Under strAIn: breaking the British state

Under strAIn: breaking the British state

Britons are turning to artificial intelligence [https://www.economist.com/leaders/2026/08/06/how-ai-is-breaking-the-british-state?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 file objections to state institutions, and claim their dues. The resulting deluge of complaints and demands may overwhelm bureaucracies. Should Catholic priests have to report child abuse disclosed in confession [https://www.economist.com/united-states/2026/06/05/should-priests-have-to-report-child-abuse-disclosed-in-confession?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 the perfect height gap [https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2026/06/19/the-deceptive-rise-of-the-short-king?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 a relationship.  Guests and host: * Matthew Holehouse, Britain public policy editor * Rebecca Jackson, US Southern correspondent * Doug Dowson, data journalist * Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence” * Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence” Topics covered:  * AI, agentic flooding, bureaucracy * Catholic church, confessions, child abuse * Short kings, short men, height differential Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to The Economist [https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus]. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Outsider chance: ending Sudan’s proxy war

We look at the peace that has settled over Khartoum, the ruined capital. War rages on [https://www.economist.com/interactive/international/2026/08/06/a-battle-for-supremacy-has-laid-sudan-and-its-capital-to-waste?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] elsewhere, and a slim chance [https://www.economist.com/leaders/2026/08/06/how-to-end-sudans-brutal-forgotten-conflict?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] at a settlement rests largely with the belligerents’ foreign patrons. We ask why President Donald Trump has picked a fight [https://www.economist.com/united-states/2026/07/30/how-to-turn-solutions-into-problems?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] over a new bridge between Canada and America. And remembering Betye Saar [https://www.economist.com/obituary/2026/08/06/betye-saar-believed-thrown-out-objects-should-have-a-second-life?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 provided profound second lives for discarded objects.  Watch extended clips from Insider here [https://www.economist.com/interactive/insider/previews?utm_campaign=a.brand_fy2627_q1_awareness-imp-tr_prospecting_global-global_direct_na&utm_medium=audio.podcast.pd&utm_source=economist&utm_content=discovery.awareness.anonymous.tr_nativeread_np-tiinsider-apr_na-na_web_na_na_na_na&utm_term=sa.arc-isi]. Guests and host: * Tom Gardner, Africa correspondent * Annie Crabill, senior digital editor * Ann Wroe, obituaries editor * Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence” Topics covered:  * Sudan war, proxy war, geopolitics  * Canada-America relations, Gordie Howe Bridge * Betye Saar, art Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to The Economist [https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus]. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Socialist mobility: a telling Michigan vote

We examine one of America’s primary races, in which a sharply lefty candidate [https://www.economist.com/united-states/2026/08/05/americas-democratic-socialists-are-having-the-summer-of-their-lives?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] beat the establishment figure. What does that reveal about changes in the Democratic Party? For decades China’s Yangtze River was a polluted, overfished mess. We look at the wins from cleaning it up [https://www.economist.com/china/2026/07/27/chinas-mightiest-river-is-coming-back-from-the-brink?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 who loses. And a fond look back at postcards [https://www.economist.com/britain/2026/07/29/the-world-is-entering-a-post-postcard-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] as they fade from use. Guests and host: * John Prideaux, executive editor and host, “Checks and Balance” * Gabriel Crossley, China correspondent * Catherine Nixey, Britain correspondent * Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence” Topics covered:  * America’s primary season, Democratic Socialists of America, Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed * China, Yangtze River, remediation * postcards, second world war, British history Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to The Economist [https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus]. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

Taking the shine off: albedo and global temperatures

Fewer clouds, shrinking ice caps, changing pollutants: all result in less of the sun’s energy being reflected back into space. Which is more bad news [https://www.economist.com/leaders/2026/07/16/its-too-darn-hot-blame-global-dimming?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 a changing climate. Our correspondent explains why so much more of the world’s cocaine is passing through west Africa [https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2026/07/28/west-africa-has-become-a-huge-cocaine-trading-hub?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 the data that reveal Americans’ discomfort about wives earning more [https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2026/07/13/the-stubborn-scarcity-of-female-breadwinners?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] than their husbands. Guests and host: * Oliver Morton, planetary-affairs editor * Ọrẹ Ogunbiyi, Africa correspondent * Doug Dowson, data journalist * Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence” * Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence” Topics covered:  * climate change, albedo, global temperatures * Africa, cocaine, smuggling * wage equality, gender pay gap Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to The Economist [https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus]. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.

In arms’ way: Gaza-deal sticking points

President Donald Trump’s claim that Hamas had agreed to disarm in Gaza was, at best, premature. We examine the sticking points of a lasting deal. New-business applications are on a tear [https://www.economist.com/business/2026/07/27/america-has-become-an-entrepreneurs-paradise?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 America. We ask why so many people are working for themselves—but not doing much hiring. And the enduring popularity of radio [https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2026/07/23/why-young-africans-still-listen-to-the-radio?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 Africa, aided rather than degraded by social media.  Guests and host: * Anshel Pfeffer, Israel correspondent * Shera Avi-Yonah, business correspondent * William Finlator, contributor to The Economist * Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence” Topics covered:  * Gaza, Hamas, Israel, Board of Peace * American business, entrepreneurship * Africa, media, radio Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to The Economist [https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus]. ---------------------------------------- Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy [https://acast.com/privacy] for more information.