Economist Podcasts
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Economist Podcasts
Every weekday our global network of correspondents makes sense of the stories beneath the headlines. We bring you surprising trends and tales from around the world, current affairs, business and finance — as well as science and technology. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more...
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1886 episodes
Power ballot: Japanese PM’s electoral gamble
Japan’s prime minister Takaichi Sanae has called an election three months into her term. Can she capitalise on her popularity, or will her less-popula...
Thin ice: could the Greenland clash kill NATO?
Donald Trump has promised to impose a 10% tariff on eight countries, all NATO members, that oppose his plan to acquire Greenland. As the argument over...
Clutching at shahs: Iran’s would-be revolutionary
Reza Pahlavi, son of the shah deposed in the 1979 revolution, tells us he sees himself as the people’s choice to lead. We ask how that might work. Our...
Maria-view mirror: asking Venezuelans what they want now
As Maria Corina Machado, Venezuela’s opposition leader, meets with President Donald Trump, we talk through our exclusive polling on what the country w...
Independence Jay? Inflation and attacks on the Fed
More inflation numbers, more jabs by President Donald Trump at Jay Powell, the Federal Reserve chairman. We ask what the Fed is doing, should be doing...
Lowering the steaks: a Mercosur deal at last
From Argentinian beef to German cars, a freshly inked deal between the EU and a bloc of South American countries should ease trade barriers—and is a s...
Strike fear: Iran’s protests and Israel
Each country fears an attack from the other: Iran may wish to distract from internal conflict, Israel to exploit it. In an interview with Prime Minist...
Shah caller: Iran’s protests are different this time
Demonstrations are growing once again—but this time the message is notably different, and the regime has little means available to calm tensions. Wher...
Oil pressure: America’s tanker seizures
It had real dramatic elements: a (slow) chase scene, faked locations, a literal false flag, a daring helicopter descent. But what is the broader pictu...
In the line of fires: LA’s ashen suburbs one year on
We return to the Los Angeles suburbs that were consumed by wildfires a year ago. The varying rebuilding efforts reveal divides in wealth, but also str...
Xi’s not there: what China’s Venezuela response reveals
The countries have a decades-long relationship—debt freely given in one direction and plenty of oil sold in the other. Yet America’s intervention has...
Nicolás caged: what next for Venezuela?
America’s National Security Strategy, released a month ago, suggested the administration’s focus was on dominance of the western hemisphere. But no on...
State of the art: Chinese market flounders
Property wealth in China turbo-charged investment in art. Now house prices have crashed, art sales may follow. Are Britons really leaving the country...
What in the world: predictions for 2026
The editor of our annual “World Ahead” publication predicts the themes and events that will dominate the headlines in 2026, from geopolitics to tech....
Years ending: notable lives lost in 2025
Today’s show is a tribute to those whose lives we remembered this year. From Pope Francis, the most open-minded pontiff for decades, and controversial...
Boom with a view: our economy of the year
Announcing the return of The Economist’s annual ranking for best performing economy. Are you ready for the big reveal? Dalit cuisine is barely visible...
Generals’ selection: Myanmar’s sham poll
Five years after seizing power in a coup, the military junta in Myanmar is holding an election. Yet all credible opposition has been banned. And war h...
Battle of the texts: which books changed the world?
So many books are published each year; few stand the test of time. Today we devote our whole show to asking which works have shaped the way we behave...
So this is quizmas: our inaugural holiday face-off
Join our editors and correspondents in a gripping test of recall and reflexes. There are questions on business and politics of course—but also news no...
Growing pains: a recession in recessions
Recessions are, in their way, bad news. But so, paradoxically, is a lasting dearth of them. We explain the dangers that lie beneath the current run of...
Slop stars: why AI-generated content could help creators
In a world of infinite content, who wins and who loses? Our correspondent explains what the proliferation of AI-generated art means for human artists....
Country of the year: The Economist’s pick for 2025
Each year, The Economist tries to identify which country has improved the most, whether economically, politically or in other ways. In a turbulent yea...
Weight boss? Competition for Novo Nordisk
Since Novo Nordisk launched Wegovy in 2021, it has dominated the fast-growing market for slimming drugs. Now a new jab is eating into the Danish firm’...
Emissions possible: EU petrol ban quashed
The European Union had promised to ban the sale of new diesel and petrol vehicles by 2035, as part of its environmental ambitions. Yesterday it watere...
After Bondi: how to tackle extremism
As the Australian authorities continue their investigation into Sunday’s deadly attack on a Hannukah party in Sydney, investigators have uncovered a p...
Judgement day: Jimmy Lai convicted
Today Hong Kong’s most prominent media mogul was convicted of flouting national security legislation. Our correspondent explains the consequences for...
Right, here, waiting: Europe’s populists on the rise
In Britain, Germany and France, populist-right leaders and parties are making hay. What unites their movements, and how do their respective political...
Ven and the art of hemispheric maintenance: America’s national-security posture
America’s seizure of a Venezuelan oil tanker fits with the stated goals in its new national-security strategy: untrammelled hemispheric dominance. How...
Digital stimulation: AI and porn
At every technological revolution, the industry of indecency is close at hand. We look at how sex workers and porn-peddlers are making use of AI. The...
“You’re….fired?” A momentous Supreme Court case
Of all the sackings at federal level President Donald Trump has carried out—and that the Supreme Court has upheld—the one now under consideration has...
Transitional injustice: Syria one year after Assad
A year after ousting its despot, things are not as bad as many had feared. But old sectarian divides threaten the peace. Forced labour, sex tourism an...
The Weekend Intelligence: Operation Midas
Ukraine has been hit by a corruption scandal. One that strikes at the core of the political establishment in a way never before seen—and this in a cou...
Keir in the headlights: interviewing Britain’s PM
The Economist’s editor-in-chief Zanny Minton Beddoes met Sir Keir Starmer for “The Insider”, our new video offering. We bring you the analysis. Why ex...
Delhi-novela: Putin and Modi rekindle bromance
As Vladimir Putin begins a two-day visit to India, our correspondent explains why Donald Trump’s policies have pushed India and Russia closer together...
Stars and strikes: was America’s ship-bomb illegal?
America’s attacks on possible drug boats in the Caribbean is already controversial. Now critics are questioning the legality of one particular strike...
The great wheel: China’s Robotaxi revolution
Once derided as a copycat nation, China is now leading the world in innovation, from driverless cars to pharmaceuticals. Our correspondent explains wh...
Deal them back in? What we heard in Iran
Our correspondents get a feel for today’s Tehran: no morality police but still much fear of speaking out. And the foreign minister indicates a desire...
Fire, then fury: Hong Kong’s deadly blaze
The dead are still being found; the displaced huddle in public spaces. Who or what will be blamed, and what policies will change after the tragedy? We...
The Weekend Intelligence: Mise en masse
Chef Gary Thomas has a lot on his plate. That’s because he’s in the business of feeding thousands of people a day on a ship in the middle of the ocean...
Growth negligence: Britain’s budget
The tax-and-spend plan was fine-tuned to avoid immediate political jeopardy. But it will do little to help Britain’s chronic growth problem, and is li...