EQUALS: Reimagining Our Economy
A podcast about inequality. We reimagine our economy one conversation at a time with activists, thinkers and politicians across the world. This podcast is hosted by Max Lawson, Grazielle Custódio, Annie Theriault and Nafkote Dabi and produced by Simon Maina. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Episodes
Can finance be part of the solution to inequality?
Following philosopher Dr. Ingrid Robeyns’ call to ask “How much wealth is too much?”, we meet someone trying to change the system from within.
João Paulo Pacífico says he is ‘hacking’ the system using the tools of finance to fight inequality and support social movements like Brazil’s Landless Workers’ Movement (MST).
He shares why he capped his own wealth, how he helps ordinary Brazil...
Around the world, peace talks too often exclude the very people holding communities together.
In this powerful episode, Max and Grazielle sit down with Dr. Sanam Naraghi-Anderlini, and Dr. Sarah Ihmoud, to unpack what happens when women lead peace and the human cost for the war in Gaza.
From Northern Ireland’s Women’s Coalition to Palestinian women’s resistance and survival in Gaza, they reveal why peace agreements are stronger w...
Can a society survive when a few own everything? Philosopher Ingrid Robeyns joins EQUALS to make the case for limitarianism, the radical yet common sense idea that there should be a limit to how much wealth one person can have.
From super rich billions to democracy’s decline, Ingrid explains how excessive wealth erodes freedom, fairness, and even the planet’s survival.
🎧 Listen now and ask yourself: How much is too much?
From the trenches of war in Ukraine, to strikes against austerity in the UK, and the struggle for migrant workers’ rights in South Korea, trade unions are demonstrating extraordinary resilience.
In this EQUALS episode, three union leaders share how working people are standing strong against war, exploitation, and political repression:
- Ivanna Khrapko from Federations of Trade Unions of Ukraine (FPU) shares how unions provi...
EQUALS is back with a brand-new season! We open our 8th season with Luc Triangle, General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), to explore the fight against inequality, the erosion of democracy, and what he calls a ‘billionaire coup’ that is reshaping global politics.
Luc shares why the fight against inequality is inseparable from the fight for democracy and how these are all linked to trade unions.
In this special wrap-up episode, hosts Grazielle and Max reflect on their favorite and most powerful conversations from the season. From the transformative discussion with Kate Pickett and Richard Wilkinson on power of equality, to the role of monetary policy in driving inequality with Jordi Schroder, to the everlasting legacy of colonialism with Jason Hickel—this season has been packed with bold ideas and fresh perspectives.
We...
In this eye-opening episode, we sit down with investigative journalist and author Nick Shaxson to unpack one of the hidden forces behind rising inequality: monopoly power.
From food to healthcare to tech and finance, monopolies are tightening their grip on our economies—and our lives. He shares how corporate fuels billionaire wealth, undermines democracy, and worsens the climate crisis.
But it’s not all doom—he...
How do central bank policies like hiking interest rates affect inequality?
Annie and Grazielle sit down with Jordi, an economist at Positive Money, to unravel the complexities of monetary policy. Jordi explains how central banks influence financial conditions to achieve economic targets and the impact of interest rate changes on inequality.
The discussion covers how inflation affects different households, how central banks can ad...
Do you think Artificial Intelligence (AI) will exacerbate inequality or will it help in tackling it?
In this episode Nafkote and Grazielle hosts Nobel Prize winner and MIT professor Simon Johnson as they dive deep into the world of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and its effect on inequality. From the promises of AI to its potential challenges, Simon discusses the risks of increasing inequality and the difficulties to ensuring...
Did you know that some of Germany's wealthiest families, who control major brands like BMW and Volkswagen, had deep ties to the Nazi regime?
In this eye-opening episode, journalist David de Jong reveals how these powerful dynasties amassed their fortunes through close collaboration with the Nazi party (National Socialist German Workers' Party), forced labour, and expropriation.
Join us as we uncover the shocking truths about weal...
In this episode, Max and Nafkote interview Grace Blakeley, an economist and author, about the rise of oligarchy and the relationship between billionaires, corporations, and the state.
Grace discusses the close relationship between the American political establishment and the billionaire class, highlighting how modern capitalist economies are characterized by a fusion of public and private power serving the interests of the wealt...
To coincide with the launch of Oxfam’s Davos 2025 report, Takers, not Makers, Naf and Max interview acclaimed author, academic and activist Jason Hickel.
Find out how our world is still organised primarily to benefit a small group of white men in rich countries and what we can do to stop this.
If you enjoy the episode, please like, share, comment, and leave us a review. Follow us on X @EQUALShope and on
Grazielle and Max interview the epidemiologists Kate Pickett and Richard Wilkinson, whose groundbreaking work has shown how more equal societies are much safer, happier, healthier, more democratic and greener places to live. How the American dream is actually a Danish dream - and that radically reducing inequality is the key to our future.
If you enjoy the episode, please like, share, comment, and leave us a review. Follow ...
As South Africa prepares to take on the G20 presidency next year, we were inspired to explore how it might seize this opportunity to tackle inequality. In our latest episode, we speak with lawyer and activist Isobel Frye, Executive Director at Social Policy Initiative (SPI).
With the enduring legacy of apartheid, high unemployment, and deep-rooted economic inequality, South Africa’s inequality crisis remains urgent. Join us as w...
As we head to COP29 with climate finance taking centre stage, join Max and Nafkote for an insightful discussion. This episode features Meena Raman, a veteran activist and Head of Programs at Third World Network. Together, they explore the pressing $5 trillion climate debt, the call for reparations, and the main obstacles in climate finance negotiations.
Discover how taxing the wealthy and redirecting war funds can help build a b...
In the summer of 2024, Kenya ignited with protests against the controversial Finance Bill 2024. This legislation threatened to impose heavy taxes on essential goods, sparking widespread outrage.
In this episode, Grazielle and Nafkote delve deep into the movement with Grace Wendo, a passionate youth activist and student leader from Kenya. We explore the underlying factors that fuelled the protests: Was it solely about taxes,...
Jayati Ghosh is an incredible activist, campaigner, academic and thinker. She is leading the fight on so many issues key to the fight against inequality. In this fascinating interview hear her sharp analysis of issues from colonialism to care, and from tax to climate, and what we need to do to win.
As always, like, share and leave us a review. You can find us on X at @EQUALShope and on LinkedIn.
Don't just lis...
As we launch our new season focusing on fighting inequality, Max and Grazielle host Oxfam’s new Executive Director, Amitabh Behar.
From growing up in Bhopal, India, a city infamous for the chemical leak by a US corporate that killed thousands, Amitabh talks us through his life experiences and how they have shaped his thinking and his passion to fight inequality and advocate for social justice and human dignity. Of the urgent nee...
As the World Health Organization (WHO) continue to negotiate the Pandemic Accord, Max and Grazielle interviews Nick Dearden on Pharma patents, monopolies and greed that makes them price medical tools out of reach by people who need them.
They also discuss how the public funded research changes hand to be a patent for big pharmaceutical companies whose only concern is to make profit rather than save lives.
Imagine someone owing you money, but instead of paying you, they offer you a loan with conditions on how to use it. That is the how climate financing looks like according to Fadhel Kaboub.
Fadhel, hosted by Max and Nafkote, breaks down bit by bit, the situation in climate financing and why it is impossible to have just transition within the structures of colonialism and extractivism.
Fadhel is an associate professor of econom...
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