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Macrodose

Macrodose

Planet B Productions 264 Episodes Aug 19, 2026

Macrodose is a weekly economics podcast hosted by James Meadway. Each episode provides a concise update on key economic developments and trends. The show aims to make economics accessible and engaging for a general audience.

Episodes

Annual Jellyfish Invasion
Annual Jellyfish Invasion Aug 19, 2026 00:09:58 On this week's Macrodose, James Meadway looks at how nuclear power plants are being shut down because of a rapidly breeding organism invading its systems (0:33), and the striking rise in government borrowing costs right across the world (3:20).Subscribe to support the show at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/Macrodose.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Your pledge is a donation supporting free public education; perks are thank-you gi
New Arctic Trade Routes
New Arctic Trade Routes Aug 12, 2026 00:13:16 On this week's Macrodose, James Meadway looks at a bank that holds an unconventional asset that has come a cropper with rising temperatures (0:38), the growing commercial opportunity for new freight routes due to melting ice in the arctic (5:59), and how data centres are struggling to keep up with the demands of AI training (10:27).Subscribe to support the show at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/Macrodose.
From the Streets to the Corridors of Power
From the Streets to the Corridors of Power Aug 6, 2026 00:30:30 "If you go together and if you fight for it, then you are visible."Over the last four episodes of this series, we've heard about the daily struggles, exhaustion, the invisibility, and the structures that keep these burdens in place. In our final episode, we ask cleaners themselves what resistance looks like.From “Justice for Janitors” across the Atlantic, to the Cleaners Parliament i
Looming Food Crisis Warnings
Looming Food Crisis Warnings Aug 5, 2026 00:20:56 On this week's Macrodose, James Meadway looks at how British supermarkets warn of the looming food crisis (0:34), how Japan could be the canary in the economic coalmine (7:24), and how extreme heat is making nuclear power unreliable (14:48).Subscribe to support the show at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/Macrodose.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Your pledge is a donation supporting free public education; perks are thank-you gifts
Migration, Gender, and the Fight for Dignity
Migration, Gender, and the Fight for Dignity Jul 30, 2026 00:29:52 "As a migrant working here… it's not easy, and it has never been easy."In many European countries, a staggering proportion of cleaners come from migrant backgrounds. This isn’t a coincidence. It’s a pattern shaped by discriminatory immigration policies, labour market barriers, and the systematic failure to recognise qualifications and skils gained elsewhere.In this episode, we explor
The Downward Spiral of Public Procurement
The Downward Spiral of Public Procurement Jul 23, 2026 00:24:35 "The biggest problem is that they choose the lowest bid. That ends up being paid by the worker."Our taxes might be used to exploit cleaners through public contracts. But how does it work, who is responsible for this, and what can we do about it?In this episode, we follow the money. We expose how "public procurement"—the system by which governments award cleaning contracts—has c
Monkey Market Collapse
Monkey Market Collapse Jul 22, 2026 00:20:12 On this week's Macrodose, James Meadway looks at who new prime minister Andy Burnham has chosen to be his Chancellor of the Exchequer (0:42), how wildfire season is increasingly becoming a wider phenomenon driven by rising global temperatures (9:01), and how the collapse in the market of lab monkeys is impacting biomedical research around the world (14:03).Subscribe to support the show at ⁠⁠⁠⁠
The Hidden Cost of Night Work and Split Shifts
The Hidden Cost of Night Work and Split Shifts Jul 16, 2026 00:38:11 "We are the invisibles. We clean when no one is around."Most people work during the day. But for nearly half of Europe's cleaners, the shift begins when everyone else goes home.In this episode, we examine the hidden toll of night work and split shifts—and why daytime cleaning is a proven, humane alternative. We hear from two cleaners living in two different realities: one trapped in
El Nino Profiteering
El Nino Profiteering Jul 15, 2026 00:13:28 On this week's Macrodose, James Meadway looks at the impact of the unholy pairing of the El Nino phenomenon and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz (0:46), how one hedge fund is looking to capitalise financially on disruption caused by El Nino (7:00), and how the European heatwave continues to underline the need for climate adaptation (9:41).Subscribe to support the show at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/Macr
A Day In The Life of Europe's Cleaners
A Day In The Life of Europe's Cleaners Jul 9, 2026 00:29:43 "The only time people notice what a cleaner does is when she doesn't do it."They disinfect hospital wards, scrub office floors, and sanitise the spaces we all rely on. Yet cleaners are among the most invisible workers in Europe.In this first episode, we pull back the curtain on a typical day in the life of a cleaner. From the marble corridors of the European Parliament to a high-depe
Data Centre Meltdowns
Data Centre Meltdowns Jul 8, 2026 00:18:23 On this week's Macrodose, James Meadway looks at how heatwaves are breaking data centres (0:33), how Trump is refusing to renew his own North American trade deal (5:44), and a listener question all about Modern Monetary Theory (9:50).Subscribe to support the show at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/Macrodose.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Your pledge is a donation supporting free public education; perks are thank-you gifts for yo
High Cost Heatwaves
High Cost Heatwaves Jul 1, 2026 00:14:14 On this week's Macrodose, James Meadway looks at how the cost of extreme heat requires urgent attention from our political leaders (0:36), if Andy Burnham’s speech this week laid out more of his economic vision (4:43), and how the straight of Hormuz may well be reopening, but the impacts are still to come (10:30).Subscribe to support the show at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠patreon.com/Macrodose.⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Your pledge

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