Political Economy

Werner Mouton

This podcast examines how economic and political systems are built—and who pays the price. Each episode traces the institutional logics, historical patterns, and political interests shaping global life. But beneath the analysis lies a conviction: these systems are not inevitable. We live inside structures that were designed—and can be reimagined. Political Economy offers a space not just for understanding the world, but for refusing its false necessities.

Last refreshed: August 22nd, 2025 at 6:07 PM ⓘ

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Episodes

Europe’s Trade Dilemma: Principles vs. Interests in Israel

The EU is Israel’s largest trading partner, even as war rages in Gaza. Exports are rising, arms sales are flowing, and Israel is embedded in Europe’s flagship research programs. Meanwhile, citizens take to the streets in protest, demanding a break that institutions refuse to deliver. In this episode, we unpack the contradiction between Europe’s humanitarian rhetoric and its structural entanglement with Israel — tracing how trade, politics, institutions, and culture reinforce one another. What do...

Aug 20, 2025•8 min•Ep. 7

The Alaska Summit: Power, Leverage, and the Cost of Exclusion

In August 2025, U.S. President Donald Trump will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska — a setting unprecedented for U.S.-Russia relations and fraught with implications for Ukraine, Europe, and the Western alliance. With minimal U.S. economic leverage over Moscow, European allies excluded from the table, and Trump openly suggesting territorial concessions by a sovereign nation, this meeting is as much about the image it projects as any agreement it might produce. In this episode, Werne...

Aug 15, 2025•8 min•Ep. 6

Fair Rules, Unequal Beginnings

This episode examines the structural tension between capitalism’s claim to fairness and the profound inequality of starting positions it relies on. We explore how accumulated advantage compounds across generations, how rules that appear neutral reinforce unequal outcomes, and how this arrangement is framed as inevitable, even as it is the result of deliberate design. This is not about resentment, but about understanding the architecture of a system that works predictably for some and predictably...

Aug 11, 2025•9 min•Ep. 5

The Bomb and the Architecture of Permission

This episode examines how the United States’ use of the atomic bomb in 1945 marked more than the end of a war. It marked the beginning of a system—a geopolitical structure in which the right to possess and deploy ultimate violence became concentrated, controlled, and enforced through silence, spectacle, and selective legitimacy. Drawing on two historical texts— The New York Times front page from August 7, 1945, and Mary Turfah’s essay “You’ll See” ( The Baffler , August 6, 2025)—the episode trac...

Aug 07, 2025•9 min•Ep. 4

Extraction Without Construction: The Strategic Unmaking of Global Trade

In this episode, we examine the deliberate unraveling of the global trade system by the very nation that once built it. What does it mean to be economically present in the world if presence no longer demands interaction ? What happens when tariffs are no longer instruments of protection for domestic renewal, but tools of tactical leverage? Drawing historical parallels from the mercantilist era through 19th-century industrial policy, this episode explores the return of trade as a means of control...

Aug 06, 2025•9 min•Ep. 3

Tariffs, Deficits, and the Cost of Misunderstanding Power

This episode examines the structural logic behind the new U.S.-EU trade deal. At the surface: a 15% tariff on European exports, framed as a victory for balance. But beneath that surface lies a deeper contradiction between how trade deficits are perceived and how they actually function. We trace the system that sustains the U.S. trade deficit: not as a policy failure, but as a reflection of capital inflows, reserve currency demand, and domestic consumption fueled by external financing. Tariffs do...

Aug 02, 2025•14 min•Ep. 2

Why Economics?

Economics Is Already Part of Your Life Most people think economics is reserved for Wall Street analysts or government policymakers, but the reality is that you're making economic decisions every single day. When you choose between buying coffee or making it at home, negotiate your salary, or decide how to spend your weekend, you're engaging with economic principles, whether you realize it or not. Why This Matters for Your Career and Life Understanding economics provides you with a powerful frame...

Aug 02, 2025•8 min•Ep. 1

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