Martin Wolf on the 'Terrifying' Superpower That the US Wields

Joe Weisenthal (0:00)

Hello, Odd Lots listeners, I'm Joe Weisenthal.

Tracy Alloway (0:02)

And I'm Tracy Alloway.

Joe Weisenthal (0:04)

Tracy, we're going to be doing another live show, this time once again, in our hometown of New York City.

Tracy Alloway (0:09)

That's right. On the evening of May 28th from 7 p.m., we will be at City Winery with a fantastic lineup of guests.

Joe Weisenthal (0:17)

Yeah, I really like our live show. They're a great chance to meet the listeners. They're a chance for listeners to meet us, and actually more importantly, listeners to hang out with other listeners and all that community stuff. But if you would like...

Tracy Alloway (0:29)

All that community stuff.

Joe Weisenthal (0:31)

And I think we're going to talk a lot about the future of trading because that is a very New York City topic, still figuring out the exact schedule. But yes, if you'd like to come to our live Odd Lots show at City Winery in New York City on May 28th, go find details at bloomberg.com/oddlots or look on either one of our Twitter handles. There are plenty of spaces to find it, and we'd love to see you there.

Tracy Alloway (0:53)

That's right. Get offline and interact with some actual human beings and do some of that community stuff. We look forward to seeing you there.

Joe Weisenthal (1:02)

IRL is the new URL.

Tracy Alloway (1:05)

Thank you.

Joe Weisenthal (1:08)

Bloomberg Audio Studios. Podcasts, radio, news.

Tracy Alloway (1:23)

Hello, and welcome to another episode of the Odd Lots Podcast. I'm Tracy Alloway.

Joe Weisenthal (1:27)

And I'm Joe Weisenthal.

Tracy Alloway (1:29)

Joe, we're back in London.

Joe Weisenthal (1:31)

We're making a tradition back in London. We were here last spring. That last year is April, this time it's May, but I like the idea. Let's do a recurring spring trip to London.

Tracy Alloway (1:40)

Now, when you're in London, do you feel the urge to sort of stroke your beard and think about geopolitics?

Joe Weisenthal (1:46)

Can I say, well, yes, for sure, but as you can confirm, anytime there's like some big, there's something feels pivotal or historical or geopolitical, I turn to you in the office, I say, you know what we really need? We really need like an episode with the old guy with the British accent. Like some moments, that's just what it calls for.

Tracy Alloway (2:11)

You gave the secret away. You gave the secret Odd Lots booking process.

Joe Weisenthal (2:14)

It doesn't really matter who it is per se, but it's like there's a certain type of guest that's like, this is what this moment calls for. Someone with wisdom, someone with perspective.

Tracy Alloway (2:23)

All right. Well, you've given it away at this point, but we are back here for our yearly check in with Martin Wolf, who is of course the chief economics commentator over at the Financial Times. One of the most famous geopolitics, geoeconomics commentators of all time, and someone who is really good to talk to when we're living through these potentially historic, capital H, historic events on what seems to be more than a yearly basis at this point. The last time we spoke to him was in April of 2025, and it was just after the Liberation Day tariff announcements. Now, we're here in May 2026, and we have the Iran situation going on. We have headlines about further fracturing of US-Europe relations.

I mean, all of these potentially pivotal moments seem to be happening on a monthly, if not weekly, basis at this point.

Joe Weisenthal (3:14)

Absolutely right. And as you mentioned, when we were here last year, it was in the immediate wake. I mean, I think maybe even just a week after the, or a few days after the Liberation Day, tariff schedule had come out. It was still during that period of absolutely insane volatility. And there is a sense in which, I mean, the pure volatility currently is not actually like it was back then.

But at the same time, perhaps probably because we're in the middle of a war, ceasefire aside, April of 2025 feels a little quaint compared to where we are right now.

Tracy Alloway (3:48)

Isn't that something? I mean, everything's relative, I guess. Okay. Well, on that note, why don't we bring in our perfect guest, older gentleman, older British gentleman with a British accent, per Joe's description.

Joe Weisenthal (4:00)

For my request.

Tracy Alloway (4:01)

Martin Wolf, thank you so much for coming back on Odd Lots.

Martin Wolf (4:04)

Well, I'm very glad to fill a niche I didn't know you had.

Tracy Alloway (4:09)

You truly are the perfect guest though, because again, a lot of people have described you as one of the most important economics commentators of all time. So I think it's great that we get you back to opine on some of these very big events that we're seeing. Speaking of large events, you have described the Iran situation as a nightmare scenario.