Economist Podcasts

Stock options: how to hedge an AI bubble

Tech firms are spending so much on artificial intelligence that investors are getting nervous. Our correspondent explains whether it is possible to protect your portfolio [https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2026/02/08/how-to-hedge-a-bubble-ai-edition?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] from a crash. Turkey’s ruler [https://www.economist.com/europe/2026/01/15/who-might-succeed-recep-tayyip-erdogan?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 become increasingly autocratic–and increasingly old. Who might succeed him? And celebrating the life of literary agent Georges Borchardt [https://www.economist.com/obituary/2026/02/05/georges-borchardt-made-a-life-from-a-love-of-reading?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: * Rosie Blau, host of “The Intelligence” * Josh Roberts, capital markets correspondent * Piotr Zalewski, Turkey correspondent * Jon Fasman, senior culture correspondent Topics covered:  * Hedging against an AI bubble * Turkey after Erdogan * Obituary of literary agent Georges Borchardt 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.

Check in Kyiv: prospects for peace?

As Russia’s war in Ukraine [https://www.economist.com/europe/2026/01/30/peace-negotiations-give-freezing-kyiv-a-hint-of-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] nears four years, there has been no let up in the fighting on the battlefield. Yet there is some optimism that negotiations could yield a ceasefire. Our correspondent joins a Colombian drug raid [https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2026/02/02/inside-the-hopeless-effort-to-quash-cocaine-by-force?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 destroy a cocaine laboratory in the Amazon. And is crime in London [https://www.economist.com/britain/2026/01/28/london-is-far-safer-than-violent-viral-videos-will-have-you-believe?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] really soaring?  Guests and host: * Rosie Blau, host of “The Intelligence” * Oliver Carroll, Ukraine correspondent * Claire McQue, Latin America writer * Sonny Loughran, Britain writer Topics covered:  * Ukraine peace prospects * Colombia’s war on drugs * Crime in London 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.

Dhaka matters: an election for Bangladesh

The toppling of authoritarian leader Sheikh Hassina in Bangladesh in 2024 was celebrated as a triumph for democracy. Tomorrow the country finally heads to the polls [https://www.economist.com/leaders/2026/02/05/the-new-bangladesh-is-only-half-built?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]. Our correspondent weighs the choice. Can Mars and other bleak planets be made fit for human habitation [https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2025/12/30/how-to-export-life-to-mars?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 why AI bots [https://www.economist.com/business/2026/01/12/job-applicants-are-winning-the-ai-arms-race-against-recruiters?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 applying for human jobs.  To find out how to have sex in space [https://www.economist.com/podcasts/2025/04/12/can-we-make-babies-in-space], listen to this episode of “The Weekend Intelligence”.  Guests and host: * Rosie Blau and Jason Palmer, co-hosts of “The Intelligence” * Mark Johnson, senior writer * Oliver Morton, senior editor * Shera Avi-Yonah, business writer Topics covered:  * Bangladesh’s election * Astrobiology * How AI changes job recruitment 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.

A Keir-death experience: Britain's PM clings on

Sir Keir Starmer [https://www.economist.com/britain/2026/02/09/keir-starmer-a-sick-man-who-cant-afford-to-catch-a-cold?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 faced calls for his resignation from a senior party member. He has survived – but Britain’s prime minister is now fighting for his political survival. Assisted dying [https://www.economist.com/united-states/2026/02/02/the-right-to-die-is-spreading-in-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] legislation is catching up with public opinion in America. And what happens when skiing meets rodeo [https://www.economist.com/united-states/2026/01/22/welcome-to-the-wild-world-of-skijoring?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: * Rosie Blau, host of “The Intelligence” * Sacha Nauta, Britain editor * Stevie Hertz, US policy correspondent * Aryn Braun, West Coast corrrespondent Topics covered:  * Keir Starmer’s political future * Assisted dying in America * The sport of skijoring   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.

Snap judgement: Japan PM’s electoral landslide

Takaichi Sanae [https://www.economist.com/asia/2026/02/08/how-japans-prime-minister-will-use-her-massive-new-mandate?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]’s gamble to call a general election has paid off. How will the prime minister’s thumping victory change Japan? New legislation in Republican states could imperil academic freedom [https://www.economist.com/united-states/2026/01/29/republican-states-are-censoring-universities?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 why “Taxi Driver [https://www.economist.com/culture/2026/02/05/fifty-years-on-the-anti-hero-of-taxi-driver-is-eerily-familiar?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]” resonates 50 years after the film’s release. Guests and host: * Rosie Blau, host of “The Intelligence” * Noah Sneider, East Asia bureau chief * Rebecca Jackson, Southern correspondent * Andrew Miller, author of The Economist’s Back Story column on culture Topics covered:  * Japan’s election * University censorship in America * Fifty years of “Taxi Driver” For more on Japan’s economy, listen to last week’s episode of Money Talks [https://www.economist.com/podcasts/2026/02/05/japans-election-why-investors-are-worried] 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.