Economist Podcasts

The Intelligence: A civil society in waiting

29 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The ruling military junta that seized power in a coup in 2021 is losing ground, slowly—and the rebels are now thinking about what happens if they wi...

Checks and Balance: Aid, and a bet

26 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For months, a big foreign-aid deal looked like it was going nowhere in the House of Representatives. Now $95bn of support is heading out the door. How...

The Intelligence: Britain’s latest bad idea

26 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As Parliament has now agreed to send asylum seekers to Rwanda, many members of the ruling Conservative party want to quit the court that tried to bloc...

The Intelligence: The world’s biggest humanitarian crisis

25 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Ravaged by a civil war, Sudan could see a nationwide famine by August. With humanitarian aid being blocked on both sides, it is increasingly difficult...

The Intelligence: America’s college crackdowns

24 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Police clashes with protesters at Columbia University have spilled over into other institutions, raising the question of how to protect free speech on...

The Intelligence: AI rest my case

23 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The companies behind this wonder of tech are facing allegations of using copyrighted material to build their large language models (LLMs). But will th...

The Intelligence: Ready, Aid, Fire

22 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

At a time when Russia has been making significant gains, an allocated $61bn of aid for Ukraine will be felt on the battlefield almost instantly. Will ...

The Intelligence: Iran and Israel’s new era?

19 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A missile has reportedly struck a site in the Islamic Republic. If this is retaliation for Iran’s most recent attacks, then it is a muted response. ...

Money Talks: Why weight-loss drugs will reshape the world

18 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

More than 1bn people around the world are obese. That means there should be extraordinary demand for drugs to cure or mitigate the condition. Novo Nor...

The Intelligence: Your country needs you!

18 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Governments particularly in the rich world are struggling to get young people in uniform. Will some form of conscription become necessary? In America,...

The Intelligence: He said, she fled

17 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

All over the world, young men are identifying more with the political right, even as women drift more to the left. What is behind the gulf, and how to...

The Intelligence: The most personal choice

16 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The case for assisted dying is essentially one of individual freedom—and plenty of Britons support a change in the law to permit it. Japan’s Noto ...

The Intelligence: A region holds its breath

15 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For the first time Iran launched a huge attack on Israel from its own territory, though the effort largely failed. Israel’s response could easily le...

The Intelligence: America’s deeply divided electorate

12 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

We have combined polling data to make a detailed portrait of the American electorate. Have a tinker with our interactive model: plug in their age, sex...

The Intelligence: The race to save Kharkiv

11 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Since the invasion began, Ukraine's second city has suffered a third of all aerial attacks. The latest one has been especially gruelling. A census of ...

The Intelligence: Can Japan and America Trump-proof their alliance?

10 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The leaders of both countries will meet for dinner at the White House tonight. In light of Asia’s changing geopolitics, defence will certainly be hi...

Drum Tower: Xi’s doomed economic plan

09 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Economist’s editor-in-chief Zanny Minton Beddoes was recently in Beijing for the China Development Forum, an annual gathering where senior Chine...

The Intelligence: Bear up

09 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In Russia inflation is under control, wages are on the up and supposedly tough sanctions have been successfully skirted. Why is the pariah economy pro...

The Intelligence: Rwanda’s genocide 30 years on

08 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The 1994 slaughter of hundreds of thousands of minority Tutsis completely reshaped the country. It also produced Africa’s most polarising leader, wh...

The Weekend Intelligence: The man who would lead Palestine

06 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Twenty-two years ago, Palestinian politician-turned-revolutionary Marwan Barghouti was convicted of acts of terrorism and sentenced to spend the rest ...

Checks and Balance: Capitol gains

05 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

While America’s focus has been on the presidential election, the race for Congress is even more volatile. With razor-thin majorities in the House an...

The Intelligence: Argentina turner?

05 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

After more than 100 days in office, President Javier Milei has managed some much-needed economic reforms. But the hit to voters’ pockets may limit h...

The Intelligence: Bombs squad

04 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The game theory was simpler during a cold war between two states armed to the teeth; the nuclear world order has since become far more complex and dan...

The Intelligence: Naan inflationary growth

03 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

India is not the first country to leapfrog from poverty-induced undernourishment to also having an obesity crisis—but a number of factors make that ...

The Intelligence: Bibi bumps

02 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As yet more aid workers die in Gaza and an airstrike levels an Iranian consulate, pressure on Israel’s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu mounts. But...

The Intelligence: Surveilling China’s diaspora

01 Apr 2024

Contributed by Lukas

There are fears about TikTok, but it’s not the only social media platform that the Chinese state might be using to monitor the rest of the world. Th...

The Intelligence: Life inside a Russian prison

29 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Alexei Navalny was sent to one to die and American journalist Evan Gershkovich is being held in another. Our correspondent reports on the notorious br...

The Intelligence: The fallen crypto king learns his fate

28 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It has been called one of the biggest financial frauds in American history. After the collapse of cryptocurrency exchange FTX, its founder is facing a...

The Intelligence: An aid drop over Gaza

27 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It is becoming harder to get supplies into the enclave, which is facing a growing risk of famine. As fewer trucks are making it in, more aid is being ...

Drum Tower: Tick tock for TikTok

26 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

On March 13th America’s House of Representatives passed a bill that could ban TikTok nationwide unless its Chinese owner, Bytedance, agrees to sell ...

The Intelligence: when Sall tempted Faye

26 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Bassirou Diomaye Faye was little-known before this election. Despite the incumbent president’s attempts to thwart the process, the anti-establishmen...

The Intelligence: Moscow massacre

25 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Warnings from the Americans went unheeded, police took too long to respond, and now the Kremlin has found a way to link it to Ukraine. Could this trag...

The Weekend Intelligence: Should I own a gun?

23 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

By the end of this podcast Economist correspondent Tamara Gilkes Borr might own a gun. Recently, Tamara fired a gun for the first time and was shocked...

The Intelligence: Bad Apple?

22 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The case against the tech giant has been brewing since 2019 and while the smartphone maker is usually well-equipped to bat away regulators, this fight...

Money Talks: Why Amazon should be afraid of Temu

21 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Amazon started with a plan to disrupt bookselling. It sold cheap books online, delivering them straight to customers’ homes. Three decades later it ...

The Intelligence: Fed reckoning

21 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

America’s central bank left rates untouched, to widespread market delight. Why is this economic cycle confounding expectations so much, and how to b...

The Intelligence: Leave your umbrella at home

20 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It took more than 20 years for Hong Kong’s legislature to pass Article 23, a sweeping and troublingly ambiguous national-security law. Huge protests...

The Intelligence: The power of positive tinkering

19 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Bank of Japan has ended its grand experiment in unconventional monetary policy—how did it work, and what happens now that it has concluded? Ahea...

The Intelligence: F is for falling standards

18 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

America is producing more high-school graduates—but on average, they know less. We ask how a push for equity can in reality seed a systemic failing....

Checks and Balance: Growth states

15 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It’s not long since America was widely thought to be on the brink of recession. Instead the economy expanded by 3% in 2023, and continues to defy ex...

The Intelligence: Russia’s sham election

15 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Voting begins today in an election that has already been won – all the opposition politicians are dead, in prison or in exile. Vladimir Putin wants ...

The Intelligence: Is time up for TikTok?

14 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The US Congress is refusing to scroll past the app’s links to China. If the bill they passed becomes law, the video-sharing network will be forced t...

The Intelligence: Russia pushes back on Kharkiv

13 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The northeastern province has been subject to more and more shelling, and Western officials are worried about Ukraine’s capacity to respond. Could t...

The Intelligence: Europe is not so hot on its green parties

12 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Melting ski slopes, floods and droughts are enraging the continent’s citizens, but not quite enough for them to consider voting differently. Our cor...

The Intelligence: Kim Jong Un’s fighting talk

11 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As the hermit kingdom is getting ever cosier with Russia, it is becoming bolder in its provocations of conflict with the south. Growing risks of escal...

The Intelligence: Haiti’s latest nightmare

08 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Despite growing pressure from powerful local gangs, Ariel Henry, the prime minister, is refusing to step down. The state has descended into such a qua...

The Intelligence: Labour’s union

07 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A steady 20-point lead in the polls suggests that the Labour Party could comfortably win Britain’s next election. How have they managed to gain such...

Babbage: The science that built the AI revolution—part one

06 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

What is intelligence? In the middle of the 20th century, the inner workings of the human brain inspired computer scientists to build the first “thin...

The Intelligence: A Super predictable Tuesday

06 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In a result that will surprise few, America is on track to hold a rematch of the 2020 presidential election, with Joe Biden and Donald Trump winning m...

The Intelligence: Modi’s battle for the south

05 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The richer, more urban region does not just differ economically, but politically too. Can Mr Modi tone down the BJP’s Hindu nationalism and gain tra...

The Intelligence: Pressures for peace

04 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The international push for a ceasefire in Gaza continues, but the tragedies keep coming; in many ways a resolution still seems as distant as it was ea...

The Weekend Intelligence: Life and fate

02 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A year on from our series Next Year in Moscow, Alexei Navalny, Russia’s most prominent opposition leader, is dead. Hope for the “beautiful Russia ...

The Intelligence: Drug gateway

01 Mar 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A visit to a port of entry at America’s Mexican border reveals the difficulties in stopping the flood of fentanyl—a cheap, potent and ever more de...

Money Talks: Is the West losing its sanctions war?

29 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

It's been two years since Russia brought war to Ukraine. America, Britain and the European Union may not have intervened by putting boots on the groun...

The Intelligence: Redoubled agents

29 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A slew of spycraft mishaps might suggest Russia’s once-great intelligence services have hopelessly decayed. Do not be fooled: the spooks are back, a...

The Intelligence: If Beijing had a ballot

28 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Some within China might prefer another Donald Trump presidency while others might favour Joe Biden. On balance, though: from there, neither option loo...

The Intelligence: Horn under a bad sign

27 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The birth rate of unicorns—firms with a valuation north of $1bn—has plummeted, and prior investors in them are eyeing what exits exist. We ask why...

The Intelligence: Coming to a Nikki end

26 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

After a 20-point primary walloping in South Carolina, the state she governed for eight years, Nikki Haley vowed to fight on against Donald Trump for t...

The Intelligence: Ukraine’s war, two years on

23 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In this roundtable discussion our editors examine how the past year has progressed, discuss how things may go over the next year and consider a few fu...

The Intelligence: No water, no lights, no beds

22 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Hardened war-zone doctors say the situation in Gaza is the worst they have witnessed—and that will cost lives long after the current conflict is res...

Babbage: The hunt for dark matter

21 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Dark matter is thought to make up around a quarter of the universe, but so far it has eluded detection by all scientific instruments. Scientists know ...

The Intelligence: I’m your private lander, a lander for money

21 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

If it succeeds—and that is no sure thing—this week’s soft landing of Odysseus will be the first by a private firm. We examine the prospects and ...

The Intelligence: Faith-based reeling

20 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

China’s firms are shedding value at pace and foreign investors are starting to look elsewhere. We ask why faith is fading in a market that once look...

The Intelligence: Russia after Navalny

19 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

At last President Vladimir Putin’s regime has succeeded in silencing the country’s most prominent opposition figure. What happens next? Demand for...

The Weekend Intelligence: One day in the life of Alexei Navalny

17 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

When Alexei Navalny flew back to Russia in 2021 he never made it through passport control. In an excerpt from Next Year in Moscow, The Economist’s s...

The Intelligence: Out-of-this-world war

16 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

This is not science fiction. Space is already a part of modern warfare and as technology advances, it will be an even more crucial sphere. What will e...

The Intelligence: A former general, elected in Indonesia

15 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Prabowo Subianto stormed to victory in the world’s largest single-day election. But critics say his presidency could jeopardise two decades of democ...

The Intelligence: Split bill

14 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

After an all-nighter, a $95bn foreign aid bill for Ukraine and other allies passed the US Senate. But amid much division, it may not even make it to a...

Drum Tower: The sounds of old Beijing

13 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In some ways, Beijing now sounds like a lot of other mega cities. Yet, back in imperial times, sound was used in creative ways to display wealth, to c...

The Intelligence: Undoing PiS poor laws

13 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Donald Tusk’s predecessors in the hard-right PiS party captured the state and compromised its checks and balances. The newly-elected centrist party ...

The Intelligence: Troubled waters

12 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Squabbles over the seas and their tributary waterways are becoming more tense as rivalries deepen and the climate changes. How should the West prepare...

Checks and Balance: Strike accord

10 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

America has launched strikes against Iranian-backed militias in the Middle East, in response to an attack on a base in Jordan where three US troops di...

The Intelligence: General dynamics

09 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As had long been telegraphed, Ukraine’s top general Valery Zaluzhny is now out; Oleksandr Syrsky is in. That marks a new phase in the war, and an op...

The Intelligence: Going for broker

08 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Our correspondent is travelling with Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who is on yet another gruelling tour of the Middle East trying to broker peace...

The Intelligence: At a crossroads (really)

07 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

In one of this year’s largest votes, Indonesia will elect a new president in one week’s time; this time the sanctity and future of its democracy a...

The Intelligence: They thought it was Sall over

06 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Macky Sall, Senegal’s president, has said he would not stand again. So what to make of the move to delay the election until December? Our correspond...

The Intelligence: Strikes, a careful balance

05 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Dozens of air strikes in Iraq, Syria and Yemen were designed to show American resolve without themselves provoking a deeper conflict. We ask what happ...

The Intelligence: Will Apple’s customers share its Vision?

02 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Last month, Microsoft briefly overtook the iPhone maker as the world’s most valuable company. As Apple’s core business slows, could the launch of ...

The Intelligence: Vietnam’s golden opportunity

01 Feb 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The populous South-East Asian country is uniquely well-positioned to benefit from the deepening rift between America and China, so what’s stopping i...

The Intelligence: Indonesia’s election, more TikTok than tick-box

31 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Campaigning for a coming election in the world’s fourth-most-populous country has been almost entirely policy-free: a good social-media presence is ...

Drum Tower: Competing for kids

30 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

China’s decades-long economic boom was powered by workers who migrated from the countryside to cities to find jobs. But to do so, many of them had t...

The Intelligence: China’s ever grander property crisis

30 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

One of the country’s biggest property companies, Evergrande, has been crippled by its debt. What does a new court order mean for prospective homebuy...

The Intelligence: Iran increases the stakes in the Middle East

29 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Iran-backed proxies have killed three American soldiers and injured dozens of others in their weekend strike. A response from the Pentagon seems inevi...

The Weekend Intelligence: Digital Ghosts

27 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

As life moves progressively online, it is becoming increasingly possible to keep people alive in the digital sense. Tech companies are starting to use...

The Intelligence: Milei’s laborious reforms

26 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

For decades, Argentina’s labour unions have seemed like they can’t be touched. But the country’s new radical, libertarian president is daring to...

The Intelligence: what AI could mean for the world’s poorest

25 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Generative artificial intelligence dominated conversations at Davos this year. How might education and healthcare be transformed as the technology rea...

Babbage: Sam Altman and Satya Nadella on their vision for AI

24 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

OpenAI and Microsoft are leaders in generative artificial intelligence (AI). OpenAI has built GPT-4, one of the world’s most sophisticated large lan...

The Intelligence: Donald trumps Haley in New Hampshire

24 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

His decisive victory demonstrates just how much of a hold he still has on the Republican party, but his last remaining competitor is not bowing out ju...

The Intelligence: is Germany al[t]right?

23 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party represents a growing anti-immigrant rhetoric in the country, but people are taking to the streets in their tho...

The Intelligence: Ron down, two left

22 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

He went from being the most viable challenger to Donald Trump for the Republican nomination, to endorsing him. Our US editor opines on why Ron DeSanti...

The Intelligence: the relentless audacity of Alexei Navalny

19 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

The ominous disappearance of Russia’s opposition leader led many to fear the worst. But he has turned up in an Arctic penal colony—his message of ...

Money Talks: Europe’s luxury crown

18 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

European firms dominate the global luxury landscape, accounting for two-thirds of sales and nine of the ten most valuable luxury brands. A strong emph...

The Intelligence: The darkness before the Don

18 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Many of America’s business leaders reckon a second Trump term would be worse for them and for the economy than the first was—not that they’re sp...

The Intelligence: Gaza’s ever-graver crisis

17 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

A tentative aid deal in Gaza is just a sliver of what is needed; hunger and disease may well claim more Palestinian lives this year than the military ...

The Intelligence: The CCP would like chips with that

16 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

China’s flip-flopping on video-game regulation reveals a messy message: leaders want to encourage “hard tech” such as chips and AI over the cons...

The Intelligence: Independents’ day

15 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Taiwan’s election of William Lai Ching-te of the pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party is sure to annoy leaders in Beijing; we ask what to e...

The Intelligence: Air strikes on Houthi rebels

12 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

America and its allies delivered on a threat to retaliate against Houthi rebels in Yemen who have been targeting Red Sea ships. How far will the escal...

The Intelligence: Growing, no pains

11 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

America seems to be in a best-of-worlds scenario: growth is outpacing expectations even as inflation keeps falling—how will the party end? This week...

The Intelligence: Emmanuel override

10 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

Gabriel Attal, France’s youthful new prime minister, represents President Emmanuel Macron’s renewed push to pass policy reforms and to counter a r...

Drum Tower: Taiwan goes to the polls

09 Jan 2024

Contributed by Lukas

China is watching Taiwan’s next presidential race closely. The results will influence Xi Jinping’s next steps when it comes to resolving the “Ta...