Economist Radio

By The Economist

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The Economist was founded in 1843 "to throw white light on the subjects within its range". For more from The Economist visit http://shop.economist.com/collections/audio

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Checks and Balance: Cuba li...

07.23.2021

The Biden administration has announced new sanctions against Cuba, as the communist regime cracks down on the biggest protests in decades. How might the president's pledge to support democracy around the world play out in Cuba? Miami political consultant Fernand ...

Economist Radio episodes:

07.23.2021 Checks and Balance: Cuba libre? The Biden administration has announced new sanctions against Cuba, as the communist regime cracks down on the biggest protests in decades. How might the president's pledge to support democracy around the world play out in Cuba? Miami political consultant Fernand ...
07.23.2021 A dangerous games? A muted start to the Olympics Tokyo is under a state of emergency; covid-19 cases are piling up. But for Japan, a super-spreader event is just one of the potential costs of this year’s games. We ask why Britain’s government has essentially given amnesty to those ...
07.22.2021 The Economist Asks: Michael Johnson Are today’s sporting competitions fair? The four-time Olympic champion sprinter tells Anne McElvoy why he handed back his gold medal after discovering his team-mate's use of performance-enhancing drugs, and why he thinks doping will never be eradicated. Should athletes be ...
07.22.2021 Three-degree burn: the warmer world that awaits It seems ever more certain that global temperatures will sail past limits set in the Paris Agreement. We examine what a world warmed by 3°C would—or will—look like. Our correspondent speaks with Sudan’s three most powerful men; will they act ...
07.21.2021 Money Talks: Uncertainty principles Financial markets are rattled by fears about the rapidly spreading Delta variant of covid-19. But another threat also looms: can the economic recovery survive the end of emergency stimulus? Plus, why America’s shale-oil tycoons are now fracking as little as ...
07.21.2021 Changing horses mid-streaming? Netflix’s next act On the face of it, the streaming giant’s quarterly results were lacklustre. But our media editor explains why its international growth looks promising, and how it is spreading its bets. A largely uncontested purge of LGBT accounts from China’s social-media ...
07.20.2021 Babbage: Cloud of suspicion High stakes and big money lead some athletes to cheat at the Olympic games. Tim Cross, The Economist’s Technology editor, investigates the prevalence of doping in sport and asks if testing can ever keep a lid on the use of ...
07.20.2021 Joint pain: a rare rebuke of China’s hackers The European Union, NATO and the “Five Eyes” intelligence partners have all joined America in accusing China’s government of involvement in hacking campaigns. Now what? Away from the spectacle of billionaires’ race to the heavens, many African countries are establishing ...
07.19.2021 Gamechangers: Don't shoot the messenger Messenger RNA, or mRNA, is the molecule that forms the basis of the coronavirus vaccines made by Moderna and by Pfizer-BioNTech. Although the vaccines went from lab to jab in just a few months, the idea of using mRNA as ...
07.19.2021 In a flash: floods devastate Europe Disaster-recovery efforts continue, even as heavy rains continue in many places. The tragedy brings climate change to the fore, with political implications particularly in Germany. Syria’s oppressive regime is short of cash, so it has apparently turned to trafficking in ...
07.18.2021 Editor’s Picks: July 19th 2021 A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week: Biden’s new China doctrine, a jailed ex-president won't go quietly in South Africa (8:44), and carbon border taxes (14:32). Please subscribe to The ...
07.16.2021 Checks and Balance: Trading places What is President Biden's new China doctrine and will it work? The Economist's Beijing bureau chief looks back 20 years to the beginning of the era of engagement between the two superpowers. And, as their governments' relationship worsens, how do ...
07.16.2021 A pounder of a quarter: American banks report Bank bosses are jubilant: revenues were down but profits way up. We look at the pandemic-driven reasons behind the windfall, and ask how long their influence may last. A thicket of conflicting laws is complicating Jamaica’s plans to enter the ...
07.15.2021 The Economist Asks: David Oyelowo The actor and director of “The Water Man” tells Anne McElvoy why he thinks Hollywood needs new stories and how grieving for his parents inspired his latest film. The star of “Selma” reveals why he left London for Los Angeles ...
07.15.2021 Loot cause: South Africa’s unrest Widespread looting and the worst violence since apartheid continue, exposing ethnic divisions and the persistent influence of Jacob Zuma, a former president. How to quell the tensions? As some countries administer third covid-19 “booster shots” we ask about the epidemiological ...
07.14.2021 Money Talks: China Inc stays global Can a new generation of Chinese multinational companies learn to adapt and even thrive in a hostile environment at home and abroad? Also, how Europe’s latest green plan aims to plug the leaks in the world’s biggest carbon market. And, ...
07.14.2021 Texas hold-’em-up: a voting-rights standoff The state’s Democratic lawmakers have fled to Washington, stymieing a voting-rights bill. We examine the growing state-level, bare-knuckle fights on voting rights across the country. Ransomware attacks just keep getting bolder, more disruptive, more sinister; what structural changes could protect ...
07.13.2021 Babbage: Best behaviour Countries with high covid-19 vaccination rates, including England, are lifting social restrictions. Behavioural scientist Katy Milkman and health-policy editor Natasha Loder assess the impact of these changes. Will mask-wearing and social distancing stick? And, how people may one day drill ...
07.13.2021 Flight attendance: airlines after the pandemic Which carriers will thrive? Long-haulers or short-hoppers? The no-frills or the glitzy? The bailed-out or the muddled-through? Our industry editor scans the skies. Record numbers of Latin American migrants heading for America’s southern border mask another trend: many are stopping ...
07.12.2021 Hasta la victoria, hambre: rare protests rock Cuba Food shortages are nothing new. But it has been decades since shelves have been so empty—and since Cubans took to the streets in such numbers. Richard Branson’s space jaunt was intended to mark the start of a space-tourism industry; we ...
07.11.2021 Editor’s Picks: July 12th 2021 A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, the new fault lines in the world economy, the catastrophic consequences of America abandoning Afghanistan (10:28) and how Mills & Boon, a famed ...
07.09.2021 Checks and Balance: History test Twenty six Republican-led states have legislated to stop critical race theory being taught in schools. Local school board meetings have seen angry protests. What should Americans learn about their history? We speak to historian Gary Nash of UCLA, who helped ...
07.09.2021 A decade decayed: South Sudan The world’s youngest state was born amid boundless optimism. But poverty is still endemic and ethnic tensions still rule politics; what hope for its next decade? Mass graves found at Canada’s “residential schools” have sparked a reckoning about past abuses ...
07.08.2021 The Economist Asks: Kaja Kallas Are economic sanctions against Russia a good idea? Anne McElvoy asks the Prime Minister of Estonia whether sanctions really punish Vladimir Putin, and why she thinks dialogue with the Kremlin shows weakness. Are all NATO members spending enough on defence? ...
07.08.2021 Assassins’ deed: Haiti’s president killed Jovenel Moïse presided, in an increasingly authoritarian way, over a country slipping toward failed-state status. The unrest is likely to worsen following his assassination. The Democratic primary race for New York’s mayor has at last been decided, with lessons for ...
07.07.2021 Money Talks: Tapering without the tantrum The economic recovery is outpacing expectations—but so is inflation. Can central banks wind back their support without sending markets into freefall? And, the Olympics used to be a bonanza for corporate sponsors, but this years’ games are turning into a ...
07.07.2021 Dropped shots: Russia’s third wave Despite registering the world’s first coronavirus vaccine, the country is being lashed by covid-19. Mixed messages and a long-cultivated mistrust are to blame. DARPA, America’s agency that funds blue-sky tech research, has been so successful down the years that now ...
07.06.2021 Babbage: Urban jungles As urbanisation progresses and lethal heatwaves become more common, could miniature forests help air-condition cities? Plus, how virtual clinical trials could save money, time and lives. And, counting the hidden costs of artificial intelligence with Kate Crawford, cofounder of the ...
07.06.2021 Taken for a ride: why China is leaning on Didi Just after the ride-hailing giant made a splashy stockmarket debut, Chinese regulators came down hard. Why is the country crimping its tech champions? There is something missing at many American embassies around the world: American ambassadors. We ask why so ...
07.05.2021 Leave them in no peace: America’s Afghan exit Passport queues are lengthening; ad-hoc civilian militias are strengthening. As foreign powers bow out, Taliban militants take district after district—and the fear of the people is palpable. The pandemic drove a boom in the attention economy, and media companies happily ...
07.04.2021 Editor’s Picks: July 5th 2021 A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week: the long goodbye to covid-19, a battle to defend American democracy (10:25) and how big emerging markets are using retro tools to entice ...
07.02.2021 Checks and Balance: Steal works Election administration used to be a sleepy corner of American bureaucracy. Now it’s the latest victim of extreme polarisation. A privately-funded audit of votes by Republicans in Arizona reveals how democratic norms continue to erode since Donald Trump left office. ...
07.02.2021 Repetitive strains: SARS-CoV-2 variants The coronavirus’s Delta variant accounts for ever more infections; we ask about mutational surprises yet to emerge, and what can be done about them. The ousting of Ethiopia’s army from the Tigray region might precipitate far wider conflict—within the country ...
07.01.2021 The Economist Asks: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Is the era of globalisation over? The Economist’s editor-in-chief Zanny Minton Beddoes asks the director-general of the World Trade Organisation whether the multilateral trading system still works. Can an organisation rooted in the twentieth century prevent a trade war between ...
07.01.2021 Party piece: China’s Communists at 100 Pomp and rhetoric marked the centenary of what are arguably the world’s most successful authoritarians. We sit in on the celebrations, tinged with paranoia; we look back to 1921 and how the party came to be and came to power; ...
06.30.2021 Money Talks: Lives v livelihoods Lockdowns have become a default tool for governments trying to control covid-19. But are the benefits worth the costs? The return to the office is proving much more difficult than last year’s abrupt exodus. And as he prepares to move ...
06.30.2021 No day in court: Jacob Zuma’s jail sentence South Africa’s embattled former leader will be imprisoned for failing to show up to trial—a sign that, for all the rot in South Africa, its Constitutional Court still has teeth. Our environment editor discusses the scope of heatwaves sweeping the ...
06.29.2021 Babbage: Power play An unlimited supply of clean, carbon-free energy—nuclear fusion is a technology that could change the world. Can engineers make fusion work on a commercial scale? Also, mathematician Jordan Ellenberg on how geometry shapes the world. And, why one of the ...
06.29.2021 Bear necessities: learning to handle Russia As both summitry and military near-misses proliferate, some want measured dialogue while others want markedly tougher talk. Our defence and Russia editors discuss world leaders’ diverging views on handling today’s Russia. South Korea’s new opposition leader is giving voice to ...
06.28.2021 The Jab: How will the pandemic end? Vaccines are helping some countries return to a semblance of normalcy, while much of the world remains vulnerable to covid-19. We explore what’s next for the pandemic at this critical juncture. Soumya Swaminathan, Chief Scientist at the World Health Organisation, ...
06.28.2021 The World Ahead: The heat is on As heat waves become more frequent and deadly around the world, we consider how two cities in India might weather a deadly one in 2041. Kim Stanley Robinson, science-fiction writer and author of “The Ministry for the Future”, tells us ...
06.28.2021 Third time’s the harm: Africa’s crippling covid-19 wave Hopes that the continent had escaped the worst of the pandemic have proved too hasty; our correspondent describes a slow-rolling tragedy with little hope of respite. Reading scores in America are shockingly low; many blame how the skill is taught. ...
06.27.2021 Editor’s Picks: June 28th 2021 A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week: China’s communist party at 100: the secret of its longevity, post-pandemic education (9:50) and Belgitude: the art of Belgian zen (31:43) Please subscribe ...
06.25.2021 Checks and Balance: Recovery time As America reopens, new business creation is at record levels and there is upward pressure on wages for the first time in decades. How has the pandemic restructured the American economy? The Economist’s editor-in-chief Zanny Minton Beddoes joins the panel. ...
06.25.2021 Iraq to its foundations: a chance to remake the state With elections looming, there is an opportunity to remake a state ravaged by war and riven by power struggles. We ask how to take Iraq out of a hard place. Fires are raging again in the American West; a “megadrought” ...
06.24.2021 The Economist Asks: Martha Nussbaum Has the #MeToo movement run into trouble? The renowned philosopher and author of “Citadels of Pride: Sexual Abuse, Accountability, and Reconciliation” talks to Anne McElvoy about the moral complexities of mass-sharing experiences of sexual assault and shaming of alleged perpetrators. ...
06.24.2021 Bench marks: weighing recent SCOTUS rulings The court’s term is not quite over, with contentious rulings still pending. We examine the latest decisions to gauge how its new conservative justices have affected its ideological bent. As a former Mauritanian president heads to jail we examine the ...
06.23.2021 Money Talks: The Empire of Son How has the world's biggest technology investor Softbank ridden the wave of the pandemic? And, the surging threat of cyber-heists—the methods and menace of the new bank robbers. Also, survival of the fittest in economic theory. Simon Long hosts For ...
06.23.2021 Hunger strikes: North Korea’s food shortages An admission that the country’s food situation is “tense” is a rare glimpse into the compounding effects of pandemic policies and crop failures. Adherents of wild conspiracy theories in America tend to be white, and often evangelical. But Hispanic Americans ...
06.22.2021 Babbage: The other environmental emergency The loss of biodiversity poses as great a risk to humanity as climate change. Catherine Brahic, The Economist’s environment editor, investigates whether technology can help to monitor, model and protect Earth’s ecosystems. Also, do conservation scientists need to employ a ...

Older episodes

Economist Radio

What's Economist Radio about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Economist Radio episodes:

Checks and Balance: Cuba libre?

A dangerous games? A muted start to the Olympics

The Economist Asks: Michael Johnson

Three-degree burn: the warmer world that awaits

Money Talks: Uncertainty principles

Changing horses mid-streaming? Netflix’s next act

Babbage: Cloud of suspicion

Joint pain: a rare rebuke of China’s hackers

Gamechangers: Don't shoot the messenger

In a flash: floods devastate Europe

Editor’s Picks: July 19th 2021

Checks and Balance: Trading places

A pounder of a quarter: American banks report

The Economist Asks: David Oyelowo

Loot cause: South Africa’s unrest

Money Talks: China Inc stays global

Texas hold-’em-up: a voting-rights standoff

Babbage: Best behaviour

Flight attendance: airlines after the pandemic

Hasta la victoria, hambre: rare protests rock Cuba

Editor’s Picks: July 12th 2021

Checks and Balance: History test

A decade decayed: South Sudan

The Economist Asks: Kaja Kallas

Assassins’ deed: Haiti’s president killed

Money Talks: Tapering without the tantrum

Dropped shots: Russia’s third wave

Babbage: Urban jungles

Taken for a ride: why China is leaning on Didi

Leave them in no peace: America’s Afghan exit

Editor’s Picks: July 5th 2021

Checks and Balance: Steal works

Repetitive strains: SARS-CoV-2 variants

The Economist Asks: Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala

Party piece: China’s Communists at 100

Money Talks: Lives v livelihoods

No day in court: Jacob Zuma’s jail sentence

Babbage: Power play

Bear necessities: learning to handle Russia

The Jab: How will the pandemic end?

The World Ahead: The heat is on

Third time’s the harm: Africa’s crippling covid-19 wave

Editor’s Picks: June 28th 2021

Checks and Balance: Recovery time

Iraq to its foundations: a chance to remake the state

The Economist Asks: Martha Nussbaum

Bench marks: weighing recent SCOTUS rulings

Money Talks: The Empire of Son

Hunger strikes: North Korea’s food shortages

Babbage: The other environmental emergency

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