The Wolf-Krugman Exchange: Power, plutocracy and political economy

The Wolf-Krugman Exchange: Power, plutocracy and political economy

Author: Financial Times December 21, 2025 Duration: 43:34

In this final episode of their series for the FT's The Economics Show, FT chief economics commentator Martin Wolf and Nobel laureate Paul Krugman consider listeners’ questions and comments ranging from a critique of globalisation, increasing inequality and plutocracy, the global appetite for US federal debt, China’s economic future and much more.


This is a repeat of an episode published on The Economics Show, a sister podcast of FT News Briefing, on December 17, 2025


Subscribe and listen to this series of The Economics Show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen to podcasts. 


Read Martin’s column here 


Subscribe to Paul’s substack here


Find Paul’s cultural coda here.


Find Martin’s cultural coda here.


Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval and Josh Gabert-Doyon. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Tom Hannen is the video editor. Sound design and original music by Breen Turner.



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


Start your morning with the essential context for the day ahead. FT News Briefing, directly from the Financial Times newsroom, cuts through the noise to deliver a concise, authoritative overview of the global business and political developments that truly matter. Each episode is a focused, ten-minute digest designed for the time-pressed, offering clarity on complex market movements, geopolitical shifts, and economic policy decisions. You’ll hear the FT’s expert analysis woven into the reporting, providing not just the headlines but the underlying forces at play. This daily podcast serves as an efficient primer, whether you’re commuting or preparing for your first meeting, ensuring you’re informed on the stories that will define conversations in boardrooms and beyond. Released every weekday morning, it’s a reliable filter for the overwhelming flow of information, built on the FT’s legacy of rigorous journalism. Tune in to transform the way you catch up on world events, turning a few minutes into a strategic advantage for your day.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

FT News Briefing
Podcast Episodes
Hungary ousts longtime prime minister Viktor Orbán [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 12:42
Hungary’s prime minister Viktor Orbán concedes, US President Donald Trump says America will launch a naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz after peace talks with Iran failed, and Wall Street banks are set to report trad…
US-Iran war boosts used electric vehicle sales [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 12:25
Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains at a standstill, sales of used electric vehicles are surging in the US, and the International Monetary Fund is warning that the war’s shocks will be felt by the global econom…
The oil market navigates a shaky ceasefire [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:00
The Middle East ceasefire is strained, the FT’s Jamie Smyth explains how the uncertainty is hitting oil markets and Pakistan has become a mediator between the US and Iran. Plus, the data chief of the NHS has vowed to ign…
US and Iran agree to two-week ceasefire talks [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 12:25
US President Donald Trump said he would “suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks” subject to Iran reopening the Strait of Hormuz, hedge funds made record bets against European stocks, Turkey has…
China lends Cuba a helping hand [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 10:26
The US and Iran rejected each other’s peace proposals, EU officials are urging governments to avoid excessive support to offset surging energy prices, and the value of buyouts by private equity groups fell by more than a…
Counting the costs of Trump’s immigration crackdown [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 12:39
In a special edition of the FT News Briefing, reporter Guy Chazan explains the cost of US President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. We hear from business owners and people affected by the policies in the Rio Grande…
Swamp Notes: The economic fallout of ‘liberation day’ [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 11:46
America’s tariff regime affected all aspects of life from the global economy to the day-to-day of average business owners. In this special episode, the FT’s US Economics Editor Claire Jones explains what changed, and wha…
Robert Armstrong on coining the Taco trade [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 12:30
President Donald Trump fired US attorney-general Pam Bondi, and private credit investors are requesting their money back from Blue Owl Capital at an alarming rate. Plus, the FT’s Robert Armstrong continues our series on…
The shifting geopolitics of Trump’s tariffs [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 12:57
US President Donald Trump updated Americans on the war in Iran, and Chinese government bonds have sidestepped a global debt sell-off since the start of Washington’s conflict with Tehran. Plus, in part four of our tariff…
How a small US business navigated Trump’s tariffs [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 12:00
Foreign central banks have slashed their holdings of Treasuries at the New York Federal Reserve to the lowest level since 2012, and a preliminary estimate showed that Eurozone inflation jumped to 2.5 per cent in March. P…