Economist Podcasts

People vilify plastic. they should use it better instead

05 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Many people view plastic as an environmental disaster that blights landscapes and chokes marine life. Our correspondent argues that instead we need to...

Trailer: Boss Class Season 2

02 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Good bosses are rare. They don’t have to be. The skills of management can be learned.The Economist’s management columnist, Andrew Palmer, is here ...

Aussie rules: give Trumpism the boot

02 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Australia’s Conservative party was on the ascent until Donald Trump took office in January. At the polls this weekend, the dominant concern is who w...

Trailer: Boss Class Season 2

01 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Good bosses are rare. They don’t have to be. The skills of management can be learned.The Economist’s management columnist, Andrew Palmer, is here ...

Mine craft: US-Ukraine resource deal

01 May 2025

Contributed by Lukas

America and Ukraine have signed a deal to share the profits of extracting natural resources. Our correspondent explains its significance. How the trad...

Herman Pontzer: what people get wrong about metabolism

30 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Do you run, cycle or swim to lose weight? Herman Pontzer, an evolutionary anthropologist who specialises in understanding how humans use energy, think...

Trailer: Boss Class Season 2

30 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Good bosses are rare. They don’t have to be. The skills of management can be learned.The Economist’s management columnist, Andrew Palmer, is here ...

Executive disorder: Trump’s first 100 days

30 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Since Donald Trump took office, there has been a deluge of news. Our correspondent considers what might happen next. Fifty years on from the fall of S...

Trailer: Boss Class Season 2

29 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Good bosses are rare. They don’t have to be. The skills of management can be learned.The Economist’s management columnist, Andrew Palmer, is here ...

The Carney army: Canada unites against Trump

29 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Canada’s election campaign was dominated by Donald Trump’s threats against the nation. Now the Liberal party has won, it faces a tougher fight: co...

Interview: Tracey Franklin

28 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tracey Franklin, chief human resources officer at vaccine and biotech company Moderna, tells The Economist's Andrew Palmer what turbocharged growth ta...

Interview: Daniel Kahneman

28 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The careers of many CEOs are built on overconfidence and a few lucky breaks. But to be a successful leader, Daniel Kahneman suggests maintaining a hea...

Interview: Claire Hughes Johnson

28 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Economist's Andrew Palmer asks Claire Hughes Johnson, former COO of Stripe and author of "Scaling People", about her systems and strategies for go...

Interview: Emma Walmsley

28 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In 2017 Emma Walmsley became the most powerful woman in corporate Britain. The boss of the drugmaker GSK says leadership is about clearly communicatin...

Interview: Reid Hoffman

28 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

On the cover of his latest book, Impromptu: Amplifying Our Humanity Through AI, Reid Hoffman credits GPT-4 as a co-author. The tech investor tells our...

Managing yourself: Human factors

28 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Economist’s Andrew Palmer seeks advice on managing your cognitive load, your career path and the changes that generative AI could bring. He gets...

Incentivising: Into the upside down

28 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Economist's Andrew Palmer asks how companies motivate employees to do their best work. He hears from Patty McCord, Netflix’s former head of HR, ...

Meetings: The clown car

28 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

What if all the meetings in your calendar disappeared overnight? Tia Silas, Chief HR Officer of Shopify, an e-commerce firm, tells Andrew Palmer what ...

Teamwork: Inside the yellow line

28 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Taavet Hinrikus, the co-founder of Wise, one of the world’s biggest fintech firms, gives advice on forming and running teams. Andrew Palmer learns t...

Recruitment: Testing, testing

28 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It is the most important decision a manager can make. How do you increase your chances of hiring the right people? Tracey Franklin, Moderna's human-re...

Trailer: Boss Class Season 2

28 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Good bosses are rare. They don’t have to be. The skills of management can be learned.The Economist’s management columnist, Andrew Palmer, is here ...

Modi behaviour: will India retaliate against Pakistan?

28 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Tensions between India and Pakistan have flared after the terrorist attack in Kashmir last week. Our correspondent explains what Narendra Modi may do ...

Carney score: last days of Canada’s campaign

25 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Canada’s sovereignty has loomed large in the federal election campaign, but beyond the show of national unity the country’s media and political la...

Fed man walking? Trump v Powell

24 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

First, Jerome Powell, chairman of the Federal Reserve, was for the chop; then he was safe. As elsewhere President Donald Trump’s flip-flopping chips...

Division multiplication: the UAE’s foreign meddling

23 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The United Arab Emirates projects an image of level-headed calm in the Gulf. Its actions abroad, however, betray a far more divisive and ideological a...

Cardinals in: choosing the next pope

22 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As the cardinals of the coming conclave prepare, our correspondent considers what will guide them. Which of the church’s challenges will the next po...

A man of the people: Pope Francis has died

21 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

He shunned fancy vestments and paid surprise visits to prisons and hospitals: our obituaries editor reflects on the life of a reform-minded pontiff wh...

Gene genies: CRISPR’s critical moment

18 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It is a Nobel-winning idea with untold promise in health care, agriculture and more. We examine what must change in order to capture those benefits. A...

Trump’s fickle, Xi’s pickle: the dynamic driving US-China tensions

17 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

President Xi Jinping’s style of negotiating is staid, distanced, a quiet projection of power. President Donald Trump’s is not. That dynamic is com...

Cash and checks: Argentina’s next IMF loan

16 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For the 23rd time the International Monetary Fund will cough up, this time to the tune of $20bn. But the reforms stipulated by the loan, alongside pro...

The buck stops here? The threats to dollar primacy

15 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Falling trust in the greenback is most apparent in bond-market moves. How close is the dollar to losing its status as the world’s go-to currency, an...

Bloody Sunday: Russia’s strikes on Sumy

14 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

President Donald Trump called the weekend strike on Sumy a “mistake”; other leaders called it a war crime. We examine the prospects for peace when...

The great brawl: China v America

11 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Donald Trump is now aiming his trade war squarely at China. As the tit-for-tat tariff battle keeps escalating, investors are fleeing to safe assets. W...

Art of the real: Trump bows to markets

10 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Just 12 hours after Donald Trump launched his searing regime of tariffs, he paused many of them for 90 days. What's next for global trade? An outlandi...

Pulp friction: the trade war bites Apple

09 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs take effect, our correspondent explains how one of America’s most profitable companies may navigate the trade w...

Economies of sail: migrant-smuggling entrepreneurs

08 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

More than 36,000 migrants crossed the English Channel in small boats last year. Our correspondent investigates the increasingly sophisticated business...

Doomed traders: Trump’s tariff fallout

07 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Since Donald Trump announced punishing tariffs on “Liberation Day” last week, stock markets have fallen and governments and businesses scrambled t...

Over the Yoon: South Korea ousts president

04 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

South Korea has been paralysed since its president declared martial law in December. Even after his impeachment, politicians face a divided polity and...

Import-extort: what to make of Donald Trump’s titanic tariffs

03 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After months of bluster, he’s finally done it. At a ceremony in the White House Rose Garden, Donald Trump overturned decades of American trade polic...

Wall of duties: Trump’s towering tariffs

03 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Even in the run-up to Donald Trump’s “Liberation Day” tariff hikes, few had expected such colossal levies. Our correspondent explains how they w...

Ballot from the blue: will Ukraine hold a poll?

02 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Months ago, holding an election in wartorn Ukraine seemed impossible. Now plans are being made. Our correspondent explains the prospects for the campa...

Right down: Le Pen barred

01 Apr 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Marine Le Pen is one of France’s most popular politicians, who has brought the National Rally party to the heart of the political landscape. Our cor...

Shock and war: Myanmar junta exploits quake

31 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Civil war in Myanmar is hampering relief efforts after the devastating earthquake on Friday, as the ruling military regime intensifies attacks on resi...

Whack of all trades: America’s economy

28 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

No surprises here: The Economist reckons tariffs are a terrible trade tool. But what is most clearly harming American businesses and scaring off inves...

You spin me right round: Europe’s populists reckon with Trumpism

27 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

For Europe’s hard-right politicians, Donald Trump’s second White House bid looked like validation and opportunity. Now that he is in it, the tensi...

Canuck of the draw: Canada’s election campaigns

26 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Conservative Party, led by a Trump-tinged populist, once had the polls locked up. That is changing radically now that Donald Trump is seen as a th...

The chat is out of the bag: a stunning leak

25 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Put aside for the moment the outrageous security breach of a journalist being brought in on classified military planning: a leaked group chat reveals ...

Bibi driver: battles led by and within Israel

24 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The ceasefire in Gaza is in tatters; the campaign against Hizbullah is flaring up again. Yet the most telling battles are those happening inside Israe...

Spy-fall: Trump imperils intelligence pact

21 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

America’s international intelligence-sharing relationships have been decades in the making and rely not on a treaty but trust. Could Donald Trump da...

Not so delightful: Erdogan arrests rival

20 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ekrem Imamoglu was arrested just days before he was likely to be elected leader of Turkey’s opposition. Where does this leave Turkish democracy? Wha...

Cold call: Putin thwarts Trump

19 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Donald Trump hoped Vladimir Putin would agree to a ceasefire in Ukraine. Instead he made marginal concessions, then launched a missile attack. Our cor...

Peace broken: war returns to Gaza

18 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After Israel launched dozens of missiles into Gaza overnight, what does this mean for the prospect of a lasting ceasefire? As two stranded astronauts ...

In sickness and in stealth: threats to America’s CDC

17 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Donald Trump’s team has called the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention “the most incompetent and arrogant agency” in the federal governme...

Wheels of justice: the ICC gets Duterte at last

14 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The International Criminal Court has arrested Rodrigo Duterte, a former president of the Philippines. The case highlights both the strengths and the w...

When the levy doesn’t break: a trade-war world adjusts

13 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Trump administration’s dedication to tariffs now seems more fervent than the first time around. Markets are noticing. We ask what might temper t...

Thirty-day trial? A Ukraine-ceasefire proposal

12 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The ceasefire proposal hatched by American negotiators and agreed by Ukraine is now a matter for Russia to consider. We ask how the not-yet-a-breakthr...

Sects and balances: a violent flare-up in Syria

11 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Horrifying attacks on Alawites, the sect of deposed leader Bashar al-Assad, throw into question the power—or the will—of Ahmed al-Sharaa, the coun...

No question, Mark: Canada’s new PM

10 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The governing Liberal party is enjoying a stunning turnaround in the polls, and now it has a new leader. We ask how Mark Carney will tussle with Donal...

One week in the life of Volodymyr Zelensky

07 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After a turbulent seven days, how will President Volodymyr Zelensky tackle the domestic and international challenges ahead? Our correspondent attends ...

Kurds in the right place: a truce nears

06 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The leader of Turkey’s Kurdish rebels has called on the group to disband. That could end one of the world’s longest running conflicts. How tariffs...

Pompcast: Trump rallies Congress

05 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

American presidents often use their first meeting with Congress as a chance to lay out their agenda for the next four years. Donald Trump, by contrast...

Buck off: US pauses Ukraine aid

04 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In an effort to bring Ukraine to the negotiating table, America has paused military help to the war-torn country. What will this mean on the ground? O...

Conversation peace: can Europe bargain with Russia?

03 Mar 2025

Contributed by Lukas

European leaders met in London this weekend after Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky’s public row shattered hopes for a US-led truce in Ukraine. Wh...

Ode to dread: Europe after Trump

28 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This week European leaders have lined up to charm Donald Trump. But the broad smiles belie a bigger fear: what would it mean for the continent’s sec...

Heir-raising: the boom in inheritance

27 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As the baby-boom generation starts to die and economic growth slows many more people are getting rich from family wealth. Are we returning to the age ...

Phase transition? Gaza’s shaky peace

26 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The first phase of Gaza’s ceasefire is near its end, but planning for the even more fraught second phase has hardly begun. What chance for near-term...

Emmanuel dexterity: Trump and Macron chat

25 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The meeting between France’s and America’s presidents had a familiarly chummy feel. We ask whether Emmanuel Macron’s charm offensive might have ...

Left, right and centre: Germany’s election

24 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Instead of needing three parties to cobble together a majority, the country’s two traditional main ones have the numbers. What to expect once the ta...

Friends (the one with estrangement): Europe without the US

21 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Europe must move boldly as the American-led world order shatters beneath it; we explain how. Many people view the freedom to work from home as a perk....

Young, gifted and black: Africa’s next generation

20 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Africa’s young are educated, ambitious side-hustlers. But they are hampered by their economies and dispirited by their politicians. How to harness t...

Colour visions: a German-election lookahead

19 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The possibilities for an inevitable coalition government are a head-spinning colour wheel of party logos. We look at the most likely outcomes, and the...

Get your Strait facts: China’s quiet Taiwan push

18 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We investigate China’s under-the-radar push to get other countries to change their official language on Taiwan’s independence. Would it make a dif...

Munich insecurity conference: a re-ordering begins

17 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Backing away from European security guarantees and seeking mineral rights in Ukraine as recompense for military aid: at the Munich Security Conference...

Love match: Modi-Trump’s tariffs tussle

14 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The American president and Indian prime minister have long been friends. But when the two met at the White House yesterday, they had many thorny issue...

With this ring: Trump and Putin omit Ukraine

13 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

During a 90-minute telephone conversation, the American and Russian presidents started negotiating a future for Ukraine. What will this mean for Europ...

War hoarse: is Zelensky being heard?

12 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In an interview with The Economist ahead of the Munich Security Conference, Ukraine’s president is pessimistic that Trump can end the conflict. How ...

Eye to the chancellor: interviewing Friedrich Merz

11 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The winner of Germany’s upcoming election will also play a crucial role in Europe. The Economist’s editor-in-chief speaks to Friedrich Merz, the f...

I’ll be jammed: electronic warfare in Ukraine

10 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Some of the most frenetic innovation of Ukraine’s war happens in the electromagnetic spectrum: detecting and denying signals to and from materiel. T...

Scam Inc 3: The bottom line

08 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

How do you run a scam operation? Perks, recruitment, outsourcing and a monthly landscaping budget—this is Scam Inc. To listen to the full serie...

Scam Inc 2: Opportunity of a lifetime

08 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Who are the scammers? They aren't who you think. To listen to the full series, subscribe to Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to T...

Scam Inc 1: Pigs in a barrel

08 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

You wouldn’t fall for a scam—would you? A small town in Kansas is left reeling after one of its best and brightest gets sucked in. To listen to th...

It could happen to you: introducing “Scam Inc”

07 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Our new podcast series is a shocking look at transnational organised crime: nearly as big as the illegal-drug trade and far more sophisticated than yo...

Leeward: we meet South Korea’s probable president

06 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

We meet the opposition leader who is likely to be the next president. Cleaning up the domestic mess after an alleged coup would seem easy compared wit...

Trailer: Scam Inc

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A sophisticated, predatory, multi-billion dollar industry is emerging from the shadows. It already rivals the size of the illicit drug trade. And it’...

As a next resort: Trump’s vision for Gaza

05 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The details President Donald Trump laid out for American ownership and redevelopment of the Gaza Strip took everyone by surprise—not least Israel’...

Rebel with a new cause: meeting Syria’s president

04 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

From media-studies dropout to international jihadist to Syria’s ruler, Ahmed al-Sharaa has an unlikely résumé. He speaks with our editor-in-chief,...

Trailer: Scam Inc

03 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A sophisticated, predatory, multi-billion dollar industry is emerging from the shadows. It already rivals the size of the illicit drug trade. And it’...

Thy neighbours, beggared: Trump’s opening tariffs

03 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

President Donald Trump followed through on his tariff threats, starting with Canada, Mexico and China. We look at the first skirmishes in what promise...

Below Delhi, the search for India's mythical past

01 Feb 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Mahabharata is one of India’s two great Hindu epics. It is thousands of years old and thousands of pages long. Over the past 75 years archaeolog...

Turkish delight: influencing the new Syria

31 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The fall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria will reshape the wider region. Our correspondent says few countries have as much to gain from a stable Syria as T...

Trailer: Scam Inc

30 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A sophisticated, predatory, multi-billion dollar industry is emerging from the shadows. It already rivals the size of the illicit drug trade. And it’...

Putty people: can Trump get his picks?

30 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

As some of Donald Trump’s most controversial choices for top jobs are questioned this week, our correspondent analyses how supine Republicans may be...

Remote control: Rwandan proxies occupy Congo

29 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Rebels linked to Rwanda have occupied the city of Goma in eastern Congo. Our correspondent reports on the horrific scenes there, and warns that Rwanda...

Trailer: Scam Inc

28 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A sophisticated, predatory, multi-billion dollar industry is emerging from the shadows. It already rivals the size of the illicit drug trade. And it’...

Bot against America: a Chinese AI jolts markets

28 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Silicon Valley firms have poured billions of dollars into artificial intelligence. But a new cheap AI model from DeepSeek, a Chinese start-up, has sen...

Trailer: Scam Inc

27 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A sophisticated, predatory, multi-billion dollar industry is emerging from the shadows. It already rivals the size of the illicit drug trade. And it’...

Gaza, stripped: Palestinians return to ruins

27 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Though thousands of Palestinians are going back to northern Gaza, rebuilding their lives and homes will take years. Just a week into the ceasefire, ou...

Trailer: Scam Inc

24 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A sophisticated, predatory, multi-billion dollar industry is emerging from the shadows. It already rivals the size of the illicit drug trade. And it’...

In with a chancellor: dissecting Britain’s growth plan

24 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Rachel Reeves has had a rocky start as chancellor of the exchequer. Our editor-in-chief meets her at Davos to dissect her plans for growth. Australia ...

Right turn at a broken traffic light: Germany’s AfD

23 Jan 2025

Contributed by Lukas

After the collapse of the governing “traffic light” coalition in December, the hard-right AfD has a renewed swagger. How long can other parties ke...