Show overview
The Sound of Economics has been publishing since 2016, and across the 10 years since has built a catalogue of 467 episodes. That works out to roughly 270 hours of audio in total. Releases follow a weekly cadence, with the show now in its 6th season.
Episodes typically run thirty-five to sixty minutes — most land between 26 min and 44 min — though episode length varies meaningfully from one episode to the next. None of the episodes are flagged explicit by the publisher. It is catalogued as a EN-language Business show.
The show is actively publishing — the most recent episode landed 1 months ago, with 27 episodes already out so far this year. Published by Bruegel.
From the publisher
The Sound of Economics brings you insights, debates, and research-based discussions on economic policy in Europe and beyond. The podcast is produced by Bruegel, an independent and non-doctrinal think tank based in Brussels. It seeks to contribute to European and global economic policy-making through open, fact-based, and policy-relevant research, analysis, and debate.
Latest Episodes
View all 467 episodesEurope's China shock 2.0
AI, demographics and China
What you need to know about ETS
Where is the growth?
Reassessing China's role in the Middle East
Money, stablecoins and the dollar
The European project
Weapons, war and confusion
Future-proofing and creative destruction
Exploring Chinese trade deflection
Hungary’s future
Why are global imbalances rising, and why does it matter?
Europe’s electric vehicle conundrum
Montenegro’s power connection to the EU
In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie speaks about fossil fuel challenges with Admir Šahmanović, Montenegro's Minister of Energy and Mining, Bruegel’s Western Balkans expert Nina Vujanović and Rouven Stubbe of the Helmholz-Zentrum Berlin. How does Montenegro’s energy mix fit with its efforts to become the next member of the European Union? Do electricity subsidies for consumers make it harder to transition away from Communist-era coal-fired power plants? What new renewable energy projects are in the pipeline? Will the Iran war speed up progress? How does Montenegro work with EU neighbors like Croatia and Italy, and what is the role of the EU’s Energy Community programme? The EU’s new Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) poses a big hurdle for most of the Western Balkan countries. Bruegel’s experts break down the challenge in conversation with a top policymaker from the region. Relevant research:Vujanović, N., R. Stubbe and M. Catarina-Louro (2025) ‘The Western Balkan energy sector: between Russia, the European Union and the green transition’, Working Paper 33/2025, Bruegel
What the heck is a 28th Regime?
In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie speaks about the European Union’s innovation hopes with Bruegel’s Fiona Scott Morton and Reinhilde Veugelers as well as Tobias Tröger, SAFE Chair of Private Law, Trade and Business Law, Jurisprudence at Frankfurt’s Goethe University. The European Commission on March 18 released its “EU Inc.” proposal to make it easier for innovative companies to get their start and scale up. The new plan uses a lawmaking tool known as the 28th regime. What is it and how does it work – will it help companies find financing and navigate thickets of national and local bureaucracy? What else can you do with it? Is the Commission proposal good? What are some alternatives? And what will this mean for Europe’s notaries? Promising firms have a lot to gain from these conversations, if good policy design follows. Relevant research: Christie, R. (2026) ‘28th regimes to help Europe’s capital markets’, First Glance, 09 March, Bruegel. Enriques, L., Casimiro A. Nigro and Tobias H. Tröger (2026) ‘Why the 28th Regime Proposal Falls Short of Europe's Challenge’, Oxford Business Law Blog. Enriques, L., Casimiro A. Nigro and Tobias H. Tröger (2025) ‘Mandatory Corporate Law as an Obstacle to Venture Capital Contracting in Europe’, The CLS Blue Sky Blog. Scott Morton, F. and R. Veugelers (2025) ‘Regime 0: Europe-wide incorporation for startups to kickstart innovative growth,’ Policy Brief 33/2025, Bruegel.
Italy and Europe
In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie talks about the economy and politics of Italy with Bruegel’s Emmanuel Mourlon-Druol and Francesco Papadia. Why does Italy always feel on the brink of a crisis, even as it has been one of the European Union’s strongest and most important countries since the bloc’s founding? With public finances that are outperforming France but growth persistently elusive, the country has a two-sided performance that will require – and may not get – significant structural reforms to stabilise. What will be the consequences for Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni from the upcoming referendum on the legal system? Her far-right origins have morphed into a complex mix of centrist and right-wing positions, an experience that could offer a window into the coming French elections. From 1941’s Ventotene manifesto to today’s war in Ukraine, Rome has been one of Europe’s most complex and important political centres.
First assessment of China's 15th Five-Year Plan
On 12 March 2026, China approved its 15th Five-Year Plan, setting the country's economic and strategic direction through 2030. In this episode of The Sound of Economics, Yuyun Zhan and Alicia García-Herrero sit down with Bert Hofman for a first assessment of the plan. They discuss its key priorities — from industrial policy and export-led technology growth to social policy and redistribution — and examine what Beijing's new blueprint means for the European economy. This episode is part of the ZhōngHuá Mundus series of The Sound of Economics. ZhōngHuá Mundus is a newsletter by Bruegel, bringing you monthly analysis of China in the world, as seen from Europe. Sign up now to receive it in your mailbox!
Inflation, Iran and the Industrial Accelerator Act
In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie speaks with Klaas Knot, former governor of the Dutch central bank, and Bruegel Director Jeromin Zettelmeyer about the big issues facing the European Union economy. Will euro-area inflation rise in response to energy price shocks from the US and Israeli attacks on Iran? How quickly can monetary policy respond when trouble emerges? How is the Dutch economy doing compared to the rest of Europe? Meanwhile, the European Commission has proposed an Industrial Accelerator Act to protect EU manufacturing from the onslaught of Chinese exports – how does it stack up against the status quo? This episode features insights from two of Europe’s top economists on the major challenges of 2026 and the role of the European Central Bank in keeping the euro-area economy together. Relavant research: Mathieu Segers Lecture 2026 with Klaas Knot (in Dutch) García Bercero , I, B. McWilliams, N. Poitiers and S. Tagliapietra (2026) '‘Made with Europe’ not ‘Made in Europe’ should guide EU industrial policy' First Glance, Bruegel, 10 February. McWilliams, B., S. Tagliapietra and J. Zettelmeyer (2025) ‘Reconciling the European Union’s clean industrialisation goals with those of the Global South’, Policy Brief 18/2025, Bruegel Steinbach, A, G Wolff and J Zettelmeyer (2025), ‘Rethinking the governance and funding of European rearmament‘, in Gensler, G, S Johnson, U Panizza and B Weder di Mauro (eds), The Economic Consequences of The Second Trump Administration: A Preliminary Assessment, CEPR Press, Paris & London.
Europe and the Iran war
In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie is joined by Bruegel’s Elina Ribakova, Simone Tagliapietra and Guntram Wolff to talk about the US and Israeli strikes on Iran. What happens to energy prices as military action intensifies and the Strait of Hormuz is disrupted? If this conflict is a net positive for Russia, what does it mean for the ongoing fighting in Ukraine? How can Europe rally its defence industrial base? How does this complicate trade and political relations with China? Even if oil and gas prices rise only temporarily, this conflict will cause lasting shocks and force a new reckoning with the European Union’s energy dependence.Relevant research: Tagliapietra, S. (2026) 'How will the Iran conflict hit European energy markets?' First Glance, Bruegel, 2 March. Ribakova, E. (2025) 'Ukraine, Europe and the new economics of war' Opinion, Financial Times Mejino-Lopez, Juan, and Guntram B. Wolff. "Boosting the European Defence Industry in a Hostile World." Intereconomics, vol. 60, no. 1, ZBW – Leibniz-Informationszentrum Wirtschaft, 2025, pp. 34-39 Hilgenstock, B. and E. Ribakova (2025) 'Why Russia’s economic model no longer delivers', Analysis, Bruegel, 16 July Dabrowski, M. (2025) 'How resilient is Russia’s economy after four years of war?' Working Paper 32/2025, Bruegel
Where can Europe be independent?
In this episode of The Sound of Economics, host Rebecca Christie speaks to former EU Competition Executive Vice President Margrethe Vestager -- now chair of the board at Danish Technical University -- and Ditte Brasso Sørensen, who leads Think Tank EUROPA’s Stocktaking EU project, about how Europe can reduce its dependencies without grasping for the impossible goal of full economic independence. How can the European Union make its state aid framework fit for purpose? Can Europe anchor its own AI companies, and how will the big US firms manage their European business? What is the role of clean technology and critical raw materials in securing the EU’s future? Denmark’s experience of European integration, particularly on key topics such as Greenland and the euro, shows how countries can balance sovereignty with shared purpose.Related research: Brasso Sørensen, D. (2026) 'STOCKTAKING EU - Taking stock of the Commission's first year', EUROPA, available at: https://thinkeuropa.dk/en/node/4391 Grabbe, H. and J. Zettelmeyer (2024) ‘Not yet Trump-proof: an evaluation of the European Commission’s emerging policy platform’, Policy Brief 03/2025, Bruegel, available at: https://www.bruegel.org/policy-brief/not-yet-trump-proof-evaluation-european-commissions-emerging-policy-platform