As diplomatic efforts played out in Saudi Arabia our correspondent recounts travels along the nearly unbroken front line of the war—finding frustrated but determined soldiers and exhausted, fearful civilians. We examine the row around Japan’s plan to release wastewater from the Fukushima disaster (09:21). And how rosé wine became summertime’s go-to tipple (15:39). For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , try a free 30-day digital subscription by going to www.econom...
Aug 07, 2023•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast As the tech giant approaches its 25-year anniversary, there are questions of just how much more it can possibly grow . Investors are used to stratospheric returns. Is it time to manage expectations? Nested behind the appearance of social discontent in France is an economy that is actually thriving (10:51). And, a tribute to a true man of the woods (19:02). For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , try a free 30-day digital subscription by going to www.economis...
Aug 04, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast The industrial arms race is on. For many political reasons, countries with the means are throwing billions of dollars into local industries. But when will leaders realise that it might harm their economies? Japan’s refugee policy was already stringent, but now the country is cracking down on asylum seekers even more (10:26). And, how Oppenheimer has reignited Los Alamos's tourist appeal (18:22). For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , try a free 30-day digital sub...
Aug 03, 2023•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast The former American president is facing a new set of unprecedented legal challenges linked to his claims that he won the 2020 election. These charges are perhaps the most serious ones yet, but how will they affect his campaign? A closer look at China’s economic figures suggest that their post-pandemic recovery has been more modest than expected (09:49). And, sneaking pianos into Iran (17:59). For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , try a free 30-day digital subscr...
Aug 02, 2023•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast The country is not new to seclusion, but under the aegis of the pandemic, Kim Jong Un tightened borders even more. His regime has enjoyed the extra control, but are things finally opening up? The world’s biggest rice exporter is banning rice exports and the developing world is going to feel the heat (10:13). And, a new approach to dairy – without cows (14:39). For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , try a free 30-day digital subscription by going to www.economist....
Aug 01, 2023•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast Following years of military takeovers in the region, Niger is the West’s last solid ally in the Sahel. But with this coup, and growing alignment with Russia, these relations are in jeopardy. Why is a policy to decongest London proving such a politically divisive issue (10:49)? And, a deep dive into a Canadian lake shows that humanity may be entering a new epoch (17:01). For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , try a free 30-day digital subscription by going to www....
Jul 31, 2023•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast A country that was not long ago gripped by gang violence and crime is slowly emerging from fear, thanks to a brutal roundup of young men by a wildly popular, social-media-savvy president . The streets may be safer, but now it is El Salvador’s democracy that is in danger—and neighbouring countries’ leaders may take lessons from its budding autocrat . For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , try a free 30-day digital subscription by going to www.economist.com/intelli...
Jul 28, 2023•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast Russia’s axeing of the Black Sea grain deal reveals a war machine running out of options. We explore how to get the deal back on track . A month-long mystery surrounding China’s absent foreign minister has grown deeper : now his memory is being scrubbed from official websites (10:15). And literary criticism has lost its claws —gaining a newfound civility that is bad for readers (16:37). For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , try a free 30-day digital subscription...
Jul 27, 2023•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Military types need not wait until mass movements of troops to know a conflict is coming. We examine a raft of subtle and not-so-subtle market moves that would precede a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. France’s quiet volte face on the extent of NATO and the European Union will reshape European security (12:04). And how scrapyards are becoming efficient, lucrative disassembly lines (19:41). For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , try a free 30-day digital subscription ...
Jul 26, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast A seemingly small change to the Supreme Court’s powers to adjudicate “reasonableness” represents a significant risk to the country’s democratic functioning—and 30 weeks of popular protest about it will continue. Our correspondent looks into why Vietnam’s schools produce such excellent students (09:54). And examining the debate on whether cryptocurrency trading conflicts with Islamic strictures (15:15). For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , try a free 30-day digi...
Jul 25, 2023•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast After no party won a majority, forming a government may take weeks —or another election. But predictions that Vox, a far-right party, might enter government failed to materialise. Russia’s navy is repainting its vessels in a bid to frustrate munitions powered by artificial intelligence (10:03). And why the push to invent outlandish ice-cream flavours such as ketchup is deeply misguided (17:59). For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , try a free 30-day digital subs...
Jul 24, 2023•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast It has been a month since the head of the Wagner group led a march on Moscow. Although it failed, Putin appears considerably weaker. What does this mean for outcomes on the battlefield? India is facing record-breaking rainfall as monsoon seasons continue to worsen. The government’s response has fallen short (12:29). And, the highly-anticipated Barbie and Oppenheimer films hit cinemas (18:04). For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , try a free 30-day digital subscr...
Jul 21, 2023•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Little is known about why he fled across the border into the hermit kingdom, but securing his release will require some tactical diplomacy. Given the tense relationship between both countries, is Kim Jong Un prepared to come to the table? A look at research which suggests gold might not always be an effective hedge against inflation (08:52). And, why mountains stop growing (15:42). For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , try a free 30-day digital subscription by g...
Jul 20, 2023•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast The carmaker, which reports results today, is still celebrating impressive growth and its boss has even bigger plans for it. But with the threat of fast-scaling competitors in the EV market, is the company losing its disruptive edge? Our data correspondent’s novel approach to counting Russian casualties in Ukraine (09:39). And, a nail-biting, ever riskier Tour de France nears its end (15:26). For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , try a free 30-day digital subscr...
Jul 19, 2023•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast America is keen to mend the relationship between the Gulf state and Israel, but Muhammad bin Salman has hefty demands . Is the deal worth the price? Asia’s longest serving leader is carefully planning his succession , and crushing anyone who objects (10:41). And, Sweden’s plan for a new city is built on old materials. But it is posed to be an innovative model for sustainability (18:28). For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , try a free 30-day digital subscr...
Jul 18, 2023•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Europe, America and Asia are all enduring scorching heatwaves, air temperatures are repeatedly breaking records and the health impacts are alarming. But is the worst yet to come? Why risky assets are proving more resilient than investors expected despite war, inflation and the threat of recession (10:10). And Europe says farewell to its symbolic small cars (16:50). For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , try a free 30-day digital subscription by going to www.econo...
Jul 17, 2023•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast The burning of burial grounds in the northern region of the country suggests that authorities are destroying evidence. If these claims are proven true, will the government be held accountable? In news that might please your boss, emerging research suggests that working from home is stifling productivity (10:36). And honouring the life of a Ukrainian civil-rights campaigner (19:22). For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , try a free 30-day digital subscriptio...
Jul 14, 2023•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast When he was last elected, many were surprised, even in his own camp. This time around, his backers are taking no such chances. We take a closer look at his policy plans . China currently supplies nearly all the world’s processed critical minerals. Could Australia change that (10:52)? And, a reality TV show with a greenfingered twist (19:03). For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , try a free 30-day digital subscription by going to www.economist.com/intellige...
Jul 13, 2023•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast Wiping out a tenth of the world? Possible. Wiping out all of humanity? Less likely, but not entirely impossible. We examine how two groups of experts have arrived at these worrying predictions about AI. Education is giving hope to inmates in a maximum security prison in New York (11:17). And, on Britain’s working men’s clubs which have nurtured rock bands for decades (18:00). For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , try a free 30-day digital subscription by going t...
Jul 12, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast Mark Rutte is stepping down after leading the Netherlands for 13 years. Despite his renowned political survival skills, our correspondent explains why it was migration policy that brought about his downfall. As the NATO summit kicks off, what are the alliance’s plans for defending Europe (9:30)? And a look at the changing face of Britain’s lighthouses (19:00)....
Jul 11, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast Despite considerable opposition from allies in NATO, America has agreed to send them to Ukraine. The highly controversial munitions could speed up Ukraine’s counteroffensive, but at what cost? As excitement around AI continues to generate, our new index examines how American firms are deploying the tech (11:16). And, what to read to learn more about the juiciest corporate scandals (19:11). For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , try a free 30-day digital sub...
Jul 10, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast We sit down with Kyrylo Budanov, Ukraine’s youngest-ever spymaster . He is intense, resolute—and oddly charismatic. A world of electrified transport is going to need lots of nickel for batteries. We argue that, environmentally speaking, gathering it from the seafloor clearly beats mining it on land (11:12). And remembering Donald Triplett , the first person ever to be diagnosed with autism (19:25). Additional audio courtesy of “In A Different Key”, inadifferentkeythemovie.com For full access to ...
Jul 07, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast If there is one thing Facebook’s parent company does well, it is aping other social-media features and platforms—and it is a propitious time to steal Twitter’s thunder. Deeply indebted Arab countries desperately need loans from the IMF, but have good reasons to balk at the fund’s terms (10:00). And New Yorkers love their invasive parakeets ; the birds’ enormous nests, less so (18:41). For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , try a free 30-day digital subscription b...
Jul 06, 2023•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Its leader is in exile and its future is uncertain. But the Wagner Group will be loth to abandon the influence and the cashflow that its murky African operations bring. The striking down of affirmative-action university-admissions policies in America may counterintuitively spur more-progressive and more-efficient alternatives (9:56). And the reinvention (again) of a beloved Chinese sweet treat (17:08). For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , try a free 30-day digi...
Jul 05, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast The so-called refugee camp in the city of Jenin has been subject to raids for months—and a hotspot for militants for decades. We ask what set things off so violently this week. Now that Jair Bolsonaro is barred from Brazilian office for eight years , what happens to his brand of politics (11:17)? And how America got a new king of beers (19:17). For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , try a free 30-day digital subscription by going to www.economist.com/intelligence...
Jul 04, 2023•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast The killing of a teenager in a Paris suburb has ignited national unrest . We ask what is driving the disquiet, and what it means for a president squeezed on both political sides. In high-inflation times, rising wages worry economists—“wage-price spirals” are a textbook bogeyman. But perhaps the risk is overblown (10:34). And the researchers making burgers from extinct animals (18:22). For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , try a free 30-day digital subscrip...
Jul 03, 2023•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Mass movements of people expected as climate change progresses are often depicted as catastrophes-in-waiting. We visit Niger, where that shift has begun, finding there is good news amid the bad. We examine the spate of video games depicting Ukraine’s live theatre of war (11:32). And the end of Indiana Jones’s run prompts a reflection on what made his adventures so compelling (17:12). For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , try a free 30-day digital subscription by...
Jun 30, 2023•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast This week’s court battle involving Microsoft and Activision, giants of tech and gaming, reflects a sea change under way in America’s trustbusting machinery; it may not go as far as the top competition cop might like. A boom in China’s post-pandemic economy now seems to be sputtering (11:29). And a paean to the Tayto crisp —cheese-and-onion flavour, naturally (18:29). For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , try a free 30-day digital subscription by going to www.eco...
Jun 29, 2023•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast For decades, leftist policies first espoused by Juan Perón have dominated the country’s politics. But as electioneering begins it is clear that rampant inflation is driving voters away from Peronism and toward the populist right . We examine why big American retailers see opportunity in providing primary health care (9:33). And our annual list of the world’s most liveable cities (15:38). For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , try a free 30-day digital subscriptio...
Jun 28, 2023•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast Yevgeny Prigozhin and his Wagner Group fighters are said to be welcome in safe-haven Belarus. We ask how Aleksandr Lukashenko, the country’s puppet president, ended up in the role of peace broker . Our correspondent investigates why so many American states are having to bail out public-transport companies. And the diplomatic benefits of wearing red on visits to China. Please take a moment to fill out our listener survey: www.economist.com/podcastsurvey For full access to print, digital and audio...
Jun 27, 2023•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
