At a time when politicians across the West are calling for higher taxes on the wealthy, legal scholar and author John O. McGinnis offers a strikingly different view: what if democracy needs the rich? He joins Merryn Somerset Webb to discuss power, inequality, free speech and what he says is the hidden role wealth plays in keeping democratic societies healthy.

At a time when politicians across the West are calling for higher taxes on the wealthy, legal scholar and author John O. McGinnis offers a strikingly different view: what if democracy needs the rich? He joins Merryn Somerset Webb to discuss power, inequality, free speech and what he says is the hidden role wealth plays in keeping democratic societies healthy.

Merryn Talks Money with Bloomberg senior columnist Merryn Somerset Webb is your key to understanding how markets work – and how you can make them work for you. Every episode features a relaxed but in-depth conversation with a fund manager, a strategist, a Bloomberg expert or just someone Merryn finds particularly interesting in any given week. Listen in for the kind of insights and explanations everyone can use to help them make better saving and investing choices.

Merryn Talks Money with Bloomberg senior columnist Merryn Somerset Webb is your key to understanding how markets work – and how you can make them work for you. Every episode features a relaxed but in-depth conversation with a fund manager, a strategist, a Bloomberg expert or just someone Merryn finds particularly interesting in any given week. Listen in for the kind of insights and explanations everyone can use to help them make better saving and investing choices.

Merryn Talks Money

Why Democracy Needs the Rich: John O. McGinnis on Wealth, Power and Pluralism

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/8545f1f8-47e0-43cc-9964-b46200c83877/transcript

Merryn Somerset Webb talks to Daniel Doll-Steinberg, Co-Founder & Partner at EdenBase, an investment firm that invests in quantum computing, about why the next great technological leap may arrive sooner than investors expect. They explore how quantum could transform drug discovery, finance and encryption. They also look at how investors can get meaningful exposure to the quantum boom, what “Q-Day” really means for Bitcoin, and why understanding philosophy goes hand-in-hand with understanding quantum. 

Merryn Somerset Webb talks to Daniel Doll-Steinberg, Co-Founder &amp; Partner at EdenBase, an investment firm that invests in quantum computing, about why the next great technological leap may arrive sooner than investors expect. They explore how quantum could transform drug discovery, finance and encryption. They also look at how investors can get meaningful exposure to the quantum boom, what &ldquo;Q-Day&rdquo; really means for Bitcoin, and why understanding philosophy goes hand-in-hand with understanding quantum.&nbsp;

What Happens When Quantum Computing Actually Works?

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/cc2a6e70-e468-4bae-90f0-b4ae008d34be/transcript

Hosts Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek are both back from their holidays and this week unpack the surge in global bond yields and how governments might respond. They also look at a study which suggested that Small Language Models (SLM) could make today’s vast AI data-centre buildout unnecessary, posing a substantial risk to hyperscalers and investors.

https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.07885

Hosts Merryn Somerset Webb and John Stepek are both back from their holidays and this week unpack the surge in global bond yields and how governments might respond. They also look at a study which suggested that Small Language Models (SLM) could make today&rsquo;s vast AI data-centre buildout unnecessary, posing a substantial risk to hyperscalers and investors. <a href="https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.07885">https://arxiv.org/abs/2511.07885</a>

Markets Wrap: Higher Yields, Higher Gold

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/cdfaba7a-8242-45fe-9914-b4ad009e16a4/transcript

Joining Merryn Somerset Webb for this week's episode is Duncan Lamont, Head of Strategic Research at Schroders. Lamont explains how investors can protect their portfolios against stagflation, and how to avoid being too exposed to the AI trade. He also explains why all-time highs might not actually be a sell signal for investors - and how AI-driven job losses might affect US stocks.

https://www.schroders.com/en-us/us/institutional/insights/adapting-asset-allocation-to-the-risk-of-stagflation/ 

Joining Merryn Somerset Webb for this week's episode is Duncan Lamont, Head of Strategic Research at Schroders. Lamont explains how investors can protect their portfolios against stagflation, and how to avoid being too exposed to the AI trade. He also explains why all-time highs might not actually be a sell signal for investors - and how AI-driven job losses might affect US stocks. <a href="https://www.schroders.com/en-us/us/institutional/insights/adapting-asset-allocation-to-the-risk-of-stagflation/">https://www.schroders.com/en-us/us/institutional/insights/adapting-asset-allocation-to-the-risk-of-stagflation/</a>&nbsp;

What it Takes to Build a Stagflation-proof Portfolio

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/626638a0-a9d2-4f6b-a884-b4a600e389bf/transcript

Why Democracy Needs the Rich: John O. McGinnis on Wealth, Power and Pluralism

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