The Smart Cookies podcast

It's no secret that the West is in terminal decline, while China continues to grow and is currently on the verge of overtaking the US as the biggest economy on the planet.
Mainstream economics tells us that's impossible, since we supposedly live in the best system that was ever created. Which means something doesn't add up. Economist Steve Keen has an answer - our economic models are irreparably broken...
In this sobering conversation Prof. Keen, who predicted the 2008 financial crisis, explains why America remains a hopeless case, why China will continue to dominate world trade and finally, why the AI bubble is about to burst.

Michael Mann is a Presidential Distinguished Professor of Earth & Environmental Science at the University of Pennsylvania and author of Our Fragile Moment. He's also one of the most renowned climatologists in the world - and that's why I was over the moon when he agreed to have a chat with me...
Given the extremely grim daily news on climate change, I ask Prof. Mann whether the fight for a habitable planet is over, how bad he thinks the upcoming El Nino will be, and finally, what kind of consequences do Trump's insane, climate denial policies have for the world's decarbonisation plans.

I'm super stoked to welcome back the legendary blogger, journalist and author of Enshittification, Cory Doctorow.
This time around we tackle his latest book, The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI: How to Think About Artificial Intelligence — Before It's Too Late.
I ask Cory about the ideology behind the shameless AI push, the state of this technology in 2026, the billionaires lapping it up, as well as the feared AI bubble that Corey believes will tank the entire system.

I'm super happy to welcome dr. Christopher Harding, lecturer in Asian history at the University of Edinburgh, back to the show, to have a chat about his amazing upcoming book, "Barbarians: The First Century of European Encounter with Japan."
This time around we talk about a myriad of fascinating episodes that arose from this dramatic exchange - the first Portuguese landing on Tanegashima, the curiosity their appearances caused, the introduction of Christianity in Japan, the growing power of the Jesuits and finally, the expulsion of all foreigners in 1641.
Obviously we can't get past the infamous bromance between William Adams and Tokugawa Ieyasu that inspired the popular TV show Shogun.
As a foreigner in Japan myself, I'm not exaggerating when I say this is one of my favourite conversations this year.

Medieval historian and champion of the podcast, Prof. Nicholas Morton (from Nottingham Trent University) is back on the pod to talk about the feverish history of the Crusades - only this time, we explore the subject from the perspective of the Muslim nations who were fighting for supremacy in the tricky landscape of the medieval Middle East...
What did they think when they first saw these unexpected strangers in their lands? Did jihad become a thing just like a holy war in Christendom? And why was it so important for Saladin to tear Jerusalem from Crusader's hands?
We chat about all this and more in this action packed episode!