Tocqueville Road Trip: 1. Game of chance

First rate: Kevin Warsh’s Fed debut

As expected, the new Federal Reserve chairman kept rates steady. More interesting were what he did and did not say. How will he handle inevitable pressure [https://www.economist.com/leaders/2026/06/09/the-federal-reserve-must-soon-give-donald-trump-bad-news?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 President Donald Trump? After nearly disappearing altogether, Germany’s left-wing Die Linke party is roaring back [https://www.economist.com/europe/2026/06/17/germanys-left-wing-die-linke-party-has-won-over-the-young?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]—particularly among the young. And a selection of our readers’ examples of upward-management tips and tricks. Guests and host: * Archie Hall, US economics editor * Tom Nuttall, Berlin bureau chief * Andrew Palmer, Bartleby columnist * Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence” * Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence” Topics covered:  * Federal Reserve, interest rates, monetary policy, Iran war * Germany, Die Linke, left-wing politics * management, managing management 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.

View from the summit: what did the G7 achieve?

Geopolitics has dominated this year’s G7 political meeting in Evian, France. Donald Trump offered scant detail on the Iran peace deal [https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2026/06/15/a-deal-is-only-the-beginning-of-the-end-of-the-us-iran-war?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] but leaders promised to boost support for Ukraine [https://www.economist.com/europe/2026/06/11/ukraines-war-is-now-longer-than-the-first-world-war?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]. Though prostitution in Japan [https://www.economist.com/asia/2026/06/04/sex-tourists-fuel-outrage-about-vice-in-japan?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 a long history, recent scandals have drawn it into the spotlight. And Britain’s Country Life [https://www.economist.com/britain/2026/05/31/a-posh-and-peculiar-british-magazine-is-thriving?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] magazine has a winning formula: ignore the news.  Guests and host: * Sophie Pedder, Paris bureau chief * Moeka Iida, East Asia reporter * Catherine Nixey, Britain correspondent * Rosie Blau, host of “The Intelligence” Topics covered:  * G7, Donald Trump, Iran, Ukraine * Prostitution, Japan, sex work * Country Life, publishing, Britain 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.

Local, an aesthetic: the deglobalisation of fun

The World Cup may seem to be proof that the digital commons centralises a global audience. We find that entertainment is in fact fragmenting [https://www.economist.com/leaders/2026/06/10/the-world-cup-paradox?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 big implications for soft power. Our series examining America’s 250 years of history tackles the AIDS crisis and the war on terror [https://www.economist.com/interactive/america-at-250#chapter-6?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 mosquitoes may in fact be attracted [https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2026/05/28/mosquitoes-seem-to-be-getting-over-insect-repellent?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 a gold-standard repellent.  Guests and host: * Tom Wainwright, media editor * Annie Crabill, senior digital editor * Matt Kaplan, science correspondent * Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence” * Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence” Topics covered:  * global media, World Cup, culture * American history * mosquitoes, science 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.

On the home strait? A path to peace in Iran

Despite exchanges of missiles and drones between Israel and Lebanon, the start of a deal was struck overnight. What exactly has been agreed, and will it hold? We examine the idea that part-nationalisation could be a way to share the coming onslaught of AI wealth. And our series on World Cup contenders concludes with a look at England’s side. Guests and host: * Gregg Carlstrom, Middle East correspondent * Alex Domash, economics correspondent * Jon Fasman, senior culture correspondent * Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence” * Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence” Topics covered:  * Iran war, Middle East, America * AI, wealth redistribution * World Cup, England 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.

Tocqueville Road Trip: 2. Against all obstacles

Tocqueville saw America’s faith in its own democracy as a vital force. But these days the majority of Americans think the country is headed in the wrong direction. Can a group of maximum security prisoners in Sing Sing offer a vision of how to get back on track? Guests and Hosts * John Prideaux, The Economist’s US Editor * Sean Pica, executive director of Hudson Link for Higher Education in Prison  * Jean Frantz, prisoner at Sing Sing Correctional Facility  Topics  * Alexis de Tocqueville’s views on voluntary associations * Sing Sing prison education programme * Prisoners’ views on the American dream  Let us know what you think. Email podcasts@economist.com To listen to the full series, subscribe to Economist Podcasts+ [https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus] If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs [https://myaccount.economist.com/s/article/What-is-Economist-Podcasts] page 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.