Economist Podcasts

Clutching at shahs: Iran’s would-be revolutionary

Reza Pahlavi, son of the shah deposed in the 1979 revolution, tells us [https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2026/01/15/reza-pahlavi-says-iran-is-undergoing-a-revolution?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] he sees himself as the people’s choice to lead. We ask how that might work. Our correspondent reckons that, in a full accounting of buying versus renting a home, the smart choice has become clear [https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2026/01/07/is-it-better-to-rent-or-buy?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 our obituaries editor on Aldrich Ames [https://www.economist.com/obituary/2026/01/15/aldrich-ames-built-a-career-on-betraying-trust?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 prolific CIA double agent for Russia.   To see much more of our interview with Reza Pahlavi, and deep analysis with our editors and correspondents on how he might fit into Iran’s future, watch the latest episode [https://www.economist.com/insider/the-insider/where-does-iran-go-from-here] in our Insider series for subscribers. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Maria-view mirror: asking Venezuelans what they want now

As Maria Corina Machado, Venezuela’s opposition leader, meets with President Donald Trump, we talk through our exclusive polling [https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2026/01/13/venezuelans-believe-donald-trump-has-offered-them-a-better-future?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] on what the country wants for its future. Childhood in the age of AI promises to be bespoke and personalised—and perhaps also lonely and atomised [https://www.economist.com/leaders/2025/12/04/how-ai-is-rewiring-childhood?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 on America’s National Bagel Day, our correspondent explores the foodstuff’s murky history [https://www.economist.com/culture/2026/01/14/how-bagels-conquered-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]. 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.

Independence Jay? Inflation and attacks on the Fed

More inflation numbers, more jabs by President Donald Trump at Jay Powell, the Federal Reserve chairman. We ask what the Fed is doing, should be doing and is being pressured to do [https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2026/01/12/jerome-powell-says-donald-trump-has-launched-a-criminal-investigation-against-the-fed?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]. Six years after the official Brexit divorce, we count the costs [https://www.economist.com/britain/2025/12/30/brexit-has-deepened-the-british-economys-flaws-and-dulled-its-strengths?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 ask what making-up is now possible. And how self-help books [https://www.economist.com/culture/2025/12/30/what-self-help-books-tell-us-about-ourselves?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] reveal the anxieties of their times. 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.

Lowering the steaks: a Mercosur deal at last

From Argentinian beef to German cars, a freshly inked deal [https://www.economist.com/europe/2026/01/11/europe-and-south-america-seal-a-trade-pact-for-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] between the EU and a bloc of South American countries should ease trade barriers—and is a sign of global trade’s topsy-turvy time. Foreigner-bashing is politically fashionable in Japan, but focuses on the wrong problems [https://www.economist.com/leaders/2026/01/08/does-japan-have-a-foreigner-problem?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 a look at Parkrun [https://www.economist.com/britain/2025/10/24/parkrun-has-become-an-unwitting-british-public-health-success?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 free weekly event that has unwittingly made many Britons healthier. 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.

Strike fear: Iran’s protests and Israel

Each country fears an attack from the other: Iran may wish to distract from internal conflict, Israel to exploit it. In an interview with Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu we explore perspectives on the war-gaming [https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2026/01/11/israel-hopes-for-regime-change-in-iran?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 first cohort of graduates weaned on generative AI enters the workforce, we examine a changing career ladder [https://www.economist.com/the-world-ahead/2025/11/12/will-the-bottom-rung-of-the-career-ladder-disappear?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 European pension systems badly need reform [https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2025/12/01/european-pensions-are-in-dire-need-of-reform?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]. 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.