Economist Podcasts

After the collapse of the governing “traffic light” coalition in December, the hard-right AfD has a renewed swagger [https://www.economist.com/europe/2025/01/16/how-the-afd-got-its-swagger-back?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]. How long can other parties keep it from power? We speak with Syrian refugees [https://www.economist.com/europe/2024/12/12/syrian-refugees-in-europe-are-not-about-to-flock-home?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] heading home at last, following the defenestration of Bashar al-Assad (10:30). And remembering David Lynch [https://www.economist.com/obituary/2025/01/22/david-lynch-mesmerised-filmgoers-with-mystery-beauty-and-horror?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], a bright-eyed director of unsettlingly dark films and television (19:34). 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.

The procedure is simple—genial, even. Contact Houthi rebels in Yemen and pay up, and your freight can pass into the Red Sea unmolested. We examine how this extortion affects world trade [https://www.economist.com/interactive/international/2025/01/18/inside-the-houthis-moneymaking-machine?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]. China is fast closing its gap [https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2024/09/19/chinas-ai-firms-are-cleverly-innovating-around-chip-bans?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] with America on AI innovation, and doing so far more cheaply (7:22). And a trip to a Ghanaian rum distillery reveals a regional trend [https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2025/01/16/west-african-booze-is-becoming-a-luxury-product?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] (15:44).  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.

Donald Trump is back in office, this time with less pearl-clutching [https://www.economist.com/united-states/2025/01/19/the-beginning-of-the-end-of-the-trump-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] in Washington. We examine his inaugural address [https://www.economist.com/united-states/2025/01/21/the-new-american-imperialism?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 his first executive orders [https://www.economist.com/united-states/2025/01/21/donald-trump-cries-invasion-to-justify-an-immigration-crackdown?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 glimpses into what his second term holds—for America and the world (12:23). And why millennials and Gen Z are so besotted with expensive stuffed animals [https://www.economist.com/culture/2025/01/07/millennials-and-gen-z-are-falling-hard-for-stuffed-animals?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] (18:37). 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.

Quiet skies, returned Israeli hostages, Gazans going back home: there is much to celebrate [https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2025/01/19/the-start-of-a-fragile-truce-in-gaza-offers-relief-and-joy?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], for the moment. We examine the path to a more robust and lasting peace. Britain’s minimum-wage rise is good news for those who earned less—but those who earned not much more are feeling more squeezed [https://www.economist.com/britain/2024/11/13/britains-big-squeeze-middle-class-and-minimum-wage?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] (9:45). And the medical merits of hypnosis are at last becoming recognised [https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2024/12/28/why-some-doctors-are-reassessing-hypnosis?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] (16:50). 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.

This week Blue Origin [https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2025/01/01/can-jeff-bezos-match-elon-musk-in-space?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], Jeff Bezos’s space-exploration company, successfully launched a rocket into orbit on its first attempt. That marks a new frontier in the private space industry. Donald Trump has threatened mass deportations [https://www.economist.com/briefing/2025/01/09/how-far-will-donald-trump-go-to-get-rid-of-illegal-immigrants?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] of illegal immigrants. What will happen when he takes office (12:56)? And celebrating Peter Fenwick [https://www.economist.com/obituary/2025/01/16/peter-fenwick-became-the-world-expert-on-near-death-experiences?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], a neuropsychiatrist and expert on near-death experiences (21:55).  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.