The Economist Podcasts

By The Economist

News & Politics

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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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Editor’s Picks: October 25t...

10.24.2021

A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, the real-time revolution transforming economics, how insurgency, secessionism and banditry threaten Nigeria (10:06) and our Bartleby columnist on why corporate mission statements deserve ...

The Economist Podcasts episodes:

10.24.2021 Editor’s Picks: October 25th 2021 A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, the real-time revolution transforming economics, how insurgency, secessionism and banditry threaten Nigeria (10:06) and our Bartleby columnist on why corporate mission statements deserve ...
10.22.2021 Checks and Balance: Labour’s love lost Wages are going up and employees are walking out - some to strike, some never to come back. American workers have more leverage than before the pandemic. How permanent is this shift in power? The Economist’s Simon Rabinovitch takes us ...
10.22.2021 Flu into a rage: Brazil’s Bolsonaro inquiry President Jair Bolsonaro’s early dismissal of the pandemic as “a little flu” presaged a calamitous handling of the crisis. We ask how a congressional investigation’s dramatic assessment of his non-actions may damage him. China’s test of a hypersonic, nuclear-capable glider ...
10.21.2021 The Economist Asks: Nobel peace prize winners 2021 This year’s award celebrates two journalists working in countries where the screws are tightening on media freedom. Host Anne McElvoy asks Maria Ressa of the Philippines and Russia’s Dmitry Muratov how they are defending the free press. The editor of ...
10.21.2021 States of emergency: Nigeria Criminal gangs in north-western states, jihadists in the north-east, a rebellion in the south-east: kidnappers, warlords and cattle rustlers are making the country ungovernable. The new head of Samsung Electronics has a legacy to build—and aims to do so by ...
10.20.2021 Money Talks: In a tightening spot Higher inflation looks likely to last into 2022. The Bank of England could be the first big central bank to raise interest rates—why might it make the first move? Also, our team explores how real-time data are upending economics. And ...
10.20.2021 Gas-trick distress: a visit to Ukraine Russia continues to pile pressure on the country, and will soon have the power to cut off its natural gas. Our correspondent pays a visit to find how Ukrainians cope. The simplest solution to renewables’ intermittency is to move electricity ...
10.19.2021 Babbage: on Babbage On the 150th anniversary of the death of Charles Babbage, we retrace the footsteps of the brilliant but irascible British inventor, mathematician, and engineer. Host Kenneth Cukier investigates why Babbage is hailed by some as the grandfather of the computer, ...
10.19.2021 Meeting them where they are: a British MP’s murder Sir David Amess was killed doing what he loved: speaking directly with voters. We examine the dangers inherent in the “constituency surgeries” that British politicians cherish. The fight against tuberculosis is made harder by mutations that confer drug resistance; we ...
10.18.2021 To a Lesser Degree: Paying for it The green revolution won’t be cheap, but there is enough money to make it happen - if it goes to the right places. What role can finance play in steering economies towards a low-carbon future? Elemental Excelerator’s Dawn Lippert tells ...
10.18.2021 Chinese draggin’: growth slows A paltry GDP rise is down to the pandemic, power and property. We ask what growing pains President Xi Jinping will endure in the name of economic reforms. Emmanuel Macron, France’s president, will probably end up in the second round ...
10.17.2021 Editor’s Picks: October 18th 2021 A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, the first big energy shock of the green era, how covid-19 will move from pandemic to endemic (11:29) and our Charlemagne columnist assesses ...
10.15.2021 Checks and Balance: Face palm Republicans and Democrats don't agree on much, but in Facebook they’ve found a common enemy. When whistleblower Frances Haugen told a congressional hearing the company knew its products damaged the mental health of its young users, senators rushed to proclaim ...
10.15.2021 Port, and a storm: sectarian violence in Lebanon The effort to investigate last year’s port explosion in Beirut has fired up political and religious tensions—resulting in Lebanon’s worst violence in years. We speak with Dmitry Muratov, a Russian journalist who shared this year’s Nobel peace prize, about what ...
10.14.2021 The Economist Asks: David Chase Fourteen years after “The Sopranos'' ended, the creator of the hit TV series explains why his show is reaching new and younger audiences. Host Anne McElvoy asks whether mobsters have a moral compass and why audiences root for the patriarch ...
10.14.2021 For watt it’s worth: energy markets’ squeeze A fossil-fuel scramble reveals energy markets in desperate need of a redesign. We examine what must be done to secure a renewable future. Throngs of Hong Kong residents fleeing China’s tightening hand are settling in Britain; our correspondent finds an ...
10.13.2021 Money Talks: A real-world revolution This year's Nobel prize celebrates the "credibility revolution" that has transformed economics since the 1990s. Today most notable new work is not theoretical but based on analysis of real-world data. Host Rachana Shanbhogue speaks to two of the winners, David ...
10.13.2021 Keep your friends close: Pakistan’s shifting role As the Taliban’s closest ally, the country bears a big responsibility for Afghanistan’s fate. We examine its diplomatic risks and opportunities. Mastercard is pressing porn purveyors this week; we look at how financial companies are reluctantly stepping up as the ...
10.12.2021 Babbage: Rocks in space A probe to study the Trojan asteroids is expected to take off this week, but what will this mission uncover about the formation of the solar system? Also, we explore new technology to observe asteroids, as well as a mission ...
10.12.2021 Exit Poles? A bold challenge to the EU After a court ruling in Poland that is an affront to a core European Union principle, Poles hit the streets—fearing a “Pol-exit” they do not want. Who will back down? Hydrogen has been touted for decades as a fuel with ...
10.11.2021 To a Lesser Degree: Going in reverse Lowering greenhouse gas emissions won’t be enough to stop the world from overheating. Carbon needs to be sucked out of the atmosphere. But can that be done quickly enough -- and on what scale? Nathalie Seddon of the Nature-Based Solutions ...
10.11.2021 Zero-to-some game: Asia-Pacific covid-19 plans crack Where governments enacted zero-tolerance coronavirus strategies, numbers indeed stayed low. That was before the Delta variant. We ask how countries can now wind back those policies. A shocking report of sexual abuse within France’s Catholic church further threatens the institution’s ...
10.10.2021 Editor’s Picks: October 11th 2021 A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, the world economy’s shortage problem, Abiy Ahmed against the world (9:39) and how fast-fashion label Shein models a new style of Chinese multinational ...
10.08.2021 Checks and Balance: Cop out When Democrats took control of Congress and the presidency, it raised hopes that real change could happen in a criminal justice system tarnished by racism and police brutality. But federal efforts have stalled and progressive local prosecutors are hitting roadblocks. ...
10.08.2021 Strait of tension: Chinese jets test Taiwan China has sent more than 100 planes to probe Taiwan’s air-defence zone. We explain why Beijing has chosen this moment to send a message across the strait. The WHO has approved a vaccine against malaria—a turning-point in fighting a disease ...
10.07.2021 The Economist Asks: Stanley McChrystal Are Western alliances fraying? Anne McElvoy asks the retired four-star US General about the diplomatic fallout from the AUKUS deal. As Chinese jets menace Taiwan, would the US go to war to defend the island? The former commander of US ...
10.07.2021 How to lose friends and alienate people: Ethiopia’s civil war Abiy Ahmed is sworn in again as prime minister, even as continuing strife increases the country’s isolation. Our correspondent witnesses the gruesome aftermath of a telling battle. China once encouraged, even forced abortions. Now, as it frets about declining birth ...
10.06.2021 Money Talks: The new logic of trade Trade used to be about efficiency and growth. But those goals are being overtaken by others, from security to environmentalism. Our Britain economics editor Soumaya Keynes and host Rachana Shanbhogue investigate how the blurring of economic and political concerns is ...
10.06.2021 Ticker shock: London’s wheezing stockmarket A global financial centre must move with the times, and—so far—London has not. Our correspondent lays out the causes of the malaise, and how to fix it. For many years compulsory military service was on the decline; we ask why ...
10.05.2021 Babbage: A new Anthropocene diet A new generation of technologies are transforming the world’s food-production system. Food scientists are producing cruelty-free meat in the lab, growing salad underground in vertical farms and bringing aquaculture on land. The Economist's US digital editor Jon Fasman uncovers the ...
10.05.2021 When it goes dark: Facebook’s terrible week Yesterday’s global outage is not even the worst of it: today’s congressional testimony will examine a whistleblower’s allegations that the company knows its products cause widespread harm. The modern food-industrial complex is great for eaters but appalling for the planet; ...
10.04.2021 To a Lesser Degree: Best behaviour Eating less meat or giving up flying are palpable ways people can help mitigate climate change. But how much does personal action matter? And how should societies meet the challenge of lowering greenhouse gas emissions? Yael Parag of the Reichman ...
10.04.2021 Docket launch: a new term for America’s Supreme Court The court will be tackling just about every judicial and social flashpoint in the country during the term that starts today; our correspondent lays out the considerable stakes. A vast and costly die-off of Britain’s trees could have been averted ...
10.03.2021 Editor’s Picks: October 4th 2021 A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week: Xi Jinping’s campaign against China's capitalist excesses, how to revive Britain’s stockmarket (10:11), and electric motor city (18:33) Please subscribe to The Economist ...
10.01.2021 Checks and Balance: Taxing times Democrats are in a fight to turn President Biden’s signature economic proposals into law. They want to raise the top rates of income tax and increase corporate tax to fund them. It would be the first big hike in federal ...
10.01.2021 The courage of two convictions: Nicolas Sarkozy The first conviction of France’s former president shocked the nation; the second confirms for citizens that, these days, politicians will be held to account. Our correspondent meets a Burmese hipster who, after this year’s military coup, has become a somewhat ...
09.30.2021 The Economist Asks: Michel Barnier As trade tensions flare, Anne McElvoy asks the former chief Brexit negotiator about the state of relations between the European Union and the United Kingdom. Can the two sides end a stand-off about the Northern Ireland protocol? The author of ...
09.30.2021 Nobody’s fuel: Britain’s shortages From chicken to petrol, Britons are facing long queues and bare shelves. We ask about the multifarious reasons behind the shortfalls, and how long they will last. Tunisia’s democracy has been looking shaky for months; we examine what may change ...
09.29.2021 Money Talks: Bricks and mortar China’s largest developer Evergrande is threatening to default—what does this reveal about the broader troubles in the country’s property market? And if you live in a big American or European city, there’s a good chance that a mighty financial institution ...
09.29.2021 Suga-free Diet: Japan’s next leader The ruling party’s choice for its president—a shoo-in for prime minister—seems to overlook the people’s will. We ask how Kishida Fumio is likely to lead, and for how long. Some of Nigeria’s megachurches are larger than stadiums, and have considerable ...
09.28.2021 Babbage: Don't panic As British petrol stations run dry, we explore the behavioural science of panic buying. Also, a dried-up lake bed reveals evidence about America’s first inhabitants. And neuroscientist Anil Seth explains what a new theory can tell us about our conscious ...
09.28.2021 A run for its money: funding crunches in Congress America’s crash of deadlines carries risks for the government’s budget and just possibly its sovereign debt, and threatens Joe Biden’s presidency-defining social-spending reforms. We ask what happens next. South Korea’s government is ostensibly cracking down on fake news; in practice ...
09.27.2021 To A Lesser Degree: The challenge It's not too late to avert a climate disaster. The question is, how? We map out the three priorities: reducing emissions and finding ways to suck carbon out of the air, adapting to climate change; and navigating the fraught global ...
09.27.2021 Colour schemes: Germany’s coming coalition The country heads for a three-party government after a nail-biting election. We cut through the flurry of letters and colours to ask what is likely to happen next. The technology swiftly deployed to combat the coronavirus may also crack a ...
09.26.2021 Editor’s Picks: September 27th 2021 A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week: the mess Merkel leaves behind, America gets serious about countering China (11:01) and Nigerian megachurches practise the prosperity they preach (17:36). Please subscribe ...
09.24.2021 Checks and Balance: AUKUS ruckus Occasionally, you can see big shifts in foreign policy happen right before your eyes. The unveiling of AUKUS, the trilateral defence pact between Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States, was one of those rare occasions. What does AUKUS ...
09.24.2021 Clubs seal: China’s view as alliances multiply Leaders of “the Quad” are meeting in person for the first time; drama from the AUKUS alliance still simmers. Our Beijing bureau chief discusses how Chinese officials see all these club ties. As Chancellor Angela Merkel’s time in office wanes, ...
09.23.2021 The Economist Asks: What happens after Merkel? Host Anne McElvoy reviews the German Chancellor’s 16-year leadership with Wolfgang Nowak, a political veteran who advised Angela Merkel's predecessor, and asks what made her such a phenomenal politician. And as the race to replace Angela Merkel draws to a ...
09.23.2021 Same assembly, rewired: the United Nations meets The annual United Nations General Assembly is more than just worthy pledges and fancy dinners; we ask where the tensions and the opportunities lie this time around. Last year’s fears of a crippling “twindemic” of covid-19 and influenza proved unfounded—and ...
09.22.2021 Money Talks: Volatile gas The price of natural gas is rocketing, with global consequences. Is volatility in this crucial fuel here to stay? We also ask why an investigation at the World Bank has put Kristalina Georgieva, the head of the International Monetary Fund, ...

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