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 EconomistChristian Democratic disunion: Germany’s political upheaval
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s hand-picked successor is out of the running. The ruling CDU party must now pick a new leader and a path in dealing with the rising…
The Intelligence from The EconomistTrust the process? China’s coronavirus response
The Communist Party is exuding an aura of complete control over the outbreak, but our correspondent finds an undercurrent of distrust. International health…
The Intelligence from The EconomistFrom out of left field: Ireland’s election
After the adulation, the discontent. Voters are abandoning the party of the young, progressive leader Leo Varadkar, with many supporting Sinn Fein, a party…
The Intelligence from The EconomistImperfect call: Trump’s exoneration
A predictable outcome in President Donald Trump’s Senate trial will have unpredictable effects on executive power and congressional oversight—but probably not…
The Intelligence from The EconomistAddress change: the State of the Union
President Donald Trump seemed to be going out of his way to rankle Democrats while he pitched his tenure as a change from American decline to American…
The Intelligence from The EconomistAn app-polling delay: Iowa’s caucus chaos
Technical glitches and “inconsistencies” threw America’s first Democratic caucuses into disarray. That will have political consequences, irrespective of the…
The Intelligence from The EconomistEconomic contagion: Hong Kong
Hong Kong’s GDP report released today reflects the squeeze that enormous protests at home and economic headwinds on the mainland have put on the territory—and…
The Intelligence from The EconomistWhen one door closes: Brexit day
The costs of leaving the European Union are likely to outweigh the benefits. But as Britain re-aligns itself in the world, those benefits should be seized. The…
The Intelligence from The EconomistViral hit: the costs of China’s lockdown
Our correspondent travels to the border of the locked-down Hubei province, finding among the people a mixture of resignation, fear and distrust. Was the…
The Intelligence from The EconomistThey went that Huawei: Britain’s crucial 5G call
Facing pressure from both China and America on allowing Huawei into its next-generation network, Britain opted to fully appease neither—and that will test…
The Intelligence from The EconomistShowpiece in the Middle East: Trump’s “ultimate deal”
Palestinian leaders have already rejected the American administration’s peace plan. But the proposal is nevertheless politically useful, both for Binyamin…
The Intelligence from The EconomistSpread bet: China’s coronavirus quarantine
In Hubei province and increasingly across China, new-year celebrations are muted. Authorities are trying to contain the outbreak with an unprecedented…
The Intelligence from The EconomistIll-judged: Poland’s rule-of-law crisis
Poland's government has been trying to nobble the courts for years. Now the European Union is intervening, and the outcome could undermine the union itself…
The Intelligence from The EconomistOn the right track: a trend in diplomacy
When conflict-resolution efforts falter in official channels, there are unofficial ones. We ask why “Track 2”—allowing well-meaning third parties to mediate—is…
The Intelligence from The EconomistJustin time, again: Trudeau’s second term
Canada’s prime minister now leads a minority government, and has lost support in the country’s west. We ask what he must do, and how, with his weakened…
The Intelligence from The EconomistCan I get a witness? Impeachment
The rules are set, battle lines drawn and the outcome is all but assured. We ask why the Senate trial of President Donald Trump seems so sewn up. A decade…
The Intelligence from The EconomistTripoli crown: the battle for Libya
This weekend’s peace talks in Berlin were a good start, but the situation is still ripe for a longer, messier proxy war. More than a million people die each…
The Intelligence from The EconomistAddress the problem: the global housing blunder
Badly run housing markets are linked to broader ills, from financial crises to the rise of populism. The first problem? The conviction that home ownership is…
The Intelligence from The EconomistSet for life? Putin’s power-grab
After Russia’s president proposed vast constitutional change, the whole government resigned. It seems to be another convoluted power-grab by Vladimir Putin—and…
The Intelligence from The EconomistGoing through a phase: US-China trade deal
Negotiators will sign a “phase one” pact today—but the trickiest issues remain unresolved, and plenty of tariffs will stay in place. Will the deal repair…
The Intelligence from The EconomistA Biden by their decision? Democrats debate
The race for the Democratic nomination looks much like it did a year ago—but previous contests prove that once voting starts, momentum can reshuffle the pack…
The Intelligence from The EconomistTsai of the times: Taiwan’s defiant election
China has been getting more aggressive in its claims over the island, but voters have made it clear just how much they favour democracy. The relentless…
The Intelligence from The EconomistScorched-earth policies: Australia and climate change
Evacuations are expanding as fast as the flames, and worse may yet be to come. We visit the fiery extremes that climate change is making more likely. At a…
The Intelligence from The EconomistWill you still feed me when I’m 62? Macron’s pension fight
He won a landslide victory campaigning on it, but like French presidents before him Emmanuel Macron is struggling to push through his grand pension reform; we…
The Intelligence from The EconomistReturn fire: Iran’s missile attacks
Attacks on bases that house American troops seem a dramatic retaliation to the killing of Iranian commander Qassem Suleimani—yet both sides seem to be tuning…
The Intelligence from The EconomistTwo heads aren’t better than one: Venezuela
After chaotic scenes in the National Assembly, it seems the country’s legislature has two leaders. Has Juan Guaidó’s chance at regime change run out of steam?…
The Intelligence from The EconomistThe general and specific threats: Iran
Killing Iran’s top military commander does not seem likely to further America’s aims for the region. What should America and its allies expect now? Biologists…
The Intelligence from The EconomistNegative feedback: reversing carbon emissions
It is increasingly clear that putting less carbon dioxide in the atmosphere will not be enough to combat climate change; we take a look at the effort to…
The Intelligence from The EconomistMade (entirely) in China: a tech behemoth rises
No longer content just to assemble devices, Chinese firms want to design them and the infrastructure around them—and in some sectors they look set to succeed…
The Intelligence from The EconomistLifesaver: meet a death-row detective
Death sentences are occasionally overturned in America; we meet a private detective responsible for saving many of those lives. We scour our foreign department…
The Intelligence from The EconomistLying in states: fibbing politicians
Lies and politics have always come as a pair, but the untruths keep getting bigger and more frequent; our correspondent digs into why. We speak with an…
The Intelligence from The EconomistOld China hands: ageing in the Middle Kingdom
Next year, China’s median age will surpass America’s, but with just a quarter the median income; the government is nervous that China will get old before it…
The Intelligence from The EconomistExclusionary rule: India’s citizenship law
The Hindu nationalist government’s latest move pointedly excludes Muslims from immigration reform. Protesters reckon that is an attack on the country’s…
The Intelligence from The EconomistMarching orders: impeachment around the world
America’s impeachment battle falls along unhelpfully partisan lines—but the process has other shortcomings. We take some lessons from how the rest of the world…
The Intelligence from The EconomistMajority rules: Britain’s new Parliament sits
Now that the prime minister has a thumping parliamentary majority, Brexit is assured—but on what terms? And what other legislative shake-ups are in the works?…
The Intelligence from The EconomistCOP out: the UN climate talks
Again, the annual COP conference ran long and ended with disappointment. Why can’t countries agree on what so clearly must be done? One big contributor to the…
The Intelligence from The EconomistBolt from the blue: Britain’s Conservatives triumph
A thumping win for Boris Johnson’s Tory party is more complex than it seems; the returns cast a light on changes bubbling under the surface of the country’s…
The Intelligence from The EconomistDefending the indefensible: Aung San Suu Kyi
Myanmar’s de facto leader appeared before the International Court of Justice to answer allegations of war crimes. We look at the stark turnaround of an icon of…
The Intelligence from The EconomistArticles of faith: charges laid against Trump
House Democrats have issued their narrowly focused articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump. We look back on the history of impeachments and ask…
The Intelligence from The EconomistRunning into debt: Argentina’s new president
For the first time in decades, a non-Peronist president will peacefully hand over power. But the new president—and his deputy, former president Cristina…
The Intelligence from The EconomistOil be going: Canada’s separatist west
Long-simmering tensions in the oil-rich west of the country have boiled over, and now there’s an increasingly credible push for secession. Investors are…
The Intelligence from The EconomistWriting on the Wall: a revealing British-election hike
Our correspondent walked the length of Hadrian’s Wall, in northern England, finding shifting party alliances and surprising views on Brexit. We take a look at…
The Intelligence from The EconomistNot shy about retiring: strikes in France
A massive, rolling, national strike begins today, in protest against proposed reforms of the sprawling pension system. But details of the changes haven’t even…
The Intelligence from The EconomistInquiring minds: impeachment’s next stage
The House Judiciary Committee will now take up the inquiry into President Donald Trump. But will any of it matter to uninterested voters? The probe into the…
The Intelligence from The EconomistWith allies like these: NATO’s bickering leaders hold a summit
It will be all smiles at the NATO summit today in London--but many of them will be forced. Behind the scenes, the alliance’s leaders are arguing about what its…
The Intelligence from The EconomistTerrorist on parole: A jihadist killer fools Britain’s justice system
The Islamic militant who killed two people in London last week was supposedly being monitored by the authorities. That revelation has prompted a fierce debate…
The Intelligence from The EconomistAMLO and behold: Mexico’s president tries to tackle corruption
Andrés Manuel López Obrador, Mexico’s president, is wildly popular, in part because of his determination to wipe out corruption. But is his crusade against…
The Intelligence from The EconomistPresidential SEAL: Donald Trump puts his stamp on military discipline
Donald Trump used to lionise generals, but this week he had a falling out with the top brass. Are the armed forces becoming as politicised as America’s other…
The Intelligence from The EconomistGlobal warning: The UN sounds the alarm on climate change
The UN has just released its annual report on how well the fight to slow climate change is going. It finds that efforts to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions are…
The Intelligence from The EconomistStart spreading the cash: Michael Bloomberg runs for president
Michael Bloomberg, the billionaire former mayor of New York, has announced he is running for president. But he is late to join the race and not very popular…
The Intelligence from The EconomistProtest vote: Hong Kongers send a message to Beijing
After almost six months of protests and street battles, Hong Kongers have had a chance to vote in local elections. They sent a clear message of support to…
The Intelligence from The EconomistBibi in the corner: Binyamin Netanyahu’s indictment
After years of investigations, Israel’s prime minister has been indicted. A fraught legal case will complicate the already messy business of cobbling together…
The Intelligence from The EconomistFuel to the fire: growing unrest in Iran
After petrol subsidies were slashed, protests of surprising ferocity have flared up across the country—and neither the government nor the demonstrators seem to…
The Intelligence from The EconomistSettling in: Israel-Palestine policy
The American administration’s shifting position on Israeli settlements in the West Bank will have little immediate effect—but may end up sharply crimping hopes…
The Intelligence from The EconomistBits in pieces: a fragmenting internet
The early vision for a borderless, unregulated internet has not panned out as its pioneers hoped. How to handle the “splinternet”? Doug Jones is Alabama’s…
The Intelligence from The EconomistHead for the Hill: this week’s impeachment hearings
Democrats have a hard task as the hearings’ public stage proceeds: not uncovering new evidence, but building a robust public case for impeachment. The…
The Intelligence from The EconomistBetter the devil they know? Sri Lanka’s election
After multiple suicide bombings in April, much campaigning has been about security. Will Sri Lankans vote tomorrow for the authoritarian-but-effective…
The Intelligence from The EconomistLanguage barrier: Cameroon’s forgotten conflict
There is widespread terror in the largely Francophone country’s English-speaking region. Both hardline separatists and the army target civilians with shocking…
The Intelligence from The EconomistUmbrellas to firebombs: Hong Kong’s escalating protests
Molotov cocktails are flying and live rounds have been fired. Once-peaceful pro-democracy demonstrations are transforming into violent confrontations—and…
The Intelligence from The EconomistThe American Dreamer: DACA in the Supreme Court
The Trump administration has long wanted to scrap the “Dreamers” scheme, which allowed illegal immigrants who came as youths to stay in America. The question…