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 the winner of "Best Daily Show" at the 2026 British Podcast Awards, 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.
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Episodes
The Intelligence from The EconomistPutsch back: Africa’s latest coup in Guinea
It is unclear whether better governance lies ahead after a military takeover; what is certain is that Africa’s unwelcome trend of defenestrations has returned…
The Intelligence from The EconomistThe call before the storm? Brazil’s protests
Tens of thousands of people aligned with President Jair Bolsonaro held protests—at his direction. Yet the numbers are increasingly aligned against him as he…
The Intelligence from The EconomistBitcoin of the realm: El Salvador’s experiment
President Nayib Bukele thinks obliging businesses to take the cryptocurrency will help with remittances, inclusion and foreign investment. So far, few are…
The Intelligence from The EconomistHeartbeat of the matter: Texas’s draconian abortion law
The Supreme Court’s surprise decision to let the country’s harshest “heartbeat bill” stand bodes ill for the landmark Roe v Wade decision; we ask what happens…
The Intelligence from The EconomistTaking the fifth: Venezuela’s talks
Four previous resolution meetings involving President Nicolás Maduro have changed little. This time international backing and aligned incentives might at last…
The Intelligence from The EconomistReeling and dealing: how to engage the Taliban
In some ways America has more leverage now that its forces have left; we ask how diplomatic and aid efforts should proceed in order to protect ordinary…
The Intelligence from The EconomistOut for blood: the Theranos trial
Elizabeth Holmes founded a big blood-testing startup; her claims were founded on very little. As her trial begins we ask how the company got so far before it…
The Intelligence from The EconomistCDU later? Germany’s topsy-turvy election
The party of Angela Merkel, the outgoing chancellor, is flailing in polls. We ask why the race has been so unpredictable and what outcomes now seem probable…
The Intelligence from The EconomistBanks note: the Jackson Hole meeting
The message for central bankers at the annual jamboree: relax a bit about inflation and be loud and clear about plans to stanch the cash being pumped into…
The Intelligence from The EconomistThe terror of their ways: Kabul and global jihadism
The suicide-bombings that have killed scores of people signal how the Taliban will struggle to rule Afghanistan; meanwhile the rest of the world’s jihadist…
The Intelligence from The EconomistTo all, appearances: Israel’s PM in Washington
Naftali Bennett’s first face-to-face meeting with President Joe Biden will look calm and co-operative. But in time, sharp differences will strain the “reset”…
The Intelligence from The EconomistDelta‘s force: Australia’s covid plans crumble
For a while, closed borders and strict contact-tracing held the coronavirus at bay. What lessons to take now the Delta variant has broken through in the…
The Intelligence from The EconomistHow you like them: Apple’s decade under Tim Cook
The tech firm has ballooned under his leadership, but Mr Cook’s next ten years will not be as rosy as the first. We ask how he can maintain Apple’s shine…
The Intelligence from The EconomistAnnexed question, please: Ukraine’s summit on Crimea
President Volodymyr Zelensky wants to draw attention to Russia’s continued occupation of Crimea, and its failure to look after the region’s citizens. A new…
The Intelligence from The EconomistValue-free investing: China and Afghanistan
The Taliban’s takeover is a boon for China’s propaganda machine: America is tired, its policies disastrous, its values a distraction. Meanwhile China has its…
The Intelligence from The EconomistFits and starts: SARS-CoV-2’s origin
In the end, the World Health Organisation’s report in March revealed little. We ask why the coronavirus origin story is so crucial, and whether China will ever…
The Intelligence from The EconomistStymie a river: the American West dries up
The first-ever water shortage declared for the Colorado River is just one sign of troubles to come; as the climate changes, century-old water habits and…
The Intelligence from The EconomistIt rains, it pours: Haiti’s tragedy compounds
A president’s assassination, a cratered economy and now this: a tropical depression that will hamper rescue efforts after a massive earthquake. The country…
The Intelligence from The EconomistNothing to break the fall: Afghanistan
The fall of Kabul, the capital, sealed the country’s fate: after 20 years, the Taliban are back in charge—a fearsome outcome for its people and for the Biden…
The Intelligence from The EconomistThicket and boarding pass: travel’s tangle of rules
Restrictions are opaque, fickle and often illiberal—and it is not even clear how much they help curb the coronavirus. Chinese officials want to boost the…
The Intelligence from The EconomistBridges and divides: America’s infrastructure push
The Senate has passed the first part of President Joe Biden’s mammoth plan, which is now tied to a far more ambitious part two. We examine their prospects for…
The Intelligence from The EconomistBlazed and confused: Turkey’s raging fires
Across the Mediterranean and beyond, flames are consuming the landscape. Our correspondent says Turkey’s government helped make the country a tinderbox and was…
The Intelligence from The EconomistShots or fired: America’s vaccine mandates
Inoculation or testing requirements are spreading nearly as fast as the Delta variant. But it is not clear they will actually drive more people to get…
The Intelligence from The EconomistHot prospects: a sobering IPCC report
The UN climate body’s latest doorstopper report is unequivocal: climate change is human-caused, and already here—and 1.5°C of warming is looking ever harder to…
The Intelligence from The EconomistComing in harder: Iran’s new president
Ebrahim Raisi takes office as the country is blamed for multiple attacks in the region; a more mistrustful, hardline and aggressive regime awaits. Our…
The Intelligence from The EconomistNo consent of the governed: Andrew Cuomo on the brink
After a damning report into sexual-harassment allegations, support for New York’s governor has cratered. He is hanging on—for now. LinkedIn seems to do a brisk…
The Intelligence from The EconomistNo port, still a storm: Lebanon a year after the blast
The explosion at Beirut’s port was a symptom, not a cause, of the country’s malaise. We find more questions than answers about the blast and a political class…
The Intelligence from The EconomistBlock off the old chips? Nvidia’s fraught merger
The semiconductor giant wants to acquire ARM—a British firm that is more complement than competitor—but regulators may balk. We look at what’s at stake in…
The Intelligence from The EconomistNo-sanctuary cities: the Taliban’s latest surge
Sweeping rural gains made as American forces have slipped out are now giving way to bids for urban areas; an enormous, symbolic victory for the insurgents…
The Intelligence from The EconomistNeither borrower nor renter be: America’s coming foreclosures
America’s pandemic-driven measures granting relief on mortgages and rent arrears will soon expire, and millions of people are in danger of losing their homes…
The Intelligence from The EconomistGood news, ad news: Facebook’s big bucks and bets
The social-media behemoth revealed huge profits and stressed even bigger plans: to become an e-commerce giant and a hub for digital creators, and to pioneer…
The Intelligence from The EconomistBorderline disorder: the UN’s refugee treaty at 70
An international convention devised after the second world war is ill-suited to the refugee crises of today—and countries are increasingly unwilling to meet…
The Intelligence from The EconomistAlight in Tunisia: a democracy in crisis
The president has sacked the prime minister and suspended parliament. It is clear that the country needed a shake-up in its hidebound politics—but is this the…
The Intelligence from The EconomistThe blonde leading: Britain’s two years under Boris Johnson
As the country tests a bold reopening strategy in the face of the Delta variant, our political editor charitably characterises the prime minister’s tenure as a…
The Intelligence from The EconomistA dangerous games? A muted start to the Olympics
Tokyo is under a state of emergency; covid-19 cases are piling up. But for Japan, a super-spreader event is just one of the potential costs of this year’s…
The Intelligence from The EconomistThree-degree burn: the warmer world that awaits
It seems ever more certain that global temperatures will sail past limits set in the Paris Agreement. We examine what a world warmed by 3°C would—or will—look…
The Intelligence from The EconomistChanging horses mid-streaming? Netflix’s next act
On the face of it, the streaming giant’s quarterly results were lacklustre. But our media editor explains why its international growth looks promising, and how…
The Intelligence from The EconomistJoint pain: a rare rebuke of China’s hackers
The European Union, NATO and the “Five Eyes” intelligence partners have all joined America in accusing China’s government of involvement in hacking campaigns…
The Intelligence from The EconomistIn a flash: floods devastate Europe
Disaster-recovery efforts continue, even as heavy rains continue in many places. The tragedy brings climate change to the fore, with political implications…
The Intelligence from The EconomistA pounder of a quarter: American banks report
Bank bosses are jubilant: revenues were down but profits way up. We look at the pandemic-driven reasons behind the windfall, and ask how long their influence…
The Intelligence from The EconomistLoot cause: South Africa’s unrest
Widespread looting and the worst violence since apartheid continue, exposing ethnic divisions and the persistent influence of Jacob Zuma, a former president…
The Intelligence from The EconomistTexas hold-’em-up: a voting-rights standoff
The state’s Democratic lawmakers have fled to Washington, stymieing a voting-rights bill. We examine the growing state-level, bare-knuckle fights on voting…
The Intelligence from The EconomistFlight attendance: airlines after the pandemic
Which carriers will thrive? Long-haulers or short-hoppers? The no-frills or the glitzy? The bailed-out or the muddled-through? Our industry editor scans the…
The Intelligence from The EconomistHasta la victoria, hambre: rare protests rock Cuba
Food shortages are nothing new. But it has been decades since shelves have been so empty—and since Cubans took to the streets in such numbers. Richard…
The Intelligence from The EconomistA decade decayed: South Sudan
The world’s youngest state was born amid boundless optimism. But poverty is still endemic and ethnic tensions still rule politics; what hope for its next…
The Intelligence from The EconomistAssassins’ deed: Haiti’s president killed
Jovenel Moïse presided, in an increasingly authoritarian way, over a country slipping toward failed-state status. The unrest is likely to worsen following his…
The Intelligence from The EconomistDropped shots: Russia’s third wave
Despite registering the world’s first coronavirus vaccine, the country is being lashed by covid-19. Mixed messages and a long-cultivated mistrust are to blame…
The Intelligence from The EconomistTaken for a ride: why China is leaning on Didi
Just after the ride-hailing giant made a splashy stockmarket debut, Chinese regulators came down hard. Why is the country crimping its tech champions? There is…
The Intelligence from The EconomistLeave them in no peace: America’s Afghan exit
Passport queues are lengthening; ad-hoc civilian militias are strengthening. As foreign powers bow out, Taliban militants take district after district—and the…
The Intelligence from The EconomistRepetitive strains: SARS-CoV-2 variants
The coronavirus’s Delta variant accounts for ever more infections; we ask about mutational surprises yet to emerge, and what can be done about them. The…
The Intelligence from The EconomistParty piece: China’s Communists at 100
Pomp and rhetoric marked the centenary of what are arguably the world’s most successful authoritarians. We sit in on the celebrations, tinged with paranoia; we…
The Intelligence from The EconomistNo day in court: Jacob Zuma’s jail sentence
South Africa’s embattled former leader will be imprisoned for failing to show up to trial—a sign that, for all the rot in South Africa, its Constitutional…
The Intelligence from The EconomistBear necessities: learning to handle Russia
As both summitry and military near-misses proliferate, some want measured dialogue while others want markedly tougher talk. Our defence and Russia editors…
The Intelligence from The EconomistThird time’s the harm: Africa’s crippling covid-19 wave
Hopes that the continent had escaped the worst of the pandemic have proved too hasty; our correspondent describes a slow-rolling tragedy with little hope of…
The Intelligence from The EconomistIraq to its foundations: a chance to remake the state
With elections looming, there is an opportunity to remake a state ravaged by war and riven by power struggles. We ask how to take Iraq out of a hard place…
The Intelligence from The EconomistBench marks: weighing recent SCOTUS rulings
The court’s term is not quite over, with contentious rulings still pending. We examine the latest decisions to gauge how its new conservative justices have…
The Intelligence from The EconomistHunger strikes: North Korea’s food shortages
An admission that the country’s food situation is “tense” is a rare glimpse into the compounding effects of pandemic policies and crop failures. Adherents of…
The Intelligence from The EconomistDrop it when it’s hot: the Fed’s consequential hint
The merest mention of future interest-rate rises from America’s central bank sent markets into a tizzy. We consider the merits and the effects of signalling…
The Intelligence from The EconomistA vote with no confidence: Ethiopia’s untimely election
The northern region of Tigray, consumed by war and facing famine, will not vote today. It is all a far cry from what Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed once promised…
The Intelligence from The EconomistPress to exit: Hong Kong’s media arrests
The raid of an outspoken pro-democracy newspaper, carried out under the city’s newish security law, has further spooked its media outlets. We ask what remains…