Economist Podcasts

For centuries, male children were prized as heirs and breadwinners. Now the desire to have boys [https://www.economist.com/leaders/2025/06/05/the-stunning-decline-of-the-preference-for-having-boys?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 diminishing and some parents would rather have a girl. What Germany’s expanded armed forces [https://www.economist.com/europe/2025/06/04/germany-is-building-a-big-scary-army?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] mean for Europe. And if coffee can benefit your health, how many mugs [https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2025/05/30/how-much-coffee-is-too-much?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] should you consume a day?    Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—Subscribe 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.

It brought us the iPhone–and changed the world. Now Apple is struggling [https://www.economist.com/business/2025/06/08/can-tim-cook-stop-apple-going-the-same-way-as-nokia?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 keep up with rapid advances in AI. Our correspondent assesses its future. China used to rely on Russian patronage. That power relationship [https://www.economist.com/china/2025/05/12/xi-jinping-has-vladimir-putin-over-a-barrel?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] has now largely been reversed (9:41). And remembering Amanda Feilding [https://www.economist.com/obituary/2025/06/05/amanda-feilding-fought-to-rescue-the-reputation-of-psychedelics?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 pioneered research on psychedelics (16:14). Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—Subscribe 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.

Our correspondent reports from LA [https://www.economist.com/united-states/2025/06/08/sending-the-national-guard-to-la-is-not-about-stopping-rioting?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], where Donald Trump’s decision to send in troops risks inciting further antagonism. The argument is now about far more than immigration. A visual investigation confirms that Myanmar’s junta is still bombing civilian settlements [https://www.economist.com/video/CUAnJUgU02h/ecW9dEml?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] after the deadly earthquake, despite agreeing to a humanitarian ceasefire (9:25). And should kids play contact sports [https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2025/05/16/contact-sports-can-cause-brain-injuries-should-kids-still-play?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] (14:32)?      Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—Subscribe 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.

What happens when the world’s most powerful man falls out with its richest? Our correspondent analyses where the Trump-Musk brawl [https://www.economist.com/united-states/2025/06/02/elon-musks-failure-in-government?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] leaves the relationship between MAGA and tech. How Israel’s far-right [https://www.economist.com/israel-wont-commit-suicide-says-the-governments-ideologue?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 influencing the war in Gaza (10:13). And why rhyme [https://www.economist.com/culture/2025/05/28/rhyme-once-in-its-prime-is-in-decline?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 on the decline (and verse is getting worse) (21:01).  Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—Subscribe 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.

As the number of Russian dead and injured [https://www.economist.com/international/2025/06/02/putins-sickening-statistic-1m-russian-casualties-in-ukraine?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 Ukraine reaches a grim milestone, what do these losses signify about Vladimir Putin’s strategy? Though misinformation is growing, the armies of fact-checkers [https://www.economist.com/international/2025/05/15/fact-checkers-forecast-which-dodgy-claims-will-do-most-damage?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] are shrinking, forcing them to assess which lies may do the most harm (7:42). And why cheese rolling [https://www.economist.com/britain/2025/05/27/should-cheese-rolling-be-protected-as-british-heritage?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] could become a protected item of British heritage (14:38).  Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—Subscribe 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.