The Intelligence from The Economist

Hasta la victoria, quizás: Cuba’s broken economy

Even before America crimped Cuba’s oil, the country was teetering [https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2026/03/19/cubas-broken-economy-leaves-it-at-donald-trumps-mercy?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners]. We ask what is to blame for the Cuban people’s plight, and whether anything better is in prospect. The craze of injecting peptides [https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2026/03/11/want-to-hack-your-body-with-peptides-if-only-the-science-agreed?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners] is not only scientifically unsupported—it is potentially dangerous. Chuck Norris [https://www.economist.com/obituary/2026/03/26/chuck-norris-made-onions-cry?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners] once got mad at dinosaurs. Just once. Our obituaries editor recounts his unlikely rise to international manly stardom.  Guests and host: * Sarah Birke, Central America and Caribbean bureau chief * Natasha Loder, health editor * Tim Cross, senior science writer * Ann Wroe, obituaries editor * Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence” Topics covered:  * Cuba, Trump administration * peptides, wellness, pseudoscience * Chuck Norris Get a world of insights by subscribing to Economist Podcasts+ [https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus]. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page [https://myaccount.economist.com/s/article/What-is-Economist-Podcasts] or watch our video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gczo71bg1uY] explaining how to link your account. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Algorithm and blues: a watershed social-media verdict

A jury in California agreed with a plaintiff who argued that Meta and Google, two social-media giants, designed their platforms to be addictive. That opens the floodgates to more litigation and perhaps to regulatory change. We examine the world’s maritime chokepoints and how they shape geopolitics—littorally, not figuratively. And how digitally animated films came to dominate the box office. Guests and host: * Tom Wainwright, media editor * Anton La Guardia, diplomatic editor * Alex Selby-Boothroyd, head of data journalism * Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence” Topics covered:  * social-media sites, internet use, online addiction * geopolitics, chokepoints, Strait of Hormuz * animated films Get a world of insights by subscribing to Economist Podcasts+ [https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus]. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page [https://myaccount.economist.com/s/article/What-is-Economist-Podcasts] or watch our video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gczo71bg1uY] explaining how to link your account. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

On goal difference: are America and Israel diverging on Iran?

In the daily tea leaves one might read that President Donald Trump would prefer a deal with Iran to a continuing military campaign. Where would that leave Israel and its goals [https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2026/03/23/donald-trumps-latest-climbdown-suggests-he-wants-to-end-the-war?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners]? Cryptocurrencies have gained a particular foothold [https://www.economist.com/asia/2026/02/12/asia-is-turning-stablecoins-into-banking-infrastructure?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners] in Asian economies; will they become real financial infrastructure or just tools of fraud? And tracing the history of mafias [https://www.economist.com/culture/2026/03/19/its-strictly-business-the-enduring-allure-of-mafiosi-in-culture?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners] through the ages.  Guests and host: * Anshel Pfeffer, Israel correspondent * Sue-Lin Wong, Asia correspondent * Jon Fasman, senior culture correspondent * Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence” * Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence” Topics covered:  * Iran war, Israel, America * cryptocurrency, Asia * mafias, crime families, history Get a world of insights by subscribing to Economist Podcasts+ [https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus]. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page [https://myaccount.economist.com/s/article/What-is-Economist-Podcasts] or watch our video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gczo71bg1uY] explaining how to link your account. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

(Another) all-out war: Afghanistan and Pakistan

Air strikes and border raids have turned cross-border tensions into hot conflict [https://www.economist.com/asia/2026/03/19/a-deadly-strike-in-kabul-could-have-big-knock-on-effects?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners]. We ask what raised the temperature, and whether the Iran war may act to lower it. Meanwhile that war’s oil shock brings with it fears of rising inflation; we examine how recent disruptions might inform policy decisions. And “listening parties [https://www.economist.com/culture/2026/03/03/how-to-hear-an-album-before-it-drops?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners]”, once for music-industry insiders, are becoming the norm.  Guests and host: * Tom Sasse, south Asia bureau chief * Joshua Roberts, capital markets correspondent * Caitlin Talbot, digital culture correspondent * Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence” Topics covered:  * Afghanistan, Taliban, Pakistan, TTP * Iran war, oil shock, inflation * music, albums, listening parties Get a world of insights by subscribing to Economist Podcasts+ [https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus]. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page [https://myaccount.economist.com/s/article/What-is-Economist-Podcasts] or watch our video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gczo71bg1uY] explaining how to link your account. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

From bad to awful: Trump’s four options in Iran

As the war in Iran progresses, none of the options available [https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2026/03/22/donald-trump-has-four-bad-options-for-the-war-in-iran?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners] to Donald Trump looks good. We examine each of them. Thailand’s Buddhist monks are implicated in lots of lawless and dodgy behaviour—but clearing out the bad apples is more complicated [https://www.economist.com/asia/2026/01/08/can-thailand-rein-in-its-mafia-monks?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners] than it seems. And gene-editing comes to the fruit bowl [https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2026/03/04/a-basket-of-new-fruit-varieties-is-coming-your-way?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners]: we look at what science is serving up next. Guests and host: * Gregg Carlstrom, Middle East correspondent  * Alizée Jean-Baptiste, Asia senior podcasts producer * Maria Lisik, news editor * Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence” * Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence” Topics covered:  * Iran war, Donald Trump * Thailand, Buddhist monks * gene-editing, fruit Get a world of insights by subscribing to Economist Podcasts+ [https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus]. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page [https://myaccount.economist.com/s/article/What-is-Economist-Podcasts] or watch our video [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gczo71bg1uY] explaining how to link your account. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.