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Dr. Wanga Zembe-Mkabile, social policy expert and one of the Founding Committee members of the International Panel on Inequality (IPI), brings a critical perspective often missing from economic debates: the human and embodied experience of inequality. Drawing on research in social determinants of health and epidemiology, she explains how the conditions people are born into shape not only income and opportunity, but health outcomes, life expectancy, and overall well-being.

This conversation also challenges dominant ideas of meritocracy, showing how structural inequality predetermines life chances long before individuals can “compete.” It also explores why inequality is no longer just a development issue, but a global emergency with consequences for economic stability, personal well-being, security and trust in institutions.

As momentum builds behind the International Panel on Inequality, this episode examines what a global, multidisciplinary body could mean for policymakers, governments, and the development sector. Can better evidence, and better framing, drive more effective action on economic justice?

For economists, policymakers, and anyone working on inequality, this episode offers a deeper understanding of how inequality operates across systems—and why addressing it requires more than data alone.

This is the second episode in a short series on the International Panel on Inequality. In our previous episode, we were joined by and Katy Chakrabortty on the process of making the IPI and what aims to achieve.

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In this episode, we explore a bold new proposal from a panel of leading experts from around the world, chaired by Professor Joseph E. Stiglitz: International Panel on inequality (IPI), something similar to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), but focused on economic inequality. The idea is to bring together the best global evidence, track progress, and give policymakers a clearer, shared foundation to act on one of the defining challenges of our time.
But building a global response to inequality is not a small task. It means navigating politics, coordinating across countries, and turning knowledge into action in a world that doesn’t always agree on the solutions. What could a panel like this realistically achieve? And what might it change about how we understand and tackle inequality?
At a time when faith in global cooperation is shaky and multilateralism is under strain, this could be a serious step forward and a test of whether the world is ready to act on inequality at the scale the crisis demands.
This is the first episode in a short series on the International Panel on Inequality. In the next episode, we’ll be joined by Dr. Wanga Zembe-Mkabile, a member of the founding committee of the IPI, to take the conversation further.

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In this episode Trine Østereng unpacks the reality behind the reputation, and the answer is uncomfortable. While some aspects of Norwegian society, like incomes, remain spectacularly equal, wealth at the top is becoming increasingly concentrated, giving a small elite outsized economic and political power. For example, just 10 people in Norway own more wealth than the bottom 50%.

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From a housing system that is locking young people out of ownership, to rising poverty and the reappearance of food lines, this conversation reveals how inequality is growing in ways that are harder to see but impossible to ignore.

This episode also explores the political battles behind Norway’s wealth tax, how billionaires push back, and why tackling inequality isn’t just about lifting people out of poverty but also limiting the extreme wealth and power at the top.

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Trine Østereng is an advisor at Think Tank Agenda and has been a host of the podcast Ut i Verden (Out in the World). She is also the author of the book Dangerous Differences: Why Great Economic Inequality Is a Social Problem

In this episode, historian and gender scholar explains why economic inequality is one of the most powerful drivers of gender inequality.

Drawing on decades of research comparing socialist and capitalist societies, Ghodsee shows how policies such as universal childcare, public services, and guaranteed employment dramatically expanded women’s opportunities in the twentieth century — and why the collapse of these systems often led to renewed discrimination and inequality.

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But the story is not only historical.

We discuss how today’s surge in online misogyny, “trad-wife” narratives, and the rise of the manosphere may be connected to deeper economic transformations — including the possibility that AI-driven job disruptions could trigger a new backlash against women’s participation in the labor force.

In this conversation we explore:

• What Cold War history reveals about women’s rights

• Why inequality and patriarchy reinforce each other

• The rise of the manosphere and online misogyny

• How AI and labor market shocks could reshape gender roles

• Why reducing economic inequality is key to reducing violence against women

• What egalitarian communities today can teach us about building a more equal future

Ghodsee also discusses hopeful alternatives — from cooperative communities to new ways of organizing economies around care, cooperation, and shared prosperity.

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Kristen Ghodsee is the author of Why Women Have Better Sex Under Socialism and Everyday Utopia: What 2,500 Years of Wild Experiments Can Teach Us About the Good Life.

This conversation is a part of Oxfam’s #PersonalToPowerful campaign. The campaign calls for our shared feminist future where gender justice starts with bodily autonomy. It echoes the stakes outlined in Oxfam’s Personal to Powerful briefing on gender justice, which shows how unequal economic systems, rising inequality, and anti‑rights movements are not just historical legacies but real threats to women’s rights.

As a part of the campaign, we invited feminist & queer activists this International Women’s Day (IWD) to share their letters from the future, a future where bodily autonomy reigns. Check out the Letters from the Future repository here. You can also submit your own ‘Letter from the future’ using this link.

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In this episode, we unpack how migrants are often turned into political scapegoats to redirect public anger away from the real causes of public frustration —rising inequality, underfunded public services, unemployment, and the soaring cost of living.

Migration policy expert Zoe Gardner brings a UK lens, showing how media narratives and political talking points can manufacture outrage that shields those at the top.

Sharon Ekambaram joins from South Africa, where xenophobia, inequality, and coordinated disinformation campaigns reveal the same pattern playing out in a different setting.

Different continents. Same playbook.

Together, they expose how anti-migrant rhetoric gains ground when inequality deepens and why that’s rarely a coincidence. We dig into who benefits from these narratives, how social media supercharges them, and why public attitudes are often far more humane than political messaging suggests.

This is a sharp, myth-busting discussion about power, inequality, and who really benefits when societies are encouraged to blame outsiders instead of confronting systemic injustice.

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In this episode, we talk to Matthew Martin, a passionate advocate for debt relief and against inequality, who shares his personal journey from experiencing apartheid in South Africa to becoming a leading voice in the fight against global debt crises. Matthew discusses the intricate relationship between debt and inequality, highlighting how high debt burdens disproportionately affect poorer citizens and drive cuts in social spending.

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Right now, 5.2 billion people live in countries that spend more money paying back debt than they do on schools, hospitals, or climate action. We break down how that happens, why global financial markets get away with charging eye-watering interest rates, and why governments are so often pushed to cut public services instead of standing up to creditors.

He reflects on the success of the Jubilee debt cancellation campaign and the lessons learned, emphasizing the need for structural change in the global financial system to prevent future crises. With insights into the current state of debt across the globe, Matthew calls for a renewed popular movement to prioritize debt relief and tackle inequality.

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If you enjoy the episode, please like, share, comment, and leave us a review. Follow us on X @EQUALShope, Bluesky and on LinkedIn.

Matthew also explores these issues in more depth in a companion blog, unpacking how debt repayments are reshaping public budgets and deepening inequality worldwide. Read it here 👇

In this episode we speak with three activists from Kenya, Nepal, and France who explain what drove them to the streets to fight for their cause and the brutal violence they met from the state. We explore the profound cost to citizens when their governments choose force over justice.

From informal settlements of Mathare in East of Nairobi, Wanjira Wanjiru describes how police killings are so common that they have been normalised. During the Gen-Z protests and resulting police brutality of 2024 and 2025, Wanjira refused to allow the police to arrest her. It wasn’t bravery that drove her in this moment, she tells us, but exhaustion.

Youth Leader in Nepal, Pawan Gautam explains how peaceful protests against economic disparities, corruption and unemployment turned bloody when the government chose repression over wealth redistribution, leading to more than 70 deaths – predominantly of youths.

Assa Traoré never planned to lead a movement — until her brother Adama Traoré was brutally killed by police on his birthday just because he didn’t have his ID on him. In this episode she explains how the fate of Adama Traoré catalysed a movement that continues to call on France to address racist, sexist, and class-based violence.

Stories from three different countries, but which exposes how repression is used to defend a much bigger systemic problem of inequality, racism and colonialism.

Note: Assa Traoré spoke to us in French — her words were translated by Maaza Seyoum.

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Wanjira Wanjiru is the co-founder the Mathare Social Justice Centre and is a Member of the Kenya Organic Intellectuals Network. She has been featured in Al Jazeera’s Generation Change and recently won the Mawina Kouyate Daughters of Africa Award for activism.

Ganda Bahadur Gautam (Pawan) is Youth leader the president of Youth Initiative (YI) in Nepal. He was on the scene during the 2025 Gen Z protests and has called for an end to corruption in the country.

Assa Traore is a French Malian activist who was driven to activism after the death of her brother Adama at the hands of the French police in 2016. She set up an organisation called Justice for Adama and has become one of France’s most prominent campaigners for racial justice.

This is the last part of a three-episode series on economic inequality. The first one featuring Thomas Piketty, the second featuring Gary Stevenson was released on Tuesday this week. Go back and have a listen if you haven’t yet.

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“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.

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If you enjoy the episode, please like, share, comment, and leave us a review. Follow us on X @EQUALShope, Bluesky and on LinkedIn.

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.

Thomas Piketty is Professor of Economics and Economic History at EHESS and at the Paris School of Economics. He is also co-director of the World Inequality Lab and the World Inequality Database. He is the author of several books including Capital in the 21st century (2014), Capital and ideology (2020) among others.

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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 and on LinkedIn.

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.

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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.

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.

Read our latest bulletin that breaks down the stats on the latest Oxfam’s Climate inequality report.

Following philosopher Dr. Ingrid Robeyns’ call to ask “How much wealth is too much?”, we meet someone trying to change the system from within.

João Paulo Pacífico says he is ‘hacking’ the system using the tools of finance to fight inequality and support social movements like Brazil’s Landless Workers’ Movement (MST).

He shares why he capped his own wealth, how he helps ordinary Brazilians invest in change, and what it takes to build an economy where finance serves people, not profit.

It’s a story about money, morality, and whether the system that created inequality can also help end it.

Listen and tell us what you think.

João Paulo Pacífico is a Brazilian multi-millionaire, CEO of Grupo Gaia, and founder of Gaia+.

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In this powerful episode, Max and Grazielle sit down with Dr. Sanam Naraghi-Anderlini, and Dr. Sarah Ihmoud, to unpack what happens when women lead peace and the human cost for the war in Gaza.

From Northern Ireland’s Women’s Coalition to Palestinian women’s resistance and survival in Gaza, they reveal why peace agreements are stronger when women are not just “at the table,” but redesigning it entirely.

We explore how the war on Gaza has become a war on women’s bodies, why hope itself is an act of resistance, and what real peace would require.

Inspired by Oxfam’s new report, Beyond Rhetoric: Feminist Leadership for a Transformative Women, Peace and Security Agenda at 25, this episode explores what real feminist leadership looks like in the Women, Peace and Security agenda.

Listen now and share your thoughts in comment section.

Dr. Sanam Naraghi-Anderlini is the Director of the LSE Centre for Women, Peace and Security and also the CEO and Founder of International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN).

Dr. Sarah Ihmoud is a Palestinian feminist anthropologist, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester and a founding member of the Palestinian Feminist Collective.

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Philosopher Ingrid Robeyns joins EQUALS to make the case for limitarianism, the radical yet common sense idea that there should be a limit to how much wealth one person can have.

From super rich billions to democracy’s decline, Ingrid explains how excessive wealth erodes freedom, fairness, and even the planet’s survival.

🎧 Listen now and ask yourself: How much is too much?

Ingrid Robeyns is the author of the book Limitarianism: The Case Against Extreme Wealth.

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From the trenches of war in Ukraine, to strikes against austerity in the UK, and the struggle for migrant workers’ rights in South Korea, trade unions are demonstrating extraordinary resilience.

In this EQUALS episode, three union leaders share how working people are standing strong against war, exploitation, and political repression:

• Ivanna Khrapko from Federations of Trade Unions of Ukraine (FPU) shares how unions provide solidarity and fighting for social protection under shelling and blackouts.

• Onay Kasab from Unite the Union in UK explains why Birmingham’s bin workers are striking against fire and rehire and resisting austerity.

• Mikyung Ryu from Korean Confederation of Trade Unions reveals how unions are organizing migrant workers and standing up to government repression.

Their stories show that even under the harshest conditions, war, austerity, and repression, trade unions remain a force for democracy, dignity, and hope.

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This is the second episode in our miniseries on how trade unions are fighting inequality and standing up for democracy. If you missed it, listen to the first episode featuring Luc Triangle, General Secretary of the International Trade Union Confederation here.

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From youth marches in Belgium to leading over 200 million unionized workers globally, Luc’s story is one of conviction, resilience, and hope. His message is clear:

“If we organize, if we unite, nothing can stop us.”

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We also dive into monopoly power with Nicholas Shaxson, explore AI’s impact on inequality with Simon Johnson, and hear from voices across the globe—from South Africa to Denmark—on what it takes to build a fairer world.

Whether you're walking, commuting, or washing dishes, this is your chance to catch up on the most thought-provoking moments of the EQUALS season.

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From food to healthcare to tech and finance, monopolies are tightening their grip on our economies—and our lives. He shares how corporate fuels billionaire wealth, undermines democracy, and worsens the climate crisis.

But it’s not all doom—he also lays out bold solutions and how ordinary people can fight back.

This is a must listen if you care about economic justice, corporate accountability, and building a fairer world.

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Annie and Grazielle sit down with Jordi, an economist at Positive Money, to unravel the complexities of monetary policy. Jordi explains how central banks influence financial conditions to achieve economic targets and the impact of interest rate changes on inequality.

The discussion covers how inflation affects different households, how central banks can address climate change, and how efforts to control inflation can inadvertently create conditions that favor recession.

If you enjoy the episode, please like, share, comment, and leave us a review. Follow us on X @EQUALShope, Bluesky and on LinkedIn.

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