The Intelligence from The Economist

Poland’s presidential election [https://www.economist.com/europe/2025/06/01/polands-presidential-election-leaves-the-country-exhausted?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] was a fight between two distinct visions of the country’s future. Our correspondent explains how the nationalist victor, a political newcomer, will shape Europe. Why drunken bar brawls [https://www.economist.com/britain/2025/05/15/how-to-prevent-drunken-punch-ups?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 declining in Britain (7:31). And remembering the “Wonga Coup” mercenary, Simon Mann [https://www.economist.com/obituary/2025/05/29/simon-mann-was-the-go-to-guy-for-military-coups-and-bespoke-warfare?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] (12:18).  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.

A newly formed, private foundation took charge of aid distribution in the territory; a melee ensued [https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2025/05/27/israel-fuels-three-emergencies-as-its-furious-allies-bail-out?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]. What is the group’s origin, and what is its plan? A pandemic treaty [https://www.economist.com/international/2025/05/20/how-to-fight-the-next-pandemic-without-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] at last agreed by the UN is an important step—even if the most desired signatory was absent (10:54). And a novel exhibition [https://www.economist.com/culture/2025/05/29/museums-should-open-up-their-storerooms?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 London shows how to make the most of a museum’s collection (18:22). 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.

The US Court of International Trade ruled that Donald Trump’s so-called fentanyl and Liberation Day tariffs constituted executive overreach [https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2025/05/29/the-courts-block-trumps-tariffs-can-he-circumvent-them?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]. Now what? Artificial intelligence is on a wild ride through a well-known hype cycle—and is arriving at a “trough of disillusionment [https://www.economist.com/business/2025/05/21/welcome-to-the-ai-trough-of-disillusionment?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]” (8:49). And a new book about Xi Jinping’s father reveals much about the Chinese president himself (16:42). 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.

The Trump administration’s determination to bend higher-education institutions to its will seems to know no bounds—and nowhere is getting it worse than Harvard University [https://www.economist.com/united-states/2025/05/08/harvard-has-more-problems-than-donald-trump?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 outcome of Poland’s presidential runoff matters far beyond its borders, now that it is a continental heavyweight [https://www.economist.com/leaders/2025/05/22/how-poland-can-keep-its-place-at-the-heart-of-europe?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] (11:23). And a bid to elevate the humblest drink to a luxury beverage [https://www.economist.com/united-states/2025/04/27/water-sommeliers-say-the-simplest-drink-is-the-future-of-luxury?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] (19:25). 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.

No one knows which soldiers will be on the buses; many families simply come in hope. As the wider war grinds on [https://www.economist.com/europe/2025/05/25/russia-is-raining-hellfire-on-ukraine?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 witnesses a mix of joy, confusion and disappointment. Big American brands once had it easy in the global marketplace. Now they bear the brunt [https://www.economist.com/business/2025/05/19/american-brands-have-a-new-image-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] of anti-Trump sentiment (12:05). And Brazil’s bustling bull market—that is, market for bulls [https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2025/05/14/brazilian-supercows-are-taking-over-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] (18:28). 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.