 31, 2025 2025: The West’s annus horribilis
In this special year-end edition of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau dissect 2025 - a pivotal year and annus horribilis for the European Union in a world reshaped by a G2 power structure, where a resurgent Russia, a technologically dominant China, and a tariff-wielding Trump administration have left Europe and the UK strategically "snookered." From the collapse of international law and the death of the green transition to the rise of Cloud Capital and autonomous AI warfare, Yanis and Wolfgang shatter the comforting myths of the centrist establishment. As capitalism mutates into a predatory digital feudalism, how can we make the distinction between empirical optimism and the necessity of human hope as we enter 2026?
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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26min
December 24, 2025 Q&A: Germany’s economic death trap & the truth about BRICS
This week on a special Q&A edition of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau confront the uncomfortable truths of 2025. From the economic death trap currently paralysing German society, to why nationalist parties like the AfD are sympathetic to Putin, America’s waning interest in NATO, and BRICS’s blockchain-based new world order - Yanis and Wolfgang look back on a year in which global values were rubbished.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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38min
December 17, 2025 Greece’s doom loop & why Europe can’t stand up to Trump
This week, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau take aim at two prevailing myths: the widespread belief that Greece's recovery is a heartwarming success story—a model for debt-laden nations like Germany and the UK—and the soft centre-left idea that the EU can "go it alone" and challenge the United States politically and economically. Is Greece's success real, or just a financial illusion? And is a meaningful decoupling from a tariff-wielding America possible, or is the dream of a strategically independent Europe dead?
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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45min
December 10, 2025 The AI bubble myth & the truth about Trump’s Venezuela attacks
This week, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau take aim at two prevailing orthodoxies. Is the explosive AI boom really a bubble, or is the technology itself forcing a non-reversible shift away from capitalism and toward a new age of Techno-Feudalism? Plus, are Trump's orders to sink Venezuelan boats and kill sailors really about a "War on Drugs," or is that just a cynical cover story when what the administration really want from Venezuela is oil? And if the term "war crime" is wrong, should these acts be called something far more chilling: extrajudicial murder?

The Econoclasts is the podcast from UnHerd in which Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau each week pick pillars of the economic orthodoxy – so-called ‘settled facts’ – and shatter them. Why? Because, while they don’t always agree politically, they’re united in one conviction: the consensus is rotten and the establishment’s model is failing.

If you have a question for Yanis and Wolfgang then now is your chance. Send us your Econoclastic questions and they'll answer them on a future episode of the show. Email your questions to us at [email protected]
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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41min
December 03, 2025 Europe’s identity crisis: Empty values & defence delusion
This week, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau take aim at Europe's core illusions. Are Europe's 'values' anything more than a slogan when its leaders fail to defend a French ICC judge sanctioned by the Trump administration? And why is Europe fixated on rapidly increasing defence spending to 3.5% of GDP - is this target a genuine strategy to counter Russia and achieve independence, or is it a doomed exercise that will only funnel money inefficiently and increase Europe's reliance on American arms suppliers?

The Econoclasts is the podcast from UnHerd in which Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau each week pick pillars of the economic orthodoxy – so-called ‘settled facts’ – and shatter them. Why? Because, while they don’t always agree politically, they’re united in one conviction: the consensus is rotten and the establishment’s model is failing.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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39min
November 26, 2025 Trump’s Ukraine peace plan & the truth about the crypto crash
This week on The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau challenge two global orthodoxies: Europe's cynical strategy in the Ukraine war and the alleged freedom of the cryptocurrency world. Are European leaders actively frustrating any Ukraine peace plan to buy time for re-armament? And did last week’s crypto winter confirm that the digital currency universe has been taken over by an unholy alliance of Big Government and Big Finance that will guarantee future global financial chaos? Prepare to see the world's strategic priorities—from Kyiv to Bitcoin—in a new and alarming light.

The Econoclasts is the podcast from UnHerd in which Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau each week pick pillars of the economic orthodoxy – so-called ‘settled facts’ – and shatter them. Why? Because, while they don’t always agree politically, they’re united in one conviction: the consensus is rotten and the establishment’s model is failing.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
...more
37min

FAQs about The Econoclasts:

How many episodes does The Econoclasts have?

The podcast currently has 166 episodes available.

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