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Richardmurphy7 Podcasts

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We’re told that competition makes everything better — cheaper, fairer, more efficient. But when it comes to banks, that’s a myth. Six giant institutions dominate the UK market. They are all charging high fees, paying low interest, closing branches, and abandoning communities. But banking shouldn't be a marketplace engaged in a race to the bottom in…
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Economics isn’t just about spreadsheets. It’s about people, power, and place. In this video, filmed in Ely, where I live, I explore what my friend Danny Blanchflower calls 'the economics of walking about', which is the idea that you learn more about the real economy by walking through it than by staring at data. From Ely Cathedral to Oliver Cromwel…
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Trump is demolishing the East Wing of the White House to build a privately funded $300 million ballroom. It’s being paid for by undisclosed corporate donors and is being built without proper regulatory approval. This isn’t restoration or renewal. It’s a hostile takeover of one of democracy’s most symbolic buildings, and when money rebuilds power, c…
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We’re told tax is a curse and even “theft.” That’s wrong. Tax is how we build a fair society. It plays an essential role in the funding of education, healthcare, and economic stability and justice. It’s how we express our shared responsibility. The real immorality lies in avoiding tax. In this video, I explain why tax is not a burden but the founda…
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Catherine Mann of the Bank of England says inflation will stay above 2%. But what if the problem isn’t inflation but is the target itself? The 2% rule was invented in the 1990s to please markets, not to help people. In this video, I explain why our obsession with hitting that number is crushing wages, stalling investment, and protecting the rich at…
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There’s a real debt crisis in Britain – but it’s not the one the politicians or journalists are talking about. While Rachel Reeves and the media obsess over government borrowing, 4 million people are already in negative budgets, meaning they're unable to afford the basics of life without debt. This video explains why the real debt crisis in the UK …
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Rachel Reeves says she needs to raise taxes to “balance the books.” But that’s not how government finance works. In this video, I explain why that tax doesn’t fund spending, why raising taxes on most people now would kill demand, and why idle wealth, and not workers, should be taxed if anything has to be at this moment. The government’s job is to s…
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Every pound of so-called “government debt” is a private financial asset. When the government spends, it creates money that becomes your wealth. Yet politicians pretend debt is a burden. In this video, I explain how our politicians' dangerous ignorance about the real nature of government debt drives austerity, destroys prosperity, and keeps Britain …
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Donald Trump has built his entire political project on hype and delusion — the same ingredients that fuel every economic bubble. But belief cannot defy reality forever. When cruelty replaces competence and lies replace truth, collapse follows. In this video, I explain why Trump’s political and economic bubble is unsustainable, how tariffs and specu…
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Why are Britain’s politicians so hopeless? From Tory fantasists to Labour deniers, Westminster has driven out the talented, the imaginative and the honest. The Conservative Party destroyed itself with Brexit and a cult of property and privilege. Labour has buried its belief in care, collective purpose and truth under Treasury orthodoxy. Both partie…
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Britain’s housing market has become a Ponzi scheme — built not on value, but on debt, illusion and exclusion. Successive governments have turned homes into speculative assets, trapping generations in rent, despair and insecurity. In this video, I explain how tax breaks, financialisation and political cowardice created a housing system that rewards …
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AI doesn’t think. Crypto isn’t money. Both claim to be revolutionary, but both are built on fantasy. In this video, I unpack the shared myth that code can replace care, that hype can replace real value, and that speculation can replace society. From the greed driving crypto to the fear driving AI, I argue that both reflect a deeper crisis in capita…
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Neoliberalism promised prosperity but delivered austerity, insecurity, and despair. It hollowed out our public services, undermined democracy, and left wealth in the hands of the few. In this video, I ask "What comes next?" A new economics must put people before markets, care before profit, and truth before fear. This is about rebuilding democracy …
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Around the world, people are marching: against Trump’s authoritarianism in the USA, Macron’s failures in France, and the cruelty of Gaza policy in the UK. Everywhere, governments are asking how to stop protest? when they should be asking why people feel the need to protest?. In this video, I argue that protest is a democratic safety valve — a sign …
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The Financial Times asked whether the global economy can survive another shock. I think it’s the question of our time. Debt, war and climate change are pushing us to breaking point and yet our governments still pretend that markets will save us. In this video, I explain why that’s a dangerous illusion, how neoliberal policy has made us fragile, and…
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Right-wing commentators claim inequality in Britain is falling. It isn’t. The Office for National Statistics says the Gini coefficient has improved — but the truth is that it ignores capital gains, wealth accumulation, debt, and inflation that hits the poor hardest. In this video, I expose the real story behind Britain’s growing inequality and why …
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In 2011 I wrote The Courageous State — a call for governments that act with purpose and confidence, not cowardice. Fourteen years later, we still live with austerity, outsourcing and fear. I argue it’s time to reclaim the language of democracy — to speak of courage, care, and common purpose. The words we choose decide the world we live in. Watch no…
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What if the UK government admitted it already uses modern monetary theory? Would markets panic — or would we finally have the power to rebuild Britain? In this video, I explain: Why MMT isn’t a policy, but a fact. How the “market panic” MMT would supposedly create is a myth. How the UK could use MMT to invest, create jobs, and tackle inequality. Th…
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The Economist claims Britain is trapped in a “debt doom loop.” But they’re wrong. The UK does not face a government debt crisis. What we really face is chronic underinvestment, inequality, and an elite media pushing austerity to protect the wealthy. In this video, I explain why The Economist’s story is false, what they deliberately ignore, and what…
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John Kenneth Galbraith’s The Affluent Society asked a question that still matters: how can we live with private luxury alongside public squalor? In this video, I explore why Galbraith was right about how markets manufacture wants, and why public goods are neglected. From billionaire rockets to broken hospitals, his warning is as urgent today as it …
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Chris Hedges has warned us: fascists mean what they say. Donald Trump has now issued NSPM-7, a presidential order that redefines dissent as terrorism and authorises the state to treat opponents as enemies. From Stalin’s Article 58 to the Nazi Malicious Practices Act, history shows what happens when repression becomes law. We need to face facts: the…
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Are all our major political parties now the same? Labour, Conservatives, the Lib Dems, and even Reform are united by one ideology: neoliberalism. Fiscal rules, austerity, and the “household analogy” bind them together into what I call the Single Transferable Party. This is why public services are always cut, inequality deepens, and investment is su…
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Our economy isn’t working. It’s built on lies: the myth of growth, the myth that profit comes before people, and the myth that wealth is more important than fairness. If we want a sustainable society, we need a new moral code for the economy. In this video, I set out ten commandments for a just economy - principles that put people before profit, ju…
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Keir Starmer has reopened the debate on national identity cards. Supporters say they could make public services, voting, and security simpler. Critics warn of surveillance, discrimination, and exclusion. Are ID cards about freedom—or about state control? I unpack the history, the arguments, and what it means for our rights today.…
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Free speech is the foundation of democracy. Without the right to disagree, there is no freedom at all. Yet in the USA, Trump threatens dissenters, comedians are suspended, and protesters are labelled extremists. In the UK, Palestine Action supporters face trial for holding placards. This is the authoritarian playbook. And we must resist it.…
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Andy Burnham says it’s time for the UK to stop being in hock to the bond markets. The City is in uproar, but who really calls the shots in Britain—the government we elect, or unelected financiers? In this video, I unpack Burnham’s challenge, the myths about debt and borrowing, and why democracy—not markets—must decide our future.…
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We’re told that government debt is spiralling out of control. Commentators scream “fiscal crisis!” and “record borrowing!” But the truth is very different. High government debt is not a sign of collapse—it’s a sign of trust. People and institutions are desperate for the safety that only the government can provide. Debt is not a danger—it’s a deposi…
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Financial markets are at record highs. Politicians, economists, and financiers tell us everything is fine. But it isn’t. In this video, I explain eight major risks to markets that are being ignored: Banking collapse Deregulation Authoritarianism Artificial intelligence Climate change Demographic change Geopolitical fragmentation Rising inequality T…
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Something called country-by-country reporting, which I created, changed the tax world forever. It forced multinationals to reveal how much profit they were shifting into tax havens. In this video, I tell the story of how I created this idea, how it became law in more than 70 countries, and how it is still reshaping global tax justice today.…
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Every action has a reaction. That’s true in life – and in economics. Every pound the government spends becomes someone’s income, which creates tax, confidence and prosperity. Yet politicians and journalists still talk about spending as if it’s waste. In this video, I explain why that’s wrong – and why we need to ask the right question: what possibi…
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Welcome to a new series on this channel: the history of economic thought. I’m Richard Murphy, political economist and professor. In this series, I’ll explore how economics has always been shaped by hope and fear, and how different schools of thought—from the classical economists like Adam Smith, Ricardo, and Marx, through to Keynes, Hayek, Friedman…
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Politicians and economists pretend forecasts are facts. But they’re not. They’re guesses – and running the economy on guesses guarantees failure. In this video, I explain why fiscal rules based on forecasts are absurd, why Rachel Reeves is already using them to justify austerity, and why we must plan on the basis of present needs, not imagined futu…
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Capitalism is not driven by rational homo economicus, but by power, greed and vested interests. Neoclassical economists' tidy models still shape policy, but other insights into conspicuous consumption, monopoly and political capture better explain today’s world—and remind us economics must face reality, not fantasy, if it is to serve society.…
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Donald Trump arrives in the UK today on a state visit – and Keir Starmer has exposed his complete lack of political judgment. Why did Starmer invite Trump? Why is Trump unfit for such treatment? And what does this say about the state of democracy in both the UK and USA? In this video I argue that: Trump promotes genocide, economic warfare and racis…
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CEO pay in the UK is spiralling out of control. The median FTSE 100 boss now takes home £4.5 million a year – while millions struggle to live on the minimum wage. If we can set a minimum wage, why not a maximum pay cap? In this video, I explore why inflated executive pay is unjustified, how it fuels inequality, and how a cap – at around £370,000 – …
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Thinking is not just a private act – it shapes the world we live in. Right now, powerful voices are framing our politics with paranoia: War paranoia – pundits talk calmly about conflict with China. Migration paranoia – a tiny minority problem inflamed into a crisis. Fiscal paranoia – false fears about debt used to justify austerity. These distortio…
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Donald Trump promised to Make America Great Again. Instead, he is wrecking the US economy. Job creation has collapsed, farmers can’t sell their crops, foreign investors are leaving, and tariffs are pushing up prices for ordinary Americans. In this video, I explain why Trump’s economic policies are a disaster — and why the UK should take note as the…
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Wes Streeting wants to fund 200 new NHS health centres through PFI. But the Public Finance Initiative was a disaster in the past – locking hospitals and schools into decades of expensive contracts. Profits were privatised while risks and debts were socialised. This video explains why PFI 2.0 is a betrayal of the NHS, why it costs more, and why the …
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In this first podcast style interview between me and Steve Keen, the author of 'Debunking Economics', Steve recounts how early encounters with neoclassical and neoliberal economics, and the realities of firm behaviour, led him to reject economic fairy tales and become a rebel. His politics shifted too, from Vietnam-era conformity to organising for …
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We are told that central banks are neutral and above politics. The truth is, they’re not. Central bank independence was created to remove responsibility from politicians and hand power to unelected bankers. This video explains why the idea is a con trick, how it undermines democracy, and why it’s time to put money back under democratic control.…
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