The Economist Podcasts

By The Economist

News & Politics

What's The Economist Podcasts about?

Every weekday our global network of correspondents makes sense of the stories beneath the headlines. We bring you surprising trends and tales from around the world, current affairs, business and finance—as well as science and technology. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Babbage: An interview with ...

02.08.2023

Engineers have spent decades trying to create functional humanoid robots, which look and act like humans. But these machines, which combine complex mechanics with generative artificial intelligence models, like ChatGPT, are finally coming-of-age. Are they good enough to sustain a ...

The Economist Podcasts episodes:

02.08.2023 Babbage: An interview with a humanoid robot Engineers have spent decades trying to create functional humanoid robots, which look and act like humans. But these machines, which combine complex mechanics with generative artificial intelligence models, like ChatGPT, are finally coming-of-age. Are they good enough to sustain a ...
02.08.2023 Bot the difference: AI and the future of search The race for AI supremacy is on. Microsoft, Google, Baidu and a host of smaller firms are all placing bets on the technology’s future. Which version emerges on top may well determine how people find information online for decades to ...
02.07.2023 Drum Tower: Waiting games It’s been a year since Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin announced the “no-limits” friendship between China and Russia, but is it one between equals? In the second episode of a two-part series, The Economist’s Beijing bureau chief, David Rennie, and ...
02.07.2023 Race against time: rescue efforts in Turkey and Syria Amid unthinkable destruction and loss of life, we examine the factors that will frustrate relief efforts following earthquakes in an already troubled region. As President Joe Biden prepares to welcome a new chief of staff, we speak with the author ...
02.06.2023 Editor’s Picks: February 6th 2023 A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, President Joe Biden’s plan to remake America’s economy, Ukraine’s troops in the east are quietly confident (11:20) and the race of the AI ...
02.06.2023 Tony isn’t blinkin’: Sino-American relations, post-balloon American fighters shot down a balloon that China says was monitoring the weather, but America insists was spying. It was a minor incident, but it highlights the relationship of a great-power rivalry with inadequate guardrails. Our correspondent visits a market ...
02.03.2023 Checks and Balance: An academic question More and more universities across America now require would-be professors to submit so-called diversity statements. These ask applicants to set out their commitment to, and experience of, promoting diversity, equity and inclusion. At the same time some Republican-led states, most ...
02.03.2023 Bold eagle: America's industrial evolution As part of The Economist’s new series on the remaking of the country's economy, our correspondent looks at the Biden administration’s audacious industrial plans. Russia’s media outlets have been relentlessly squeezed, so many have set up newsrooms in exile; we ...
02.02.2023 Money Talks: Goldman Sags Goldman once dominated Wall Street. In 2009, after the financial crisis, when most financial institutions were left reeling, Goldman had its best year ever. It appeared an apex-predator, one that could outsmart its rivals in even the toughest environments. But ...
02.02.2023 Poll fishing: Peru’s persistent protests The country remains riven by unrest since the “self-coup” and subsequent arrest of its president in December; only an early election might bring a return to calm. Our correspondent goes shopping to discover the spending habits of Generation Z and ...
02.01.2023 Babbage: Alternatives to alcohol Alcohol is the most widely used drug in the world, but it is also the cause of three million deaths each year and has been linked to many other long-term illnesses. In addition, the loss of productivity due to hangovers ...
02.01.2023 Troubled shares, troubles shared: Adani and India Inc The Adani Group, one of India’s biggest conglomerates, has come under fire from a tiny American research firm. A successful secondary share sale amid a rout in the markets leaves many questions—and proves revealing about India Inc. Our correspondent explains ...
01.31.2023 Drum Tower: Autocrats' pact It’s been a year since Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin announced the “no-limits” friendship between China and Russia. What drives the relationship and which side benefits from it more? In the first episode of a two-part series, The Economist’s Beijing ...
01.31.2023 Not shy about retiring: strikes in France Fixing the complex, creaking pension system remains central to President Emmanuel Macron’s agenda of reforms. But leaving it alone is central to French identity—so workers are striking, again, in huge numbers. Our correspondent lays out why 2023’s first earnings season ...
01.30.2023 Editor’s Picks: January 30th 2023 A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, the humbling of Goldman Sachs, a crisis of confidence in Egypt (9:20) and how to conduct a sex survey in Britain (19:05). Please ...
01.30.2023 Didn’t protect or serve: Tyre Nichols’s killing The response to the death of the 29-year-old has differed from that of previous cases of police killings; we ask what the tragedy indicates about how America deals with police violence. Our correspondent says a lawmaker’s murder in Afghanistan highlights ...
01.27.2023 Checks and Balance: Hunting ground House Republicans hope that by delving into Hunter Biden’s business dealings they’ll find a trail of wrongdoing leading back to the president. Is this just the usual partisan mudslinging? Or will the Hunter Biden saga spell trouble for Joe Biden? ...
01.27.2023 Tunnel, no lights: South Africa’s crumbling infrastructure South Africa’s infrastructure—its ports, railways and power grid—are struggling and poorly managed. Ordinary South Africans are increasingly fed up. We profile Russia’s new military commander in Ukraine. And our obituaries editor remembers one of Britain’s finest rural writers. For full ...
01.26.2023 Money Talks: Can Disney rekindle the magic? The Walt Disney Company turns 100 years old this week. But the silver screen success that helped it become the world’s biggest entertainment company will not be enough to keep it on top for another century. As households swap cable ...
01.26.2023 Bibi’s gambit: Israel’s government v its judiciary Israel’s right-wing coalition government has the country’s supreme court in its sights. Their proposal to effectively subjugate its independence to the legislature has sparked protests and stirred concern for the country’s democracy. Our correspondent reports from a newly reopened Shanghai. ...
01.25.2023 Babbage: The private Moon race Three firms are racing to become the first private company to land on the Moon. The potential commercial opportunities range from mining lunar resources to establishing a human base with communications infrastructure. But the commercialisation of the Moon raises tricky ...
01.25.2023 Tanks, a lot: arming Ukraine After months of foot-dragging, Germany is sending tanks to Ukraine, with America poised to follow suit. We examine how that could reshape the battlefield. Why Sudan’s democratic transition has stalled and its economy is struggling. And we reveal the secret ...
01.24.2023 Drum Tower: Slow train home China is celebrating the lunar new year. The Ministry of Transport predicts that by February 15th over 2bn journeys will be made by Chinese heading to their home towns–and for some migrant workers, it'll be the first time they've returned ...
01.24.2023 Marshalling resources: rebuilding Ukraine Around one-fifth of Ukraine’s population has fled. The country’s GDP has plummeted and foreign investors are staying away. Even as the fighting rages, the world has already begun thinking about how to rebuild the country. How a 36-year-old treaty helped ...
01.23.2023 The World Ahead 2023: The art of forecasting We turn the spotlight on forecasting itself, and look back on the predictions we made for 2022. How accurate were we? How do “superforecasters” look into the future? And how can forecasters account for irrational world leaders when predicting major ...
01.23.2023 Feeling un-Wellington Jacinda Ardern resigned as New Zealand’s prime minister last week. As Chris Hipkins prepares to take over, we reflect on Ms Ardern’s legacy, and look at the challenges her successor inherits. What the world’s plethora of grandparents means for families. ...
01.23.2023 Editor’s Picks: January 23rd 2023 A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, Disney’s second century, Turkey’s looming dictatorship (10:25) and how young people spend their money (17:35). Please subscribe to The Economist for full access ...
01.20.2023 Checks and Balance: Incoming alerts Reports of the slow death of American incomes have been exaggerated. Since the turn of the millennium, hourly earnings have grown steadily in real terms. While those at the top have taken most of the gains, in the past few ...
01.20.2023 A rarefied air: a dispatch from Davos The global elite’s annual Alpine jamboree may have lost some of its convening power, our editor-in-chief says, but the many encounters it enables still have enormous value. Our correspondent considers what the closing of Noma, a legendary Danish restaurant, means ...
01.19.2023 Money Talks: How globalisation gave way America has changed the way it views the rest of the world. Rather than pushing for a more globalised economy with fewer trade barriers, the US is now seeking a more protected system of international trade. President Biden’s Inflation Reduction ...
01.19.2023 Turkey stuffed? A democracy’s last stand President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has dismantled the country’s institutions. As an election looms we ask what democratic guardrails remain, and examine the wider risks if those go, too. “Non-compete” clauses designed to protect trade secrets when employees depart are being ...
01.18.2023 Babbage: How to detect a deepfake Digital fakery, from the latest generation of deepfakes to lower-tech trickery, threatens to erode trust in societies and can prevent justice from being served. But how can technology be used to both detect deepfakes and authenticate real images? Patrick Traynor, ...
01.18.2023 Tanks-giving parade? Arming Ukraine For nearly 11 months Western powers have resisted providing tanks to Ukraine, fearing an unpredictable Russian escalation. What happens now that red line has rightly been crossed? Bankruptcy proceedings simply are not built to untangle the mess left behind by ...
01.17.2023 Drum Tower: A tale of two Chinas The recent surge in covid-19 cases has exposed the gulf between China's urban and rural healthcare system. How vast is the gap and what is being done to bridge it? The Economist’s Beijing bureau chief, David Rennie, and senior China ...
01.17.2023 Get down to Syria’s business: coming talks with Turkey Through years of Syria’s messy civil war, Turkey has been a foe. As the conflict slowly fades, the countries have a mutual interest in rapprochement. Can they find common ground? Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s return as Brazil’s president renews ...
01.16.2023 The World Ahead 2023: Watch the mega-states Where is American politics heading in 2023? Alexandra Suich Bass, The Economist's senior correspondent for politics, technology and society, and our Lexington columnist, James Bennet, look outside Washington, DC, to the four mega-states to take the political temperature. Will divided ...
01.16.2023 What did the president stow and when did he stow it? Biden‘s mess A drip-feed of discoveries of classified material in Joe Biden’s home and offices—and the president’s botched messaging around them—are a gift to Republicans and to Donald Trump, who is under investigation for similar infractions. Our correspondent learns that many Ukrainian ...
01.16.2023 Editor’s Picks: January 16th 2023 A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, the destructive new logic that threatens globalisation, how Brazil should deal with the bolsonarista insurrection (11:55) and our review of Prince Harry’s autobiography ...
01.13.2023 Checks and Balance: Electric dreams 2023 ought to be a big year in America’s transition towards electric vehicles. The federal government has set aside billions to encourage consumers and manufacturers to hitch a ride, and to ramp up the nation’s charging infrastructure. What do electric ...
01.13.2023 Zero-sum: the imperilled global economic order Countries across the world are turning inward, embracing protectionism, subsidies and export controls. This threatens the global order that has lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty, and risks economic conflict. Ethiopia’s newfound peace looks fragile and uncertain. And Mexico’s ...
01.12.2023 Money Talks: The new power in the North Sea For decades, the North Sea’s fierce gales have created a challenge for those extracting the oil and gas buried beneath its swells. But the region’s poor weather is also the key to its future: offshore wind. And the plans are ...
01.12.2023 Unveiled threats: Iran's patient protesters Iran’s protests may have gone quiet for the moment, but that does not mean they’ve been defeated. Beneath a calmer surface, Iranians are seething and biding their time. India’s pharma sector is huge, but has long been dogged by concerns ...
01.11.2023 Babbage: How Elon Musk’s satellites could change warfare forever SpaceX’s Starlink was designed to provide off-grid high-bandwidth internet access to civilians. But the mega-constellation of satellites has become more famous for its role in Ukraine. In 2022, it became vital to the country’s war effort, revealing the military potential ...
01.11.2023 Doctors’ disorders: Britain’s overwhelmed health service Britain’s National Health Service is in crisis. Wait times are rising, nurses and paramedics are striking, and doctors are overworked—leading to hundreds of excess deaths each week. We visit the front line: a stretched GP’s surgery in Wales. We ask ...
01.10.2023 Drum Tower: The new wave Since the zero-covid policy was scrapped, the virus has spread across China at a blistering pace. The medical system and crematoria are overwhelmed, but official data on infections and deaths is hazy. With so little transparency, is it possible to ...
01.10.2023 Unquiet on the eastern front: fighting in the Donbas Russian troops have turned Bakhmut, in eastern Ukraine, into a charnel house—and a proving ground for its mercenary army. The booming North Sea region could reshape Europe’s economy. And how women across the Middle East are taking their sexuality into ...
01.09.2023 The World Ahead 2023: Bigger elephant, leaner dragon When it comes to demographic shifts, 2023 is going to be a big year. India will overtake China to become the world’s most populous country in 2023—and China’s population will start to shrink. What are the pros and cons of ...
01.09.2023 Cloud coup-coup land: riots in Brazil In a scene reminiscent of the US Capitol riot two years ago, supporters of Brazil’s defeated president rampaged through government buildings yesterday. Our Brazil correspondent surveys the damage. We explain why Tesla’s share price has plummeted, and why an Italian ...
01.09.2023 Editor’s Picks: January 9th 2023 A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, how China’s reopening will disrupt the world economy, a realistic path to a better relationship between Britain and the EU (8:54) and reinventing ...
01.06.2023 Checks and Balance: Speaker out of turn The 118th Congress is, so far, a shambles. A contingent of hardline Republicans have banded together to deny Kevin McCarthy the 218 votes he needs to obtain the speakership. The House can’t start the small matter of governing the country ...

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