The Econoclasts is a new podcast from UnHerd hosted by economist Yanis Varoufakis and journalist Wolfgang Munchau. While they don’t always agree politically, they are united in one conviction: the consensus is rotten. Mainstream economics has consistently failed to predict the events that shape our world, yet this broken orthodoxy still dominates policy and media. Each week, they choose two pillars of the established orthodoxy — the “settled facts” — and shatter them, cutting through the spin to connect the dots between money, geopolitics, and the real forces shaping our future.
Curated by: UnHerd (58 videos)
🔗 Click the following link to get tickets to 'The Econoclasts LIVE' in London on March 23rd: https://unherd.com/econoclastslive 📰 Subscribe to UnHerd today at: https://bit.ly/3Qdkd5y In this episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau confront the false orthodoxies of finance and power, beginning with a deep dive into the “rigged” valuation of the SpaceX-xAI merger and toxicity of stock buybacks, before clashing over Keir Starmer’s appointment of Peter Mandelson as US Ambassador, Mandelson's links to Jeffrey Epstein, and the resignation of Morgan McSweeney as proof of a clownish and ultimately doomed political strategy. Watch it on the UnHerd website: https://unherd.com/watch-listen/starmers-mandelson-appointment-was-a-match-made-in-hell/ Listen to the podcast: https://plnk.to/unherd?to=page Advertise on UnHerd @ zoe.white@unherd.com Follow UnHerd on social media: Twitter: https://twitter.com/unherd Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/unherd/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/unherd/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@unherdtv //TIMECODES// 00:00 - 01:00 – Intro 01:00 - 01:55 – Today’s Topics 01:55 - 03:28 – Musk’s SpaceX–xAI Merger & Market Valuations 03:28 - 07:41 – How Mergers Inflate Company Values 07:41 - 10:03 – Are Markets Always Wrong? AI & Bubbles 10:03 - 14:27 – Stock Buybacks vs Dividends 14:27 - 16:52 – Central Banks & “Socialism for Bankers” 16:52 - 20:57 – Case for Mandelson & the US Trade Deal 20:57 - 29:16 – Yanis’ Rebuttal: Ethics, Brexit & Labour Strategy 29:16 - 34:10 – Defending Mandelson, McSweeney & Labour’s Win 34:10 - 38:03 – Trump, Brexit Motives & Closing Thoughts #UnHerd #Epstein #KeirStarmer