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. Don't forget to rate, like and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy (https://acast.com/privacy) for more information.
What this show covers
GeopoliticsEuropepolitical economyGermanyChinaEuropean UnionEuropean politicsNATO-Russia tensionsEuropean austerityFrancediplomacyreindustrialisationautomationdeindustrialisationdefence sovereignty
What listeners will find here
France’s fiscal storm meets Europe’s rising war fever
France’s fiscal and political turmoil sits at the center of a wider argument about European austerity and escalating militarized rhetoric. Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau connect economic fragility, NATO-Russia tensions, and hybrid-war narratives to the risk of a deeply destabilized continent.
Europe’s pre-war turn, and why reindustrialisation may not bring jobs back
Europe’s rising tensions with Russia and China frame a conversation about diplomacy, media narratives, and economic myths. Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau argue that a pre-war posture is being normalized while promises of military-led growth and factory revival overstate what automation can deliver.
Germany’s centrist crisis meets Europe’s deeper strategic decline
Germany’s political breakdown is the entry point to a wider argument about Europe’s loss of defence sovereignty, deindustrialisation, and geopolitical weakening. Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau challenge familiar narratives by putting much of the blame on the centre-Left.
AI doom, robotic rivalry, and Europe’s fading tech sovereignty
This episode examines AI extinction warnings, arguing they can serve as a strategy for regulatory capture. Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau also look at weaponised AI, China’s robotic edge, and why Europe is losing sovereignty in the age of cloud capital.
AfD’s rise in Germany becomes a warning sign for Europe’s political future
Germany’s AfD surge is the focus here, as Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau examine its political fallout and the broader strain on the European project. They connect today’s moment to contested narratives about Hitler’s rise and argue the EU’s structure cannot stop deeper democratic decay.
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