The Intelligence from The Economist
The Economist
Get a daily burst of illumination from The Economist’s worldwide network of correspondents. Our reporters dig past the headlines to get to the stories beneath—and to stories that aren’t making headlines, but should be. A unique perspective on the issues and events shaping your world.
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Location:
United Kingdom
Genres:
News & Politics Podcasts
Networks:
The Economist
Description:
Get a daily burst of illumination from The Economist’s worldwide network of correspondents. Our reporters dig past the headlines to get to the stories beneath—and to stories that aren’t making headlines, but should be. A unique perspective on the issues and events shaping your world. Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ at http://www.economist.com/podcastsplus-intelligence. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about Economist Podcasts+, including how to get access, please visit our FAQs page at https://myaccount.economist.com/s/article/What-is-Economist-Podcasts Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
Language:
English
Episodes
For her eyes only: a new boss at MI6
9/5/2025
When the incoming chief of Britain’s secret services takes the helm on October 1st, she must balance competing priorities and navigate a world in which technology has made spycraft both tougher and riskier. Could nuclear power finally start to fulfil its potential? And remembering refugee and entrepreneur Stephanie Shirley.
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Duration:00:27:25
Mission possible: Baghdad is booming
9/4/2025
Our correspondent meets Iraq’s prime minister Muhammad al-Sudani to discuss the country’s construction boom, its future aspirations and the obstacles that must still be overcome. Visit America’s YIMBYiest neighbourhood: the place where Americans actually want to increase the local population. And how superstition in Hong Kong can haunt the economy.
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Duration:00:24:46
Sino-the-times: China gathers global allies
9/3/2025
World leaders flocked to China this week for an international summit followed by a giant military parade commemorating the end of the second world war. Xi Jinping is capitalising on the chaos of Donald Trump’s second term. AI is helping fraudsters and hackers become more productive. And why Britain’s crackdown on strip clubs may be misguided.
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Duration:00:21:17
Call the shots: vaccine cuts imperil global health
9/2/2025
America’s health secretary, RFK Jr, is known for his opposition to vaccines, particularly mRNA jabs, that have the potential to treat a large swathe of diseases. Slashing funding will have long term implications beyond America. Our correspondent visits Britain’s biggest and newest supercomputer. And why Mexicans love Japanese and Korean culture.
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Duration:00:21:26
Indonesia ablaze: Riots test Prabowo
9/1/2025
For the past week in Indonesia, protesters have taken to the streets and cities have burned. President Prabowo is still popular – now he faces a big test. Climate change threatens the collapse of an Atlantic current that helps make Europe habitable. And facekinis become a fashion item in China.
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Duration:00:22:42
Split ends: political in-fighting in Israel
8/29/2025
Prime minister Bibi Netanyahu is focused on his own political survival. Our correspondent explains how strategic differences within Israel have shaped the war in Gaza. As the new college sports season kicks off in America, players will be paid for the first time, upending the industry’s economics. And remembering Sen Genshitsu, 15th master of the Urasenke tea ceremony.
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Duration:00:25:47
Chill baby chill: Modi-Trump relations dip
8/28/2025
Yesterday Donald Trump imposed a 50% tariff on Indian imports to America, among the highest in the world. How will Narendra Modi respond? Why Palantir could be the most overvalued firm of all time. And film, vinyl and print media make a comeback.
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Duration:00:21:43
Fed alert: can Trump fire a governor?
8/27/2025
What does Donald Trump’s attempt to sack Lisa Cook, a Federal Reserve governor, mean for the institution’s independence? Uruguay may soon legalise assisted dying. And why shooting clubs – and other community associations – are thriving in Germany.
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Duration:00:23:28
Grand theft global: the business of street crime
8/26/2025
Car and phone theft were once the preserve of petty crooks in London. Now they underpin a vast and spreading international criminal network. Why you should consider consulting a new oracle for making big life decisions: an economist. And the cult of the private chef.
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Duration:00:19:37
That warm buzzy feeling: malaria and climate change
8/25/2025
As temperatures climb, mosquitoes will migrate to places where natural resistance to malaria is lower. More and more severe natural disasters will make for more breeding grounds. How to stop a deadly disease getting deadlier? In China’s cut-throat food-delivery war, absolutely no one wins. And Florida gamifies its efforts to cull pythons.
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Duration:00:24:43
Rule and divide: opposition grows in Syria
8/22/2025
Less than nine months after Syria’s dictator Bashar al-Assad was toppled, the honeymoon is over. How is the new regime responding to rising dissent? Introducing Britain’s revolutionary retirees: why pensioners increasingly dominate political protest. And celebrating the life of on-screen villain, Terence Stamp.
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Duration:00:23:38
Stake and chips: will America take 10% of Intel?
8/21/2025
Intel was once synonymous with chip-making, but in recent years it has fallen behind. Now the Trump administration may become its biggest shareholder. A political assassination in Colombia raises fears about a return to violence. And what an annual snail race tells us about rural England.
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Duration:00:21:03
Trouble in paradise: US plans for Pacific war
8/20/2025
With China as its new rival, America is reviving old wartime facilities across the Pacific. Our correspondent visits an abandoned airfield that has been given new life. The outlook for climate technology is surprisingly bright. And why the universe of Hello Kitty keeps expanding.
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Duration:00:22:34
On a win and a player: Britain’s gaming prowess
8/19/2025
As the world’s biggest gaming fair gets underway, our correspondent looks at the surprising success of Britain, the world’s third-largest exporter of video games. Europeans are giving up their vices, so the public takings from sin taxes are falling. And the rise of “Bangla Teslas”: battery-powered rickshaws in Bangladesh.
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Duration:00:18:38
Peace by piece? Zelensky and Trump meet again
8/18/2025
After an inconclusive summit between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday, the stakes are high for Volodymyr Zelensky’s meeting with the US president in Washington today. Enter the “solopreneur”: why AI is allowing entrepreneurs to start and grow businesses on their own. And a 400-year-old Chinese cough syrup is enjoying new-found popularity.
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Duration:00:21:06
A farewell to arms? Hamas considers its options
8/15/2025
Opinions of Hamas are shifting—among its international backers, in Gaza, even within its affiliates’ ranks. If it opts to disarm, what would happen next? A new analysis suggests using a sense of risk to explain markets’ movements might be focusing on the wrong emotion. And our final “Archive 1945” instalment relives VJ day through The Economist’s coverage at the time.
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Duration:00:24:28
Frozen conflict? A special episode in the Arctic
8/14/2025
In Norway’s north, a geopolitical quirk may yet transform into a geopolitical conflict. We visit Svalbard, an Arctic archipelago that contains a Russian company town complete with a bust of Lenin. Ahead of the high-stakes, high-north summit in Alaska, our correspondents lay out why—perhaps even more than the Baltic states—the Arctic might be the flashpoint for Russia’s next bout of expansionism.
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Duration:00:23:28
Just getting started: El Salvador’s president for life
8/13/2025
First he came for the gangs; then, for his critics. Now Nayib Bukele has come for El Salvador’s constitution, and there is little to stop him staying in office indefinitely. America’s paltry fertility numbers show a counterintuitive pattern: births are falling fastest where they were once highest. And France’s Provence region becomes a brand unto itself.
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Duration:00:23:07
Next top model: GPT-5 and its AI rivals
8/12/2025
A look at progress in generative AI shows that OpenAI’s latest, greatest model sits on a neat curve of growing utility over time. But what other firms are on that curve, and where is it taking humanity? After a long, wary time, Japanese savers are getting into investing—with gusto. And what goofy, small-time wrestling leagues reveal about today’s America.
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Duration:00:21:42
The summit of its parts: Ukraine, Trump and Putin
8/11/2025
What is on the table for the meeting in Alaska? What are the red lines? What chance Ukraine would accept what is agreed, especially if its president is not even in the room? Many world cities would like to become the Detroit of electric vehicles; our correspondent visits China’s contenders. And treatments improve for even the worst cases of allergies.
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Duration:00:23:49