EQUALS: Reimagining Our Economy

“What you have here is a long-term systemic transfer of wealth away from middle classes, away from rich governments and towards a small super rich elite.”- Gary Stevenson”
To coincide speak with the release of Oxfam’s Davos report, we speak with Gary Stevenson, who became a millionaire by betting that ordinary people’s living standards would keep falling while wealth piled up at the top.
Gary explains why economists repeatedly failed to predict the post-2008 crisis, why low interest rates didn’t lead to prosperity for ordinary people, and how a systemic transfer of wealth from the middle class to a small super-rich elite has reshaped the global economy to the detriment of everyone bar the minority at the top.
We dig into why inequality is at the root of today’s economic crisis, how wealth concentration suppresses growth and erodes democracy, why mainstream economics avoids talking about wealth, how class shapes the fight for a more equal world and why taxing the super-rich the best path towards equality.
This is a no holds barred conversation about how the rich influence power and fuel inequality and why ignoring wealth concentration guarantees that living standards will continue to fall.
This is part two of a three-episode series on economic inequality. The first one featuring Thomas Piketty was released in December, and the third one with three activists taking the fight for equality to the streets will be released on Thursday this week. Watch out for it.
If you enjoy the episode, please like, share, comment, and leave us a review. Follow us on X @EQUALShope, Bluesky and on LinkedIn.
Don't just listen, join thousands of others reading our weekly digest on inequality. Sign up at https://www.equals.ink/
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Did you know that governments in Europe are able to spend 40 times more per child on education than governments in Sub-Saharan Africa?
In this episode, world renowned economist Thomas Piketty breaks down the World Inequality Report 2026 and explains why today’s inequality is no longer a slow-moving crisis but an emergency.
He shows how the global financial system is designed to extract wealth from the Global South to the Global North, through debt, reserve currencies, and unequal power at institutions like the IMF and World Bank and how this must change.
He also explains why he is a strong supporter of the proposed International Panel on Inequality, and why he is optimistic that the long-term trend is towards more equal societies, but that this will not happen without campaigning and organisation.
This is part one of a three-episode series on economic inequality. The next two episodes will be released in January 2026.
If you enjoy the episode, please like, share, comment, and leave us a review. Follow us on X @EQUALShope, Bluesky and on LinkedIn.
Don't just listen, join thousands of others reading our weekly digest on inequality. Sign up at https://www.equals.ink/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What happens when healthcare becomes a financial asset?
In this episode, Anna Marriott and Dr. Aquina Thulare break down the dangers of health privatization and financialization. They explain how private equity and hedge funds are transforming hospitals into profit machines, putting patient care and public health at risk.
Dr. Aquina Thulare describes how South Africa is fighting back with national health insurance reforms designed to promote equity, solidarity, and universal access to healthcare.
From the lessons of global health crises to local legal battles, this conversation uncovers the human, economic, and political stakes of privatizing healthcare.
If you’d like to learn more about this topic listen to The Sick Development Podcast an EQUALS miniseries dedicated to this issue.

Dr. Aquina Thulare is a technical advisor in South Africa’s Department of Health, working on National Health Insurance (NHI).
Anna Marriott is an independent health policy advisor and advocate, having led Oxfam’s health influencing work for nearly 19 years. She is the author of several Oxfam reports and policy papers, including Sick Development, which exposed the injustices and human rights violations caused by the financialization of healthcare.

If you enjoy the episode, please like, share, comment, and leave us a review. Follow us on X @EQUALShope, Bluesky, Instagram and on LinkedIn.
Don't just listen, join thousands of others reading our weekly digest on inequality. Sign up at https://www.equals.ink/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When Super Typhoon Haiyan tore through the Philippines, 16-year-old Marinel Ubaldo watched her world wash away and learned a truth million on the frontlines already know: climate change is not a distant threat, but a lived injustice. Since then she’s become a fearless voice for accountability, loss and damage, and community-powered resilience.

In this EQUALS episode, Marinel takes us inside the night Haiyan hit, how her community rebuilt, and the extraordinary human-rights case she helped push forward to hold fossil fuel giants to account. She also reflects on what real leadership looks like in global negotiations as the climate world gathers again in Belem Brazil for COP30.

A powerful, grounding conversation about memory, justice, and the courage to keep fighting even when change feels impossibly slow. If you enjoy the episode, please like, share, comment, and leave us a review. Follow us on X @EQUALShope, Bluesky and on LinkedIn.

This is the second episode in our miniseries on climate inequality and activism. If you missed it, listen to the first episode featuring Sarah Finch here.
Don't just listen, join thousands of others reading our weekly digest on inequality. Sign up at https://www.equals.ink/
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When an oil site was approved near her home, Sarah Finch didn’t just protest, she took her fight to the UK Supreme Court. And won.

In this powerful episode, Sarah joins Nafkote Dabi and Max Lawson to share the story behind her five-year legal battle that changed everything: a ruling that now forces every new fossil fuel project in Britain to confront its true climate impact.

It’s a landmark victory that could ripple far beyond the UK and a reminder that determined voices can turn the tide on Big Oil.
Listen now and let us know your thoughts.

If you enjoy the episode, please like, share, comment, and leave us a review. Follow us on X @EQUALShope, Bluesky and on LinkedIn.
Don't just listen, join thousands of others reading our weekly digest on inequality. Sign up at https://www.equals.ink/
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.