New Books Network Podcast

Economic and Business History May 28, 2023

Better Money

Gold, Fiat, or Bitcoin?

Lawrence H. White

Hosted by Bernardo Batiz-Lazo

The recent rise of dollar, pound, and euro inflation rates has rekindled the debate over potential alternative monies, particularly gold and Bitcoin. Though Bitcoin has been much discussed in recent …

Economics May 24, 2023

The Global Architecture of Multilateral Development Banks

A System of Debt or Development?

Adrian R. Bazbauers and Susan Engel

Hosted by Sidney Michelini

Adrian Bazbauers and Susan Engel’s 2021 book The Global Architecture of Multilateral Development Banks: A System of Debt or Development? (Routledge, 2023) explores the evolution of the 30 functioning multilateral development …

Madison's Notes May 22, 2023

Truth, Fiction, and Student Loan Forgiveness

A Conversation with Beth Akers

Beth Akers

Hosted by Annika Nordquist

With the Biden Administration's student loan relief coming down the pike, Annika sits down with Dr. Beth Akers, a Senior Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute who specializes in higher …

Madison's Notes May 19, 2023

Inflation, Past and Present

A Conversation with Tyler Goodspeed

Tyler Goodspeed

Hosted by Annika Nordquist

We all know that things are a little more expensive when we head to the grocery store. But what does inflation actually mean? How did we get to where we …

Environmental Studies April 25, 2023

Our Lives in Their Portfolios

Why Asset Managers Own the World

Brett Christophers

Hosted by Brian Hamilton

Banks have taken a backseat since the global financial crisis over a decade ago. Today, our new financial masters are asset managers, like Blackstone and BlackRock. And they don't just …

Intellectual History April 17, 2023

Crack-Up Capitalism

Market Radicals and the Dream of a World Without Democracy

Quinn Slobodian

Hosted by Caleb Zakarin

Look at a map of the world and you'll see a colorful checkerboard of nation-states. But this is not where power actually resides. Over the last decade, globalization has shattered …

Economic and Business History April 17, 2023

Calming the Storms

The Carry Trade, the Banking School and British Financial Crises Since 1825

Charles Read

Hosted by Miranda Melcher

Calming the Storms: The Carry Trade, the Banking School and British Financial Crises Since 1825 (Palgrave Macmillan, 2023) by Dr. Charles Read exposes, for the first time in modern scholarship …

Economic and Business History April 15, 2023

Seven Crashes

The Economic Crises That Shaped Globalization

Harold James

Hosted by Javier Mejia

In Seven Crashes: The Economic Crises That Shaped Globalization (Yale UP, 2023), distinguished economic historian Harold James offers a fresh perspective on the past two centuries of globalization and the …

Economic and Business History April 9, 2023

Easy Money

American Puritans and the Invention of Modern Currency

Dror Goldberg

Hosted by Bernardo Batiz-Lazo

Economists endlessly debate the nature of legal tender monetary systems--coins and bills issued by a government or other authority. Yet the origins of these currencies have received little attention. Dror …

Law April 7, 2023

The Valuation Treadmill

How Securities Fraud Threatens the Integrity of Public Companies

James J. Park

Hosted by Caleb Zakarin

Public companies now face constant pressure to meet investor expectations. A company must continually deliver strong short-term performance every quarter to maintain its stock price. This valuation treadmill creates incentives …

Economic and Business History April 6, 2023

A Monetary and Fiscal History of the United States, 1961-2021

Alan Blinder

Hosted by Caleb Zakarin

Spanning twelve presidents, from John F. Kennedy to Joe Biden, and eight Federal Reserve chairs, from William McChesney Martin to Jerome Powell, this is an insider's story of macroeconomic policy …

Finance March 25, 2023

Does the FOMC Have a Viable Strategy for Controlling Inflation?

Robert L. Hetzel

Hosted by Caleb Zakarin

Robert L. Hetzel presented a paper at the Dallas Fed conference on February 9th, 2023 titled, “Does the Federal Open Market Committee Have a Viable Strategy for Controlling Inflation?” The Federal Open …

Asian Review of Books March 23, 2023

Money Machine

A Trailblazing American Venture in China

Weijian Shan

Hosted by Nicholas Gordon

In 2010, Ping An took over Shenzhen Development Bank, ending an experiment that had never been tried before, and not been tried since: a foreign company owning and managing a …

Economics March 19, 2023

From China's Lost Generation to American Private Equity Professor

A Discussion with Weijian Shan

Weijian Shan

Hosted by Keith Krueger

Having lived through both China’s Great Leap Forward during primary school, then the Cultural Revolution and the closing of schools for ten years, Beijing-born Weijian Shan, instead of a secondary …

Finance February 23, 2023

The Rise of Central Banks

State Power in Financial Capitalism

Leon Wansleben

Hosted by Caleb Zakarin

While central banks have gained remarkable influence over the past fifty years, promising more stability, global finance has gone from crisis to crisis. How do we explain this development? Drawing …

Economic and Business History February 20, 2023

Accounting for the Fall of Silver

Hedging Currency Risk in Long-Distance Trade with Asia, 1870-1913

Michael Schiltz

Hosted by Ghassan Moazzin

The second half of the nineteenth century is correctly known to have culminated in the emergence of the gold standard as the first truly international monetary regime. The processes leading …

Economic and Business History February 18, 2023

Deeply Responsible Business

A Global History of Values-Driven Leadership

Geoffrey Jones

Hosted by Paula De La Cruz-Fernández

In this episode, I interview Professor Geoffrey Jones about his new book Deeply Responsible Business: A Global History of Values-Driven Leadership (Harvard University Press, 2023). For an extraordinary introduction to the content of …

Medicine February 17, 2023

Capitalizing a Cure

How Finance Controls the Price and Value of Medicines

Victor Roy

Hosted by Rachel Pagones

Capitalizing a Cure: How Finance Controls the Price and Value of Medicines (U California Press, 2023) takes readers into the struggle over a medical breakthrough to investigate the power of …

Peoples & Things February 14, 2023

The History of Student Loans in the United States

A Discussion with Elizabeth Tandy Shermer

Elizabeth Tandy Shermer

Hosted by Lee Vinsel

Elizabeth Tandy Shermer, an associate professor of history at Loyola University Chicago, talks about her book, Indentured Students: How Government-Guaranteed Loans Left Generations Drowning in Debt, with Peoples & Things …

Economic and Business History February 5, 2023

No Return

Jews, Christian Usurers, and the Spread of Mass Expulsion in Medieval Europe

Rowan Dorin

Hosted by Miranda Melcher

Beginning in the twelfth century, Jewish moneylenders increasingly found themselves in the crosshairs of European authorities, who denounced the evils of usury as they expelled Jews from their lands. Yet …