#067 - John O'Connell - We're £12 Trillion in Debt
Release Date: 04/17/2025
#161 - Lyn Alden - Why Everything Feels Harder - Debt, Inflation & The System
The Peter McCormack Show
Why does everything feel more expensive even when the economy is supposedly "growing"? The truth is, the financial system isn't broken - it’s functioning exactly as it was designed to In this episode, macroeconomist and author Lyn Alden joins the show to discuss the mechanical reality of the fiat ledger and the global debt trap. We explore how the system forces a silent extraction of wealth from the working class to subsidise sovereign debt, why we are re-entering a 1940s-style era of financial repression, and how corporations (like Coca-Cola) use debt to actively "short" the currency...
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#160 - Mark Suman - AI Is Quietly Changing How You Think
The Peter McCormack Show
Former Apple employee, Mark Suman explains why Apple refused to allow ChatGPT internally and what that reveals about how AI systems are learning how we think. Most people are now using AI every day - for work, personal decisions, even private conversations. But as Mark explains, the more we share, the more these systems begin to model our behaviour, often understanding our thinking patterns better than we do ourselves. This raises a deeper question: what happens when intelligence is centralised, and systems can influence not just what we do, but how we think? We discuss privacy, data,...
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#159 - Matt Goodwin - It Might Already Be Too Late For Britain
The Peter McCormack Show
Are we witnessing the managed decay of Western democracy, or a civilisational shift that we can still reverse? I sit down with academic and author Matt Goodwin and discuss the survival of the West. Matt warns that unprecedented demographic transformation and a radicalised, disconnected elite are fundamentally dismantling our national identity. We also discuss institutional rot, the effectiveness of Reform UK, the danger of letting old political insiders hijack the populist uprising, and whether taking a "sledgehammer to the state" is the only way out. In this episode: The Institutional Rot:...
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#158 - Simon Dixon - Why the World Feels Chaotic (And Who Profits)
The Peter McCormack Show
Are we witnessing the organic collapse of the Western world, or is the current global chaos a highly engineered script? Simon Dixon returns to map out the hidden architecture of global power. He breaks down how the Financial, Military, and Technical Industrial Complexes are actively managing a transition to a multipolar world. From the "transitional theater" of the Middle East to the weaponization of global debt, Simon explains how elites are using chaos to asset-strip the West and consolidate their wealth in a K-shaped economy. We also discuss the pivot to the real pandemic: the profound...
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#157 - Neema Parvini - Who Runs the World: The Mechanics of Elite Power
The Peter McCormack Show
The political system appears broken but is functioning exactly as it was designed to - ensuring the ruling class never loses power. Author and academic Neema Parvini joins the podcast to discuss the mechanics of elite control. We discuss the "Iron Law of Oligarchy" - the reality that all political parties, no matter how radical they start, eventually conform to the establishment . Neema also explains the structural advantages the elites use to maintain their monopoly on power. We explore why "anti-establishment" figures like Donald Trump and the leaders of Reform UK have ultimately sold out...
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#156 - Tim Gregory - Becoming a Type 1 Civilisation: From Nuclear Power to Harnessing the Sun
The Peter McCormack Show
The "Net Zero" transition is built on a mathematical impossibility. The UK power grid currently relies on just over one hour of battery backup, and the political consensus is pushing us closer to civilisational collapse. Nuclear chemist and author Tim Gregory explains why the current agenda to replace fossil fuels entirely with wind and solar is a dangerous illusion. He breaks down the harsh realities of our energy infrastructure: why rolling blackouts are a genuine threat , how the government is paralyzed by absurd regulations , and why the ultimate "green" scam is chopping down North...
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#155 - Connor Leahy - AI is MUTATING: We Don't Know What It is Doing
The Peter McCormack Show
The engineers building Artificial Intelligence do not actually know how it works. They are not programming it; they are "growing" it and they have no idea what it will do next. Connor Leahy is an AI researcher and former builder of Large Language Models. In this interview we discuss Silicon Valley, where he reveals the reality inside the top tech labs: the "alignment problem" being unsolved, the race for Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) accelerating and the people in charge are flying completely blind. We discuss the chaotic trajectory of superintelligence, the corruption of the tech...
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#154 - Firas Modad - Who Actually Runs The American War Machine?
The Peter McCormack Show
The war in the Middle East is usually discussed as a military conflict. In this interview, Firas Modad argues the real consequences are far wider. We discuss how escalation could spread through energy markets, shipping lanes and commodity prices - and why the economic effects of war may hit far beyond the battlefield. Firas also explains how political incentives, donor networks and foreign policy alignments shape decisions in Washington, and why the incentives behind modern wars often look very different from the public narrative. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -...
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#153 - Luke Gromen - The AI-Debt Collision Breaking the Financial System
The Peter McCormack Show
Governments aren’t going to pay this debt down in real terms. More likely, they pay it back in weaker money. Luke Gromen argues we’re already deep into a sovereign debt cycle - and that AI could speed up the moment it really starts to crack. In this interview we discuss how the system works: leverage, entitlements, interest costs, bond markets - and what happens when deflation hits an economy that depends on inflation to stay upright. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - TIMESTAMPS: 00:00:00 – Debt Reality 00:01:57 – Math...
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#152 - Balaji Srinivasan - The Mathematics of Collapse: Why The West Is Going To Zero
The Peter McCormack Show
Western Civilisation is collapsing, and the exits are being bricked up. In this episode, Balaji Srinivasan (Author, The Network State) delivers a clear warning: the US and UK are approaching a sovereign debt default, and the "Berlin Wall" of capital controls is coming to trap your wealth inside. We discuss why "staying is surrendering," the rise of the "Grey Tribe" (Tech) against the State, and his 3-step survival guide for the middle class: Liquidate, Emigrate, Accelerate. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - TIMESTAMPS: 00:00:00...
info_outlineJohn O’Connell is the chief executive of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, a UK-based campaign group advocating for lower taxes, efficient government, and greater transparency in public spending. With years of experience analysing government budgets and economic policy, he has become one of the most vocal critics of Britain’s bloated bureaucracy, broken tax code, and failing public services.
In this interview, John lays out why Britain has stopped growing, how the tax burden has hit a post-war high, and why throwing more money at failing systems is making things worse. We explore the rising cost of living, the impact of over-regulation on small businesses, and how poorly designed taxes like inheritance tax and stamp duty are crippling opportunity and ambition. John argues that political reform, economic discipline, and a simpler tax code are the only way to reverse the UK’s stagnation and unlock real growth for working people.