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 EconomistBack to the USSR: Russia and Ukraine
As border tensions continue to build, our Russia editor looks back to the fall of the Soviet Union to explain why Russia has never accepted Ukraine’s…
The Intelligence from The EconomistCentre of no attention: Chile’s presidential election
As the vote’s second round has neared, the candidates have shifted, a bit, from their positions at opposite ends of the political spectrum. Which radical…
The Intelligence from The EconomistMoney printer slow brrr: the Fed turns down the taps
America’s central bank plans to pinch off its massive bond-buying programme much faster in a bid to stall inflation; our correspondent says it is perhaps a…
The Intelligence from The EconomistIn full swing: Ethiopia’s shifting civil war
More than a year after a rebellion Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed promised to put down in weeks, the balance of power keeps swinging—and neighbouring states may…
The Intelligence from The EconomistTwister of fate? Tornadoes and climate change
Many have been quick to link the tornado catastrophe in America’s Upland South to climate change; we ask why that is a tricky connection to draw. Citizenship…
The Intelligence from The EconomistProtein shake-up: getting to know Omicron
The latest “variant of concern” has spread far—and fast. We examine what has been learned about it at equally striking speed, and ask what to look out for…
The Intelligence from The EconomistUnsafe as houses? Evergrande and China’s big plans
The wildly indebted property firm has defaulted at last. That poses big risks as China’s leadership works to refashion financial markets and draw in foreign…
The Intelligence from The EconomistAin’t no party: scandals hobble Britain’s government
At two years into Boris Johnson’s premiership, yet more scandal ensures attention will still stray from the sweeping agenda of change he promised. An…
The Intelligence from The EconomistCDU later: Angela Merkel’s successor
For the first time in 16 years Mrs Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union is out of Germany’s government. We ask what to expect from Olaf Scholz, the new…
The Intelligence from The EconomistOff the warpath: America 80 years after Pearl Harbour
The Japanese attack set America on a course toward military hegemony; recent administrations have walked it back. We ask what the country would fight for now…
The Intelligence from The EconomistThe first sentence of the story: Aung San Suu Kyi
Myanmar’s ousted leader has been sentenced to four years in prison; more guilty verdicts are expected soon. That will only fuel unrest that has not ceased…
The Intelligence from The EconomistTaiwan thing after another: the Solomon Islands
The archipelago’s diplomatic pivot to China has added an international dimension to the latest flare-up of domestic tensions. We ask how this tiny state…
The Intelligence from The EconomistRoe blow? SCOTUS weighs abortion rights
The conservative supermajority on America’s Supreme Court looks likely to strip back rights enshrined since the Roe v Wade ruling in 1973. Beset by natural…
The Intelligence from The EconomistThe house that Jack built: Twitter’s founder departs
Jack Dorsey’s departure from the social-media giant reflects the growing primacy of engineering talent, and the waning mythology of the big-tech founder…
The Intelligence from The EconomistCentrifugal forces: Iran nuclear talks resume
Things were all smiles after negotiations resumed—but it is difficult to see how a middle ground can be reached in Iran’s nuclear ambitions. Apple’s surprise…
The Intelligence from The EconomistPriority letter: the Omicron variant
Governments’ rapid responses to a new coronavirus strain were wise. But much is still to be learned about the Omicron variant before longer-term policies can…
The Intelligence from The EconomistA cut-rate theory: Turkey’s currency spiral
As President Recep Tayyip Erdogan keeps pushing his upside-down economic ideas, the currency plummets and an immiserated population grows restless. Sunday’s…
The Intelligence from The EconomistYou put your left side in: Germany’s shake-about
A three-way coalition has struck a deal to govern. We ask who’s who among top ministers and what’s what on the newly centre-left agenda. A shortage of lorry…
The Intelligence from The EconomistAmerica’s sneezing: diagnosing global inflation
Prices are up all over, especially in America. But whether the world’s largest economy is part of the problem or just suffering the same symptoms will…
The Intelligence from The EconomistNew bid on the bloc: Europe and vaccine mandates
A Delta wave is driving restrictions and restrictions are driving unrest. Vaccine mandates like that enacted by Austria may be the only way to end the cycle…
The Intelligence from The EconomistLeft, right and no centre: Chile’s elections
The presidential election will now go to a run-off—between candidates of political extremes. We ask how that polarisation will affect promised constitutional…
The Intelligence from The EconomistState of profusion: governments just keep growing
Some factors that drive relentless growth in state spending are eternal; some are getting stronger. Our correspondent outlines a big-government future. We…
The Intelligence from The EconomistGeorgia undermined: protests and a hunger strike
Mikheil Saakashvili, a former president, is seven weeks into a hunger strike and protests supporting him are proliferating. We ask where the country is headed…
The Intelligence from The EconomistDefrost setting: the Xi-Biden summit
The meeting between superpower presidents was cordial and careful, but it will take far more than a video call to smooth such frosty relations. Europe once had…
The Intelligence from The EconomistWhite flagged: Cuba’s muted protests
White roses, white sheets hung from homes, even white t-shirts: a movement’s symbolic colour was not much in evidence after officials quashed national…
The Intelligence from The EconomistPeronists’ peril: Argentina’s elections
The ruling party got a pasting at the polls, owing in part to a reeling economy. We ask what the opposition’s gains mean for the country. The practice of…
The Intelligence from The EconomistThe heat is on: COP26’s final hours
The climate summit in Glasgow is in its last official day, but looks sure to overrun as negotiators thrash out an agreement. When the talking’s over, what will…
The Intelligence from The EconomistPutin’s defiers: repression in Russia
As the economy has deteriorated and the internet has bypassed television, persecution of opponents has become the president’s main tool of political control…
The Intelligence from The EconomistTrouble at the border: Belarus and the EU
Around 2,000 people from the Middle East are at the European Union’s eastern frontier. Alexander Lukashenko, the autocratic Belarusian president, promised them…
The Intelligence from The EconomistDream on: Biden and social mobility
Americans born at the bottom of the economic ladder find it harder than past generations—or their peers abroad—to climb to the top. The president has plans to…
The Intelligence from The EconomistControl the past: rewriting Chinese history
Over four days in Beijing, the political and military elite are meeting to recast the past. The revised version will depict Xi Jinping as a giant of the…
The Intelligence from The EconomistTigrayans turn the tables: Ethiopia’s war
Few imagined when Ethiopia’s civil war began a year ago that the capital, Addis Ababa, would come under threat from Tigrayan rebels. We explain why the tide…
The Intelligence from The EconomistCovering the ground: trees and COP26
At the global climate summit, more than 100 countries have promised to end deforestation by 2030. Similar promises have been made before, but might this time…
The Intelligence from The EconomistPower failure: South Africa’s ANC stumbles
For the first time since the end of white rule, South Africa’s governing African National Congress is set to win less than half the vote, albeit in local…
The Intelligence from The EconomistThe Floyd factor: American police reform
More than a year after George Floyd was murdered by a Minneapolis policeman, the city votes on an overhaul of its force. We examine America’s shifting debate…
The Intelligence from The EconomistCool heads needed: COP26 begins
World leaders are gathering in Glasgow for the UN climate summit. Can they agree on the path to meeting the goals set in Paris six years ago, to stabilise…
The Intelligence from The EconomistGoing critical: Iran’s nuclear programme
The Islamic Republic is closer than ever to a bomb’s worth of fissile material. Talks with America and other countries will resume next month, but hopes of an…
The Intelligence from The EconomistCompetitive spirit: tech after the pandemic
After a year of breakneck growth, the big five tech companies—Alphabet, Amazon, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft—are coming back down to earth. We look at how the…
The Intelligence from The EconomistWinter is coming: Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis
Two months after the Taliban’s victory, civilians face a looming disaster. Will Western governments dig their heels in, or turn the aid taps back on? India’s…
The Intelligence from The EconomistTrouble in Khartoum: Sudan’s coup
Just as the country was moving towards democracy, its generals have overthrown the civilians—again. We look at what sparked the unrest, and why coups in Africa…
The Intelligence from The EconomistYou shall not pass: standardising vaccine passports
Covid certificates are a global mess, with countries operating a patchwork of incompatible systems. We look at why it’s so difficult to standardise digital…
The Intelligence from The EconomistFlu into a rage: Brazil’s Bolsonaro inquiry
President Jair Bolsonaro’s early dismissal of the pandemic as “a little flu” presaged a calamitous handling of the crisis. We ask how a congressional…
The Intelligence from The EconomistStates of emergency: Nigeria
Criminal gangs in north-western states, jihadists in the north-east, a rebellion in the south-east: kidnappers, warlords and cattle rustlers are making the…
The Intelligence from The EconomistGas-trick distress: a visit to Ukraine
Russia continues to pile pressure on the country, and will soon have the power to cut off its natural gas. Our correspondent pays a visit to find how…
The Intelligence from The EconomistMeeting them where they are: a British MP’s murder
Sir David Amess was killed doing what he loved: speaking directly with voters. We examine the dangers inherent in the “constituency surgeries” that British…
The Intelligence from The EconomistChinese draggin’: growth slows
A paltry GDP rise is down to the pandemic, power and property. We ask what growing pains President Xi Jinping will endure in the name of economic reforms…
The Intelligence from The EconomistPort, and a storm: sectarian violence in Lebanon
The effort to investigate last year’s port explosion in Beirut has fired up political and religious tensions—resulting in Lebanon’s worst violence in years. We…
The Intelligence from The EconomistFor watt it’s worth: energy markets’ squeeze
A fossil-fuel scramble reveals energy markets in desperate need of a redesign. We examine what must be done to secure a renewable future. Throngs of Hong Kong…
The Intelligence from The EconomistKeep your friends close: Pakistan’s shifting role
As the Taliban’s closest ally, the country bears a big responsibility for Afghanistan’s fate. We examine its diplomatic risks and opportunities. Mastercard is…
The Intelligence from The EconomistExit Poles? A bold challenge to the EU
After a court ruling in Poland that is an affront to a core European Union principle, Poles hit the streets—fearing a “Pol-exit” they do not want. Who will…
The Intelligence from The EconomistZero-to-some game: Asia-Pacific covid-19 plans crack
Where governments enacted zero-tolerance coronavirus strategies, numbers indeed stayed low. That was before the Delta variant. We ask how countries can now…
The Intelligence from The EconomistStrait of tension: Chinese jets test Taiwan
China has sent more than 100 planes to probe Taiwan’s air-defence zone. We explain why Beijing has chosen this moment to send a message across the strait. The…
The Intelligence from The EconomistHow to lose friends and alienate people: Ethiopia’s civil war
Abiy Ahmed is sworn in again as prime minister, even as continuing strife increases the country’s isolation. Our correspondent witnesses the gruesome aftermath…
The Intelligence from The EconomistTicker shock: London’s wheezing stockmarket
A global financial centre must move with the times, and—so far—London has not. Our correspondent lays out the causes of the malaise, and how to fix it. For…
The Intelligence from The EconomistWhen it goes dark: Facebook’s terrible week
Yesterday’s global outage is not even the worst of it: today’s congressional testimony will examine a whistleblower’s allegations that the company knows its…
The Intelligence from The EconomistDocket launch: a new term for America’s Supreme Court
The court will be tackling just about every judicial and social flashpoint in the country during the term that starts today; our correspondent lays out the…
The Intelligence from The EconomistThe courage of two convictions: Nicolas Sarkozy
The first conviction of France’s former president shocked the nation; the second confirms for citizens that, these days, politicians will be held to account…
The Intelligence from The EconomistNobody’s fuel: Britain’s shortages
From chicken to petrol, Britons are facing long queues and bare shelves. We ask about the multifarious reasons behind the shortfalls, and how long they will…
The Intelligence from The EconomistSuga-free Diet: Japan’s next leader
The ruling party’s choice for its president—a shoo-in for prime minister—seems to overlook the people’s will. We ask how Kishida Fumio is likely to lead, and…
The Intelligence from The EconomistA run for its money: funding crunches in Congress
America’s crash of deadlines carries risks for the government’s budget and just possibly its sovereign debt, and threatens Joe Biden’s presidency-defining…