The Art of the Steal – Trump, Oligarchy and the Economy of Death with John Perkins
Listen to Shepheard-Walwyn Podcast
In this episode of the Shepheard-Walwyn Podcast, Jonathan Brown welcomes back John Perkins to discuss his new book, The Art of the Steal: Trump and the Economic Hitman Presidency. Their conversation goes far beyond party politics into the deeper system Perkins argues has shaped modern power: oligarchy, fear, debt, scarcity, and division. They explore why democracy so often fails to serve ordinary people, how leaders become trapped by the system they enter and why Trump’s real “innovation” may have been to stop pretending the system serves the public at all.
The discussion also turns toward what comes next: the difference between a “death economy” and a “life economy,” what indigenous cultures can teach modern societies about leadership and community, how direct democracy might restore public agency and why AI could become either a tool of liberation or control.
John Perkins official website: https://johnperkins.org
The Art of the Steal: https://www.johnperkins.org/art-of-the-steal
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