Trump, China and How Oil Is Defining Great Power Politics

Donald Trump’s capture of Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro feels like confirmation that we are living in a new era, but what has caused this shift and where does it leave Europe?

Amol speaks to Professor Helen Thompson, an expert on the history of globalisation and author of Disorder: Hard Times in the 21st Century, about how oil is fuelling competition between the US and China.

They explore how it’s reshaping global power politics, whether it's possible for Europe to decouple from the US and why high levels of national debt threaten to undermine Western economies.

And Helen, who is Professor of Political Economy at the University of Cambridge, explains why she thinks there is a case for potentially reversing the independence of central banks like the US Federal Reserve and the Bank of England to give politicians more control.

Radical with Amol Rajan is a Today podcast for BBC Radio 4. Episode are released every Thursday and you can also listen to them on BBC Sounds: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/brand/p0gg4k6r