News

Economist Podcasts

The Economist

Sound reasoning. Every weekday, our global network of correspondents explain the world's most important stories. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

300 episodes

Coffer stop: AI may shrink tax base 2 Oct 2026 · 26 min If Artificial Intelligence results in job losses or lower salaries, government revenues will fall. Our correspondent explains how best to tax the windfalls from AI. Paint is a sur…

Trial and terror: Russia escalates Kyiv campaign 1 Oct 2026 · 22 min Russia has embarked on a new campaign to quell Ukraine, focused on supermarkets, playgrounds and other civilian targets. Our correspondent reports on the toll on daily life in Kyi…

Cheques and the City: Premier League disgrace 30 Sept 2026 · 21 min An independent commission has found Manchester City guilty of breaching over 100 rules. What penalty will the Premier League exact? Russia’s increasingly brazen attempts to provok…

Brazil rut: Lula v Bolsonaro, again 29 Sept 2026 · 21 min On October 4th, Brazil faces a polarising general election: re-elect the octogenarian incumbent or pick the son of a former president jailed for attempting a coup. In some countri…

Foiled plot: did Iran plan British base attack? 28 Sept 2026 · 20 min Five men are in custody under suspicion of explosives and terrorism offences after being arrested near a British military base used by American aircraft. This could mark a signifi…

Big meet, little meat: the Trump-Xi summit 25 Sept 2026 · 27 min Not much of real substance appears to have emerged from the get-together. But our correspondent says there are clues of how both sides view an evolving relationship. Tommy Robinso…

Home disadvantage: risks in housing markets 24 Sept 2026 · 23 min Rich-world house prices survived the last fit of interest-rate rises; our correspondent lays out why they may not this time. Nine months after Australia banned social media for un…

National front-runner: who can beat Le Pen? 23 Sept 2026 · 20 min Marine Le Pen, party leader of France’s populist-right National Rally, starts her fourth presidential bid with a commanding lead. The country’s political centre is broad, fragment…

The mob rule: criminality consumes South Africa 22 Sept 2026 · 21 min An illicit shadow economy, rampant extortion and the capture of the criminal justice system: mafia members and tactics are eating away at the state. Oura seems to have captured th…

Centre punch: Germany’s state-election shocker 21 Sept 2026 · 21 min Two more state-election results reveal surging support for both the far-right AfD and the populist-left Die Linke parties. Chancellor Friedrich Merz himself described the outcome…

Drone truth: Russia has the upper hand 18 Sept 2026 · 26 min After a visit to Ukraine last week, our defence editor reports on a new phase of the war as Kyiv and other civilian targets are bombarded by Russian missiles. He also visits an el…

Rise and shine: Warsh’s Fed rate test 17 Sept 2026 · 22 min The Federal Reserve has raised interest rates for the first time since July 2023. For the central bank’s new chair Kevin Warsh, that decision was a test both of monetary policy an…

The end of the world is AI? An existential threat 16 Sept 2026 · 24 min Is artificial intelligence becoming uncontrollably powerful? Our correspondent analyses whether a pause to breakneck development is possible or feasible. We have entered the new a…

Islamism in Britain: what is the threat? 15 Sept 2026 · 24 min Though a growing share of the British population is anxious about Islam, they have no reason to be. Islamism, a fringe ideology that believes government and society should be guid…

Strait and narrowing: the Houthis’ striking advance 14 Sept 2026 · 23 min After years of stalemate, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis are taking territory, including on a Red Sea strait. We ask what has changed, and how the shift fits into the wider regional…

The Weekend Intelligence: Shire folk - Episode 1: Tommy's Town 12 Sept 2026 · 49 min For 15 years, the British media dismissed Tommy Robinson as a far-right extremist. We kept him off our televisions, and out of our newspapers. Today his rallies attract tens of th…

Out-numbered: AI’s contentious maths milestone 11 Sept 2026 · 23 min OpenAI’s claim to have solved one of the great problems in mathematics has itself created problems. We ask why the breakthrough has shaken the field. On the 25th anniversary of 9/…

Working through it: the AI jobs boom dawns 10 Sept 2026 · 20 min The labour data are in from America and a trend is becoming clearer: on balance AI is starting to create more jobs than it hoovers up. Despite advancements of just about every oth…

TRAILER: Shire folk 10 Sept 2026 · 2 min Shire Folk is the story of how some of the most powerful people in America came to see Britain—and Islam—through the eyes of a fringe football hooligan. Hosted on Acast. See acast…

Chainsaw sputtering: Milei’s experiment falters 9 Sept 2026 · 22 min President Javier Milei has tamed inflation and improved the lot of many Argentines. But an election season approaches, and the promised economic and wage growth are not materialis…

School of shock: teenagers get dimmer 8 Sept 2026 · 21 min International tests in maths and reading show that 15-year-olds today score what 14-year-olds would have done a decade ago. Our correspondent explains the long-term decline. Is Mi…

All right on the night: AfD’s victory 7 Sept 2026 · 24 min Alternative for Germany won an even larger share of the vote than expected in yesterday’s state election. What does the far-right nationalist party’s success mean for Germany and…

Bargaining chips: Nvidia is the bank of AI 4 Sept 2026 · 25 min Nvidia, the world’s most valuable company, has shifted strategy to boost demand for its chips. Our correspondent assesses the opportunities and risks. Knife crime in Britain moves…

Ire and ICE: the toll of America’s deportations 3 Sept 2026 · 23 min Donald Trump’s stance on immigration helped him win the presidency. Our correspondent asks if a backlash against the campaign could damage Republican midterm prospects. Reddit is…

Right in front: AfD could win German state 2 Sept 2026 · 23 min On Sunday, Alternative for Germany could become the first far-right nationalist party to win a state election since the end of the second world war. Is Britain right to worry abou…

After the flood: Nepal’s ongoing rescue 1 Sept 2026 · 16 min After the devastating flash flood last week, our correspondent explains why the country is so ill-equipped to deal with the crisis. Does AI stop children from learning? And why Ja…

Stars in their AIs: tech is changing Hollywood 31 Aug 2026 · 20 min Behind the scenes, Artificial Intelligence is playing a growing role in every aspect of film-making, from script-writing and production-planning to shot-generation and editing. As…

Bots on the ground: China leads humanoid race 28 Aug 2026 · 25 min Our correspondent goes inside a Chinese robot facility to see thousands of droids being taught to complete useful tasks. Is it worth the time and money? How Meta’s $17bn settlemen…

Big shot: does a cancer vaccine work? 27 Aug 2026 · 22 min Personalised vaccines could offer a breakthrough in the fight against cancer. Our correspondent analyses the latest trial. Canada’s oil market is flourishing, despite the trade wa…

Slip the surly bonds? Scott Bessent goes on a yield trip 26 Aug 2026 · 23 min Amid record-tickling yields, the bond markets are now trying to make sense of what Scott Bessent, America’s Treasury secretary, has announced—a move that might put him on a collis…