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Artwork for Escape Forward: Connecting dots beyond the antitrust island

Escape Forward: Connecting dots beyond the antitrust island

Escape Forward
Artificial Intelligence
Europe
China
European Union
United States
Frontier Models
Sovereign AI
Compute Infrastructure
Germany
Google
Russia
DMA
DSA
European AI Strategy
Multi-Agent Orchestration
Frontier Llms
Ukraine
Parliamentary Europe
EU Inc
Sovereignty

Antitrust has thrived in the shadows for decades as a technocracy, a church with its own rituals, a lobbyfest pretending to be science. But it is an economic policy tool working alongside others. After a lifetime as antitrust expert economist & one of the original proponents of the “more economic approach” in Europe, Cristina Caffarra discusses with friends in policy and academe why we need to esc... more

PublishesMonthlyEpisodes12Foundeda year ago
Number of ListenersCategories
ScienceSocial Sciences

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Artwork for Escape Forward: Connecting dots beyond the antitrust island

Latest Episodes

Cristina Caffarra speaks with Yariv Adan, founder of ellipsis Ventures and former Google AI leader, about why he believes AI will expand human potential by making intelligence widely accessible and accelerating scientific and economic progress. They ... more

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Cristina Caffarra in conversation with Andreas Liebl on the way AI FOMO on “god-like” LLM frontier models is being weaponized in Europe to push US tech economic and geopolitical dominance, alongside the campaign to kill the European sovereignty movem... more

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Cristina Caffarra in conversation with Luis Garicano on a few salient strands of the 𝗔𝗜 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝗘𝘂𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗲 today. 𝗝𝗼𝗯 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 – will “most white collar jobs” really be “lost in 1-5 years” with Agentic AI? �... more

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Cristina Caffarra speaks with Andreas Klinger on Europe's Leap Forward

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Recent Guests

Yariv Adan
Founder of Ellipsis Ventures, AI investor with an optimistic view on AI and agentic AI
Ellipsis Ventures
Episode: Talking Tech Sovereignty with an AI Optimist
Andreas Liebl
founder and managing director of the Applied AI Initiative; founder of the Applied AI Institute for Europe
Applied AI Initiative / Applied AI Institute for Europe
Episode: Doing Deals for AI Model Access? Or What European AI Strategy?
Luis Garicano
Professor at the London School of Economics; former MEP; author and commentator on AI and policy
London School of Economics
Episode: AI in Europe: jobs, sovereignty and value capture
Andy Klinger
Tech entrepreneur, CTO and founder/manager of prototype fund; advocate for EU Inc and pan-European startup standards
Prototype fund
Episode: “Innovation Continent”: Europe’s Leap Forward
Julius Krein
American conservative political writer, editor
American Affairs
Episode: The European Discombobulation Over the US National Security Strategy
Cory Doctorow
Extremely well-known science fiction author, activist and journalist
Author and public intellectual
Episode: Enshittification of our digital experience: the pathology is clear, but is there a cure?
Rafael Laguna de la Vera
Founding director of SPRIND, model agency for investment in innovative projects
SPRIND (German Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation)
Episode: Europe’s Quest for Digital Emancipation with Rafael Laguna and Dietmar Harhoff
Dietmar Harhoff
Managing Director at the Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition; Director of the Center for Innovation, Entrepreneurship Research
Max Planck Institute for Innovation and Competition
Episode: Europe’s Quest for Digital Emancipation with Rafael Laguna and Dietmar Harhoff
Rohit Chopra
Head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau; former FTC Commissioner
Episode: The New Toolkit of Power: Finance, Dealmaking, Champions with Rohit Chopra

Host

Cristina Caffarra
Host of Escape Forward

Reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars from 5 ratings
  • Escape Forward compels us to rethink responsibility

    Anne Sohns

    Apple Podcasts
    5
    Anne Sohns
    Germany6 months ago

Listeners Say

Key themes from listener reviews, highlighting what works and what could be improved about the show.

The host asks sharp, policy-forward questions that cut to the core of competition policy.
Guests bring deep expertise and practical viewpoints on European and transatlantic policy.
The analysis often links antitrust to broader tech, digital sovereignty, and industrial strategy.

Chart Rankings

How this podcast ranks in the Apple Podcasts, Spotify and YouTube charts.

Talking Points

Recent interactions between the hosts and their guests.

Europe’s Quest for Digital Emancipation with Rafael Laguna and Dietmar Harhoff
Q: What role should industry play in pushing Europe toward sovereignty?
Industry must be proactive, invest in ecosystem-building, and participate in cross-border challenges; but true sovereignty will require political will and reforms to enable private markets to thrive and to reduce the reliance on external platforms.
Europe’s Quest for Digital Emancipation with Rafael Laguna and Dietmar Harhoff
Q: How can Europe speed up its public procurement and reduce bureaucratic drag?
We need procurement that is fast and outcome-oriented, using mechanisms like challenges and time-to-money funding, with governance that supports sprint-like programs and reduces red tape, enabling rapid experimentation and scaling.
“Innovation Continent”: Europe’s Leap Forward
Q: So just take us through what the EU INC ultimate initiative involves.
The host presses for a concrete explanation of EU Inc, highlighting the goal of creating a pan-European legal entity with standardized corporate law, while keeping employment and taxation under local regimes. The guest explains the rationale, the stakeholder support, and the practical trade-offs of a 28th regime intended to accelerate funding and scale for startups across Europe.
Where is U.S. antitrust enforcement going?
Q: How is the tech antitrust landscape evolving, and what is the role of court decisions in shaping remedies for platform power?
The landscape is evolving with continued emphasis on big tech cases like Google, where liability remedies and design remedies were debated. The judiciary's conservatism and variations between judges influence what remedies are feasible, highlighting the need for strategic litigation and possibly non-traditional remedies to address platform power.
Where is U.S. antitrust enforcement going?
Q: Do you think settlements are a viable tool in merger enforcement, or should the focus be on challenging deals?
There is a nuanced view: settlements can be acceptable when they correct identified problems, but there is concern about bad settlements and the way they are achieved. The idea is to use settlements judiciously, with a preference for clean deals, while not shying away from challenging deals when necessary.

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What is This Podcast about and what kind of topics does it cover?

A thoughtful, policy-focused discussion around how antitrust and broader economic tools intersect with technology, regulation, and growth. Episodes frequently explore Europe vs. US policy tensions, digital platform dynamics, and strategic governance for innovation, often with economists, policymakers, and industry thinkers offering pragmatic assessments and reform ideas. Notable strengths include a clear emphasis on the practical implications of competition policy, sovereignty, and interoperability, plus a willingness to connect antitrust with innovation, digital policy, and industrial strategy. Potential listeners who enjoy rigorous, policy-driven analysis that challenges conventional wisdom about a level playing field will likely find thi... more

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this podcast launched a year ago and published 12 episodes to date. You can find more information about this podcast including rankings, audience demographics and engagement in our podcast database.

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What guests have appeared on this podcast?

Recent guests on this podcast include:

1. Yariv Adan
2. Andreas Liebl
3. Luis Garicano
4. Andy Klinger
5. Julius Krein
6. Cory Doctorow
7. Rafael Laguna de la Vera
8. Dietmar Harhoff

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