Checks and Balance from The Economist

By The EconomistNews Politics

Checks and Balance from The Economist episodes

May 14, 2021 Checks and Balance: Smart attack
A ransomware attack shut down a vital fuel pipeline on the east coast. President Biden’s plans to upgrade the hi-tech energy infrastructure may make it yet more vulnerable to hackers. Is America properly protected from cyber attack?

Michael Tran of RBC Capital Markets assesses the damage. The Economist’s defence editor Shashank Joshi puts the attack in context. Amy Myers Jaffe, author of “Energy’s Digital Future”, says it's a wake-up call.

John Prideaux hosts with Charlotte Howard and Jon Fasman.

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41 min
May 07, 2021 Checks and Balance: Crime without punishment
Big-city homicide rates have spiked during the pandemic. St Louis has America’s highest murder rate and nearly two thirds go unsolved. What happens when so many cases are left cold?

Sharon Williams’ son Mikey was shot and killed. His case remains unsolved. The Economist’s US digital editor Jon Fasman went to St Louis to speak to her.

John Prideaux hosts with Charlotte Howard.

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46 min
April 30, 2021 Checks and Balance: 100 days of aptitude
A portrait of Franklin Roosevelt hangs in the Oval Office, where Joe Biden convenes historians to share how his hero began changing the country in his very first weeks as president. But the new president faces tough trade-offs to secure his ambitious agenda. How much might this presidency transform America?

Historian Niall Ferguson tells us presidents learn the wrong lessons from those who came before them. The Economist’s Washington correspondent Idrees Kahloon and data journalist Elliott Morris also join.

John Prideaux hosts with Charlotte Howard and Jon Fasman.

For access to The Economist’s print, digital and audio editions subscribe: economist.com/USpod

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42 min
April 23, 2021 Checks and Balance: Vlad, bad and dangerous
Vladimir Putin has responded to a new US administration with typical thuggery. Russia’s main opposition leader is in prison and its military is again threatening Ukraine. Can Joe Biden deal with Russia more effectively than past presidents?

The Economist’s James Bennet and Michael McFaul, a former US ambassador who was with Biden when he last met Putin, join the discussion. Plus we hear an excerpt from The Economist Asks with former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.

John Prideaux hosts with Charlotte Howard and Jon Fasman.

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43 min
April 16, 2021 Checks and Balance: CEOutrage
American companies used to keep quiet about politics, relying on behind the scenes donations and lobbying. But they are increasingly speaking out on a range of issues— most recently on Georgia’s restrictive new voting laws.

Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, of the Yale School of Management, organised a recent meeting of CEOs and says this is a great opportunity for businesses. Henry Tricks, The Economist’s Schumpeter columnist, surveys the history of corporate activism and we explore international comparisons.

John Prideaux, our US editor, hosts, with New York bureau chief Charlotte Howard, and Jon Fasman, US digital editor.

For access to The Economist’s print, digital and audio editions subscribe: economist.com/USpod

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43 min
April 09, 2021 Checks and Balance: Space race
American house prices have risen more steeply during the pandemic than at any time in the last 15 years. Buyers are swapping big cities for suburbs and smaller, sunnier cities in the South and Mountain West. How might this reshuffle change America's politics?

The Economist’s data journalist James Fransham and Denver correspondent Aryn Braun join, along with John Suthers, mayor of Colorado Springs.

John Prideaux hosts with Charlotte Howard and Jon Fasman.

For access to The Economist’s print, digital and audio editions subscribe: economist.com/USpod

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41 min
April 02, 2021 Checks and Balance: Chain reaction
A container ship stuck in the Suez canal, tensions with China, and the vaccine race have combined to make America’s supply chains look vulnerable. President Biden has ordered a security review and his infrastructure plan includes measures to protect them. What are the politics of this new mantra of resilience?

The Economist’s US business editor Vijay Vaitheeswaran and Soumaya Keynes, our trade and globalisation editor, join the discussion.

John Prideaux hosts with Charlotte Howard and Jon Fasman.

For access to The Economist’s print, digital and audio editions subscribe: economist.com/USpod

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32 min
March 26, 2021 Checks and Balance: Size matters
President Biden wants a big infrastructure bill to follow the stimulus cash he has handed out. It would add up to a $5 trillion overhaul of America. A splurge on this scale has long been taboo in mainstream politics. Is big government back?

The Economist’s public policy editor Sacha Nauta and Henry Curr, our economics editor, join the discussion.

John Prideaux hosts with Charlotte Howard and Jon Fasman.

For access to The Economist’s print, digital and audio editions subscribe: economist.com/USpod

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40 min
March 19, 2021 Checks and Balance: No vacancy
“Don’t come over” is Joe Biden’s message to migrants. Rumours that it’s easier to enter the United States since he became president are fuelling a humanitarian crisis at the southern border. The president needs a firmer grip on the issue, but his favoured centre ground is barren. How should he respond?

The Economist’s Alexandra Suich Bass reports from South Texas, we look back on Ronald Reagan’s big immigration reform, and speak to Ali Noorani of the National Immigration Forum.

John Prideaux, our US editor, hosts with New York bureau chief Charlotte Howard, and Jon Fasman, US digital editor.

For access to The Economist’s print, digital and audio editions subscribe: economist.com/USpod

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44 min
March 12, 2021 Checks and Balance: Fixer upper
President Biden’s vast economic rescue package has passed without scrutiny or input from Republicans. Meanwhile House Democrats’ plan to protect voting rights will founder so long as the Senate has the filibuster. What’s the best way to fix American democracy?

Our Washington correspondent Idrees Kahloon joins the discussion and we hear from Congresswomen Katie Porter, a proponent of the voting reform bill. The Economist’s Matt Steinglass explores the eccentricity of the supermajority.

John Prideaux, our US editor, hosts with New York bureau chief Charlotte Howard, and Jon Fasman, US digital editor.

For access to The Economist’s print, digital and audio editions subscribe: economist.com/USpod

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
42 min

About Checks and Balance from The Economist

From the publisher's feed

Unlock American politics with The Economist’s John Prideaux, Charlotte Howard and James Bennet. Taking one big theme every week, they dig into the data, the ideas and the history behind it. Politicians, pollsters and political scientists join them to discuss where the great experiment of American democracy is headed. Published every Friday.

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