Economist Podcasts

For the 23rd time the International Monetary Fund will cough up, this time to the tune of $20bn. But the reforms stipulated by the loan, alongside promising changes already under way, suggest this time might be different [https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2025/04/14/javier-mileis-big-move-to-normalise-argentinas-economy?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]. Near America’s border with Mexico, high-speed chases have become more common—and more deadly [https://www.economist.com/united-states/2025/03/27/texas-troopers-are-in-more-and-more-lethal-car-chases?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] (9:08). And myriad uncertainties are making Europe a continent of preppers [https://www.economist.com/europe/2025/03/27/the-prospect-of-war-has-turned-europe-into-a-continent-of-preppers?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] (15:08). 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.

Falling trust in the greenback is most apparent in bond-market moves. How close is the dollar to losing its status [https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2025/04/13/a-flight-from-the-dollar-could-wreck-americas-finances?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 the world’s go-to currency, and what could take its place? We take a look at Jordan Bardella [https://www.economist.com/europe/2025/04/04/jordan-bardella-the-french-hard-rights-young-hope?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], the young, polished, ever-rising star of France’s far right (11:56). And Hong Kong’s notoriously gruff cab drivers are told to smile more…or else [https://www.economist.com/china/2025/03/13/hong-kongs-taxi-drivers-are-told-to-smile-more?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] (18:26). 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.

President Donald Trump called the weekend strike on Sumy a “mistake”; other leaders called it a war crime. We examine the prospects for peace when Russia is brazenly hitting civilian targets [https://www.economist.com/europe/2025/04/13/russia-continues-to-rain-down-death-on-ukrainian-cities?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 scientists flee American institutions, Europe is trying to woo them [https://www.economist.com/europe/2025/03/27/trump-is-driving-american-scientists-into-europes-arms?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] (10:29). And Britain’s historical consumer-price index [https://www.economist.com/britain/2025/03/20/comparing-apples-and-oranges-and-also-small-caged-mammals?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 a fascinating window into how shoppers’ tastes have shifted (17:24). 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 now aiming his trade war [https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2025/04/10/can-china-fight-america-alone?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] squarely at China. As the tit-for-tat tariff battle keeps escalating, investors are fleeing to safe assets. What will happen next? Germany’s Friedrich Merz finally signs a deal for a coalition government [https://www.economist.com/europe/2025/04/09/germanys-new-centrist-government-is-reassuring-but-bland?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] (10:12). And remembering Betty Webb [https://www.economist.com/obituary/2025/04/10/betty-webb-never-spoke-about-her-work-until-she-had-to?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 worked at Britain’s wartime codebreaking centre Bletchley Park (19:36).  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.

Just 12 hours after Donald Trump launched his searing regime of tariffs, he paused [https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2025/04/09/trumps-tariff-pause-brings-investors-relief-but-worries-remain?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] many of them for 90 days. What's next for global trade? An outlandish proposal to build data centres [https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2025/04/09/could-data-centres-ever-be-built-in-orbit?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 space (8:14). And why “The Great Gatsby [https://www.economist.com/culture/2025/03/14/at-100-the-great-gatsby-is-as-urgent-as-ever-old-sport?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 just as relevant, 100 years on (15:58). 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.