This spring, swimmers in Kent were told to avoid ten beaches in the county due to sewage leaks. Public outrage at sewage pouring into our rivers and beaches has so far focused on water companies. But is someone else to blame? The pipes that carry sewage in Kent are not owned by Southern Water, or even Kent County Council. They belong to a massive Australian asset management firm that most of us have never heard of.

Asset management firms are not household names, but they’ve come to own our energy systems, hospitals, schools, and even the pipes that supply our drinking water. So who are these shadowy companies? What even is asset management? And why are they buying up the things we need to keep our society going?

Ayeisha Thomas-Smith is joined by political economist and economic geographer Brett Christophers to discuss his new book Our Lives in Their Portfolios: Why Asset Managers Own the World.

Grab a copy of the book here: https://www.versobooks.com/en-gb/products/2985-our-lives-in-their-portfolios-why-asset-managers-own-the-world

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Music by Chad Crouch and Podington Bear, used under Creative Commons licence.

Produced by Becky Malone, Margaret Welsh and Katrina Gaffney.

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The New Economics Podcast is brought to you by the New Economics Foundation. Find out more at www.neweconomics.org