Shows / The Intelligence from The Economist
The Intelligence from The Economist
Join Jason Palmer and Rosie Blau for noise-cancelling news and analysis from The Economist's global network of correspondents. Every weekday this award-winning podcast picks three stories shaping your world—the big shifts in politics, business and culture, plus things you never knew you needed to know. On Saturdays, download The Weekend Intelligence to dive deep into a single story, vividly told. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part…
Episodes
The Intelligence from The EconomistDamage collateral: a tide turns at COP27
An issue ignored for three decades came to dominate the summit’s agenda: reparations to poor countries for climate-driven “loss and damage”. Alas, halting…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
In come taxes: Britain’s austere economic plan
The “Autumn statement” was filled with belt-tightening, from stealthy tax rises to public-service cuts. But perhaps the bitterest part of the pill has been…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Musketeers heading for the exits: chaos at Twitter
Elon Musk gave Twitter’s remaining staff an ultimatum: commit to “working long hours at high intensity” for “hardcore” Twitter, or leave. We evaluate his reign…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Strike price: missiles fall in Poland
How did apparently Russian-made munitions kill two people on NATO soil? An accident in the fog of war seems likely, but listen closely: the immediate…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Get the Bali rolling: the G20 meet begins
The G20 Summit gets under way in Bali today at a time of tensions over Ukraine and Taiwan, and worries about high food and energy prices. We look at what…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Bolt from the blue: Democrats hold the Senate
America’s upper legislative chamber remains in Democrats’ hands; they may even expand their majority. We explain what that means for the Biden administration…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Tales from the crypto: An exchange implodes
At the start of this week, FTX was the world’s third-largest crypto exchange. After rumours of illiquidity swirled, customers pulled $6bn in assets. It now…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Beaten, a retreat: cautious hope in Kherson
Russia says it will withdraw from the only captured Ukrainian provincial capital. We ask how the drawdown might go and what it means for the wider war. Britain…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Red ripple: America’s midterm elections
America’s midterm elections have finished. While the full results may not be known for some time, Democrats appear to have outperformed expectations…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Who counts wins: Election-administration fears
In the final episode of our midterms series, we examine how the Republican party’s anti-democratic turn is putting pressure on election administrators. When he…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Degrees of risk: COP27 and the 1.5C myth
As the UN’s annual climate jamboree begins, our correspondent calls for a strong dose of realism: limiting warming to 1.5C is just no longer feasible. On…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Red fights and blue: America’s midterm elections
America’s midterm elections, which will determine control of both chambers of Congress, end on Tuesday. For the past three months our correspondents have been…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Peace meal: Ethiopia’s civil war
A surprise peace agreement should permit desperately needed humanitarian relief for millions in the region of Tigray—but there are reasons to doubt the…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
The elephant in the chamber? America’s midterms
Our election model suggests that at least one legislative chamber will revert to Republican control; we ask what sort of government would result. The breach of…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
The curious case of Binyamin’s butt-in: Israel’s election
After a 16-month absence from leadership, Binyamin Netanyahu is back at the centre of the country’s messy politics. We ask how his divisive ways will play out…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Falling tsar? Russians eye life after Putin
As President Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine continues to falter, Russian elites are now daring to consider the once unthinkable: a life after his leadership…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Once and future: Brazil’s Lula wins again
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a leftist former president, has won again. Even if President Jair Bolsonaro gracefully concedes, his followers and fellow party…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Elon-gate: the Musk-Twitter story
After months of wrangling, Elon Musk completed his deal to buy Twitter, and immediately sacked several top executives. We ask what’s next for the platform and…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Power play: electricity in Ukraine
Russia has been targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure with missiles and drones. Ukraine’s air defences are struggling to keep up, and many households are…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Tough Roe to go: abortion and the midterms
When America’s Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade, the conventional wisdom was that it would help Democrats by galvanising them for the midterm elections. Two…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Third time’s the charm? Britain’s new prime minister
Rishi Sunak becomes Britain’s prime minister today, making him the third in the past seven weeks. Our correspondent explains who he is, and analyses his road…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Number three for Xi: power in China
Xi Jinping won a third term as general secretary of the Chinese Communist Party. Our correspondent explains how the recent party congress solidified Xi’s grip…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
No wilt to go on: let us bid Truss goodbye
The Economist’s comparison of Liz Truss’s staying power to that of a lettuce captured global imaginations. Will the next prime minister have a longer…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Redrawing the lines: cocaine policy in Latin America
Regional leaders recognise the abject failure of the war on drugs. We speak with Colombia’s president about some bold new ideas to tackle the problem. Meta…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Variety in the price of life: inflation and the midterms
In the next instalment of our American midterms series we visit Rhode Island to see how inflation—at its highest since the early Reagan era—is affecting…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Hell hath no fury: a look inside Iran’s protests
Unrest is only spreading and the authorities trying to quell it are looking increasingly desperate. We hear from one protester among many who are racked by…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Helmsman’s high water: China’s Communist Party Congress
State media have taken to calling President Xi Jinping “the helmsman”; at the five-yearly meeting he defended his means of steering the country. We ask how to…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Witness self-protection programme? Trump and the Capitol riot inquiry
The former president may well ignore the January 6th committee’s summons; the whole affair may be unceremoniously shut down next year. But that is not to say…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Gilt trip: Liz Truss’s hobbled leadership
Paroxysms in the market for gilts—British-government bonds that were once safe-haven assets—reveal just how wounded the new government’s plans have left it…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Don kingmaker: Trump and the midterms
The latest instalment of our series asks how much difference Donald Trump’s imprimatur has made to candidates—and whether that influence will carry over to a…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Help them, Obi: one hopeful candidate in Nigeria
Our correspondent meets with Peter Obi, who has a handsome poll lead and an appeal that spans the country’s religions and ethnicities. But his presidential bid…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Crimea and punishment: Russia’s reprisals
An attack on the Kerch bridge—a pet project of President Vladimir Putin that links Russia with annexed Crimea—has prompted a swift and brutal response. We ask…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
The gains in Ukraine: stalled Russia plainly wanes
Ukraine’s army has pushed Russian forces back in the south and east. We ask how they’ve managed to make such impressive gains so quickly, whether more could…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Bloody and forgotten: Conflict in eastern Congo
Our correspondent reports from eastern Congo, where a three-decade-long conflict has killed thousands, and forced more than five million people from their…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
It does mean a thing: America’s swing voters
In the next instalment of our midterms series, we head to the suburbs of Atlanta in search of that rarest of political creatures: the swing voter. There aren’t…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Misplaced Truss? Britain’s ruling party meets
Prime Minister Liz Truss has had a bruising first few weeks in office. Amid policy U-turns and plummeting poll numbers, her Tory party’s annual shindig is a…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Poll vaulter: Brazil’s surprise election result
Jair Bolsonaro, the incumbent president, did unexpectedly well—giving his campaign a boost and foreshadowing a tough run-up to the second round. Malawi’s…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Form-annex trick: Russia’s Ukraine-seizure bid
After a series of sham referendums, President Vladimir Putin is expected to annex four partly occupied regions of Ukraine. We ask what risks that move would…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Lula loop: meeting Brazil’s presidential front-runner
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a leftist former president, looks well-placed to win a third term. But which Lula would Brazil get—the fiscal conservative or the…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Off the top of their heads: Iran’s widespread protests
Women are burning their hijabs on bonfires and hacking off their hair—but the unrest has come to be about far more than the heavy hands of the morality police…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
In for a penny, in for a pounding: Britain’s economic gyrations
The markets are so far entirely unconvinced that the new administration’s Reagan-esque economic plans will work to spur growth—just look at sterling's tumble…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Giorgia on my mind: Italy’s far-right government
Italians have voted decisively for a coalition of right-wing parties, with Giorgia Meloni, leader of the Brothers of Italy, the likely next prime minister…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Empire State v real-estate empire: Donald Trump’s legal woes
Letitia James, New York’s attorney general, announced a sweeping lawsuit against Donald Trump, his businesses and three of his children. He’s also being…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Inflation nation: The Fed raises rates, again
America’s Federal Reserve made its third straight 0.75% interest-rate hike, with Jerome Powell, the Fed’s chair, warning that more hikes would follow. But with…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
The 300,000 body problem: Russia mobilises and threatens
This morning Vladimir Putin announced that Russia would call up more troops to fight in Ukraine, said his goal of “liberating” eastern Ukraine remained…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Charles in charge: the future of the Commonwealth
Elizabeth II was devoted to the Commonwealth, a club of countries that are home to one-third of the world’s population. What is its future under Charles III?…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
The first draft is history: Chile’s rejected constitution
Two years in the making, the country’s new foundational document was summarily swatted down in a referendum. We ask how it went so wrong, and what comes next…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Minority report: the Rohingya, five years on
Five years after a brutal campaign that drove nearly 750,000 out of Myanmar and into Bangladesh, conditions for the Muslim minority remain appalling on both…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Xi sells sanctuary: a telling Putin meeting
As the presidents of China and Russia meet in Uzbekistan, we examine their friendship. They have much in common—but Russia’s prosecution of the war in Ukraine…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Cautiousness in the Caucasus: Azerbaijan and Armenia clash
A conflict smouldering since a war in 2020 has again caught alight; Azerbaijan may feel emboldened by a distracted Russia and its own energy prospects. Gulf…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Joule of denial: Russia’s energy games
Vladimir Putin hopes the threat of cutting off fuel supplies this winter will weaken Europe’s support for Ukraine. European leaders are trying to cobble…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Russian rush-out: Ukraine’s stunning gains
Russia has lost in a week what cost it months to gain in eastern Ukraine. We ask what the lightning counter-offensive means for the war. What is more…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Beyond the call of duty: Britain’s queen dies
The death of Queen Elizabeth II marks the end of an era. We explore her long, dutiful reign and how it shaped the modern monarchy. The country has changed…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Playing his Trump card: Bolsonaro and the election
In Brazil, fears are growing that if Jair Bolsonaro loses in October, as polls suggest is likely, he may try to stage a coup or foment violence. He’s been…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
America’s next top model: predicting the midterm results
Our model, built to predict the outcome of this year’s midterm elections, tips Republicans to take the House and Democrats to retain control of the Senate. The…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Deed of Truss: Britain’s new leader
As Liz Truss becomes prime minister, we ask whether her meat-and-potatoes tax-slashing agenda will work for a crisis-stricken Britain. Japan’s prison…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Cereal numbers: the fall in food prices
The worst predictions for costs have not come to pass, partly because Russia is selling plenty of wheat. But plenty of food-price woe may still await. We…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
No quiet on any front: Ethiopia’s clash of conflicts
After a five-month hiatus, violence has returned to the northern region of Tigray—but that is just one of the conflicts threatening to pull the country to…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Ready, steady, slow: Ukraine’s bid for Kherson
The long-trailed counter-offensive to retake the Russian-occupied regional powerhouse and symbolically powerful provincial capital has begun. But Ukraine’s…
- The Intelligence from The Economist
Iron Curtain call: Mikhail Gorbachev
The leader who oversaw the Soviet Union’s collapse had only intended to reform it. But the propaganda and repression he abhorred were what held it together. A…