SPERI Presents...

'SPERI Presents…' is a podcast taking on the big questions in political economy for scholars, students and publics within and beyond the discipline. We also host 'New Thinking in Political Economy', an ongoing series with monthly episodes. Dr Remi Edwards is joined by authors of new research to explore the motivations behind, contributions and implications of their work for understanding power and politics in the global economy. The first limited series was 'Lessons in Power'. Professor Michael Jacobs and Mems Ayinla interview ministers and advisors from the New Labour administration (1997-2010) to tease out lessons on a range of issues for Keir Starmer’s newly formed Labour government. Coming soon: Crisis Point hosted by Chris Saltmarsh and Dr Dillon Wamsley. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy

SPERI Presents... is a government podcast hosted by SPERI, with 50 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80. PitchCentric scores this show on Booking Probability, Listen Score, and live audience signals refreshed every 24 hours.

SPERI hosts SPERI Presents..., a government show with 50 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #18

  New Thinking: IPE and the Global South w/ Zaynab El Bernoussi & Bashir Saade

  Jul 31, 202635 minS2

  Why has the Global South been peripheralized in the study of international political economy (IPE)? What does this cause us to miss in our scholarship? How are sovereignties and power dynamics produced in the Global South? How should teaching IPE change? Zaynab El Bernoussi is Associate Professor of Political Science at The Africa Institute, Global Studies University (GSU) and Bashir Saade is Lecturer in Religion & Politics at University of Sterling. They join Josh White to discuss their textbook ' International Political Economy and the Global South Perspectives from Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East ', co-authored with Adriana María Garriga-López and Giuliano Martiniello, published with Routledge. They consider how the peripheralization of the Global South leaves us with an incomplete understanding of IPE; how the decentralisation of IPE causes us to challenge state-centric conceptions; the importance of labour and social movements in shaping sovereignties and forms of power; and the necessity of historicization. 'New Thinking in Political Economy' is a monthly podcast showcasing cutting-edge political economy research that helps us to understand the world around us. The series is produced by Chris Saltmarsh and Josh White. This episode was edited by Josh White with support from Chris Saltmarsh. Music and audio by Andy_Gambino . Hosted on Acast. See https://acast.com/privacy for more information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  Episode #17

  New Thinking: Value Struggles in the Wine Industry w/ Stefano Ponte

  Jun 25, 202653 minS2

  How is value constructed and contested in the wine industry? What is the significance of place and nature? What does the win industry tell us about capitalist production in general? Stefano Ponte is Professor of International Political Economy at Copenhagen Business School. He joins Josh White to discuss his book Value Struggles: Looking at Capitalism through the Wine Glass (Bloomsbury Academic, 2025) which is available as open access. The conversation includes definitions of value and the role of determining it in capitalist production; the significance of terroir and tradition in valuing wine; the institutional politics of prosecco; the ecological consequences of wine production and contestation over sustainability certification; and the racialised contingencies of labour and investment in South Africa. 'New Thinking in Political Economy' is a monthly podcast showcasing cutting-edge political economy research that helps us to understand the world around us. The series is produced by Chris Saltmarsh and Josh White. This episode was edited by Josh White with support from Chris Saltmarsh. Music and audio by Andy_Gambino . Hosted on Acast. See https://acast.com/privacy for more information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  Episode #3

  Live: Second China Shock @BISA 2026

  Jun 11, 20261h 25mS4

  How should we understand the ruptural shift of the second China shock? How does it effect what we thought we knew about China and global production? How can we study this transformation? What comes next? Professor Yvette To is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Applied Social Sciences at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. Dr Frank Maracchione is an ESRC Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of Politics and International Studies, SOAS, University of London. Dr Shizhi Zhang is a post-doctoral Research Associate at the Urban Institute, University of Sheffield. Dr Zhengli Huang is a Research Associate also at the Urban Institute, University of Sheffield. They join Chris Saltmarsh to discuss the theoretical and empirical challenges posed by the the reconfiguration of production networks led by China poses a fresh set of theoretical and empirical challenges; how existing paradigms of development, dependency, and power in the global economy are being unsettled; and in what ways scholars and policymakers alike must rethink the frameworks they use to study global production from the systemic to the everyday levels. This SPERI Presents... episode is a live recording of the roundtable "The global impact of China’s technological leadership and offshoring: Towards a second China shock" at BISA26 conference. It was sponsored by the International Political Economy Working Group (IPEG) and took place in Brighton on Thursday 4 June 2026. This episode is produced by Frank Maracchione and Chris Saltmarsh and edited by Chris Saltmarsh. Music and audio by Andy_Gambino . Hosted on Acast. See https://acast.com/privacy for more information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  Episode #16

  New Thinking: Chinese Firms in Africa w/ Elisa Gambino

  May 29, 202639 minS2

  How are Chinese firms' activities in Africa shaped by local social, cultural and political processes? In what sense is this embeddedness flexible and how does this affect firms' internationalisation? What is specific and generalisable about Chinese firms? How are geographies of trade and production shifting towards South-South engagement? Dr Elisa Gambino is Hallsworth Research Fellow in Political Economy at the Global Development Institute of the University of Manchester, UK and Adjunct Researcher at the Centre for Asian Studies of the University of Ghana. She joins Josh White to discuss her article ' Flexible embeddedness: how Chinese lead firms internationalise in Africa ' (2026), published in Review of International Political Economy and co-authored with Costanza Franceschini. They unpack the concept of flexible embeddedness through the lens of Chinese lead firms' internationalisation in Kenya and Ghana and the varied, dynamic and contested nature of South-South engagement. 'New Thinking in Political Economy' is a monthly podcast showcasing cutting-edge political economy research that helps us to understand the world around us. The series is produced by Chris Saltmarsh and Josh White. This episode was edited by Josh White with support from Chris Saltmarsh. Music and audio by Andy_Gambino . Hosted on Acast. See https://acast.com/privacy for more information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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  Episode #15

  New Thinking: Neoliberal Knowledge Production w/ Nina Lotze

  Apr 30, 202648 minS2

  How do neoliberal think tanks work? When do they disagree with each other? What do they do to influence government policy and public debate? How did they respond to the crisis of COVID-19 and state intervention that came with it? Nina Lotze is a Associate Lecturer in the UCL Department of Political Science. She joins Josh White to talk about her article ' Strategies of neoliberal knowledge production: how did free-market think tanks react to the COVID-19 pandemic? ' (2026) published in New Political Economy journal. They discuss the similarities and differences between neoliberal think tanks in the UK and Germany respectively; why they supported the first wave of lockdowns but not the second; networking as the basis of political power (including the dinners they organise and they pubs they drink in); and why its not quite right to talk about global neoliberal conspiracy. 'New Thinking in Political Economy' is a monthly podcast showcasing cutting-edge political economy research that helps us to understand the world around us. This episode is produced by Chris Saltmarsh and Josh White. This episode was edited by Josh White with support from Chris Saltmarsh. Music and audio by Andy_Gambino . Hosted on Acast. See https://acast.com/privacy for more information. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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