The IEA Podcast is produced by the Institute of Economic Affairs, a UK-based economic think tank. Each episode examines pressing public policy and economic issues through weekly commentary, analysis, and debate. It features economists, commentators, and figures from Westminster and beyond discussing free-market ideas and current affairs. The show is aimed at listeners interested in UK economics and policy debates.
Episodes
Trump’s tariff backlash and the price of the EU reset | IEA Podcast
In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, Maeve Halligan is joined by Lord Hannan of Kingsclere, Director General of the IEA, and Robert Armstrong, Director of the Institute for Free Trade.Economic Affairs is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.This week, the discussion opens with the US midterms, where the Dem
Handouts, Landlords and the Tax-Raising Budget | IEA Podcast
In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, Maeve Halligan is joined by Lord Hannan, Director General, and Dr Valentin Boboc, Chief Economist at the IEA.This week, the discussion opens with a closer look at Chancellor John Healey’s Budget: 98 small measures, each with little impact, paid for with more borrowing. Is the new £100 winter heating payment for households in council tax Bands A to D a
Will the Budget Fix Britain’s Debt Crisis? | IEA Podcast
In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, Lord Hannan is joined by Dr Christopher Snowdon, Head of Lifestyle Economics, and Dr Kristian Niemietz, Editorial Director at the IEA.This week, the discussion opens with whether Britain should have built a sovereign wealth fund from North Sea oil revenue, as Chancellor John Healey has suggested, pointing to Norway as the model we failed to follow. Is
Forecasts, Football and Folic Acid | IEA Podcast
In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, Maeve Halligan is joined by Dr Valentin Boboc, Chief Economist, and Dr Christopher Snowdon, Head of Lifestyle Economics at the IEA.This week, the International Monetary Fund’s upgraded growth forecast for Britain is up for discussion, from its warning of a slowdown in 2027 to its advice that the Chancellor resist big giveaways just two weeks before th
Inside the Most Powerful Bank You’ve Never Heard Of | IEA Interview
In this IEA interview, Daniel Freeman, Managing Editor and Deputy Editorial Director at the IEA, speaks to historian, veteran foreign correspondent and author Adam LeBor about the second edition of his book Tower of Basel: The Shadowy History of the Secret Bank that Runs the World. The conversation explores the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), perhaps the most important bank most people h
Do the Tories’ Inheritance Tax Plans Add Up? | IEA Podcast
In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, Dr Christopher Snowdon, Head of Lifestyle Economics, is joined by Kristian Niemietz, Editorial Director and Head of Political Economy, and Daniel Freeman, Managing Editor and Deputy Editorial Director at the IEA.This week, Kemi Badenoch’s speech to Conservative Party conference is up for discussion, from her pledge to exempt the family home from inher
The Case for Freedom in an Illiberal World | IEA Interview
In this Institute of Economic Affairs interview, IEA Director General Lord Hannan of Kingsclere speaks to David Nott, President and CEO of Reason Foundation, about the philosophy behind Reason magazine and the case for individual liberty today. They discuss what distinguishes Reason's motto of "free minds and free markets", and why the magazine takes on difficult issues such as drug policy that ot
Andy Burnham's Speech: Nostalgia and Nationalisation | IEA Podcast
In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, Maeve Halligan is joined by Kristian Niemietz, Editorial Director and Head of Political Economy, and Daniel Freeman, Managing Editor and Deputy Editorial Director at the IEA.This week, Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s first speech to Labour Party conference is up for discussion, from his plans to change the triple lock to pay for a National Care Service,
Why Can't Britain Fix Its Pensions? | IEA Podcast
In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, IEA Director General Lord Hannan is joined by Kristian Niemietz, Editorial Director and Head of Political Economy, and Christopher Snowdon, Head of Lifestyle Economics. This week, the proposal to replace the state pension with a system of compulsory private saving is up for discussion. Also on the agenda are the debate over the “strange death of liber
Scrap Stamp Duty, Scrap Inheritance Tax? | IEA Podcast
In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, host Lord Hannan is joined by Christopher Snowdon, IEA Head of Lifestyle Economics, and Kristian Niemietz, IEA Head of Political Economy, for their regular economics and politics round-up. This episode covers the Bank of England’s decision to hold interest rates amid rising inflation, the case for and against scrapping inheritance tax and stamp duty,
How Britain Became a Command Economy Without Anyone Noticing | IEA Briefing
In this Institute of Economic Affairs briefing, IEA managing editor Daniel Freeman is joined by his colleague Dr Christopher Snowdon to discuss his new paper, The Capitalist Command Economy, out today. They examine how the Government increasingly directs private companies to meet political targets, on heat pumps, electric vehicles, and food reformulation, while leaving them nominally in private ha
Nearly 1 Million Young People Not in Work: Is Britain Facing a "Lost Generation"? | IEA Podcast
In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, host Maeve Halligan is joined by Managing Editor Daniel Freeman and Head of Lifestyle Economics Christopher Snowdon to discuss the new Chancellor’s first major speech as well as its emphasis on fiscal devolution, deregulation and “public control”. They unpack how and why nearly a million young people are now classed as not in education, employment or
Brexit & Austerity: What Actually Stalled UK Growth? | Julian Jessop
In this Institute of Economic Affairs interview, IEA Managing Editor Daniel Freeman is joined by Julian Jessop, Economics Fellow at the IEA, to discuss his chapter in the new IEA book The Great Stagnation: Why Britain Stopped Growing. The conversation covers the impact of austerity and Brexit on Britain’s economic growth since the 2008 financial crisis, and asks how much either can really explain
The Bond Market Is Panicking — Should We Be? | IEA Podcast
In this week’s IEA Podcast, IEA Director General Lord Hannan is joined by Dr Kristian Niemietz, the IEA’s Editorial Director and Head of Political Economy, and Dr Christopher Snowdon, Head of Lifestyle Economics. They discuss the sharp rise in UK borrowing costs, with ten-year gilt yields hitting their highest level since 2008, and ask when rising bond yields actually tip over into a sovereign deb
How Britain Lost Two Decades of Growth | IEA Events
Great Stagnation: https://iea.org.uk/publications/46605/Purchase the book: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Great-Stagnation-Britain-Stopped-Growing/dp/0255368607This event marks the launch of the Institute of Economic Affairs’ new book, The Great Stagnation: Why Britain Stopped Growing. The panel is chaired by Daniel Freeman, Managing Editor and Deputy Editorial Director at the IEA, with opening remarks
Britain's Tax Burden Is the Highest Since 1947 | IEA Podcast
In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, IEA Director Daniel Hannan is joined by Kristian Niemietz, IEA Head of Political Economy, and Maeve Halligan, IEA Spokesperson, who has just joined the Institute. They discuss intergenerational fairness, examining a report from the IPPR which proposes taxing older homeowners more heavily to help younger people, and the collapse in graduate job opportu
Why Young People Can't Get Jobs Anymore | IEA Interview
In this Institute of Economic Affairs interview, part of the Great Stagnation series, host Daniel Freeman speaks to Professor Len Shackleton, the IEA’s Head of Labour Economics, about how labour market regulation has affected UK economic growth. They discuss how Britain’s labour market has become steadily less flexible since the financial crisis, and what that has meant for redundancies, hiring, a
Are We Becoming Two Nations? | IEA Podcast
In this week’s IEA Podcast, Director General Lord Daniel Hannan is joined by regulars Dr Christopher Snowdon, Head of Lifestyle Economics, and Dr Kristian Niemietz, Editorial Director, to discuss the widening pay gap between the public and private sectors, the real cost of net zero, and the economics of gambling sponsorship in football.The panel opens with new earnings figures showing public secto
Britain's Tax Burden Is at a Post-War High. Here's Why It Matters | IEA Interview
In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, IEA Managing Editor Daniel Freeman speaks with Tom Clougherty, Independent Policy Analyst, about Britain’s tax system and its role in the country’s growth slowdown. Tom has written a chapter on this subject for the IEA’s forthcoming book, The Great Stagnation: Why Britain Stopped Growing. The conversation covers how Britain’s overall tax burden compar
One in Four Britons Now Claim to Be Disabled | James Bartholomew | IEA Interview
In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, IEA Director General Lord Hannan interviews James Bartholomew, author and leading expert on the UK welfare state, and director of the Museum of Communist Terror. The conversation covers the scale of Britain’s welfare crisis, competing reform proposals, the surge in mental health and disability claims, the minimum wage, school choice, and the case for
Why the NHS Isn't the Bargain You Think It Is
In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, IEA Director General Lord Hannan is joined by Kristian Niemietz, Editorial Director and Head of Political Economy, and Christopher Snowdon, Head of Lifestyle Economics. The conversation covers Andy Burnham’s proposals to tighten planning rules on vape shops and betting shops, the debate over how Britain should pay for social care, and Vice President J
Net Zero Is Bankrupting Britain's Economy | David Turver | IEA Interview
In this Institute of Economic Affairs interview, IEA Energy Analyst Andy Mayer speaks with David Turver, author and independent energy writer, about his chapter in the IEA’s forthcoming book, The Great Stagnation: Why Britain Stopped Growing. The conversation covers why the UK has the most expensive industrial electricity prices in the developed world, how renewable subsidies and grid costs have d
How to Win a Trade War, with Soumaya Keynes | IEA Interview
https://www.amazon.co.uk/How-Win-Trade-War-Economic/dp/103509018Xhttps://x.com/SoumayaKeynesIn this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, IEA Managing Editor Daniel Freeman is joined by Soumaya Keynes, economics columnist at the Financial Times and host of The Economics Show, to discuss her new book How to Win a Trade War. They cover the collapse of the old rules based global trading system, why
Is America Really Richer Than Europe? | IEA Podcast
In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, IEA Director General Lord Hannan is joined by Editorial Director Dr Kristian Niemietz and Head of Lifestyle Economics Christopher Snowdon. The conversation covers whether America is genuinely richer than Europe, the Government’s proposed changes to public procurement rules, and a recent case of academic misconduct at Cambridge.On the first topic, Kris
Why Is British Infrastructure So Expensive? | IEA Interview
In this Institute of Economic Affairs interview, IEA Managing Editor Daniel Freeman speaks with Dr Valentin Boboc, Senior Economist at the IEA, about Britain’s infrastructure problem and why the country has become so slow and expensive at building. The conversation is part of a series accompanying the IEA’s new book, The Great Stagnation: Why Britain Stopped Growing, out on 2nd September, to which
A Million Young People Are Not in Work, Education or Training | IEA Podcast
In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, Managing Editor Daniel Freeman is joined by Editorial Director Dr Kristian Niemietz and Head of Lifestyle Economics Dr Christopher Snowdon. The panel discusses New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s plan for state-owned grocery stores, Andy Burnham’s proposed reforms to secondary school education, and the Reform Party’s decision to report Green Party leader
Is This Why Britain Stopped Growing? | IEA Interviews
In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, IEA Managing Editor Daniel Freeman speaks with Dr Kristian Niemietz, IEA Editorial Director, about his chapter in the forthcoming book The Great Stagnation. The conversation covers why Britain has struggled to build almost anything for decades, from housing to lab space to supermarkets, and how this shortage of building land helps explain the country’
Andy Burnham's First Week as Prime Minister | IEA Podcast
In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, IEA Director of Communications Callum Price is joined by Director General Lord Hannan and Head of Lifestyle Economics Dr Christopher Snowdon to discuss the first days of Andy Burnham’s premiership, Britain’s welfare crisis, and the reshuffle at the Department of Energy and Net Zero.The conversation opens with Burnham’s early policy moves, including th
Why Is Britain Poorer Than Every US State? | IEA Interview
Institute of Economic Affairs Managing Editor Daniel Freeman is joined by economic historian Tyler Goodspeed to discuss his chapter in the forthcoming book The Great Stagnation: Why Britain Stopped Growing. Their conversation examines why the UK economy never fully recovered from the 2008 financial crisis, and makes the case that post-crisis bank regulation, not austerity or planning laws, is the
8 Things Andy Burnham Could Do In His First 100 Days | IEA Briefing
In this Institute of Economic Affairs briefing, IEA Director of Communications Callum Price speaks with Senior Economist Dr Valentin Boboc about a letter the IEA sent to Prime Minister Andy Burnham, setting out eight policies he could introduce in his first 100 days in office. They discuss reforming the non-dom tax regime, releasing greenbelt land near railway stations, accelerating the Fingleton
Gary Stevenson's Wealth Tax Documentary, Fact-Checked | IEA Podcast
In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, Managing Editor Daniel Freeman is joined by Editorial Director Dr Kristian Niemietz and Senior Economist Dr Valentin Boboc to break down three taxes that dominated the news this week: the wealth tax, new customs duties on small parcels, and the land value tax.They start with the wealth tax, prompted by Gary Stevenson’s Channel 4 documentary, examining
What Went Wrong After Brexit Won? Lord Elliot | IEA Interview
In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, IEA Director General Lord Hannan interviews Matthew Elliott, Lord Elliott of Mickle Fell, president of the Jobs Foundation and former chief executive of Vote Leave. The conversation covers the ten-year anniversary of Vote Leave, marked by Elliott’s new book, and traces his path from Taxpayers Alliance founder to running the successful campaign against
Is Britain Actually Neoliberal? The Spectator's Michael Simmons | IEA Interview
In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, IEA Director General Lord Hannan interviews Michael Simmons, economics editor of The Spectator, about whether Britain has really been a neoliberal economy for the past forty years, or whether that claim gets the diagnosis badly wrong. The conversation covers the rise of regulation and price controls since the financial crisis, the perception gap betwe
Farage vs Binface, Wealth Inequality & Trickle-Down Myths | IEA Podcast
In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, Director of Communications Callum Price is joined by IEA Director General Lord Hannan and Editorial Director Dr Kristian Niemietz. The panel discusses the Clacton by-election and the rise of joke candidates, the very different ways the populist left and right use the word “establishment,” the debate sparked by J.D. Vance over whether GDP is the right
Was New Zealand's Lockdown Worth It? | IEA Interview
In this Institute of Economic Affairs interview, IEA Director General Lord Hannan speaks with Katherine Rich, Chief Executive of BusinessNZ and a former National Party Member of Parliament in New Zealand. The conversation covers the difference between being pro-market and merely pro-business, New Zealand’s decades-long shift towards deregulation, the rise of populism across Anglosphere politics, t
Britain's Wealth Just Collapsed | IEA Podcast
In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, Director of Communications Callum Price is joined by Director General Lord Hannan and Editorial Director Dr Kristian Niemietz for the weekly round up of the week in economics. The conversation covers three topics: Andy Burnham’s speech on devolution and decentralisation, a new report showing Britain has suffered the biggest fall in household wealth in
Winning the War of Ideas | IEA Interview
In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, IEA Director of Communications Callum Price speaks with Casey Given, Executive Director of Young Voices, about how classical liberal ideas are communicated in a changing media environment. The conversation covers the shift from the traditional think tank model to new media, the rise of what Young Voices calls “messenger experts”, the widening politica
Did Women's Freedom Build the Modern Economy? | IEA Podcast
In this Institute of Economic Affairs interview, IEA Managing Editor Daniel Freeman speaks with Dr Victoria Bateman, economic historian and author of Economica: A Global History of Women, Wealth and Power. Bateman has taught economics at both Cambridge and Oxford, and her earlier books include The Sex Factor and Markets and Growth in Early Modern Europe. The conversation traces the economic role o
Is Britain Ungovernable? | IEA Podcast
In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, Director of Communications Callum Price is joined by Director General Lord Hannan and Editorial Director Dr Kristian Niemietz to discuss whether Britain has become ungovernable, the state of public spending since the lockdowns, and the prospect of a seventh prime minister in ten years. They also mark ten years since the Brexit referendum and turn to t
Tax Rises Built a Black Market. Britain Is Next. | IEA Interview
In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, IEA Head of Lifestyle Economics Dr Christopher Snowdon speaks with Rohan Pike, a former Australian Federal Police officer and ex-Australian Border Force official who spent his final years in public service working on illicit tobacco. The conversation looks at the Laffer Curve as a real world example, using Australia’s tobacco duty, where revenue has f
How Did Elon Musk Become The World's First Trillionaire? | IEA Podcast
In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, IEA Director of Communications Callum Price is joined by Editorial Director Dr Kristian Niemietz and Senior Economist Dr Valentin Boboc. They discuss the Government’s proposed ban on social media for under-16s, the news that Elon Musk has become the world’s first trillionaire, and economist Thomas Piketty’s latest proposals for degrowth and a global c
The Truth About Britain's Nanny State Policies | IEA Briefing
In this Institute of Economic Affairs briefing, IEA Director of Communications Callum Price speaks with Dr Christopher Snowdon, the IEA’s Head of Lifestyle Economics, about his new book Inside the Sausage Factory: The Illusion of Evidence-Based Policy Making. The conversation looks at four public health measures from the 2010s, plain packaging for tobacco, minimum pricing for alcohol, the sugary d
Was Thatcher the Only Time Britain Loved Capitalism? | IEA Interview
In this Institute of Economic Affairs interview, IEA Managing Editor Daniel Freeman speaks with Martin Vander Weyer, business editor of The Spectator, author and former investment banker, about his chapter “Why We Lost Faith in Capitalism” from the new IEA book On Morality, Human Behaviour and Economics, available now in bookshops and on Amazon. The conversation traces British attitudes to busines
Is Degrowth Just Authoritarianism With Better Branding? | IEA Podcast
In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, Callum Price is joined by Director General Lord Hannan and Editorial Director Kristian Niemietz to discuss three of the week’s biggest economic stories. The conversation opens on the Piketty and Stiglitz-backed “roadmap for eradicating poverty beyond growth,” examining whether degrowth is a serious economic proposal or a fashionable pose that falls ap
Is the UK Overtaxed, Over-borrowed, and Running Out of Road? | IEA Interview
In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, Callum Price speaks with Max Marlow, Director of Public Affairs at the Adam Smith Institute, about Tax Freedom Day 2025, which fell on Saturday 6th June, the latest date ever recorded. They discuss what the figure actually measures, how the tax take now stands at 36.1% of GDP, and why the complexity of the UK tax system is compounding the burden on ho
Have Wealth Taxes Ever Actually Worked? | IEA Podcast
In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, host Callum Price is joined by the IEA’s new Director General Lord Hannan and Editorial Director Kristian Niemietz. The episode covers the OBR’s admission that it underestimated the fiscal damage from the Government’s employer National Insurance rise, the banning of American commentators Hasan Piker and Usman Khan from entering the UK, and Zach Polans
Did Capitalism Actually Help the Poor? | IEA Event
In this IEA talk, Dr Stephen Davies, Head of Education at the Institute of Economic Affairs, delivers a lecture on the Industrial Revolution, the Great Enrichment, and what the long history of economic growth tells us about how the modern world came to be. The talk covers the extraordinary transformation in living standards since 1800 — from a world where one in four children died before their fir
Growth, Inequality and Overtime: What Does Britain Actually Want? | IEA Podcast
In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, Callum Price is joined by Managing Editor Daniel Freeman and Senior Economist Dr Valentin Boboc to discuss three of the week's biggest policy stories. The conversation opens with Tony Blair's 5,000-word essay on what the Government is getting wrong, examining his ten-point plan for what he calls "radical centrism" and how much of it lines up with long
Why Is Britain's Electricity the Most Expensive in the Developed World? | Free the Power
In this Free the Power podcast, IEA Energy Analyst and COO Andy Mayer speaks with David Turver, independent energy expert and author of the Eigenvalues Substack. David has been writing for the IEA on the costs of net zero and has a forthcoming essay examining whether opposition party energy policies could meaningfully address those costs. The conversation focuses on the real and growing financial
Predicting the Unpredictable
In this Institute of Economic Affairs interview, Managing Editor Daniel Freeman speaks with Dr George Maher, Fellow of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, former partner at Tillinghast Towers Perrin, and author of Economic Success and Failure in the Roman Empire. The conversation centres on Dr Maher's new IEA Substack paper, Predicting the Unpredictable, which applies actuarial methods to fore
Is London Finished? | IEA Podcast
In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, Editorial Director Kristian Niemietz is joined by Senior Policy Fellow Lord Frost and Managing Editor Daniel Freeman to discuss three stories dominating British economic debate. The conversation covers a Financial Times investigation into London’s slowing growth and falling productivity, the Government’s cost of living announcements including tariff c
What is Opportunity Cost? Episode 5 | Economics 101
In this Institute of Economic Affairs Economics 101 explainer, Dr. Stephen Davies breaks down one of the most profound yet misunderstood concepts in economics: opportunity cost. The episode covers why economists are always talking about costs, what scarcity really means, and why absolutely nothing in life is ever truly free.Dr. Davies explains why time is the most radically scarce resource of all,
Did Free Enterprise Save the Space Age | IEA Interviews
In this Institute of Economic Affairs interview, IEA Editorial Director Kristian Niemietz speaks with Dr. Rainer Zitelmann, historian, sociologist, and author of New Space Capitalism, about the rise of private space industry and what it reveals about markets, incentives, and the limits of state-led enterprise. They examine how space exploration has shifted from a government monopoly to a competiti
Is Political Chaos Actually Killing the UK Economy? | IEA Podcast
In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, host Callum Price is joined by Editorial Director Kristian Niemietz and Senior Economist Dr Valentin Boboc. The episode examines the political turmoil in Westminster, the Government’s King’s Speech, and what both mean for the UK economy. The discussion centres on the bond market, fiscal credibility, and why political chaos matters far more when public
Is Britain a Capitalist Command Economy? | IEA Briefing
In this Institute of Economic Affairs briefing, Dr Kristian Niemietz is joined by IEA Head of Lifestyle Economics Dr Christopher Snowdon to examine a question with no easy answer: what kind of economy does Britain actually have? Neither neoliberal nor socialist, Chris makes the case that the UK has drifted into what he calls a “capitalist command economy” — one where industries remain largely in p
Does Britain Actually Have a Housing Shortage? | IEA Podcast
In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, Lord Frost is joined by Kristian Niemietz, Editorial Director, and Dr Valentin Boboc, Senior Economist, to work through three of the week’s most pressing economic questions. The episode opens with a debate sparked by a Daily Telegraph piece from former IEA chair Neil Record, who argues that Britain may not have a housing shortage in the conventional s
200 Episodes: Your Questions Answered | IEA Podcast Q&A
In this bonus episode of the Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, host Callum Price is joined by Director General Lord Frost and Editorial Director Kristian Niemietz to answer listener and viewer questions. Released to mark the podcast recently passing its 200th episode milestone, the panel tackles a wide range of topics submitted by the audience, from public spending and austerity to inflation,
Wealth Taxes Won't Fix Broken Britain
This week on the IEA Podcast, Lord Frost, Dr Kristian Niemietz and host Callum Price dig into the Bank of England’s decision to hold rates at 3.75% — and whether the Governor should still have his job after the near 10% inflation disaster of 2021-22. With three wildly different scenarios on the table and the spectre of rates hitting 5.5%, the question is whether the Bank is still too soft on infla
The Wealth Tax Delusion: The Policy That Promises Everything and Delivers Nothing | IEA Interview
In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, Callum Price is joined by Kristian Niemietz, IEA Editorial Director, and Arun Advani, Director of the Centre for Analysis of Taxation and a former Wealth Tax Commissioner. The discussion centres on the IEA’s new paper, “Fool’s Gold: The Case Against the Wealth Tax,” covering why the idea has gone from niche curiosity to political obsession, what the e
Why Don't Governments Just Print More Money? | MMT Myth | IEA Interview
Modern Monetary Theory has taken the internet by storm. From viral Twitter threads to bestselling books, MMT promises that governments can spend freely without the usual constraints — that money can be printed to fund hospitals, green energy, and public services without consequence. But is any of it true? In this episode, Christopher Snowdon sits down with economist and author Emmanuel Marjorie, w
COVID Was the Biggest Event Since WW2 — And We've Learned Nothing | IEA Podcast
In this Institute of Economic Affairs interview, Dr Christopher Snowdon speaks with Roger Bate, Fellow at the International Centre for Law and Economics and former IEA Fellow, about the failures of the World Health Organisation during COVID and the case for fundamental reform — or outright replacement. They discuss the International Health Reform Panel, a new group co-chaired by former WHO insider
Why Are Young People Giving Up on Work? | IEA Podcast
In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, host Callum Price is joined by Managing Editor Daniel Freeman and Energy Analyst Andy Mayer to discuss the latest UK unemployment data, the impact of artificial intelligence on the labour market, and the Government’s recent energy market reforms.The episode opens with the latest jobs figures, which showed unemployment falling to 4.9% — but with the bu
Has The Left Already Won Britain?
In this episode of the IEA Podcast, Callum Price is joined by Editorial Director Dr Kristian Niemietz to launch a new series on the IEA Insider Substack: Millennial Liberalism. The series, inspired by the IEA’s 1985 anthology The New Right Enlightenment, brings together young classical liberals to share how they came to their ideas in a generation overwhelmingly hostile to free markets. Kristian e
Britain Is Poorer Than Every US State | IEA Podcast
In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, Callum Price is joined by Director General Lord Frost and Editorial Director Kristian Niemietz to discuss the week in economics. The episode covers findings from the IEA’s landmark public opinion report on British attitudes to economic growth, a new poll from the New Statesman on the gender gap in political attitudes among young people, an IPR report
Net Zero's Dirty Secret | IEA Interview
In this episode of Free the Power, the IEA’s occasional series looking at free market solutions to problems in climate and energy policy, IEA energy analyst and COO Andy Mayer speaks with Catherine McBride, CEO of the Great British Business Council and lead author of the report Premeditated Industrial Destruction. They discuss how three quarters of UK energy is not electricity but oil, gas and coa
What do Britons Really Think About the Economy? | IEA Interview
Britain wants growth. 87% of the public support it, cutting across age, income, and political affiliation. But there is a catch: most people do not believe they will ever actually see the benefits. While nine in ten expect big corporations and the wealthy to gain from a growing economy, barely half think it will improve their own lives. That gap between wanting growth and trusting it explains almo
Should the Government Ban Kanye? Plus Rent Controls & the Minimum Wage Trap | IEA Podcast
In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, host Callum Price is joined by Director General Lord Frost and Editorial Director Kristian Niemietz. The episode covers the Home Office’s decision to revoke Kanye West’s travel authorisation, the Green Party’s push for rent controls ahead of local elections, and new evidence on the employment effects of the minimum wage.On the free speech and visa que
Why Britain Is Poorer Than America | Tyler Goodspeed
What really causes recessions? Tyler Goodspeed, former chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers and author of Recession: The Real Reasons Economies Shrink and What We Can Do About It, joins Daniel Freeman to challenge everything we think we know about economic downturns. Drawing on over 300 years of economic history across Britain and America, Goodspeed demolishes the idea that recess
Pensions, Speech, Censorship
Is the triple lock on the state pension sustainable? What does the future of free speech in Britain actually look like? And when does safety regulation cross the line into doing more harm than good? Kristian Niemietz, Lord Frost, and host Callum Price tackle three of the most contested policy questions in British public life right now.The panel examines the case for and against the triple lock, ex
Does Britain Need a Second London? | The 33rd IEA Hayek Lecture
In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, chair Callum Price hosts the 33rd Hayek Lecture, introduced by Lord Frost, IEA Director General. Harvard Professor of Economics Edward Glaeser delivers the lecture entitled “Does Britain Need a Second London?”, examining the relationship between urban density, housing supply and economic growth. Kristian Niemietz, IEA Editorial Director, joins the pan
The Book That Predicted Modern Tyranny: Hayek's Law, Legislation and Liberty
Hayek’s Law, Legislation and Liberty is one of the most important works of political philosophy of the 20th century -- but it’s also one of the most difficult to read. Written over 15 years while its author battled illness, moved between continents, and collected a Nobel Prize, the book is uneven, repetitive, and densely philosophical in places. In this interview, Dr Eamonn Butler, director of the
Made in Britain: The 500-Year Story Behind the Industrial Revolution | IEA Interview
In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, Daniel Freeman, Managing Editor at the IEA, speaks with Dr. Gregory Clark, Professor of Economics at the University of Southern Denmark and author of A Farewell to Alms (2008) and The Son Also Rises (2014). The conversation explores why economic growth was almost non-existent before 1800 and what set Britain on the path to the Industrial Revolution, f
Why Is Britain Taking the Biggest Growth Hit in the G20? | IEA Podcast
In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, Callum Price is joined by Kristian Niemietz, IEA Editorial Director, and Lord Frost, IEA Director General. They discuss the OECD’s latest growth forecasts, which place the UK as the hardest hit economy in the G20, the Government’s response to the energy price shock, and what — if anything — should be done about rising inflation.The conversation then t
Are We in the Biggest Bubble in History?
Are we living through the biggest financial bubble in history — and does anyone in power know it? In this IEA event, Rt Hon Steve Baker FRSA and Max Rangeley present a joint case that decades of deficit spending, money creation and artificially low interest rates have inflated an asset bubble unprecedented in its scale and scope. Drawing on data from the OBR, the Bank of England and the OECD, Bake
The Wealth Tax That Runs Out by Friday | IEA Podcast
In this Institute of Economic Affairs podcast, host Callum Price is joined by Editorial Director Kristian Niemietz and, making his first appearance on the podcast, Senior Economist Dr Valentin Boboc. Together they discuss a busy week in British economic policy. The episode opens with Rachel Reeves' Mace lecture, in which the Chancellor set out her theory of growth and the case for an "active and s
Green Deals in the EU Exposed | IEA Interview
Governments across Europe have convinced themselves they can pick winners, drive innovation and save the planet — all at the same time. But what happens when the bill comes due? Kristian Niemietz is joined by Professor Kristin Sandstrom and Professor Magnus Henriksen, authors of a new IEA report on green industrial policy in the EU, to find out.From Northvolt — the European Union’s flagship batter
Britain's Broken Energy System | Free the Power | IEA Podcast
Join Andy Mayer, IEA Chief Operating Officer, with Sean Ridley, energy and environment analyst at the Centre for Policy Studies and co-author of Power to the Markets, for a comprehensive breakdown of why Britain’s energy market has stopped functioning as a market at all. This episode of Free the Power explores how decades of subsidies, government targets, and intervention have eroded price signals
Is Inheritance Tax Britain's Worst Tax? | IEA Podcast
Inheritance tax is one of Britain’s most hated taxes -- but is the outrage justified? Kristian Niemietz sits down with Rory Meakin, Research Fellow at the Taxpayers’ Alliance and author of a new IEA paper on inheritance tax, to examine what this tax actually does, how much it raises, and whether it makes any economic sense. From the farmer protests that pushed the issue back into the headlines, to
Dubai, Net Zero & Free Speech: What's Really Going Wrong in Britain?
In this episode of the IEA Podcast, Lord Frost is joined by Kristian Niemietz and Andy Mayer to discuss the growing “Dubai phenomenon” — why increasing numbers of Brits are leaving the UK to build a better life abroad, and why politicians like Ed Davey are wrong to criticise them for it. The panel argues that rather than attacking those who leave, Britain should be asking why it can no longer offe
Britain's Growth Crisis: Is Anyone Actually Fixing It? | Dr Lawrence Newport
Callum Price is joined by Dr Lawrence Newport, co-founder of Looking for Growth, a grassroots movement pushing for meaningful economic reform across the UK. Lawrence explains how the movement was born out of frustration with the Government’s first budget, which he argues was indistinguishable from years of previous Treasury thinking, typified by managed decline and a lack of ambition from the poli
