The We Society

S4 Ep4: Cancelling the Global South's debt with Ann Pettifor

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Episode notes

Ann Pettifor is an economist who is perhaps most famous for predicting the Global Financial Crisis two years before it happened.

But Ann is not just a savant, but a change maker. She was a core voice in the successful international campaign to cancel billions in debt accumulated by the Global South to mark the new millennium. And in 2008, she co-authored the report, A Green New Deal,  which laid out plans for better regulation of the financial system while pursuing green objectives. It's a programme that's been backed by Al Gore, Nobel Laureates in Economics, and dozens of politicians around the world. Of course, there have been critics, Donald Trump being the most high-profile.

She joins host Will Hutton as they delve into how her early years in apartheid South Africa shaped her thinking, and what changes she'd like to see happening right now amidst the worsening climate crisis.

Season 4 of the We Society Podcast from the Academy of Social Sciences tackles the big questions through a social science lens. Throughout this series, you'll be hearing some of the best ideas to shape the way we live.

Hosted by journalist and Academy President Will Hutton, we interview some of Britain’s top social scientists and public figures from across the globe to explore their evidence-led solutions to society’s most pressing problems.

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Find out more about the Academy of Social Sciences here: https://AcSS.org.uk