# Is Populism a Business Model?

An episode of [STR: Suspicious Transaction Report](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/podcast/1478891975), 29 May 2026, 30 min.

Audio: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/suspicioustransactionreport/260429_STR_Liam_Byrne_Populism_V2.mp3?dest-id=1519406

Money, media and influence networks are turning political grievances into engines of power and profit. Populist movements are reshaping politics across Europe and North America. But beyond the rhetoric, rallies and social media campaigns lays a critical question: who is funding this political transformation – and why? Host Tom Keatinge is joined in this latest episode by Liam Byrne MP, author of Why Populists Are Winning and How to Beat Them, to explore the financial architecture behind contemporary populism. They examine the 'supply side' of populist politics: the role of major donors, offshore money, media ownership, opaque influence networks, algorithmic amplification, why political finance can no longer be viewed separately from media influence and national security, and, ultimately, who profits from the resulting political turbulence.

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