China’s export powerhouse is feeding global demand for cheaper electronics, cars, clothing, and plenty more besides. But the supercharged competition driving that trend is causing problems within China itself, including deflation and thin or negative profit margins. China’s government has recognised the problem, but what is it actually doing in response – and how should the country’s trading partners react? Soumaya speaks to Yanmei Xie, senior associate fellow at the Mercator Institute for China Studies, to discuss.

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Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon and Mischa Frankl-Duval. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner. The FT head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

For China, ‘involution’ is a blessing as well as a curse

Why China is reluctant to make a much-needed shift

Fall in Chinese investment suggests Xi Jinping’s ‘anti-involution’ drive is biting

China battles price wars in fight against deflation

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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If you want to understand food – and eat better – economics is a good place to start. How do immigration patterns shape a country’s cuisine? How do labour laws make our working lunches worse? And why do strip malls serve such good grub? To find out, Soumaya Keynes talks to Tyler Cowen, economics professor at George Mason University and chair of the Mercatus Center think-tank. Cowen has written about food for more than two decades, including in his 2012 book An Economist Gets Lunch.

Read Soumaya’s columns here: https://www.ft.com/soumaya-keynes

Subscribe to The Economics Show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Cheryl Brumley is the FT’s global head of audio. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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

The EU-India trade deal was partly a geopolitical statement, directed towards Trump. But what’s actually in it? What were the toughest bits to agree, who gave up concessions, and what will the deal mean for the economies of India and the EU? Soumaya Keynes is back to chat to Nicolas Köhler-Suzuki, adviser for trade and economic security, Jacques Delors Institute, and Ajay Srivastava, founder of the Global Trade Research Initiative in Delhi, and a former trade negotiator.

Subscribe to Soumaya's show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Further reading:

EU and India seal trade pact to slash €4bn of tariffs on bloc’s exports

Indian exporters seek new markets after Donald Trump’s trade blitz

EU leaders push to implement Mercosur trade pact

Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon, Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner. The FT’s global head of audio is Cheryl Brumley.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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

Are the headline growth figures really telling us the full story about the global economy? Gita Gopinath, a former deputy managing director at the IMF and a professor of economics at Harvard University, discusses this question with Martin Wolf, the FT’s chief economics commentator. They talk about how AI investments are offsetting the economic drag from tariffs, the risk of another financial crisis and whether the dollar can remain the world’s dominant currency.

Subscribe to Soumaya's show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Further reading:

Trump is erasing the global economic order

So you tried to buy a country . . . 

IMF warns global economic resilience at risk if AI falters

Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Josh Gabert-Doyon, Alex Bell and Kirsty Loughlin. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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It wasn’t the Trump administration’s first attack on the Federal Reserve – but it was perhaps the most shocking. The Department of Justice’s criminal investigation into Jay Powell – nominally over his testimony about the refurbishment of Fed buildings – has ramped up pressure on the Fed chair, whom Donald Trump has frequently criticised over the central bank’s interest rate stance. Will Trump succeed in imposing his will on the Fed, and how might the world’s most important financial institution fight back? Is there any hope that the next Fed chair will stand up to Trump? FT US economics editor Claire Jones speaks to the Fed's former vice-chair Don Kohn.

Further Reading

High-stakes Powell probe carries risks for US justice department

Central bank chiefs ‘stand in full solidarity’ with Jay Powell

Justice department’s probe into Jay Powell galvanises Fed leaders to repel Donald Trump’s attacks

Claire Jones is the FT’s US economics editor. You can find her articles here.

Subscribe to The Economics Show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen. Presented by Claire Jones. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. The executive producer was Manuela Saragosa. Original music from Breen Turner, and sound design by Breen Turner and Sam Giovinco.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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Affordability is set to be a key issue in US politics ahead of the country’s midterm elections. And though American politicians often express their support for the country’s middle class, life has become progressively more difficult for that group, Mechele Dickerson argues. The University of Texas law professor explains how sluggish wage growth, housing policy and the growth of personal debt have made it harder to secure the markers of middle class life.

Claire Jones is the FT’s US economics editor. You can find her articles here

Subscribe to The Economics Show on Apple, Spotify, Pocket Casts or wherever you listen.

Presented by Claire Jones. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Manuela Saragosa is the FT’s acting co-head of audio. Original music from Breen Turner, and sound design by Sam Giovinco.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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Some of the world’s biggest financial institutions are reeling after the collapse of a little-known car parts supplier: First Brands Group. The company filed for bankruptcy last month, and since then, FT reporters have shone a spotlight on billions of dollars of hidden debt and a secretive founder whose borrowing habits left creditors exposed. The FT’s corporate finance editor Robert Smith and banking editor Ortenca Aliaj walk through their investigation and explain how this event has raised questions about potential cracks in private credit.

This is a repeat of an episode published on Behind The Money, a sister podcast of The Economics Show, on October 29, 2025

For further reading:

The secretive First Brands founder, his $12bn debt and the future of private credit

First Brands Group: dude, where’s my cash?

First Brands bankruptcy: the losers — and winners

Follow Robert Smith on X (@BondHack), or on Bluesky (@bondhack.ft.com). Michela Tindera is on X (@mtindera07) and Bluesky (@mtindera.ft.com), or follow her on LinkedIn for updates about the show and more.

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The European Commission must urgently dismantle internal trade barriers that are stifling innovation, productivity and investment across the EU. So says Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank, in a conversation with the FT’s chief economics commentator, Martin Wolf, as she calls for immediate structural reforms and explains why this is the moment to do it.

This interview was recorded on December 10 as part of the FT’s The Global Boardroom conference.

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

Sound design and original music by Breen Turner.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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