There is a vacuum at the top of Hamas following the killing of the militant group’s commander in Gaza. Our correspondent tells us about two of the men who could replace him. How black voters may swing the presidential election in Georgia (9:34). And remembering Turkish activist Fethullah Gulen (17:37). Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology— Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+ For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visi...
Oct 25, 2024•25 min
The two American presidential candidates have been neck and neck. But this week, the Economist’s forecast mode l noted a shift towards Donald Trump. Why you might have a long wait for Elon Musk’s robotaxis (9:31). And the joy of Excel (16:35). Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology— Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+ For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link yo...
Oct 24, 2024•23 min
Our correspondent interviews Sahra Wagenknecht, the popular leftist whose eponymous political party is now making the political weather in Germany . How Russia is trying to sabotage Moldova’s attempt to move towards Europe (10:40). And why Tiktok is changing how we speak (17:38). Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology— Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+ For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watc...
Oct 23, 2024•22 min
Israel is planning to strike Iran within days, even as its wars in Lebanon and Gaza deepen. Our correspondent reports from the Lebanese border , where he embedded with Israeli forces. Carbon-trading schemes may finally help reforest the Amazon (9:29). And which country is the most innovative (16:58)? Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology— Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+ For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit ...
Oct 22, 2024•24 min
Aggression, election-meddling, “psychological destabilisation”: Russia’s leader is sowing chaos like never before . We ask what power the West has left to curtail it. As entitlements such as pensions have unceasingly grown, rich governments have become inefficient, lumbering beasts . One uncomfortable but clean fix is raising taxes (10:26). And Britain’s swish new offerings attempt to dethrone the revered baked bean (18:10). Get a world of insights by subscribing to Economist Podcasts+ . For mor...
Oct 21, 2024•25 min
Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the October 7th attacks, is dead . What does that mean for Hamas, for a ceasefire in Gaza and for regional stability more widely? Our swing-states series continues with Wisconsin and Michigan : why do they no longer reliably vote Democrat (9:43)? And our obituaries editor on Sammy Basso , a young mind in a body ageing ruthlessly rapidly (18:14). Get a world of insights by subscribing to Economist Podcasts+ . For more information about how to access Economist Podca...
Oct 18, 2024•26 min
A constellation of islands, reefs and rock-piles has been the source of disputes for decades. As a new phase in the conflict begins, how to calm things down? In the first of a series of first-person dispatches, we speak to a student in Gaza (09:50). And after a conservation success story, Europe’s wolves are again villains in the popular imagination (18:19). Get a world of insights by subscribing to Economist Podcasts+ . For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit ...
Oct 17, 2024•25 min
Kamala Harris has proven to be an enormous draw for campaign donors. But the size of a candidate’s war chest influences the outcome much less than it once did. Our correspondent meets asylum-seekers on a Dutch ship, investigating the new hard-right government’s tactics with migrants (09:39). And a survey of where the very scrapiest skyscrapers are going up (17:42). Get a world of insights by subscribing to Economist Podcasts+ . For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please...
Oct 16, 2024•24 min
Our correspondent sits down with Keir Starmer on the sidelines of a conference dedicated to drawing much-needed investment. We examine the prime minister’s pitch to investors . All the connections within the fruit fly’s brain have now been mapped out ; we ask what that means for the human kind (11:44). And the chatbots that are surprisingly successful at dissuading conspiracy theorists (17:46). Get a world of insights by subscribing to Economist Podcasts+ . For more information about how to acce...
Oct 15, 2024•24 min
The fifth test flight of the absolutely enormous Starship went entirely to plan , returning everything to Earth for reuse and heralding a new era of big space missions with small price tags. Two years after Brazilians ejected Jair Bolsonaro, their inept and dangerous former president, he still shapes right-wing politics (11:30). And the anxiety-lined past and present of self-help books (19:22). Get a world of insights by subscribing to Economist Podcasts+ . For more information about how to acce...
Oct 14, 2024•25 min
Britain’s Labour Party came to power promising to restore order and stability. Our correspondent explains whether its rocky start exposes a bigger political problem. Why the issue of abortion could swing voters in Nevada (9:44). And remembering the life of Pearl Harbour veteran Yoshioka Masamitsu (18.34). Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology— Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+ For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please v...
Oct 11, 2024•25 min
Global warming is increasing the intensity of storms like the one that just hit Florida . Our correspondent explains the science. In a week of reflection on the anniversary of the October 7th attacks, we consider the Palestinian experience (10:58). And why nuclear clocks could help unlock the secrets of the universe (16:26). Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology— Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+ For more information about how to access Economist...
Oct 10, 2024•21 min
This summer, an American judge ruled that Google’s search dominance was illegal. Now the Department of Justice has revealed possible solutions. How robots could help mend leaking water pipes (9:46). And the best books on the beautiful game (16:38). Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology— Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+ For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to li...
Oct 09, 2024•22 min
Twenty years ago America was fighting insurgents in Afghanistan and Iran. As state-on-state clashes become more likely, Randy George is the person in charge of preparing US forces for a new age (9:45). Private tutoring has long been common in East Asia, now it is spreading throughout the continent. And celebrating Lebanese novelist Elias Khoury (17:12). Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology— Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+ For more information ...
Oct 08, 2024•25 min
After Hamas militants attacked Israel a year ago, few people predicted how deep and devastating the ensuing conflict in the Middle East would be. The Economist’s Middle East experts discuss whether the fissures may ever be fixed , including dispatches from Israel , Gaza and Lebanon . Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology— Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+ For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or ...
Oct 07, 2024•27 min
*This episode was first published 20/07/24 After a year of war in Gaza, people are beginning to discuss the aftermath. Schools, hospitals, the sanitation system are in ruins. Just clearing the rubble will take years. Focusing on the long term, many neglect what needs to happen on day one. Gazans say the territory is becoming lawless. Who will control security, and with what legitimacy? Does anyone have a coherent plan? In this special episode of The Weekend Intelligence The Economist’s editor-in...
Oct 07, 2024•1 hr 4 min
One evening, Michael Kovrig, a former Canadian diplomat, grabbed a late dinner in Beijing with his partner. When they arrived back at his apartment, men in black were waiting for them. Mr Kovrig was pushed into a waiting SUV. Handcuffed and blindfolded, he was driven to a detention centre in southern Beijing that would be his home for the next 1,019 days. September 24th 2024 is the third anniversary of Mr Kovrig’s release. And now he is ready to talk publicly about his ordeal. On the Weekend Int...
Oct 05, 2024•30 min
In a matter of weeks the conflict between Israel and Hizbullah has transformed life in Lebanon . Our correspondent reports from the streets of Beirut. After a pandemic-sized hiccup in the gym industry only the cheap ones and the really pricey ones are building muscle (11:10). And why chess grandmasters are getting younger and younger (17:45). Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology— Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+ For more information about how t...
Oct 04, 2024•22 min
After years of slowing growth, the Chinese government is finally attempting to bolster consumer demand, business confidence and the stock market. Our correspondent analyses the surprise shift in policy (10:25). How will immigration policy play with swing voters in Arizona ? And Sally Rooney , a modern-day Jane Austen with a dash of S&M (19:35). Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology— Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+ For more information about...
Oct 03, 2024•27 min
After JD Vance and Tim Walz squared off against each in last night’s vice-presidential debate , our correspondent assesses their performance – and its effect on the US election. In Britain the pro-European cause is popular, but its advocates are ineffective (10:53). And why the gleam of a Michelin star may tarnish (19:18). Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology— Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+ For more information about how to access Economist P...
Oct 02, 2024•23 min
As Israeli troops move into Lebanon and missiles strike Damascus in Syria, can Israel’s next offensive really stay “limited, localised and targeted”? Japan’s new prime minister loves planes, trains and ramen, but with few allies within his own party, his premiership may attract less devotion (8:57). And the worst invention in modern office life: “the sandwich lunch” (15:24). Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology— Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+...
Oct 01, 2024•19 min
Israel’s attacks on Lebanon and Yemen this weekend will have implications far beyond the militant groups that were the apparent targets. Our correspondents analyse what may happen next. Our correspondent reports from a conference for journalists exiled from Belarus—home to “ Europe’s last dictator ”—to find out how they get news in (11:30). And a new card game is shaking Communist Party offices in China (19:21). Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and techno...
Sep 30, 2024•26 min
Ukraine’s President has been in New York this week. With a victory plan in his pocket, he’s been shoring up support at the UN and among America’s presidential contenders. On the world stage Mr Zelensky presents a united front but back home things are a little more patchy. It's crunch time for Ukraine. Winter is coming, some Western partners are tiring, Ukrainians are tiring too. In this special episode of The Weekend Intelligence our Editor-in-chief Zanny Minton Beddoes travels to Ukraine to spe...
Sep 28, 2024•52 min
Ukraine’s president is again on American shores, trying to secure support of all kinds. He needs it —diplomatically, militarily and politically. America’s tendencies toward “woke” discourse and policies have permeated its politics, but our analysis finds that “peak woke” is already in the past (8:57). And the latest instalment of the wildly popular football video-game formerly known as simply “FIFA” (17:13). Get a world of insights by subscribing to Economist Podcasts+ . For more information abo...
Sep 27, 2024•23 min
For now, Israel’s moves seem to be posturing, a means to intimidate Hizbullah into backing down. But there remains a prospect of a ground invasion—and another pointless war. Our swing-state series starts with a state that only recently became swing-y: North Carolina (10:08). And a look back at a year’s worth of Economist Podcasts+ audio journalism (19:15). Get a world of insights by subscribing to Economist Podcasts+ . For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit ou...
Sep 26, 2024•28 min
Even before last month’s revised religious rules , Afghanistan’s women were being crushed under the Taliban’s thumb. Now they cannot even so much as raise their voices. While other countries try to crimp the flow of cheap Chinese electric cars, Britain is welcoming them —for now (9:55). And why the French have at last come to appreciate “Emily in Paris” (16:12). Get a world of insights by subscribing to Economist Podcasts+ . For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please vi...
Sep 25, 2024•23 min
A handful of Republican leaders have been denouncing Donald Trump since his first presidential campaign. Will the voices of those who remain be heeded this time around? China’s attempt to fix its pensions by raising the retirement age will create a different problem with childcare (7:40). And the seemingly bottomless market for pet-pampering (14:21). Get a world of insights by subscribing to Economist Podcasts+ . For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs...
Sep 24, 2024•21 min
Artificial Intelligence has gained ground so fast that OpenAI, the firm powering ChatGPT, is changing Silicon Valley’s investment model and how it innovates. Why the global nuclear order may be in peril (10:24). And an alternative type of electoral forecasting is gaining ground: political astrology (19:02). Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology— Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+ For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please...
Sep 23, 2024•25 min
After Israeli fires rockets into Lebanon and Hizbullah warns of “red lines” crossed, the Middle East is braced for further attacks. As the planet warms, sport is getting harder – and deadlier (6:32). And celebrating Francisco Lopera , who dedicated his life to researching Alzheimer’s disease (13:36). Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology— Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+ For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit ...
Sep 20, 2024•21 min
The first reduction in interest rates for four years shows America’s Federal Reserve thinks inflation is now in check. But does the central bank’s decision suggest it is now concerned about the labour market? Ukraine wants its allies to provide long-range missiles (9:50). Our correspondent explains what difference these would make to the war. And how fashion brands conquered TV (19:44). Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology— Subscribe to Economi...
Sep 19, 2024•26 min
