This week, Macrodose teams up with our partner show The Break Down for a special crossover episode. James Meadway and Adrienne Buller look back on the whirlwind that was 2024 – a year defined by political upheaval, economic instability, and escalating climate crises.
They revisit the standout stories of the year, from surging infectious diseases and climate-driven inflation to the unraveling of the post-war global order.
Looking ahead to 2025, they explore the big macroeconomic trends we need to be tracking and ask: how do we make sense of these challenges, and what does a hopeful, sustainable path forward look like?
A huge thank you to our Patreon supporters for making this show possible over the past twelve months. From all of us at Macrodose and The Break Down, we wish you a joyful and restful winter break.
For exclusive content, including The Fix—Macrodose's monthly newsletter—and to support the show, visit: https://www.patreon.com/macrodose.
Got a question or comment? Reach out to us at [email protected].
To learn more about the work we do at Planet B Productions, head to planetbproductions.co.uk.
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43:15
Trump, China, and the New Cold War
On this week's MACRODOSE: James Meadway explores the new Cold War as Trump gears up to escalate US-China trade tensions (1:47) and examines the broader geopolitical and environmental shifts challenging the postwar order (12:04).
AI-Generated Production Networks Paper: https://aipnet.io/paper/
For exclusive content, including The Fix—Macrodose's monthly newsletter—and to support the show, visit: https://www.patreon.com/macrodose.
Got a question or comment? Reach out to us at [email protected].
To learn more about the work we do at Planet B Productions, head to planetbproductions.co.uk.
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18:33
The Break Down: After Overshoot w/ Andreas Malm
In 2024, we’re set to break a major climate threshold for the first time: this will be the first calendar year in which global average temperatures breach the 1.5 degree Celsius threshold enshrined in the Paris Agreement. Importantly, while one year at this temperature doesn’t mean all is lost, it does fire a profound warning shot over our faltering progress on mitigating and adapting to the climate crisis.
While every fraction of a degree matters when it comes to the climate, the consensus is clear that above 1.5C the severity of impacts and risk of tipping points like mass coral reef die off or the collapse of the Greenland ice sheet become substantially higher. You might therefore expect this to be front page news. Yet compared with its gravity, it has barely made headlines. If, like us, you’re wondering why — as it turns out, this was always part of the plan.
In this episode, Adrienne and Andreas Malm break down the concept of “overshoot”, how it’s tied up with the power of fossil fuels, and the future of climate politics, from ecofascism to geoengineering.
Andreas Malm is an associate professor at Lund University, an activist and the author of several books, most recently Overshoot: How The World Surrendered to Climate Breakdown, co-written with Wim Carton.
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43:28
Can We Climate-Proof Our Food?
On this week's MACRODOSE, James Meadway discusses the battle to develop climate-resilient potatoes (0:50), a new proposal on revamping Britain’s council farms (7:33) and a brief note on Trump’s new appointments, what can we expect from MAGA 2.0? (11:23).
Abundance Report: https://www.in-abundance.org/latest/new-report-food-systems-in-common
For more content, including The Fix - Macrodose's monthly newsletter - and to support the show, visit: https://www.patreon.com/macrodose
Got a question or comment? Reach us at [email protected]
For more about the work we do at Planet B Productions, go to planetbproductions.co.uk
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17:03
COP29 Review: The Trillion-Dollar Climate Shortfall
On this week's MACRODOSE, James Meadway explores the disappointing outcomes of COP29 in Baku, focusing on the economics of financing green transitions in the Global South (0:38), and examines how China’s $2 billion bond sale in Saudi Arabia reflects the rise of a multipolar world (8:16).
For more content, including The Fix - Macrodose's monthly newsletter - and to support the show, visit: https://www.patreon.com/macrodose
Got a question or comment? Reach us at [email protected]
For more about the work we do at Planet B Productions, go to planetbproductions.co.uk.
UK