Economist Podcasts

Donald Trump claims to have brokered a deal to import Russian diesel and an energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. As attacks on Kyiv continue, our deputy editor says Trump is risking Ukraine’s future for a mid-term bounce. India’s government is failing to quell Gen Z protests. And how song binds us together and brings joy.

Guests and host:

• Edward Carr, deputy editor of The Economist
• Kira Hu...

A year ago Donald Trump created the Board of Peace to rebuild Gaza. Yet for many Palestinians, life is even harder, as the ceasefire is repeatedly violated, crime is rising and poverty rife. Why record labels are in a spin over AI music. And Japan is struggling to benefit from the global matcha boom.

Guests and host:

• Nicolas Pelham, Middle East correspondent
• Henry Tricks, US technology and media editor
• Moeka Ii...

This weekend, Yemeni rebels struck Saudi Arabia’s international airport in the deadliest attack on a Gulf Arab country since the Iran war began in February. Our correspondent reports from Riyadh. How European manufacturers are adjusting to high energy prices and war. And the revival of writing by hand.

Guests and host:

• Gregg Carlstrom, Middle East correspondent
• Guy Scriven, global business writer
• Caitlin ...

Decades of messaging have not worked, so governments are trying new ways to get citizens to eat well, from scary labelling to taxing the junkiest foods. Will it work? The death of a plague researcher in Russia is made more mysterious by the government’s resolute lack of transparency. And a tribute to Cyril Hilsum, the inventor behind ubiquitous flat-screen displays.

Watch extended clips from Insider <...

Bond yields across the rich world keep ticking up. We take a global look at where the risks are mounting most, and just how much worry is warranted. What might have once seemed fanciful is becoming real: delivering daylight to dark parts of the world using mirrors in space. And the fatal earnestness of “The Social Reckoning”.

Guests and host:

• Alex Domash, economics correspondent
• Tim Cross, senior sci...

What started as a small protest about conditions of a school and of schooling has mushroomed, and tapped into national anxieties that may prove hard to tame. In the context of the “Cornell 7” case we examine Title IX, the statute that should protect students—but that is failing. And how peddling superstitions to financiers is big business in India.

Guests and host:

• Sophie Pedder, Paris bureau chie...

Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is gambling that anger about housing might solidify his mandate in a snap poll. Most probably it will instead add to the rightward shift in European politics. America’s beef prices have never been higher, so why is it that the meatpackers have it so tough? And the battery technology to improve medical diagnostics you can swallow.

Listen to our episode of “Babbage” ...

Flávio Bolsonaro, populist-right son of the imprisoned coup architect Jair, received the most votes in the presidential first round. We ask why Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the incumbent, fell behind—and what is at stake when they go head-to-head. We examine Americans’ growing anger at automatic number-plate-reading cameras. And the demanding but lucrative business of nannying the children of the supe...

If Artificial Intelligence results in job losses or lower salaries, government revenues will fall. Our correspondent explains how best to tax the windfalls from AI. Paint is a surprisingly cheap way to cool buildings. And remembering the life of Stanislas Hutin, who revealed France’s barbarity in Algeria.

Watch extended clips from Insider here

Guests and host:

• Callum Williams, senior economics wri...

Russia has embarked on a new campaign to quell Ukraine, focused on supermarkets, playgrounds and other civilian targets. Our correspondent reports on the toll on daily life in Kyiv. Despite the backlash against “pervert glasses”, companies continue to develop AI-enabled smart specs. And how the pen changed history.

Guests and host:

• Oliver Carroll, Ukraine correspondent
• Henry Tricks, US technology edit...

An independent commission has found Manchester City guilty of breaching over 100 rules. What penalty will the Premier League exact? Russia’s increasingly brazen attempts to provoke and undermine Europe. And why cute Chiikawa, star of a Japanese blockbuster, gives comfort in anxious times.

Subscribers can listen to “Kidulting” on “The Weekend Intelligence”

Guests and host:

• Sonny L...

On October 4th, Brazil faces a polarising general election: re-elect the octogenarian incumbent or pick the son of a former president jailed for attempting a coup. In some countries honour culture holds women back from even entering the workplace. And why artists are banning phones from concerts.

Guests and host:

• Ana Lankes, Brazil correspondent
• Robert Guest, deputy editor
• Vicky Jessop, culture writer
• Rosie Bla...

Five men are in custody under suspicion of explosives and terrorism offences after being arrested near a British military base used by American aircraft. This could mark a significant escalation in Iranian hybrid warfare. What oil firms are doing with their profits from the Gulf conflict. And why women’s wages rise after their male managers have daughters.

Guests and host:

• Matthew Symonds, contributing editor
• ...

Not much of real substance appears to have emerged from the get-together. But our correspondent says there are clues of how both sides view an evolving relationship. Tommy Robinson, a British far-right influencer, is increasingly well known to MAGA types in America; we examine his rise to prominence. And remembering Bob Mackie, daring dressmaker to the stars.

Watch extended clips from Insider here

Guests and host:

• Simon Ra...

Rich-world house prices survived the last fit of interest-rate rises; our correspondent lays out why they may not this time. Nine months after Australia banned social media for under-16s, we ask if anything has changed. And a critical look at Israel’s hit show “Fauda” as it tackles the atrocities of October 7th.

Guests and host:

• Callum Williams, senior economics writer
• Josh Spencer, Asia new...

Marine Le Pen, party leader of France’s populist-right National Rally, starts her fourth presidential bid with a commanding lead. The country’s political centre is broad, fragmented—and flagging. A buffer zone against so-called infiltrators in India’s West Bengal state is making life miserable also for Indian citizens. And how Argentina’s supply of horses and cowboys led to world domin...

An illicit shadow economy, rampant extortion and the capture of the criminal justice system: mafia members and tactics are eating away at the state. Oura seems to have captured the market for smart rings; we ask whether it can keep its lead finger-tight. And our correspondent finds convention upended, for good and bad, at the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art.

Two more state-election results reveal surging support for both the far-right AfD and the populist-left Die Linke parties. Chancellor Friedrich Merz himself described the outcome as a disaster; what will it mean for him? Our correspondent looks into why there is so much enthusiasm for African stocks. And what the science says about blue-light exposure and sleep. 

After a visit to Ukraine last week, our defence editor reports on a new phase of the war as Kyiv and other civilian targets are bombarded by Russian missiles. He also visits an elite Ukrainian drone unit. Why alcohol companies are scrambling to innovate. And remembering the life of feminist pioneer Gloria Steinem. Watch extended clips from Insider