Economics & Beyond with Rob Johnson

Chris Hedges: How Republicans, Democrats, and the Media Have Weakened US Democracy

Renown journalist and author Chris Hedges talks about the many ways traditional media, digital media, and the two political parties have worked to prevent progressive movements and give rise to the growth of the extreme right

Saikat Chakrabarti: Biden's Many Options for Creating Real Change

New Consensus president Saikat Chakrabarti talks about what Biden can do, even without Congress, to make a real difference in the lives of ordinary Americans

William Janeway: Government's Role in R&D and in Addressing Climate Change

Cambridge University professor and INET co-founder William Janeway discusses the crucial role that government has always played in generating technological innovation, how this role has been diminished in recent years, and the problems this lack of attention will cause for the US in the near future

Alan Light: Looking Back and Looking Ahead in the World of Music

Alan Light, veteran music journalist and host of “In The Light” on SiriusXM, discusses how the pandemic affected the world of music, what we gained and what we lost, and what we might look forward to for 2021

Trita Parsi: How US Foreign Policy Makes Everyone, Including the US, Less Safe

Quincy Institute Vice President Trita Parsi talks about the incredible amount of destruction that US foreign policy has wrought in Iran and in many other places, and how it has actually made the US less safe and less able to address the challenges ahead

Michael Hirsh: Multinationals Exploited the Community of Nations and Both Parties Enabled Them

Foreign Policy editor Michael Hirsh talks about how both Republicans and democrats allowed multinational corporations to exploit international trade while allowing local communities to be devastated, which brought about Trump

Jayati Ghosh: Developed World Monopolizes COVID Vaccine at its Own Peril

UMass Economics Professor Jayati Ghosh points out how pharmaceutical companies not only received massive subsidies for developing a vaccine, but are now trying to hold on to patent monopolies, which will only prolong the pandemic for everyone.

Seth Klein: How WWII Preparation Sets an Example for Confronting Climate Change

Public policy researcher and writer Seth Klein discusses his new book, A Good War: Mobilizing Canada for the Climate Emergency, which looks at the example that the mobilization for World War II sets in terms of mobilizing society and resources for coping with an emergency

Jayati Ghosh: Rescue Packages for Wealthy Corporations, not for Developing Countries

UMass Amherst Economics professor Jayati Ghosh talks about the massive unjustness of the so-called pandemic economic rescue packages, which continue to favor the world's wealthiest while ignoring the dramatic plight of the developing world.

Rise Up and Stop the Doomsday Machine!

In the final part of his conversation with Rob Johnson, Daniel Ellsberg talks about his hopes for this generation and why he wrote The Doomsday Machine.