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Book Club with Jeffrey Sachs

Book Club with Jeffrey Sachs

Jeffrey Sachs 51 Episodes Oct 6, 2026

World-renowned economist and Columbia University Professor Jeffrey Sachs hosts lively conversations with authors of important books about history, social justice, and building a decent world. The podcast is brought to you by the SDG Academy, an initiative of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network. Produced by Karena Joslin with audio editing and theme song by Matt Rocker.

Episodes

Season 5 Episode 7: Sven Beckert; Capitalism: A Global History
Season 5 Episode 7: Sven Beckert; Capitalism: A Global History Oct 6, 2026 3337 Send us Fan MailJoin Professor Jeffrey Sachs and historian Professor Sven Beckert for a compelling discussion of his book Capitalism: A Global History, a sweeping account of the economic system that has transformed how we live, work, and organize our societies.Together, they explore the origins and evolution of capitalism over the past millennium, challenging the idea that it was simply a Western
Season 5 Episode 6: Steven Nadler
Season 5 Episode 6: Steven Nadler Sep 15, 2026 2992 Send us Fan MailJoin Professor Jeffrey Sachs and philosopher Professor Steven Nadler for a thought-provoking discussion of Baruch Spinoza and Nadler’s book, Spinoza: Atheist.Together, they explore Spinoza’s extraordinary life, his excommunication from Amsterdam’s Jewish community, and his groundbreaking ideas about religion, science, politics, and human freedom. At the heart of the conversation is
Season 5 Episode 5: Sam Dalrymple - Shattered Lands: Five Partitions and the Making of Modern Asia
Season 5 Episode 5: Sam Dalrymple - Shattered Lands: Five Partitions and the Making of Modern Asia Jul 7, 2026 3265 Send us Fan MailJoin Professor Jeffrey Sachs and historian Sam Dalrymple for a fascinating discussion of his book Shattered Lands: Five Partitions and the Making of Modern Asia. Drawing on extensive archival research, personal histories, and overlooked narratives, Dalrymple reveals how the dissolution of the British Raj reshaped a vast region stretching from Yemen and the Gulf to India, Pakistan,
Season 5, Episode 4 - Dorothy A. Brown, The Whiteness of Wealth: How the Tax System Impoverishes Black Americans--and How We Can Fix It
Season 5, Episode 4 - Dorothy A. Brown, The Whiteness of Wealth: How the Tax System Impoverishes Black Americans--and How We Can Fix It Jun 9, 2026 3617 Send us Fan MailJoin Professor Jeffrey Sachs and tax policy expert Professor Dorothy A. Brown for a thought-provoking discussion of her books, The Whiteness of Wealth and Getting to Reparations. Drawing on decades of research, Brown examines how seemingly race-neutral tax policies have contributed to widening racial wealth disparities in the United States and explores what meaningful economic repa
Season 5 Episode 3: Rana Mitter, Forgotten Ally: China's World War II, 1937-1945
Season 5 Episode 3: Rana Mitter, Forgotten Ally: China's World War II, 1937-1945 May 5, 2026 3725 Send us Fan MailJoin Professor Jeffrey Sachs and historian Professor Rana Mitter, for a compelling discussion of his book Forgotten Ally: China’s World War II, 1937–1945. Drawing on extensive archival research and long-overlooked sources, Mitter brings to light China’s central, and often underappreciated, role in the global fight against Imperial Japan during World War II.Together, they explore ho
Season 5 Episode 2: James W. Douglass: Martyrs to the Unspeakable: The Assassinations of JFK, Malcolm, Martin, and RFK
Season 5 Episode 2: James W. Douglass: Martyrs to the Unspeakable: The Assassinations of JFK, Malcolm, Martin, and RFK Mar 10, 2026 3630 Send us Fan MailJoin Professor Jeffrey Sachs for a compelling conversation on Martyrs to the Unspeakable: The Assassinations of JFK, Malcolm, Martin, and RFK by James W. Douglass. In this sweeping work, Douglass reexamines the assassinations of John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy, arguing that these four leaders were killed not by isolated actors, but within a
Season 5 Episode 1: Michael Carley, Stalin's Great Game : War and Neutrality, 1939-1941
Season 5 Episode 1: Michael Carley, Stalin's Great Game : War and Neutrality, 1939-1941 Jan 6, 2026 2905 Send us Fan MailJoin Professor Jeffrey Sachs and historian Michael J. Carley, retired Professeur at the Université de Montréal, for a discussion of his groundbreaking trilogy on the international crises of the 1930s: Stalin’s Gamble, Stalin’s Failed Alliance, and Stalin’s Great Game. Drawing on decades of archival research, Carley challenges the familiar Cold War narrative that paints Stalin and H
Season 4, Episode 12: Yakov M. Rabkin, Israel in Palestine: Jewish Rejection of Zionism
Season 4, Episode 12: Yakov M. Rabkin, Israel in Palestine: Jewish Rejection of Zionism Sep 30, 2025 2457 Send us Fan MailJoin Professor Jeffrey Sachs and Yakov M. Rabkin, historian and Professor Emeritus at the University of Montreal, for a wide-ranging and fascinating discussion on the history of Zionism, Jewish thought, and the modern state of Israel. Delving into Rabkin’s path-breaking work, including his newest book, Israel in Palestine: Jewish Rejection of Zionism, Rabkin and Sachs discuss the e
Season 4, Episode 11: James Romm, Plato and the Tyrant
Season 4, Episode 11: James Romm, Plato and the Tyrant Jul 8, 2025 2701 Send us Fan MailJoin Professor Jeffrey Sachs and Professor James Romm, classicist and historian at Bard College, for a captivating discussion on one of the most dramatic and fascinating political experiments of the ancient world: Plato’s involvement with power politics in Syracuse (Siracusa). Drawing on Romm’s newest book, Plato and the Tyrant, Sachs and Romm explore the extraordinary story of how
Season 4, Episode 10: Ilan Pappè, Lobbying for Zionism on Both Sides of the Atlantic & A Very Short History of the Israel-Palestine Conflict
Season 4, Episode 10: Ilan Pappè, Lobbying for Zionism on Both Sides of the Atlantic & A Very Short History of the Israel-Palestine Conflict Jun 3, 2025 3206 Send us Fan MailJoin Professor Jeffrey Sachs and Prof. Ilan Pappè, historian at Exeter University, UK, for an in-depth conversation on one of the most enduring and contentious issues of our time: the Israel-Palestine conflict. Drawing on Pappè’s powerful new books—Lobbying for Zionism on Both Sides of the Atlantic and A Very Short History of the Israel-Palestine Conflict, Sachs and Pappè discuss t
Season 4, Episode 9: Ray Kurzweil, The Singularity is Nearer: When We Merge with AI
Season 4, Episode 9: Ray Kurzweil, The Singularity is Nearer: When We Merge with AI May 6, 2025 2951 Send us Fan MailJoin Professor Jeffrey Sachs and futurist Ray Kurzweil for a compelling conversation on the accelerating pace of technological change and its profound implications for the future of humanity. In his new book, The Singularity Is Nearer, Kurzweil revisits and updates his groundbreaking predictions on AI & AGI, exponential growth, and human evolution and longevity.Together, they e
Season 4, Episode 8: Prof. Lauren Benton, They Called it Peace: Worlds of Imperial Violence
Season 4, Episode 8: Prof. Lauren Benton, They Called it Peace: Worlds of Imperial Violence Apr 8, 2025 2777 Send us Fan MailJoin Professor Jeffrey Sachs and American historian Lauren Benton for a discussion on the hidden histories of empires and the lasting impact of imperial violence. In her book, They Called It Peace: Worlds of Imperial Violence Benton uncovers how European powers built and maintained their empires through relentless cycles of raiding, slaving, and plunder—while portraying their conqu

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