American airstrikes on Syrian bases linked to Iran are a reminder that Iran’s proxies lie behind many Middle East conflicts. But the ayatollahs’ angling for wider war in Gaza is a deeply dangerous game . We introduce you to our latest subscriber-only show, “ The Weekend Intelligence ”—our new home for storytelling (10:35). And why Britain is outlawing laughing gas (16:07). Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited-time offer. If you’re alr...
Oct 27, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast With the accession of Mike Johnson as the lower chamber’s majority leader, Congress can at last get back to lawmaking—unless the leadership circus starts again. China’s banks may be loaded up with hidden bad loans ; the industry’s covid-era hangover could be about to intensify (09:29). And why so many films have become so very, very long (17:35). Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited-time offer. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist , yo...
Oct 26, 2023•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Weekend Intelligence is a new podcast from the award-winning team at The Economist. It’s a space for our reporters and writers to take a break from the news cycle, to tell the stories that mean the most to them, and to broaden all of our horizons. Hosts Ore Ogunbiyi and Jason Palmer introduce one story to take you somewhere new every Saturday.
Oct 25, 2023•1 min•Transcript available on Metacast A network of captives’ families has sprung up to accomplish what Israel’s government has so far failed to do—and may yet emerge as a political force. Protecting rhinoceroses from poachers is an expensive business; we look at what has become a bear market for rhinos (12:37). And why a coin toss is not the even-odds proposition you might think it is (20:30). Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited-time offer. If you’re already a subscriber to The Econ...
Oct 25, 2023•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast President Vladimir Putin has long had it in for Alexei Navalny, Russia’s principal opposition figure. But now his lawyers are in peril , too, and Mr Navalny’s privations in prison are ramping up. Gaza’s need for aid may be urgent but is not new—Israel’s economic stranglehold goes back years (10:24). And, introducing “ Boss Class ”, our new, subscriber-only podcast series on being a better manager (19:50). Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited-time...
Oct 24, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast After dominating the polls for months, Javier Miliei, a right-wing firebrand, was outshone by the candidate from the ruling Peronist administration. We examine why Mr Milei fell so short and the run-off to come. Cross-border assassinations may be rising—and states seem to be more daring in carrying them out (11:46). And remembering Ofir Libstein, an Israeli mayor killed by Hamas (19:30) Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited-time offer. You will no...
Oct 23, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast They fled round after round of gunfire, hid for hours and saved hundreds of lives. It is a rare story of survival on what was a horrific day for Israel. Mexico’s national oil company has accrued immense amounts of debt. Why is the government still propping it up (12:47)? And, video games are going back to 2D (19:57). 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+ launches. If you’re alread...
Oct 20, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast From a refugee camp in Chad, we speak with those fleeing murder in Darfur . Reporting on the war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and a powerful paramilitary group may have slowed, but the suffering has not. Bowel cancer is becoming more common in young people. How can screening be improved (14:23)? And, New York City rediscovers the dustbin (20:21). Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited-time offer. You will not be charged until Economist Po...
Oct 19, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast A fatal explosion at a hospital-cum-shelter has led to outrage and the canceling of the very summit that the US president had flown in for. America’s support for Israel is unwavering but could this escalation prompt the involvement of regional neighbours? Modi’s meddling in India’s cricket is bad for the game (10:53). And mourning dead artists (19:19). Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited-time offer. You will not be charged until Economist Podcas...
Oct 18, 2023•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast America may have avoided a government shutdown last month but its fiscal worries are far from over. And unease in bond markets will spill over into the rest of the world. What can governments do to stave off the financial blow? The Chinese Communist Party’s youth wing is using rap to lure new members, and it’s working (10:10). And, how has “ Bluey ” become such a hit (19:16)? Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited time offer. You will n...
Oct 17, 2023•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast After two terms in power, Jaroslaw Kaczynski’s nationalist party looks to have lost its majority . For Donald Tusk’s pro-Europe centrists, it’s bargaining time. Thousands of Americans are waiting for transplants, so why are so many organs going to waste instead (12:01)? And why writing might be better for your memory than typing (18:52)....
Oct 16, 2023•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Bombs have rained on the strip since Hamas’s attack on Israel last Saturday. With food, water and electricity running out ahead of a ground invasion, one woman tells us the worst is yet to come. The Ukrainian war has reached Crimea . Kyiv is subverting Russian dominance in the Black Sea, could that prove pivotal (11:26)? And, how the death of Indian vultures has affected public health (20:12). Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited time offer. You ...
Oct 13, 2023•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Defence Force is preparing to follow up its air strikes on Gaza with troops . An incursion will be bloody, and perhaps even more so if Hezbollah becomes embroiled in the conflict. Australians will vote this weekend on whether to enshrine an indigenous Voice to Parliament into its constitution (11:36). And, why Birkenstock’s 249-year-old shoes are still trendy (19:27). Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited-time offer. You will not be charged un...
Oct 12, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast How does the Palestinian militant group justify the atrocities committed in Israel? Why has it done this? What does it plan to do with the hostages? In a conversation with Moussa Abu Marzouk, a senior official, Zanny Minton Beddoes, The Economist's editor-in-chief, presses for answers. 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+ launches. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’l...
Oct 11, 2023•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast As the retribution continues, the state has now cut off supplies to the Palestinian enclave, and America is sending military support to Binyamin Netanyahu. But how will Hamas respond? From cowboys to country music, Brazil’s hinterland is taking on a sepia-tinged Americanness (10:46). And which languages might take you the longest to learn (18:00)? 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+ l...
Oct 10, 2023•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Almost exactly 50 years on from the moment that launched the deadly Yom Kippur War, Hamas, the militant group that controls the Gaza strip, carried out a series of attacks . Hundreds have been killed, Israeli intelligence services were surprised and the retribution is bound to be severe. What does this mean for Palestinian civilians, and regional politics more broadly ?...
Oct 09, 2023•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast The once-unassailable titan of tech has missed big opportunities in recent years. But it has a reasonable shot at the title again, thanks to its artificial-intelligence ambitions . Sexual assault allegations in China made the Women’s Tennis Association take a hard line on tournaments in the country— for a while (8:48). And why the brutal felling of an ancient tree has bothered Britons so much (16:18). Additional audio courtesy of Dave's Walks Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off y...
Oct 06, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast Divisions within the ruling party are on full display this week, and the provocative policies Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced are unlikely to help the Conservatives’ woeful polling numbers. Early results suggest that new drugs initially prescribed for weight loss may be a powerful treatment for alcohol-use disorder (13:06). And a data dive reveals which countries get the most sleep (20:05) Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited time offer. You...
Oct 05, 2023•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Another shutdown standoff, funding worries for Ukraine, more leadership chaos: the booting of America’s speaker of the House of Representatives bodes ill for governance. “Jawan”, a new Indian film, is non-stop action with Bollywood flourishes—and reveals how divisions in the country are being bridged (9:26). And an investigation of places where centenarians are abundant suggests healthy lifestyles are not the cause (17:55). Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription wi...
Oct 04, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast The founder of FTX, a spectacularly failed cryptocurrency exchange, is a curious character . He denies the stack of charges he faces in a New York court, but unpicking the cryptographic paper trail will be tricky. Crime in Britain is broadly in decline, with the notable exception of increasingly brazen shoplifting (10:24). And how a sports-media entrepreneur became a pizza-review star (15:57). Additional audio courtesy South West News Service. Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off ...
Oct 03, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast The literal 11th-hour deal to avert a government shutdown is only a stopgap—and the battle may end up costing Kevin McCarthy his post as leader of the House of Representatives. The uptake of electric scooters is significantly outpacing that of four-wheeled vehicles in Asia (10:30). And Britain’s curious “risk registers” put numbers to how the world might end (16:47). Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited-time offer . You will not be charged until ...
Oct 02, 2023•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast During past economic downturns, officials have been both swift and bold. This time not so much—because their hands are tied by knotty internal politics . We ask why Latin America makes for such a useful playground for Russian spies (10:07). And remembering Fernando Botero, a Colombian artist who never deviated from his not-quite-comically plump figures (18:16). Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited-time offer. You will not be charged until E...
Sep 29, 2023•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Many of the pieces are in place to bring the disease entirely under control—but our correspondent finds it will take more than advances in medication. Japan’s government has at last begun to regulate the country’s notorious pornography; we examine a sector emerging from the shadows (11:07). And how China uses UNESCO world-heritage status to rewrite the history of its periphery (18:38). Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited-time offer. You will not...
Sep 28, 2023•25 min•Transcript available on Metacast Where the defensive lines really are, the state of Russia’s reserves, battlefield tactics: Kyrylo Budanov is a candid interviewee —but he claims to know nothing about all those drones. Gambling has been illegal in Brazil for decades, but pinched government coffers point to a lifting of the prohibition (10:42). And the passion and the profitability of “ BookTok ”, the literary end of TikTok (16:51). Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited time offer....
Sep 27, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast President Emmanuel Macron’s about-face on maintaining a presence in the coup-stricken country portends a broader change in France’s relations on the continent. Shifting geopolitics is changing the list of the world’s big arms dealers (9:08). And the internet influencers taking a swing at professional boxing (16:02). 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+ launches. If you’re already a su...
Sep 26, 2023•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast Populist, right-wing parties are already in power in Hungary, Poland and Italy—and getting closer to it across the continent . We ask why. At long last Rupert Murdoch, the patriarch of a global media empire, has stepped aside —sort of. We examine how he will still pull the strings (09:46). And the merits of letting American pupils start school a bit later (17:39). Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited time offer . You will not be charged until Eco...
Sep 25, 2023•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast Reporting from the ground, our Eastern Europe editor explores how the country is bracing for a new phase of war . In some ways, people have adapted, but equally the invasion has clearly taken a mental toll. Reflecting on the life of the Zulu chief turned politician Mangosuthu Buthelezi (11:51). And how to get out of jail (18:39). 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+ launches. If you’r...
Sep 22, 2023•26 min•Transcript available on Metacast It would not be the first time that a member of the government has gone missing , not even the first time this year. But what does this say about the leadership of the People’s Liberation Army? No one cares about Apple’s new iPhone, but the tech giant has more to worry about (09:24). And why an old-school motorbike is still driving new hype in India (16:00). Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited time offer. You will not be charged until Economist ...
Sep 21, 2023•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast The murder of Sikh separatist Hardeep Singh Najjar has deepened a long-running spat between the two countries. Will Canada’s allies be willing to get involved? It’s been 100 years since Japan’s Great Kanto earthquake . Here’s how the country is preparing in case there is another (XX:XX). And young people’s newfound love for country music is fuelling a boom in the genre (XX:XX). Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited time offer. You will not be char...
Sep 20, 2023•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast This is not the first time the Islamic Republic has taken foreigners hostage . It’s proven an effective bargaining chip for decades and this time around, it has earned the state billions of dollars in unfrozen assets. Also, should you go for a forever-fixed mortgage if you can (09:36)? And what an American chain restaurant says about the importance of cross-class mixing (15:15). Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited time offer. You will not be cha...
Sep 19, 2023•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast 
