The Economics Show

In the midst of the US-China trade conflict last year, Beijing unsheathed its fiercest weapon. By ramping up restrictions on exports of rare earth metals – crucial elements for high-tech manufacturing – China forced the US to climb down. That show of strength was a wake up call for the US. It has since spent huge sums backing mining companies, penned eye-catching deals and moved to collaborate with allies. But after a little more than a year, how much progress has it made in breaking China’s hold on the rare earths supply chain? Featuring: Abigail Hunter of the SAFE Center for Critical Minerals Strategy; Gracelin Baskaran of the Critical Minerals Security Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies; Cory Combs of Trivium China; and FT commodities correspondent Camilla Hodgson.

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

Further reading:
China and the new era of critical minerals diplomacy
Hedge funds raise bets against US-backed critical minerals companies
China restricts trading with some US rare earth companies

Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Original music by Breen Turner. Sound design by Breen Turner and Samantha Giovinco. Manuela Saragosa and Topher Forhecz are the executive producers. Flo Phillips is the FT’s head of audio.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com

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

Productivity has been a problem for the past 15 years. In developed countries, weak demand, a lack of competition and a paucity of new ideas have all been blamed. Could AI finally reverse that trend? Soumaya speaks to Stanford economics professor Nick Bloom about why CFOs and CEOs expect AI to supercharge their businesses; how concentrated (or otherwise) the gains might be; and why working from home could be good for labour output… and fertility rates.

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

Further Reading
Is AI productivity growth in the room with us right now?
How much value is AI really creating?

Hosted by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Original music by Breen Turner. Sound design by Sean McGarrity. Andrew Georgiades is the broadcast engineer. Edwin Lane is the senior producer. Flo Phillips is the FT’s head of audio.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The US has long been the world’s undisputed leader in AI. Now, that lead looks under threat. Cutting-edge Chinese models such as Kimi K3 are proving almost as capable as leading American models; meanwhile, companies in the US and Europe are turning to cheap, efficient Chinese software from companies including DeepSeek and Z.ai in an attempt to curb high usage costs. As China takes strides – and Beijing considers export controls on its AI models – Soumaya speaks to Kyle Chan, fellow at the Brookings Institution's John L Thornton China Center, to find out more.

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

Further reading:
Chinese AI start-up Moonshot launches model challenging Anthropic’s lead
Companies turn to Chinese AI models to cut costs
China weighs tighter export controls on AI models and chips

Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner. Edwin Lane is the senior producer. Flo Phillips is the FT’s head of audio.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When the US and Israel started bombing Iran earlier this year, market watchers eyed the oil markets nervously. But as the price of crude oil climbed, so did the price of another key commodity produced in the Gulf: fertiliser. Five months later, the world’s food system is looking better than feared, but as Adam Hanieh, director of the Middle East Institute at the School of Oriental and African Studies in London explains, the worst may yet be to come. Soumaya also assesses his prognosis with the FT’s agriculture correspondent Susannah Savage.

Subscribe to Soumaya's 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. 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.

In the western world, richer people tend to be thinner – especially women. But does wealth make people thin, or does being thin make them wealthy? And could the rise of weight-loss drugs such as Mounjaro and Wegovy give people – especially women – greater control over their economic outcomes? Soumaya speaks to Harvard professor Rebecca Diamond, the author of a new working paper that finds female users of GLP-1 drugs are more likely to find jobs and romantic partners. Soumaya also speaks to FT consumer editor (and GLP-1 user) Claer Barrett to discuss the drugs’ effects on consumer habits – and the economy at large.

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

Further reading:
The economics of women’s weight
Does the weight-loss revolution show up in the data?
The challenges of a weight-loss economy

Presented by Soumaya Keynes. Produced by Mischa Frankl-Duval. Original music and sound design by Breen Turner. Andrew Georgiades is the broadcast engineer. Manuela Saragosa is the executive producer. Flo Phillips if the FT's head of audio.

Read a transcript of this episode on FT.com
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.