The Intelligence from The Economist

The Iranian regime hopes the massive crowds gathered for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s funeral will demonstrate its strength. Our correspondent says they could also reveal its weakness. Why Japan wants to change its divorce laws and custody arrangements. And the first part of our week-long road trip down America’s iconic Route 66. 

Guests and host:

• Nicolas Pelham, Middle East correspondent
• Moeka Iida, East Asia cor...

Big birthdays are often a time for reflection. Our editors and correspondents chat through the state of American democracy as seen from inside and outside the country, the country’s perennial paroxysms of immigration policy, and its undimmed power to export its culture to the world. 

Watch extended clips from Insider here.

Guests and host:

• Robert Guest, deputy editor
• Rebecca Jackson, Southern correspondent
• Daniel ...

Big oil firms keep one part of their business hush-hush: trading. Amid an almighty oil shock, the majors’ trading arms are raking it in. But competition is mounting. We look at the Trump administration’s messy attempts to regulate frontier AI models, and how that may cost America its AI edge. And why the biggest music tours are going to fewer places. 

Guests and host:

• Matthieu Favas, commodities editor
• Shashan...

Government help was thin on the ground just after the country’s worst quakes in a century. The America-backed regime is thus on literal and figurative shaky ground. A food-delivery robot trial in England represents the future of the service. And why Harlan Coben’s proliferating thrillers are cheesy but gripping.

Guests and host:

• Kinley Salmon, Latin America correspondent
• Alex Hern, AI writer
• Catherine Nixey, culture...

With Iran emboldened and America an ever more capricious security partner, Gulf countries face several post-war challenges. They should put their divides aside to tackle them. We dig one last time into our archive to chronicle American history, bringing our series up to the present day. And the mounting evidence that plants can “hear”. 

Guests and host:

• Gregg Carlstrom, Middle East correspondent
• Annie Crabill,...

For all the Trumpian chaos in Latin America, no other developing-world regional economy has done so well in the past year. We examine the Donroe dividend. The cost to make jollof rice, a staple dish in Nigeria and Ghana, is a window into the countries’ economies. And the BBC waves goodbye to its long-wave radio service.

Guests and host:

• Cerian Richmond-Jones, international economics correspondent
• Ọrẹ Ogunbiyi, Africa cor...

Ukraine is intensifying cross-border attacks in a strategic and psychological effort to make ordinary Russians take notice of the war. We have been collecting reports from the ground on shifting attitudes as occupied Crimea comes under fire. Why the valuation of Elon Musk’s SpaceX affects us all. And celebrating the life of former Fed chair Alan Greenspan.

Guests and host:

• Matt Steinglass, Europe editor
• Josh Roberts, cap...

Americans are becoming more anxious about how artificial intelligence will affect jobs, society and even human existence. Republican and Democrat voters are unusually united in their concerns. Divorce rates are rising in China and the Communist party cannot stop them. And the politics of air-conditioning in a scorching Europe.

Guests and host:

• Robert Guest, Economist deputy editor
• Sarah Wu, China correspondent
• Lane Greene, seni...

Our correspondent joins an embed in Lebanon, where Israel claims that Hizbullah’s continued strength justifies its campaign. If Israel’s goals diverge from America’s, how does this affect peace talks over the Iran conflict? The impact of the oncoming “Godzilla" El Niño. And why Japan’s popular princess will never take the throne.

Guests and host:

• Anshel Pfeffer, Israel correspondent
• Catherine Brah...

On June 23rd 2016, Britain voted to leave the European Union, triggering years of argument, lost economic opportunities and political malaise. Our correspondents look back on the seismic moment and its aftershocks. And, as Britain prepares to get its seventh prime minister in a decade, we ask how the government can look forward to new opportunities.

Guests and host:

• Daniel Franklin, senior editor
• John Peet, associate editor
• Tom...

After winning a resounding victory for Britain’s Labour party two years ago, Sir Keir Starmer has announced his departure. As the country gets ready for its 7th prime minister in ten years, our correspondent asks if it has become ungovernable. A Trump-loving right winger wins Colombia’s presidency. And “Toy Story 5” sets the toys against technology. 

Guests and host:

• Hugo Gye, Britain political ed...

When Alexis de Tocqueville visited America from France in 1831 he saw a new kind of society. Not just a country, but an idea that would change the world. His book “Democracy in America” was a big influence on later generations of writers and thinkers, including The Economist’s US Editor John Prideaux. Now, 250 years after its birth, the vitality of that democracy is under question. In this series, John retraces th...

Andy Burnham won a by-election he needed in order to challenge Sir Keir Starmer, Britain’s prime minister. We look at the path ahead for him. The Iran deal seemingly promises a financial windfall for the country and its regime—one that its battered economy sorely needs. And the mythmaking of presidential libraries, as seen in the latest one: Barack Obama’s.

Watch extended clips from Insider here.

Guests and ...

As expected, the new Federal Reserve chairman kept rates steady. More interesting were what he did and did not say. How will he handle inevitable pressure from President Donald Trump? After nearly disappearing altogether, Germany’s left-wing Die Linke party is roaring back—particularly among the young. And a selection of our readers’ examples of upward-management tips and tricks.

Guests and host:

• Archie Hall...

Geopolitics has dominated this year’s G7 political meeting in Evian, France. Donald Trump offered scant detail on the Iran peace deal but leaders promised to boost support for Ukraine. Though prostitution in Japan has a long history, recent scandals have drawn it into the spotlight. And Britain’s Country Life magazine has a winning formula: ignore the news. 

Guests and host:

• Sophie Pedder, Paris bureau chief
• M...

The World Cup may seem to be proof that the digital commons centralises a global audience. We find that entertainment is in fact fragmenting, with big implications for soft power. Our series examining America’s 250 years of history tackles the AIDS crisis and the war on terror. And mosquitoes may in fact be attracted to a gold-standard repellent. 

Guests and host:

• Tom Wainwright, media editor
• Annie Crabill, senior d...

Despite exchanges of missiles and drones between Israel and Lebanon, the start of a deal was struck overnight. What exactly has been agreed, and will it hold? We examine the idea that part-nationalisation could be a way to share the coming onslaught of AI wealth. And our series on World Cup contenders concludes with a look at England’s side.

Guests and host:

• Gregg Carlstrom, Middle East correspondent
• Alex Domash, economi...

Tocqueville saw America’s faith in its own democracy as a vital force. But these days the majority of Americans think the country is headed in the wrong direction. Can a group of maximum security prisoners in Sing Sing offer a vision of how to get back on track?

Guests and Hosts

• John Prideaux, The Economist’s US Editor
• Sean Pica, executive director of Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison 
• Jean Frantz, pri...

John Prideaux, The Economist’s US Editor, embarks on a roadtrip to see how America’s democracy is faring in the era of Trump. 

His companion is a long-dead French aristocrat called Alexis De Tocqueville, author of arguably the best book ever written about America. 

When Tocqueville arrived in New York in 1831, it was a small, low-slung city where pigs roamed the streets. But he was able to see past that&...