The libertarian right-winger is leading in the polls, a surprise for a country that has typically leaned left. He has drastic plans to shrink the state. Could he turn the country around? Why Germany’s highway system and techno lovers have come to a crossroads (11:22). And, a Noah’s-Ark-inspired economic theory of conservation made pertinent by the threat of climate change (19:59). Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited time offer. You will not be c...
Sep 18, 2023•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast As progress on the front line slows, Western countries are divided over how the army should proceed. There are disagreements about where should be targeted and how, and with autumn around the corner, time is of the essence. Why Americans’ feelings about their economy have become a less useful indicator for forecasters (12:34). And, are New Zealand’s rugby team off their game (18:24)? Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited time offer. You will not b...
Sep 15, 2023•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast For 17 years, The Economist has brought you a host of brilliant shows. Now we are taking that even further. But to bring you even more of the content that you love, we need your support. Why Nagorno-Karabakh is on the brink of a humanitarian disaster (09:44). And, a tribute to the man who sought to give AI some common sense (18:07). Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited time offer. You will not be charged until Economist Podcasts...
Sep 14, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast On September 11th 1973, president Salvador Allende shot himself in the head after being overthrown in a coup , giving rise to the violent rule of General Augusto Pinochet. But citizens are divided on how the leaders ought to be remembered. How a landmark case in Montana could pioneer new climate protection laws (13:09). And, what makes a bestselling book (22:03)? For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , try a free 30-day digital subscription by going to www.economi...
Sep 13, 2023•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast In a rare trip outside of the hermit state, it seems the dictator is planning to meet with Vladimir Putin. With the prospect of an arms deal on the table, how worried should the international community be? Car theft is a growing problem in America and automakers are partly to blame (08:49). And France’s booming boulangeries (15:02)....
Sep 12, 2023•19 min•Transcript available on Metacast As the counter-offensive continues, Ukrainian forces are running out of time to make substantial gains. Diplomatic attempts to isolate Russia have failed and progress on the front lines is slowing. From the capital Kyiv, the president tells The Economist’s editor-in-chief how the country is bracing for a long war. 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/intelligenceoffer...
Sep 11, 2023•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast The highest interest rates in years should lead to a fall in house prices. But peculiarities of America’s mortgage market are driving them up . Egg-freezing was supposed to give women more control over childbearing; we look at scant data showing how successful it really is (10:57). And remembering Isabel Crook , an anthropologist who embraced China’s communist transformation, warts and all (15:44). Join our team of audience-research participants and make a bit of cash here ....
Sep 08, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast Axing generous fuel subsidies was just one necessary reform promised by Bola Tinubu. A hundred days into the president’s term, we examine his ideas for change—finding they do not seem to be backed by real plans. Our correspondent says India’s decrepit cities would fare better if permitted to govern themselves more (09:58). And the kinder, gentler trend in video games (17:13) Join our team of audience-research participants and make a bit of cash here ....
Sep 07, 2023•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast The retail behemoth is splashing tremendous amounts of cash on streaming content; critics are unimpressed with the outcomes. But Amazon may have the best business model going. Statisticians in Britain appear to have found about 2% of GDP hiding in their data—we ask how it got lost (8:24). And how the pocket calculator ushered in the digital age (15:52). 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/int...
Sep 06, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast The calculus of the cold war is back, but there are new variables in the equation—namely China’s growing arsenal. We look at how three-way deterrence could work. Two years after America’s schools reopened their doors, a terrifying proportion of students are still skipping class (10:13). And what a slew of rickshaw apps says about India’s technological backbone (15:38). For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , try a free 30-day digital subscription by going to www.e...
Sep 05, 2023•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast The absolute numbers remain troubling but a close look at statistics reveals that, across American cities, fewer people are being killed. That democracy is good for a country’s economy is taken as orthodoxy—but given the time and costs to make the transition, the reality is a bit more complicated (09:38). And why Britain’s government is in hock to the country’s hobbyists (15:38). For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , try...
Sep 04, 2023•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast The president is using racist hate-mongering as both a rallying tool and a distraction mechanism. It is the oldest trick in the autocrat playbook and it proving effective. Why are some Americans flocking to start new lives in Europe (10.36)? And, a tribute to a Ukrainian pilot who made the case for his country to get F-16 fighter jets (18.03). 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/intelligenceo...
Sep 01, 2023•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast Putsches in Africa are becoming more common and there appears to be a trend . Are there more to come and is there any hope of restoring democracy? Lebanon’s tourism sector is bringing foreign money back into the economy, but it’s not trickling down (10:27). And, the American right is propelling a new song to chart-topping popularity (16:44). 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/intelligenceoff...
Aug 31, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast Three months into the counteroffensive, the military is reaping the fruits of several months of drone development. But as the war continues, will it be able to scale up its capacity and outpace Russia? New international laws cracking down on Caribbean tax havens seem to be working (10:03). And politicians reignite an old debate on official language use in Spain (17:21). For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , try a free 30-day digital subscription by going to www....
Aug 30, 2023•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Owing to a host of deep-rooted economic and political challenges, it could be the only G7 economy to contract this year. How might it turn the tide ? More people want flashy, bigger electric vehicles , but are the added environmental costs counterproductive (10:00)? And examining the decline in Mandarin learning (18:18). 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/intelligenceoffer...
Aug 29, 2023•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast From Japan to South Korea, from China to Taiwan, family structures are becoming less traditional. More premarital cohabitation, single parenthood and two-income households are influencing demographics—with worrying consequences. And we pay tribute to 50 years of hip-hop. The New York -born genre is taking the world by storm, and picking up new influences along the way (9:22). Additional music “ HIP-HOP ” courtesy of RayZa. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , t...
Aug 28, 2023•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast The alliance was always based more on common fortunes than common interests. We ask what to make of the six new members, and whether the bloc’s motley nature undermines its purpose. Regulation has struggled in an era when children can become “influencers”, but it is starting to catch up (9:36). And remembering Bindeshwar Pathak , who realised India’s future depended on toilets (16:28). For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , try a free 30-day digital subscription ...
Aug 25, 2023•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast History would suggest that the crash of Yevgeny Prigozhin’s plane was an assassination. Our correspondent considers what the supposed death of the Wagner Group’s leader means for Ukraine—and what it says about Vladimir Putin’s Russia. Indonesia has fostered a more moderate version of Islam that it would now like to export (9:58). And meeting an indigenous pioneer of Peruvian pop (16:21). For full access to print, digital, and audio editions of The Economist , try a free 30-day digital subscripti...
Aug 24, 2023•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast Arranging friendly media coverage, giving handouts to voters, stifling opposition rallies: once again the country’s ruling party has put its thumb on the scales . It has to, after decades of failed governance. Our correspondent visits fire-ravaged Lahaina in Hawaii, finding equal parts shock and anger among residents (10:32). And the curious rise of Britain’s self-pitying lawmakers (18:38). For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , try a free 30-day digital subscrip...
Aug 23, 2023•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast Once again, fears are ripping through the industry—this time starting from a firm once thought too big to fail. In an economy so dependent on housebuilding, that will have wide-ranging consequences . We take a ride in one of the autonomous taxis that have flooded onto San Francisco’s streets (10:22). And crunching the numbers on Antarctica’s worrisome dearth of sea ice (19:40). For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , try a free 30-day digital subscription by...
Aug 22, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast Ecuador and Guatemala faced similar preoccupations with violence and corruption —one of Ecuador’s candidates was assassinated on the campaign trail—but their electoral outcomes were very different. What does that reveal about the region? Once rare in America, leprosy is on the rise again, particularly in Florida (8:04). And how Singapore leads the charge for “alternative proteins” (14:08). For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , try a free 30-day digital sub...
Aug 21, 2023•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast For weeks, the regional bloc ECOWAS has threatened to undo the putsch by force. But appetite for a military response—the ultimate deterrent in a coup-prone region—seems small and waning. Russia’s rouble has become one of the world’s worst-performing currencies, and there are not many good options to rescue it (09:40). And a tribute to an American pioneer of consumer-product safety (16:22). For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , try a free 30-day digital subscript...
Aug 18, 2023•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast The region is home to most of the world’s known lithium. Given the mineral’s usefulness in batteries and electric vehicles, could it be on the cusp of a commodities boom ? Germany’s auto industry is at risk. Volkswagen , one of its biggest carmakers, should be worried (10:27). And, England’s World Cup successes could change the face of women’s football (18:06). 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 17, 2023•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast As the death toll surpasses 100, we report from Maui where fires have ravaged the island in the deadliest American wildfire in over a century. Why was this one so catastrophic ? The plummet of coca prices in Colombia is messing with the market (09:58). And northern Europe fights to preserve its local languages in schools (17:09). 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/intelligenceoffer...
Aug 16, 2023•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast The former president has been hit with a new set of charges, under a catch-all racketeering act that has been used to prosecute everyone from rappers to teachers. It’s Mr Trump’s fourth indictment , but perhaps the most unusual. Ukraine’s new, surprisingly effective innovation: the “ candy bomb ” (10:10). And, the most expensive American cities to live alone (17:30). For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , try a free 30-day digital subscription by going to www.eco...
Aug 15, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast Despite cosying up with Russia and accusing America of trying to topple him, the newly re-elected president now appears to be flirting with old allies. But there is reason to be sceptical. A global survey shows that liberal values may not be catching on as some expected (09:54). And, have scientists found the biggest animal that ever lived (18:36)? 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/in...
Aug 14, 2023•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman says a presence in top-level global sport is one route to modernising; critics call the effort a distraction from the country’s appalling human-rights record. Brazil’s government is pushing reforms that are clearly calming investors , who had fretted about a return to ruinously spendthrift policies (9:20). And how speedy “first-person-view” drones are changing the fight in Ukraine (16:25). For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , tr...
Aug 11, 2023•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast An appalling record compared with much of the rich world is not just down to drugs and guns. We ask what changes, both in policy and philosophy, might reduce the death toll. A heat-transporting ocean current in the Atlantic could soon be on the wane—or switch off altogether (10:08). That would have disastrous consequences . And musing on airborne etiquette for business travelers (18:09). For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , try a free 30-day digital subscriptio...
Aug 10, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast Big-money legislation to bring microprocessor manufacturing to the country is off to a reasonable start —but dominance of the industry is and will probably remain distant. Britain was once a leading light when it came to international aid; we ask why that reputation is now in tatters (tk:tk). And exploring all the funny noises coming from electric vehicles (tk:tk). For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist , try a free 30-day digital subscription by going to www.econo...
Aug 09, 2023•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Economic Community of West African States may yet try to restore President Mohamed Bazoum militarily. Either way, Niger’s status as a bulwark against jihadism is threatened. America’s Republican hopefuls are courting Moms for Liberty, a pressure group with some outlandish ideas; we meet a few of them (10:51). And the design principles of a good flag (19:33). 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 08, 2023•28 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
