The Intelligence from The Economist

After years of stalemate, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis are taking territory, including on a Red Sea strait. We ask what has changed, and how the shift fits into the wider regional conflict. As America’s midterm elections approach, we examine the fragmentation of the coalition that put Donald Trump back in office. And we ask how much nepotism matters in Hollywood today.

Listen to what matters most, from global politics...

For 15 years, the British media dismissed Tommy Robinson as a far-right extremist. We kept him off our televisions, and out of our newspapers. 

Today his rallies attract tens of thousands of followers and he has the ear of the world’s richest man.

Shire Folk is the story of how some of the most powerful people in America came to see Britain—and Islam—through the eyes of a fringe football hooligan.

To...

OpenAI’s claim to have solved one of the great problems in mathematics has itself created problems. We ask why the breakthrough has shaken the field. On the 25th anniversary of 9/11 we examine the vast counterterrorism machinery that followed in America, and nascent efforts to pare those powers back. And remembering Guo Lanying, a Chinese singer who championed traditional opera.

Watch extended clips from Insider here.

Guest...

The labour data are in from America and a trend is becoming clearer: on balance AI is starting to create more jobs than it hoovers up. Despite advancements of just about every other kind, China cannot seem to escape its food-safety problems. We ask why not. And why Kenya’s ants have become the target of smugglers.

Guests and host:

• Alex Domash, economics correspondent
• Gabriel Crossley, China correspondent
• Carla Subirana, n...

President Javier Milei has tamed inflation and improved the lot of many Argentines. But an election season approaches, and the promised economic and wage growth are not materialising. As LIV Golf files for bankruptcy, we ask where it went wrong in trying to disrupt the sport. And the growth that is good for India’s people is bad for its elephants.

Guests and host:

• Kinley Salmon, Latin America correspondent
• Henry Tricks, ...

International tests in maths and reading show that 15-year-olds today score what 14-year-olds would have done a decade ago. Our correspondent explains the long-term decline. Is Miami’s thriving economic growth sustainable? And why Jeremy Vine’s BBC Radio 2 show is a microcosm of Britain.   

Guests and host:

• Mark Johnson, senior editor
• Cerian Richmond Jones, international economics correspondent
• Sonny ...

Alternative for Germany won an even larger share of the vote than expected in yesterday’s state election. What does the far-right nationalist party’s success mean for Germany and Europe? The climate case for limiting vapour trails from aeroplanes. And why South Korean youths are turning to Buddhism. 

Guests and host:

• Tom Nuttall, Berlin bureau chief
• Oliver Morton, planetary affairs editor
• Soobin Kim, Korea writ...

Nvidia, the world’s most valuable company, has shifted strategy to boost demand for its chips. Our correspondent assesses the opportunities and risks. Knife crime in Britain moves to rural pastures. And our obituaries editor recounts the life of Frank Smith, who died in prison aged 101. 

Watch extended clips from Insider here, plus the full Elon Musk interview

Guests and host:

• Shailesh Chitnis, global business write...

Donald Trump’s stance on immigration helped him win the presidency. Our correspondent asks if a backlash against the campaign could damage Republican midterm prospects. Reddit is struggling in an age of AI. And the enduring beauty of the Bayeux tapestry.

Guests and host:

• Aryn Braun, West Coast correspondent
• Shera Avi-Yonah, business correspondent
• Alexandra Suich Bass, culture editor
• Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intell...

On Sunday, Alternative for Germany could become the first far-right nationalist party to win a state election since the end of the second world war. Is Britain right to worry about Palantir handling government contracts? And could the Chinese learn to love chocolate? 

Guests and host:

• Tom Nuttall, chief Germany correspondent
• Georgia Banjo, Britain correspondent
• Don Weinland, China business and finance editor
• Rosie Blau, co-...

After the devastating flash flood last week, our correspondent explains why the country is so ill-equipped to deal with the crisis. Does AI stop children from learning? And why Japanese ongaku kissa, or listening bars, are so popular abroad.

Guests and host:

• Kira Hiju, Asia correspondent
• Michelle Hennessy, graphic detail editor
• Aaron Coultate, head of newsletters
• Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence”
• Jason Palmer,...

Behind the scenes, Artificial Intelligence is playing a growing role in every aspect of film-making, from script-writing and production-planning to shot-generation and editing. As the number of people covered by Obamacare falls, our correspondent ponders the future of the healthcare programme. And the secret thrill of American country dancing in France.

Guests and host:

• Henry Tricks, US technology editor
• Stevie Hertz, US publi...

Our correspondent goes inside a Chinese robot facility to see thousands of droids being taught to complete useful tasks. Is it worth the time and money? How Meta’s $17bn settlement at its blockbuster trial could change teen social-media use. And 75 years of the Paris bookshop Shakespeare and Company.

Watch extended clips from Insider here, plus the full Elon Musk interview

Guests and host:

• Don Weinland, China busines...

Personalised vaccines could offer a breakthrough in the fight against cancer. Our correspondent analyses the latest trial. Canada’s oil market is flourishing, despite the trade war. And, why we will always love Dolly Parton.

Guests and host:

• Natasha Loder, health editor
• Sarah Lawrynuik, deputy editor of “The Intelligence”
• Jon Fasman, senior culture correspondent
• Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence&...

Amid record-tickling yields, the bond markets are now trying to make sense of what Scott Bessent, America’s Treasury secretary, has announced—a move that might put him on a collision course with the Federal Reserve. We ask why it is so easy for hackers to infiltrate America’s water infrastructure. And understanding a political lineage through the new British prime minister’s accent.

Guests and host:

• Jo...

After much hullabaloo America announced its “Operation Economic Outcast”, a new tranche of sanctions. It is thin gruel, and might in fact invite military reprisals from Iran. Call centres form a large part of the economy of the Philippines; surprisingly, AI is not stopping the industry’s rise. And a data-led look at which cities offer the best (relative) paycheques.  

Guests and host:

• Fraser McIlwr...

Promising trade talks imploded after a literal 11th-hour change from the American side. We examine the new trade barriers being erected, and the complex calculation for Prime Minister Mark Carney. In Japan Gen X workers are even still bearing the costs of an economic bubble-burst from the 1990s. And how fates of civilisations have turned on sieges throughout history. 

Guests and host:

• Hal Hodson, Americas editor
• Moeka Iid...

The rise of generative AI has put new urgency into ancient questions. What is consciousness, and can machines ever have it? We dive into the data that reveal a surge in sexually transmitted infections in Europe. And our obituaries editor considers the life of Mary de Rachewiltz, translator and tireless defender of her father, Ezra Pound. 

Watch extended clips from Insider here.

Guests and host:

• Alok Jha, science & tec...

Yuval Noah Harari is a big-ideas guy. Known for penning tomes that tackle broad sweeps of history, the historian-cum-philosopher has now turned his attention to AI. He joins Zanny Minton Beddoes, The Economist’s editor-in-chief, for The Insider, our video show for premium subscribers. They discuss why Mr Harari believes AIs will come to control civilisation—and what it might mean to be human in that world.

Watch the ...