Ft Alphachat

Citi's chief global political analyst Tina Fordham joins Cardiff Garcia for a trip around the global economy to discuss the economic risks of either a Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton victory in November. Visit FT.com/Alphachat for show notes and links.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Forecasts about geopolitics and economics are often distorted by flawed institutional incentives and a range of cognitive biases. Dan Drezner, a professor of international politics at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, tells Cardiff Garcia and Mary Childs how forecasters typically go wrong, and he outlines what he calls the five "known unknowns" that will frame the political economy of the next generation. The three also discuss the foreign policy views of Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Visit FT.com/Alphachat for show notes and links.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Sociologist Arlie Hochschild spent five years in the Louisiana bayou as part of her study of the American right. Hochschild tells host Cardiff Garcia how Donald Trump's nomination has appealed to the Louisiana residents who feel their story has increasingly been ignored. Visit FT.com/Alphachat for show notes and links.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Corporate villains are sometimes behind sudden increases in drug prices, but these unwanted surprises are often the result of a complicated and opaque healthcare system. The FT's David Crow joins Cardiff Garcia and Mary Childs to discuss in this snack-sized episode of the weekly podcast. Visit FT.com/Alphachat for show notes and links.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The price of milk in Canada is disproportionately higher than it is in the US or even France, thanks to a government policy known as Supply Management implemented in the 1970s to protect dairy farmers from market instability. What does this policy mean in practice and how does it affect Canada's involvement in global trade? FT Alphaville's Cardiff Garcia and Matt Klein discuss with guest George Pearkes, Canadian expat and macroeconomic strategist at Bespoke Investment Group. Visit FT.com/Alphachat for show notes and links.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Alphaville's Izzy Kaminska leads a rousing panel analysing the economic and financial themes as well as the two visions of the tech industry portrayed in the Tron movies.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The 2015 MacArthur Genius Grant recipient and MIT professor joins host Cardiff Garcia to discuss her work on the incentive systems that drive innovation in medical technology, including the effect of patents on the development of early stage cancer drug treatments. Visit FT.com/Alphachat for show notes.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

FT Alphaville's Izabella Kaminska leads Gavyn Davies, chairman of Fulcrum Asset Management and an FT blogger, and Tyler Cowen, professor of economics at George Mason University, in a discussion on the forces causing productivity stagnation. Visit FT.com/Alphachat for show notes and links. This conversation was recorded at the FT Festival of Finance on July 1, 2016  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What are the economic and social tradeoffs of deciding where to live and how can one measure these? An economist at the Oregon Office of Economic Analysis joins Cardiff Garcia and Kara Scannell to discuss a system he developed for this exact purpose. Then, how did a failing business promoting mixed martial arts grow to become a global brand valued at $4bn? Cardiff talks the economics of the sport with John S. Nash, a writer for the UFC and MMA industry website Bloodyelbow.com. Visit FT.com/Alphachat for show notes and links. Music by Minden.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Economists, analysts and bloggers in attendance at the FT's Festival of Finance weigh in on the global economic activity we might be missing because of Brexit-myopia. Then Cardiff Garcia quizzes Tyler Cowen, blogger and economist at George Mason University, in a game of "Overrated, Underrated", and guest co-host Kara Scannell discusses JP Morgan's lift in bank teller wages. Visit FT.com/Alphachat for show notes and links. Music by Minden.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Tim Harford joins host Cardiff Garcia to discuss the potential economic effects of the UK leaving the EU. The referendum campaigns that preceded Brexit included a number of exaggerations and, in some cases, outright lies. But there are also nuanced and difficult questions that cannot be answered definitively, and deserve careful scrutiny. Music by Minden.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

During normal economic cycles, increasing credit hides an economy's deeper problems, but when a financial crisis hits, all of that credit flips from shock absorber to shock multiplier. Professor of economics Alan Taylor explains his research. Then, FT journalists discuss some of the biggest shocks of 2016, including the change in perception at the Fed over what type of monetary policy would benefit the US economy. Visit FT.com/alphachat for show notes and links.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Across the US, McDonald's restaurants serve an underappreciated role: as defacto community centres for people at the margins of society. It's a story chronicled by bond trader-turned-journalist Chris Arnade, who talks to the FT's Cardiff Garcia and Mary Childs about why this happened. They also discuss how access to education shapes modern American society, and whether Wall Street employees have been punished enough for the role played by their industry in the 2008 financial crisis. Visit FT.com/alphachat for show notes and links. Music by Minden.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Finding a balance between work and your personal life matters not just to you and your family; it can also make companies and the economy in general more productive. Economist and author Heather Boushey joins Cardiff Garcia and Mary Childs to discuss the many policy provisions, from paid family leave to flexible work schedules, that could improve this productivity, and Cardiff and Mary dive deeper into hedge fund culture. Visit FT.com/alphachat for show notes and links. Music by Minden.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Maria Konnikova, a writer and author of “The Confidence Game: Why We Fall For It… Every Time” talks to host Cardiff Garcia about her work and the challenge of judging the quality of social-science research. The two also discuss big data, open-plan offices, sleep and the psychological effects of pornography. Maria also describes the methods and traits of con artists, and explains why everyone is susceptible to being a victim.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Many investors are questioning the benefit of allocating chunks of their money to hedge funds after recent bouts of financial market turbulence and poor performance. The FT's US financial correspondent Mary Childs joins Cardiff Garcia to discuss the big players and their idiosyncratic personalities, contentious issues like fees and benchmarking metrics, and the institutional lack of diversity among top fund managers. Visit FT.com/alphachat for show notes and links. Music by Minden.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Guy Debelle, assistant governor at the Reserve Bank of Australia, discusses with Cardiff Garcia and Matt Klein how decisions by the Federal Reserve have an effect on Australian monetary policy (and how they don't), Australia's experience with capital account liberalisation, fluctuations in the Chinese economy, and the foreign exchange code of conduct from the Bank of International Settlements.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

In the second half of the extended interview, former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker discusses his appointment as president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank of New York, his famous tenure as Fed chair in the 1980s, and some of his thoughts on the current financial system. Hosted by Cardiff Garcia. Visit FT.com/alphachat for a full transcript of the interview.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

The former chairman of the Federal Reserve talks to host Cardiff Garcia about the years prior to his inflation-fighting days of the 1980s, including his economics education, early career at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and US treasury, and his role in ending the Bretton Woods system of global finance. Visit FT.com/alphachat for a full transcript of the interview.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

What does it mean for a private equity firm to value its investments accurately? FT Alphaville's Matt Klein joins host Cardiff Garcia to address this surprisingly tricky question. Then, anthropologist Tassie Hirschfeld discusses the political economy of the criminal underworld, a topic rarely examined in conventional economics. Visit FT.com/alphachat for show notes and links. Music by Minden.  See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.