The Sky News Business Podcast

What’s next after decades of relentless globalisation? It’s top of mind for you - the Stuff Matters listeners - and most Western politicians. In this Q&A episode, Ed has a go at sketching out a path forward for the West.Find out how to subscribe to our members club Sky News Insider here: skynews.com/stuffmattersPlus, a listener picks a bone with one of the arguments in our car seats episode. Are we just trying to pack more and more people into extremely dense cities to fuel economic growth like “battery chickens”?Sky News Insider requires a paid subscription and is available to UK listeners aged 18 and over. Find out more and subscribe at skynews.com/stuffmattersThe Stuff Matters series producer is Jake Otajovic. The production team includes assistant producer Valeria Rocca, specialist producer Aoife Yourell, and video producer Charlie Bell. Our bonus episodes are produced by Soila Apparicio. The editor is Philly Beaumont, and the commissioning editor is Paul Stanworth. Sound design and mixing by Luke Hatten. Original music for the series composed by Klong and Ed Conway.

Ed uncovers the surprising story of the howitzer – the artillery weapon that has dominated battlefields for hundreds of years, from Napoleon to Ukraine and forever changed the economics of war. But this isn't just the story of a big gun.Become a Sky News Insider! You can listen to Stuff Matters, Electoral Dysfunction, and Trump100 without ads, get new episodes early, exclusive bonus episodes and much more, by becoming a Sky News Insider. Sky News Insider requires a paid subscription and is available to UK listeners aged 18 and over. Find out more and subscribe here: skynews.supportingcast.fmAs Ukraine battles ammunition shortages, Ed investigates what happens when a modern army runs out of shells, and why NATO struggled to replace them. From forgotten chemical factories in the First World War to today's fragile global supply chains, he reveals how manufacturing, trade and industrial capacity have become just as important as military strategy.Featuring frontline reporting from Ukraine and conversations with leading military experts, this episode explores how a shortage of artillery helped accelerate the rise of drone warfare - and asks a bigger question: if Britain ever had to defend itself, could it still make the things it needs to fight?In this episode we spoke with:Francis Farrell, frontline reporter at the Kyiv IndependentDuncan Weldon, economist and author of “Blood and Treasure: The Economics of Conflict from the Vikings to the Modern Era”Jack Watling, Senior Research Fellow at RUSIThe Stuff Matters series producer is Jake Otajovic. The production team includes assistant producer Valeria Rocca, specialist producer Aoife Yourell, and video producer Charlie Bell. Our bonus episodes are produced by Soila Apparicio. The editor is Philly Beaumont, and the commissioning editor is Paul Stanworth. Sound design and mixing by Luke Hatten. Original music for the series composed by Klong and Ed Conway.Sky News Insider requires a paid subscription and is available to UK listeners aged 18 and over. Find out more and subscribe at skynews.com/stuffmatters

What if bulky children’s car safety seats are a clue to one of the biggest changes in human history – the reason people aren't having kids anymore? Ed Conway investigates.Become a Sky News Insider! You can listen to Stuff Matters, Electoral Dysfunction, and Trump100 without ads, get new episodes early, exclusive bonus episodes and much more, by becoming a Sky News Insider. Sky News Insider requires a paid subscription and is available to UK listeners aged 18 and over. Find out more and subscribe here: skynews.supportingcast.fmAcross almost every continent, birth rates are falling. Countries that once worried about overpopulation are now confronting the opposite problem: a future with fewer children, ageing populations and shrinking workforces.In this episode, Ed uses the child safety seat as a starting point for a much bigger investigation. Why are people having fewer children? What happens when populations start to shrink? And how have technology, changing social norms and modern life transformed the way we think about relationships, family and parenthood?Do you have any thoughts about the episode or questions for Ed? Email us at [email protected] and maybe we'll feature your message in an upcoming Q&A episode!Sky News Insider requires a paid subscription and is available to UK listeners aged 18 and over. Find out more and subscribe at skynews.com/stuffmattersIn this episode we spoke with:Dean Spears, associate professor at the University of Texas and co-author of "After the Spike: The Risks of Global Depopulation and the Case for People"Alice Evans, visiting associate professor at Stanford University, senior lecturer at King's College and author of "The Great Gender Divergence" substackThe Stuff Matters series producer is Jake Otajovic. The production team includes assistant producer Valeria Rocca, specialist producer Aoife Yourell, and video producer Charlie Bell. Our bonus episodes are produced by Soila Apparicio. The editor is Philly Beaumont, and the commissioning editor is Paul Stanworth. Sound design and mixing by Luke Hatten. Original music for the series composed by Klong and Ed Conway.

That satisfying snap when you close an AirPods case is powered by one of the most important materials in the modern world.To listen without ads, get new episodes a week early, exclusive bonus episodes and much more, become a Sky News Insider. Find out more and subscribe at skynews.com/stuffmatters.Hidden inside are tiny magnets made from rare earth elements: obscure minerals that help power everything from smartphones and wind turbines to fighter jets and electric cars. They're also at the centre of one of the biggest geopolitical struggles of our time.In this episode, Ed Conway follows the story of rare earths from an obscure Swedish town and the Manhattan Project to modern China, where decades of industrial strategy have given Beijing extraordinary control over a resource the rest of the world depends on.Along the way, he explores the strange economics of rare earth mining, the environmental costs hidden behind modern technology, and the growing fear that global supply chains can be turned into weapons.Do you have any thoughts about the episode or questions for Ed? Email us at [email protected] and maybe we'll feature your email in an upcoming Q&A episode!Sky News Insider requires a paid subscription and is available to UK listeners aged 18 and over. Find out more and subscribe at skynews.com/stuffmatters.In this episode we spoke with:Jordan Lee Calderon, critical minerals and sustainability researcher at Colorado School of MinesTim Worstall, economics commentator and senior fellow at the Adam Smith InstituteKeith Bradsher, New York Times Beijing bureau chiefHenry Farrell, political scientist and co-author of "Underground Empire: How America Weaponized the World Economy"The Stuff Matters series producer is Jake Otajovic. The production team includes assistant producer Valeria Rocca, specialist producer Aoife Yourell, and video producer Charlie Bell. Our bonus episodes are produced by Soila Apparicio. The editor is Philly Beaumont, and the commissioning editor is Paul Stanworth. Sound design and mixing by Luke Hatten. Original music for the series composed by Klong and Ed Conway.

In Stuff Matters, Ed Conway takes an object, cracks it open and reveals the world shaping forces hidden inside.Each episode follows a trail of ideas that stretches beyond the object itself, uncovering far reaching economic powers that shape how we live.Along the way, Ed meets fascinating characters, from brilliant inventors to Latin American revolutionaries. He dives into their personal stories and reveals how they’ve changed the course of industries and economies.Because when you look closely enough, even the simplest things turn out to matter more than you think.