EQUALS: Reimagining Our Economy

Former Zambian President Kenneth Kaunda (“KK”) – who led his country in the wake of independence from colonial rule – recently died. A pan-African giant, he pursued efforts to boldly pursue equality at home and fight for liberation across the African continent.

Max Lawson and Nabil Ahmed have an amazing chat with Dr. Grieve Chelwa on what President Kaunda really set out to do with the state taking a far more active role. What can we learn from “Kaundanomics” for today? And what was the impact of the defining “structural adjustment” period on Africa’s economics?

This is the first of a two-part special diving deep into African economics. This episode takes us back. The next episode looks forward.

Dr. Grieve Chelwa – who is the Inaugural Postdoctoral Fellow at The Institute on Race and Political Economy at The New School where he leads the Institute's work on Inclusive Economic Rights. He was formerly Senior Lecturer (Assistant Professor) in Economics at the University of Cape Town's Graduate School of Business and before that was the Inaugural Postdoctoral Fellow at the Center for African Studies at Harvard University. Before taking up a career in academia, Dr. Chelwa was a banker with Citi and completed postings in Congo (DR), Kenya, Nigeria and South Africa.

If you’re joining us on EQUALS for the first time, tune in to our earlier interviews – from talking with the award-winning journalist Gary Younge on what we can learn from Martin Luther King Jr to fight inequality, to best-selling author Anand Giridharadas on whether we need billionaires, Zambian music artist PilAto on the power of music, thinker Ece Temelkuran on beating fascism, climate activist Hindou Ibrahim on nature, and the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva on what comes after the pandemic.

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What doesn’t mainstream economics “get” about Africa? What is the future of the state itself in Africa? And how much should we really be focusing on corruption within Africa?

Max and Nabil have a riveting conversation with Pan-African feminist Crystal Simeoni – who is Director at Nawi: Afrifem Macroeconomics Collective (which is well worth checking out here!). Previously, she was head of the economic justice department at FEMNET, one of the largest African women's rights networks. She is an Atlantic Fellow for Social and Economic Justice at the London School of Economics.

This is the second of a two-part special deep dive into African economics. The last episode, with Zambian economist Grieve Chelwa, took us back recalling history and how it’s shaped economics in Africa today. This episode looks forward.

Please do listen and share the episode on your social media platforms.

If you’re joining us on EQUALS for the first time, tune in to our earlier interviews – from talking with award-winning journalist Gary Younge on what we can learn from MLK Jr on how to fight inequality, to best-selling author Anand Giridharadas on whether we need billionaires, and from Turkish author Ece Temelkuran on beating fascism, and climate activist Hindou Ibrahim on nature, to IMF Chief Kristalina Georgieva on what comes after the pandemic, and Zambian music artist PilAto on the power of music.

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We finally talk healthcare on EQUALS. Could the pandemic trigger the creation of universal healthcare systems around the world? What can we learn from Thailand and Costa Rica? What is privatization doing to healthcare in Kenya? And who is undermining healthcare for all?

Liz, Nabil and Max chat to Rob Yates (Director, Global Health Program, Chatham House) and Rebecca Riddell (Co-Director, Human Rights and Privatization Project, NYU Law School Center for Human Rights and Global Justice).

The NYU CHRGJ, in collaboration with a leading Kenyan human rights organization, Hakijamii recently launched a report on Kenya’s healthcare system. The report finds “that the government-backed expansion of the private healthcare sector in Kenya is leading to exclusion and setting back the country’s goal of universal health coverage”.

Please do share the episode on your social media.

If you’re joining us on EQUALS for the first time, tune in to our earlier interviews – from talking with the award-winning journalist Gary Younge on what we can learn from Martin Luther King Jr to fight inequality, to best-selling author Anand Giridharadas on whether we need billionaires, Zambian music artist PilAto on the power of music, thinker Ece Temelkuran on beating fascism, climate activist Hindou Ibrahim on nature, and the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva on what comes after the pandemic.

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

We’re asking: is racism silently shaping the global vaccine response? And what could President Biden’s recent huge decision to take on vaccine monopolies mean for people around the world? We also do a special round of “big pharma bingo”, examining the key arguments that pharmaceutical corporations have been making that is stifling the mass production of Covid-19 vaccines.

Max and Nabil are joined by three giants from the access to medicines and public health movement: Priti Krishtel and Tahir Amin (the Co-Executive Directors of IMAK, which challenges systemic injustice and advocates for health equity in drug development and access), and Asia Russell (the CEO of HealthGAP, which is dedicated to ensuring that all people living with HIV have access to life-saving medicines).

Come to learn, to find inspiration, and to get the inside track on the vaccine issue.

More information about the people’s vaccine is at www.peoplesvaccine.org

This is the first episode of the EQUALS podcast, season four. And if you’re joining us for the first time, tune in to our earlier interviews – from talking with the award-winning journalist Gary Younge on what we can learn from Martin Luther King Jr to fight inequality, to best-selling author Anand Giridharadas on whether we need billionaires, Zambian music artist PilAto on the power of music, thinker Ece Temelkuran on beating fascism, climate activist Hindou Ibrahim on nature, and the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund Kristalina Georgieva on what comes after the pandemic.

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

Introducing a new EQUALS season and our new podcast co-host, Nafkote Dabi, Climate Policy Lead at Oxfam International.

Joining Nafkote and Max in this episode are Astrid Nilsson Lewis and Ashfaq Khalfan. Together, they delve into the latest Oxfam report “Climate Equality: A planet for the 99%”

How are the climate and inequality crises intertwined?

In this episode, we expose the profound disparities stemming from the dual crises of climate breakdown and staggering inequality. We uncover the extent of this twin disaster that is currently gripping the world.

As always, we provide a ray of hope by exploring how a global redistribution of incomes could raise everyone to a level of $25 a day, all while effectively curbing carbon emissions.

Astrid Nilsson Lewis, Oxfam Sweden's Lead Researcher on Climate, and Ashfaq Khalfan, Oxfam America's Director of Climate Justice, offer their insights on these critical issues.

Don't miss out on this important conversation! Share the podcast on your social media platforms and be sure to leave us a review. Connect with us on X @EQUALShope.

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