Pump and circumstance: is China the new OPEC?

Pump and circumstance: is China the new OPEC?

The Iran war triggered the largest supply shock in the history of petroleum, yet prices never rose as high as feared. Our correspondent explains how action taken by China [https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2026/08/09/china-is-now-the-worlds-great-oil-power?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] steadied global oil flows. Why Brazil has such strict laws on racist language [https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2026/07/27/brazil-has-the-worlds-strictest-laws-against-racist-speech?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]. And the legendary lager of Laos [https://www.economist.com/asia/2026/07/30/beerlao-probably-the-most-important-lager-in-the-world?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].  Guests and host: * Matthieu Favas, commodities editor * Ana Lankes, Brazil bureau chief * Vishnu Padmanabhan, Asia correspondent  * Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence” * Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence” Topics covered:  * China, Iran, oil supplies, OPEC, crude * Brazil, hate speech, racism * Laos, Beerlao, beer, lager Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to The Economist [https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus]. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Spring, then fall: a weakened Muslim Brotherhood

The Muslim Brotherhood won power and influence in the Arab Spring of 2011. Now autocrats are resurgent and its leaders are in jail or exile. Elon Musk says [https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2026/08/09/is-europe-safer-than-america?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] Europe is more dangerous than America. Is he right? And the puzzling popularity of padel [https://www.economist.com/britain/2026/08/03/millions-play-padel-will-anyone-watch-it?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]. Guests and host: * Gareth Browne, Middle East correspondent * James Fransham, data journalist * Hamish Clayton, Britain writer * Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence” Topics covered:  * Muslim Brotherhood, Islamism, Arab Spring * Elon Musk,  Insider, Europe, crime,  * Padel, tennis, racket sports Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to The Economist [https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus]. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Under strAIn: breaking the British state

Britons are turning to artificial intelligence [https://www.economist.com/leaders/2026/08/06/how-ai-is-breaking-the-british-state?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 file objections to state institutions, and claim their dues. The resulting deluge of complaints and demands may overwhelm bureaucracies. Should Catholic priests have to report child abuse disclosed in confession [https://www.economist.com/united-states/2026/06/05/should-priests-have-to-report-child-abuse-disclosed-in-confession?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]? And the perfect height gap [https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2026/06/19/the-deceptive-rise-of-the-short-king?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 a relationship.  Guests and host: * Matthew Holehouse, Britain public policy editor * Rebecca Jackson, US Southern correspondent * Doug Dowson, data journalist * Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence” * Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence” Topics covered:  * AI, agentic flooding, bureaucracy * Catholic church, confessions, child abuse * Short kings, short men, height differential Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to The Economist [https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus]. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Outsider chance: ending Sudan’s proxy war

We look at the peace that has settled over Khartoum, the ruined capital. War rages on [https://www.economist.com/interactive/international/2026/08/06/a-battle-for-supremacy-has-laid-sudan-and-its-capital-to-waste?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] elsewhere, and a slim chance [https://www.economist.com/leaders/2026/08/06/how-to-end-sudans-brutal-forgotten-conflict?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] at a settlement rests largely with the belligerents’ foreign patrons. We ask why President Donald Trump has picked a fight [https://www.economist.com/united-states/2026/07/30/how-to-turn-solutions-into-problems?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] over a new bridge between Canada and America. And remembering Betye Saar [https://www.economist.com/obituary/2026/08/06/betye-saar-believed-thrown-out-objects-should-have-a-second-life?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], who provided profound second lives for discarded objects.  Watch extended clips from Insider here [https://www.economist.com/interactive/insider/previews?utm_campaign=a.brand_fy2627_q1_awareness-imp-tr_prospecting_global-global_direct_na&utm_medium=audio.podcast.pd&utm_source=economist&utm_content=discovery.awareness.anonymous.tr_nativeread_np-tiinsider-apr_na-na_web_na_na_na_na&utm_term=sa.arc-isi]. Guests and host: * Tom Gardner, Africa correspondent * Annie Crabill, senior digital editor * Ann Wroe, obituaries editor * Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence” Topics covered:  * Sudan war, proxy war, geopolitics  * Canada-America relations, Gordie Howe Bridge * Betye Saar, art Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to The Economist [https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus]. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Socialist mobility: a telling Michigan vote

We examine one of America’s primary races, in which a sharply lefty candidate [https://www.economist.com/united-states/2026/08/05/americas-democratic-socialists-are-having-the-summer-of-their-lives?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] beat the establishment figure. What does that reveal about changes in the Democratic Party? For decades China’s Yangtze River was a polluted, overfished mess. We look at the wins from cleaning it up [https://www.economist.com/china/2026/07/27/chinas-mightiest-river-is-coming-back-from-the-brink?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]—and who loses. And a fond look back at postcards [https://www.economist.com/britain/2026/07/29/the-world-is-entering-a-post-postcard-era?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] as they fade from use. Guests and host: * John Prideaux, executive editor and host, “Checks and Balance” * Gabriel Crossley, China correspondent * Catherine Nixey, Britain correspondent * Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence” Topics covered:  * America’s primary season, Democratic Socialists of America, Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed * China, Yangtze River, remediation * postcards, second world war, British history Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to The Economist [https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus]. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.