Cultural Economy in the Kitchen

What does it mean to buy a concert ticket in an age of algorithms and platforms? In this episode of Cultural Economy in the Kitchen Philip Roscoe and Addie McGowan explore the hidden architectures of the concert economy with Dr Victor Pires and Dr Loïc Riom. Victor unpacks Ticketmaster’s dynamic pricing as a powerful market device, where algorithms shape demand, organise time, and offer a platinum take on the age-old ploy of scalping. Loïc turns to Sofar Sounds, showing how secret concerts and the promise of “exposure” try to remake what it means to perform and be paid. Together, they reveal how platforms do far more than sell tickets or organise gigs. They actively compose the economic reality of live music, redistributing risk, value, and possibility across artists, audiences, and intermediaries. Yet their real play may not be the business of music at all. Cultural Economy in the Kitchen, the academic journal podcast from the Journal of Cultural Economy editorial collective.

From student loans to buy-now-pay-later, we are always already indebted. Debt has become an engine of everyday life, reshaping how we study, shop, work, and imagine our futures. In this episode of Cultural Economy in the Kitchen, Philip Roscoe and Addie McGowan ask what it means to live in a world where indebtedness has become a permanent condition. Addie and Philip explore the cultural economies of debt with Tamar Nir, Jessa Loomis, and Daniel Cockayne. Tamar reveals how student loans entangle individuals in state‑designed market relations, reshaping obligations and responsibilities. Jessa and Daniel unpack the rise of buy‑now‑pay‑later platforms, showing how fintech, social media, and gendered consumption cultures deepen everyday reliance on borrowing. Together, the guests reveal how debt structures social life, from higher education to household spending, in a world where it is no longer an exception but the norm. The academic journal podcast from the Journal of Cultural Economy editorial collective.

What do ghosts, empires, and financial capital have in common? In this episode of Cultural Economy in the Kitchen, Philip Roscoe and Addie McGowan speak with Clea Bourne, Paul Gilbert, and Eleanor Newbigin to explore how colonial legacies haunt contemporary financial systems and cultural policy. Clea and Paul unpack the “ghostly infrastructures” underpinning global finance, revealing how willed forgetfulness obscures the colonial histories embedded in today’s markets. Eleanor then turns to UK–India cultural and creative industries, showing how development narratives, soft power, and neoliberal agendas continue to reproduce hierarchy and extractive logics. Together, the conversation confronts the lingering spectres shaping political and economic life today.

Climate crisis meets capital in Cultural Economy in the Kitchen: Professor Philip Roscoe and Dr Addie McGowan explore what happens when climate change collides with the world of finance. They speak with Dr Stine Engen and Professor Kristin Asdal about how climate issues are transformed into calculable financial risks through everyday tools, documents, and risk‑work in the financial sector. The conversation then turns to Dr Justin Leifso, whose work on the carbon-tax backlash in Alberta uncovers the emotional undercurrents of neoliberalism, resentment, and anti-elitism. Together, the discussions offer a vivid portrait of finance’s entanglements with planetary futures. The academic journal podcast from the Journal of Cultural Economy editorial collective.

In this episode of Cultural Economy in the Kitchen, the podcast from the Journal of Cultural Economy, hosts Dr. Addie McGowan and Professor Philip Roscoe explore the fascinating world of crypto imaginaries—how cryptocurrencies embody - quite literally, encode - cultural, political, and economic visions of the future. Joining them are Dr. Lana Swartz, Dr. Andreu Belsunces, and Dr. Kobe De Keere, who unpack the neoliberal roots of crypto, its technical design principles, its role as a ‘social and cultural shapeshifter’, and the promises broken along the way’. From anarchist beginnings to techno-utopian dreams and Russia’s crisis-driven adoption, this conversation reveals how crypto is more than money. Is it a financial revolution, a neoliberal fantasy made material, or just a way out? Tune in to hear more!

We dive into the cultural economies of the tech bros, from Peter Thiel to Elon Musk. Hosts Dr. Addie McGowan and Professor Philip Roscoe welcome Dr. Carla Ibled and Dr. Dominik Zelinski to talk about their popular Journal of Cultural Economy articles. Carla explores the founder as hero and victim, drawing on Freud and Lacan to reveal Silicon Valley’s messianic fantasies. Dominik examines Musk’s charismatic leadership through Weber’s lens, tracing Dogecoin hype, online ethnography, and the tension between charisma and routine. Together, they ask: what do these tech myths mean for our political and economic futures?

It's coming soon, to a kitchen near you: the new Cultural Economy in the Kitchen podcast from the Journal of Cultural Economy editorial collecteive. With Dr Addie McGowan and Professor Philip Roscoe. Don't forget to subscribe!