The Econoclasts

In the wake of Putin's fast and loose interview with Tucker Carlson, Tom and Helen turn to the history of Ukrainian independence, and ask what it means for the future of Ukraine, Europe and NATO... Ho...

13 Feb 202458min

In the wake of recent US/UK led bombings of Iraq and Syria, Tom McTague and Helen Thompson ask why America continues to embroil itself in the Iraq quagmire, and whether further escalation lies on the ...

6 Feb 20241h 1min

In this week's episode, Tom and Helen turn to the current border crisis unfolding in Texas, and explore how a set of global and domestic crises, from the drug cartels in Mexico, to the situation in Uk...

30 Jan 202459min

In this week's episode, Tom and Helen talk to Ali Ansari, director of Iranian Studies at St Andrews University, about the history of Iranian power - from the 1979 Islamic revolution, to the most recen...

23 Jan 20241h 2min

With the new anti-Chinese President elected in Taiwan, Tom and Helen turn to the most important body of water in the world: the Western Pacific, and explore what's at stake there. Hosted on Acast. See...

16 Jan 202456min

This week, Helen and Tom explore the geopolitical history of the Red Sea, from the erection of the Suez Canal, to the waring Houthi Rebels patrolling the waters, and what it all tells us about where p...

9 Jan 202453min

Tom McTague and HelenH Helen Thompson look back at the major events that took place in 2023, from Ukraine's stalled counter-offensive and the Israel Hamas War, and ask what they mean for the year ahea...

3 Jan 20241h 4min

For this Christmas Special, Tom and Helen discuss two of their all time favourite novels that share the same themes of empire, nationalism and loss - Joseph Roth's The Radetzky March (1932) and Giusep...

26 Des 202351min