The Intelligence from The Economist

For months, Donald Trump has appeared to back Vladimir Putin. Now, frustrated at the lack of a ceasefire and fed up with Russia, the US president is offering [https://www.economist.com/europe/2025/07/14/fed-up-with-putin-trump-offers-ukraine-arms-and-tariffs?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 send weapons to Kyiv. Trust-busters are investigating a whiff of price-fixing in the perfume industry. [https://www.economist.com/culture/2025/04/24/tiktok-is-changing-the-perfume-business?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 bilingual people [https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2025/06/27/is-being-bilingual-good-for-your-brain?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] may have healthier brains. 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.

After Thailand’s constitutional court suspended [https://www.economist.com/leaders/2025/07/10/after-another-leader-is-brought-low-thailands-voters-need-a-real-choice?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 country’s prime minister, our correspondent explains the need for fresh elections to avoid economic stagnation – and the possibility of the army stepping in. More celebrities [https://www.economist.com/business/2025/07/03/kim-kardashian-ryan-reynolds-and-the-age-of-the-celebrity-brand?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 setting up businesses. And what the sea slug [https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2025/07/02/how-sea-slugs-give-themselves-superpowers?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] can teach us about evolution. 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.

On December 8th, 2024, rebels swept into Damascus and ousted Syria's dictator, Bashar al-Assad. One of the first things they did was open up the prisons. Syrians who disappeared years earlier began to emerge from their grim detention cells. Would missing American journalist Austin Tice be among them? In a new three-part series on The Weekend Intelligence, Middle East correspondent, Gareth Browne investigates what happened to Austin and explores what his story reveals about Assad's Republic of Fear. In episode one, Gareth tells the story of Austin’s time in Syria leading up to his capture. 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=48TlDbL-4vU] explaining how to link your account. Music by Blue dot Sessions and Epidemic. This podcast transcript is generated by third-party AI. It has not been reviewed prior to publication. We make no representations or warranties in relation to the transcript, its accuracy or its completeness, and we disclaim all liability regarding its receipt, content and use. If you have any concerns about the transcript, please email us at podcasts@economist.com. Read more about how we are using AI. [https://myaccount.economist.com/s/article/How-we-handle-AI-generated-content]

Growth is abysmal; wages are low. But seen from the outside, Britain is a great place to contract services and buy bargain-basement bonds. We explore the opportunities [https://www.economist.com/leaders/2025/07/10/britain-is-cheap-and-should-learn-to-love-it?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] amid the challenges. After months of reporting, our correspondent shares what he learned about Austin Tice [https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2025/06/11/shining-light-on-americas-missing-man-in-syria?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 missing American journalist. And our obituaries editor remembers Jimmy Swaggart [https://www.economist.com/obituary/2025/07/10/jimmy-swaggart-tripped-up-on-his-progress-to-heaven?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 famed and fallible televangelist. 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.

Immigration is a political lightning rod in part because the ageing global asylum pact is no longer fit for purpose. We examine how best to update it. As paycheques for top-notch AI researchers go stratospheric, demand for rank-and-file coders is quickly cooling [https://www.economist.com/business/2025/07/01/superstar-coders-are-raking-it-in-others-not-so-much?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 what a gimmicky free show [https://www.economist.com/culture/2025/06/23/how-to-hear-a-hollywood-star-sing-for-free?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 reveals about the city and the nature of modern fame. 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.