The Intelligence from The Economist

By The Economist

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Get a daily burst of global illumination from The Economist’s worldwide network of correspondents as they dig past the headlines to get to the stories beneath—and to stories that aren’t making headlines, but should be. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Bibi bump: Israel’s unrest ...

03.27.2023

Protests against proposed judicial reforms have intensified. Could Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu succumb to the pressure at last? Pregnant Russians are flocking to countries with birthright citizenship; we ask why so many are aiming for Argentina. And a chat with ...

The Intelligence from The Economist episodes:

03.27.2023 Bibi bump: Israel’s unrest flares Protests against proposed judicial reforms have intensified. Could Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu succumb to the pressure at last? Pregnant Russians are flocking to countries with birthright citizenship; we ask why so many are aiming for Argentina. And a chat with ...
03.24.2023 Iraq, a hard place: 20 years after the invasion America invaded Iraq 20 years ago this week. Today Baghdad is bustling, violence across the country is less frequent, but these gains have come at a horrific cost. India is getting a huge, essential infrastructure upgrade. And we say goodbye ...
03.23.2023 A bit Fed up: central banks’ dilemma Central banks face a painful tradeoff: raise rates too quickly and risk banking-sector instability. Raise them too slowly and risk continued high inflation. Our correspondent travelled to Kyiv to meet a woman who has rescued hundreds of wild animals. And ...
03.22.2023 Not shy and not retiring: pension reform in France Emmanuel Macron narrowly survived two no-confidence votes, sparked by his pushing a pension-reform package through the legislature without bringing it up for a vote. But his troubles are far from over. Covid and the war in Ukraine exacerbated Russia’s long-standing ...
03.21.2023 Stopping the spread: how to fix the banks Silicon Valley Bank. Signature Bank. Credit Suisse. The world’s banks look wobbly, leading to fears of broader economic pain. Our economics editor explains how regulators should stabilise the sector. Russia is running out of tanks; replenishing its supply will not ...
03.20.2023 Bear backed: Xi heads to Moscow The visit of Xi Jinping, China’s president, to Moscow may seem like the solidifying of a simple, anti-Western alliance. But China is walking a delicate line to look after its own interests. A growing minority of young people simply do ...
03.17.2023 Felling through the cracks: rainforests in crisis The economics are clear-cut: the benefits of preserving the lungs of the world vastly outweigh those of felling trees. We travel to the Amazon and find that the problem is largely down to lawlessness in the world’s rainforests. And reflecting ...
03.16.2023 Puts Bibi in the corner: Israel’s protests Proposed legislation that would hobble the judiciary has led to relentless demonstrations—and exposed a rift in Israeli society that has become dangerous to Binyamin Netanyahu and the country as a whole. Artificial intelligence is boosting online search, and bolstering publishers’ ...
03.15.2023 One Tory building: Rishi Sunak’s mission From today’s national budget to hardline immigration legislation to international defence pacts, Britain’s prime minister is working hard to extract his Tory party from a deep electoral hole. The Kremlin is trying to extend its reach into Russia’s cultural spaces—but ...
03.14.2023 Starched rival: Turkey’s opposition candidate After internecine drama, the opposition-party alliance has picked their man. The bookish, mild-mannered Kemal Kilicdaroglu may be the best possible president, but also the worst possible candidate when Turkey’s democracy is flagging. We examine why a new UN high-seas treaty, ...
03.13.2023 End run: Silicon Valley Bank An old-fashioned bank run has caused American regulators to intervene in a big way to save the bank’s depositors. We ask what went wrong, and what risks the fix will pose. Today America, Australia and Britain will cement a military ...
03.10.2023 A vote for Ukraine: why Estonia’s election matters The world’s biggest military donor to Ukraine, relative to GDP, is Estonia. Kaja Kallas, its prime minister, just won a resounding victory in an election that was effectively a referendum on continued support for Ukraine. Why some South Koreans are ...
03.09.2023 Not so Pacific: the frightening prospect of war over Taiwan The risk of a Sino-American war over Taiwan appears to be growing. Our diplomatic editor assesses the frightening prospects and possible damage. Mexicans protest the weakening of the country’s independent elections agency. And why Connecticut has been exonerating those accused ...
03.08.2023 Home affairs: America’s revealing property market Economists and politicians around the world are consumed with one question: is the world headed for a recession, or a relatively soft landing? We’ll tell you what clues the American property market offers. Why China’s football team can’t seem to ...
03.07.2023 Bakhmut point: Ukraine readies a counter-offensive Ukraine is using a torrent of Western arms and training to prepare for a spring offensive. We learn why being on a corporate board of directors—or recruiting for one—is more difficult than ever. And we ask why one particular composition ...
03.06.2023 Hedge of allegiance: South Africa’s diplomatic shift A policy of ambiguity is swiftly shifting; the country is falling into a Sino-Russian orbit at just the time it needs the most help from Western allies. How learning to debate can improve the lives of those inside and released ...
03.03.2023 Seed of doubt: venture capital tightens up A slump in tech is driving investors to rediscover old ways. Out are the cash-splashing long bets; in are smaller, profitable, strategic firms. Nigeria’s election was pitched as the most transparent ever. It was not. We ask what is likely ...
03.02.2023 Losing the threads: Bangladesh Shifts in the garment industry, which powered development in the country, represent one risk; meagre currency reserves are another. Yet nothing so imperils Bangladesh’s economic miracle as graft and patronage at the highest levels. How does North Korea afford its ...
03.01.2023 The belt buckles up: China’s grand plan slims The Belt and Road initiative to encircle much of the world with Chinese-funded, Chinese-built infrastructure is growing leaner and more penny-wise. But its ambitions are undimmed. Energy-market turmoil has given a boost to the green transition—a boost that has come ...
02.28.2023 Let’s remake a deal: Brexit and Northern Ireland (again) Since Brexit’s earliest days, the trade status of Northern Ireland and its border with the Republic of Ireland have been a perilous sticking point. We examine a deal that might—and should—resolve matters at last. Our correspondent looks at all the ...
02.27.2023 Has Obi won, can Obi? Nigeria’s elections Excitement still surrounds the spoiler candidate Peter Obi, whose down-to-earth ways appeal to a large constituency of fed-up youths. We look at the early returns. A year ago Olaf Scholz, Germany’s chancellor, announced a tremendous shift in defence policy and ...
02.24.2023 A year of war: a Ukraine special After a year of a conflict that was predicted to last just days, we examine the battle lines—seeing an opportunity for Ukraine that may not come around again. We look at the strains on Russian civil society by speaking with ...
02.23.2023 The prices fight: conflicting views on inflation Markets seem to think the worst is over; central bankers are not so sure. We ask why determining the trajectory of inflation is so difficult. Millions of refugees have poured out of Ukraine since the war began; their uncertain futures ...
02.22.2023 Fire and grim tone: Putin’s and Biden’s speeches President Joe Biden’s riposte to the bellicose speech of his counterpart Vladimir Putin was a study in contrast. We examine their views on Ukraine and ask how a lasting peace could be secured. We speak with an exiled Chinese blogger ...
02.21.2023 The air of their ways: South Asia’s crippling pollution Particulate matter is shortening lives and hobbling economies in the region. We ask how policy changes and international collaboration could mitigate the suffering as the pollution spreads. Our correspondent meets with two Russian men who, fearing being drafted, made a ...
02.20.2023 What it is in aid of: Syria’s earthquake response The country’s war-torn north-west has been getting far less aid than it needs in the earthquakes’ aftermath. We investigate the dilemma of lifting long-running international sanctions. Housing prices are slipping across the rich world, but South Korea’s unusual property market ...
02.17.2023 Give fast, spry young: the new philanthropists Charitable giving is being disrupted by the same youthful tech folk who got rich disrupting other sectors: these days it is fast, data-driven and bureaucracy-light. We meet a new class of investors who trade shares from behind bars. And reflecting ...
02.16.2023 Independence fray: Scotland’s leader steps down Nicola Sturgeon is bowing out after shaping a party that has defined itself on the notion of Scottish independence. What now for Scotland and for Britain more broadly? Our correspondent says that France’s protests against pension reform are about far ...
02.15.2023 Haley to the chief? A long-shot candidacy begins Nikki Haley, a former governor of South Carolina and UN ambassador, has declared her 2024 presidential candidacy. We assess her chances and survey the field. Intimidation and financial pressure are quashing journalism in the Arab world. And a new film ...
02.14.2023 End-Gulfed: Preparing for a post-oil future The petrostates of the Gulf are modernising their economies, growing more tolerant and liberalising their social contracts as they prepare for a world run on fewer hydrocarbons—but who will be left behind? A Chinese maker of electric vehicles prepares to ...
02.13.2023 Toil and rubble: a report from Turkey Our correspondent visits town after devastated town. Poorly enforced building codes are one clear factor in the rising death toll—and a political backlash looms. Britain’s productivity problem is at least partly a problem with bad managers; we look at the ...
02.10.2023 A chance at renewal: Nigeria’s coming election Young voters are fired up and the electoral system has been strengthened, but Nigeria’s challenges are considerable. We explore why this month’s vote offers an opportunity to turn the country around. Our correspondent says that China’s economic reopening may have ...
02.09.2023 Long division: America’s busy state legislatures America’s Congress may be gridlocked, but its state legislatures certainly aren’t. The laws they’ll pass this year will probably impact more people more directly than anything Congress does, with just a fraction of the public attention. Why things are looking ...
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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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 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. ...
01.20.2023 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 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 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 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 ...

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