When Alexis de Tocqueville visited America from France in 1831 he saw a new kind of society. Not just a country, but an idea that would change the world. His book “Democracy in America” was a big influence on later generations of writers and thinkers, including The Economist’s US Editor John Prideaux. Now, 250 years after its birth, the vitality of that democracy is under question. In this series, John retraces the route Tocqueville took to find out how much of what inspired Tocqueville about America remains—and how worried we should be about what’s changed.

Out now

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AI is changing how we work. It's turning us all into managers. Be a good one.

The Economist’s management columnist, Andrew Palmer, takes on the bots in the third season of Boss Class. From cloning to coding, agents to entry-level jobs, he tackles the threat head on and figures out how to turn anxiety into opportunity. Along the way he meets bulls and bears and the people who can help you to master management in the age of AI.

Full Season 3 out 29th January 2026.

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Good bosses are rare. They don’t have to be. The skills of management can be learned.

The Economist’s management columnist, Andrew Palmer, is here to help. The second season of Boss Class features leaders at some of the world’s best performing companies, from Levi’s to Novo Nordisk to Google. 

New episodes are out weekly starting May 12th. 

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A sophisticated, predatory, multi-billion dollar industry is emerging from the shadows. It already rivals the size of the illicit drug trade. And it’s about to get bigger and much more powerful. 

The Economist’s Sue-Lin Wong follows a trail that starts with the collapse of a bank in rural Kansas to uncover a global, underground scam economy built around human trafficking, corruption and money laundering. Can it be stopped?

Available now.

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The generation born in the 1940s grew up in a land of endless growth and possibility, ruled by a confident, moderate elite. But just as they were embarking on adult life, all that started to come apart. The economy faltered, and the post-war consensus came under pressure from two sides: from the radical right, who hated government moves on civil rights  – and from the ‘New Left’, as boomers rebelled against their parents' generation and its war in Vietnam.

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How did two old, unpopular men end up running for the world's most demanding job? It’s the question John Prideaux, The Economist’s US editor, gets asked the most. And the answer lies in the peculiar politics of the baby boomers. 

Since 1992, every American president bar one has been a white man born in the 1940s. That run looks likely to span 36 years - not far off the age of the median American. This cohort was born with aces in their pockets. Their parents defeated Nazism and won the cold war. They hit the jobs market at an unmatched period of wealth creation. They have benefitted from giant leaps in technology, and in racial and gender equality. 

And yet, their last act in politics sees the two main parties accusing each other of wrecking American democracy. As the boomers near the end of their political journey, John Prideaux sets out to make sense of their inheritance and their legacy. 

Launching July 2024.

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