This week Andrey Melnichenko, Russia’s biggest industrialist, warns in The Economist that disaster is looming for his country as the war in Ukraine continues. What does it mean when members of the elite risk broadcasting their discontent? Our correspondent describes life in Kyiv as attacks intensify. And our week-long journey down Route 66 reaches the end of the road.

Watch extended clips from Insider here.

Guests and host:

• Edward Carr, Economist deputy editor
• Arkady Ostrovsky, Russia editor
• Oliver Carroll, Ukraine correspondent
• Jon Fasman, senior culture correspondent
• Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence”

Topics covered: 

• Russia, Putin, Andrey Melnichenko
• Ukraine, Kyiv, drone, interceptor
• Route 66, car culture

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As America hit 90 targets in a second day of attacks on Iran, the fragile truce is in jeopardy. Our correspondent explains how power shifts within Iran may affect the war. Asian governments are trying to force children to care for ageing parents. And day four of our journey down Route 66 traverses a darker side of the road.   

Guests and host:

• Nicolas Pelham, Middle East correspondent
• Farah Cheah, Asia reporter
• Jon Fasman, senior culture correspondent
• Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence”
• Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”

Topics covered: 

• Iran, ceasefire, Strait of Hormuz, Ayatollah
• Filial piety, ageing, elderly care
• Route 66, Oklahoma, race relations

Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to The Economist.

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Last night, the populist-right leader announced that she will run in the French presidential election next year. Our correspondent analyses the Le Pen dynasty and explains how this decision will shape the campaign. The world’s first refuge for whales once held in captivity. And our journey down America’s Route 66 takes us into its commercial history.

Guests and host:

• Sophie Pedder, Paris bureau chief
• Sam Colbert, senior podcast producer
• Jon Fasman, senior culture correspondent
• Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence”

Topics covered: 

• Marine Le Pen, National Rally
• Whales, beluga, animal rights
• Route 66, America

Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to The Economist.

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As NATO leaders gather for the annual summit in Turkey today, the thorniest issue is off the agenda: fractures within the alliance. Our correspondent travels to the Baltics, where a strategic shift is already evident. First there was vibe coding, now vibe lawyering is coming to courtrooms. And day two of our great American roadtrip down Route 66.  

Guests and host:

• Anton La Guardia, diplomatic editor
• Anna Kerr, senior audience editor
• Jon Fasman, senior culture correspondent
• Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence”
• Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”

Topics covered: 

• NATO, Ukraine, Ankara
• Vibe lawyering, vibe coding, courtroom
• Route 66, California

Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to The Economist.

For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. 

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The Iranian regime hopes the massive crowds gathered for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s funeral will demonstrate its strength. Our correspondent says they could also reveal its weakness. Why Japan wants to change its divorce laws and custody arrangements. And the first part of our week-long road trip down America’s iconic Route 66. 

Guests and host:

• Nicolas Pelham, Middle East correspondent
• Moeka Iida, East Asia correspondent
• Jon Fasman, senior culture correspondent
• Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence”

Topics covered: 

• Ayatollah, Khamenei, Iran, Supreme Leader
• Japan, divorce, custody
• Route 66, Steinbeck, The Grapes of Wrath 

Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—subscribe to The Economist.

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Big birthdays are often a time for reflection. Our editors and correspondents chat through the state of American democracy as seen from inside and outside the country, the country’s perennial paroxysms of immigration policy, and its undimmed power to export its culture to the world. 

Watch extended clips from Insider here.

Guests and host:

• Robert Guest, deputy editor
• Rebecca Jackson, Southern correspondent
• Daniel Knowles, Midwest correspondent
• Aryn Braun, West Coast correspondent
• Jon Fasman, senior culture correspondent
• Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”

Topics covered: 

• American history, American democracy
• immigration policy
• American cultural exports

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Big oil firms keep one part of their business hush-hush: trading. Amid an almighty oil shock, the majors’ trading arms are raking it in. But competition is mounting. We look at the Trump administration’s messy attempts to regulate frontier AI models, and how that may cost America its AI edge. And why the biggest music tours are going to fewer places. 

Guests and host:

• Matthieu Favas, commodities editor
• Shashank Joshi, incoming Washington bureau chief
• Vicky Jessop, culture writer
• Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”

Topics covered: 

• oil majors, oil trading
• AI,  frontier models, American regulation
• music business, concert tours

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Government help was thin on the ground just after the country’s worst quakes in a century. The America-backed regime is thus on literal and figurative shaky ground. A food-delivery robot trial in England represents the future of the service. And why Harlan Coben’s proliferating thrillers are cheesy but gripping.

Guests and host:

• Kinley Salmon, Latin America correspondent
• Alex Hern, AI writer
• Catherine Nixey, culture correspondent
• Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”

Topics covered: 

• Venezuela earthquakes, disaster response
• delivery robots
• Harlan Coben

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With Iran emboldened and America an ever more capricious security partner, Gulf countries face several post-war challenges. They should put their divides aside to tackle them. We dig one last time into our archive to chronicle American history, bringing our series up to the present day. And the mounting evidence that plants can “hear”. 

Guests and host:

• Gregg Carlstrom, Middle East correspondent
• Annie Crabill, senior digital editor
• Matt Kaplan, science correspondent
• Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence”
• Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”

Topics covered: 

• Iran war, Middle East geopolitics
• American history, semiquincentennials
• plants, biology, science

Get a world of insights by subscribing to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

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For all the Trumpian chaos in Latin America, no other developing-world regional economy has done so well in the past year. We examine the Donroe dividend. The cost to make jollof rice, a staple dish in Nigeria and Ghana, is a window into the countries’ economies. And the BBC waves goodbye to its long-wave radio service.

Guests and host:

• Cerian Richmond-Jones, international economics correspondent
• Ọrẹ Ogunbiyi, Africa correspondent
• Bo Franklin, senior editor
• Rosie Blau, co-host of “The Intelligence”
• Jason Palmer, co-host of “The Intelligence”

Topics covered: 

• Latin America, Donroe doctrine, mining
• Nigeria, Ghana, cost of living, jollof rice
• BBC, long-wave radio

Get a world of insights by subscribing to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

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