Épisodes

  • Greece’s doom loop & why Europe can’t stand up to Trump

    Greece’s doom loop & why Europe can’t stand up to Trump
    Dec 17 2025
    This week, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau take aim at two prevailing myths: the widespread belief that Greece's recovery is a heartwarming success story—a model for debt-laden nations like Germany and the UK—and the soft centre-left idea that the EU can "go it alone" and challenge the United States politically and economically. Is Greece's success real, or just a financial illusion? And is a meaningful decoupling from a tariff-wielding America possible, or is the dream of a strategically independent Europe dead?

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    45 min
  • The AI bubble myth & the truth about Trump’s Venezuela attacks

    The AI bubble myth & the truth about Trump’s Venezuela attacks
    Dec 10 2025

    This week, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau take aim at two prevailing orthodoxies. Is the explosive AI boom really a bubble, or is the technology itself forcing a non-reversible shift away from capitalism and toward a new age of Techno-Feudalism? Plus, are Trump's orders to sink Venezuelan boats and kill sailors really about a "War on Drugs," or is that just a cynical cover story when what the administration really want from Venezuela is oil? And if the term "war crime" is wrong, should these acts be called something far more chilling: extrajudicial murder?


    The Econoclasts is the podcast from UnHerd in which Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau each week pick pillars of the economic orthodoxy – so-called ‘settled facts’ – and shatter them. Why? Because, while they don’t always agree politically, they’re united in one conviction: the consensus is rotten and the establishment’s model is failing.


    If you have a question for Yanis and Wolfgang then now is your chance. Send us your Econoclastic questions and they'll answer them on a future episode of the show. Email your questions to us at econoclasts@unherd.com

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    40 min
  • Europe’s identity crisis: Empty values & defence delusion

    Europe’s identity crisis: Empty values & defence delusion
    Dec 3 2025

    This week, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau take aim at Europe's core illusions. Are Europe's 'values' anything more than a slogan when its leaders fail to defend a French ICC judge sanctioned by the Trump administration? And why is Europe fixated on rapidly increasing defence spending to 3.5% of GDP - is this target a genuine strategy to counter Russia and achieve independence, or is it a doomed exercise that will only funnel money inefficiently and increase Europe's reliance on American arms suppliers?


    The Econoclasts is the podcast from UnHerd in which Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau each week pick pillars of the economic orthodoxy – so-called ‘settled facts’ – and shatter them. Why? Because, while they don’t always agree politically, they’re united in one conviction: the consensus is rotten and the establishment’s model is failing.


    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    39 min
  • Trump’s Ukraine peace plan & the truth about the crypto crash

    Trump’s Ukraine peace plan & the truth about the crypto crash
    Nov 26 2025

    This week on The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau challenge two global orthodoxies: Europe's cynical strategy in the Ukraine war and the alleged freedom of the cryptocurrency world. Are European leaders actively frustrating any Ukraine peace plan to buy time for re-armament? And did last week’s crypto winter confirm that the digital currency universe has been taken over by an unholy alliance of Big Government and Big Finance that will guarantee future global financial chaos? Prepare to see the world's strategic priorities—from Kyiv to Bitcoin—in a new and alarming light.


    The Econoclasts is the podcast from UnHerd in which Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau each week pick pillars of the economic orthodoxy – so-called ‘settled facts’ – and shatter them. Why? Because, while they don’t always agree politically, they’re united in one conviction: the consensus is rotten and the establishment’s model is failing.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    37 min
  • Should Labour sack Starmer & will Reeves bankrupt Britain?

    Should Labour sack Starmer & will Reeves bankrupt Britain?
    Nov 19 2025
    On this episode of The Econoclasts, in an important week for the British economy, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau debate speculation over Keir Starmer’s leadership and whether political instability is now a permanent feature of Westminster - before dissecting the fatal mistake at the heart of Rachel Reeves’ budget, her reliance on economic “experts”, and why Reeves is paralysed by a crisis of her own choosing.

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    40 min
  • Palantir's secret pact & the Euro's fatal flaw

    Palantir's secret pact & the Euro's fatal flaw
    Nov 12 2025
    This week on The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau debunk two more establishment orthodoxies. First, Wolfgang challenges the widespread belief that the euro is a safe and permanent currency and investigates the deep structural flaws that were never fixed, exploring whether a new political shock in a major country like France could be the trigger that finally unravels the entire project. Next, Yanis shatters the foundational myth that capitalism is synonymous with free markets, exploring the cozy relationship between big business and the state, and questioning whether the 'free market' is just an ideological smokescreen. Is the system secretly designed to secure monopoly power, and will AI be a force for true competition, or will it be the ultimate weapon for existing tech giants to solidify their control forever?

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    47 min
  • China vs. the dollar & Europe's far-Right failure

    China vs. the dollar & Europe's far-Right failure
    Nov 5 2025
    This week on The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau debunk two more establishment orthodoxies. First, Yanis challenges the widespread belief that China is actively trying to dethrone the US dollar as the world's reserve currency, arguing that while Beijing wants independence from US sanction power, it is strongly opposed to the idea of taking on the burden of the reserve currency. And second, Wolfgang debunks the "cordon sanitaire", or "firewall" orthodoxy that European centrist parties must never form coalitions with the far-Right, exposing how this failed tactic forces centrists into permanent coalitions that deliver only stagnation and ultimately guarantees the rise of far-Right parties

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    46 min
  • Should Europe seize Russian assets? Is a crypto crisis looming?

    Should Europe seize Russian assets? Is a crypto crisis looming?
    Oct 29 2025
    In this first episode of The Econoclasts, Yanis Varoufakis and Wolfgang Munchau debunk two failed economic orthodoxies shaping our world. First, they dismantle the narrative that Europe is helping Ukraine - and striking a powerful blow against Russia - by raiding Russia’s frozen assets. More than this being legally questionable, is it also economically and geopolitically self-defeating? Next, they expose the "battle" between central banks and anti-establishment crypto rebels as a false choice, revealing it as a dangerous illusion that serves the powerful. Far from being revolutionary, are stablecoins turbo-charging financial instability for the next global crash?

    Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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    47 min