The Prince

How did two old, unpopular men end up running for the world's most demanding job? It’s the question John Prideaux, The Economist’s US editor, gets asked the most. And the answer lies in the peculiar politics of the baby boomers. 

Since 1992, every American president bar one has been a white man born in the 1940s. That run looks likely to span 36 years - not far off the age of the median American. This cohort was born with aces in their pockets. Their parents defeated Nazism and won the cold war. They hit the jobs market at an unmatched period of wealth creation. They have benefitted from giant leaps in technology, and in racial and gender equality. 

And yet, their last act in politics sees the two main parties accusing each other of wrecking American democracy. As the boomers near the end of their political journey, John Prideaux sets out to make sense of their inheritance and their legacy. 

Launching July 2024.

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Narendra Modi is one of the most popular politicians on the planet. India’s prime minister is eyeing a third term atop the world’s biggest democracy. 

A tea-seller’s son, Mr Modi began life an outsider. The man behind the political phenomenon remains hard to fathom. India has become an economic powerhouse during his ten years in charge. But he’s also the frontman for a chauvinistic Hindu nationalist dogma. 

Can Mr Modi continue to balance both parts of his agenda and finish the job of turning India into a superpower? The Economist’s Avantika Chilkoti finds out what makes him tick. 

Launching June 2024.

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If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.

Host Sue-Lin Wong dissects the unexpected and the foreseen from the Chinese Communist Party’s five-yearly meeting, with The Economist’s Beijing bureau chief David Rennie, who was there. How did Xi Jinping use the event to tighten his grip on power? 

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Host Sue-Lin Wong talks to The Economist’s China correspondent Alice Su about the challenges of making The Prince and answers listeners’ questions.

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Ten years on, Xi’s tight grip on power risks another crisis—this one of his own making.

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A young Xi Jinping visits Iowa and tries popcorn for the first time. But reconnecting with "old friends" in the Midwest years later fails to prevent relations with America from souring.

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A Uyghur language teacher is accused of spying for the CIA. An NBA player discovers the cost of criticising China. And Xi Jinping’s obsession with control reaches new and brutal extremes.

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A censor at a Chinese social media company can't take it anymore after Xi Jinping’s rule brings harsh new restrictions. The Chinese internet becomes an alternate reality.

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On taking power, Xi Jinping launches a ruthless series of purges and an unexpected ideological revival to cement his control—and mobilise the Chinese Communist Party behind him.

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A villager’s campaign against corruption highlights the Chinese Communist Party’s weakening grip. As Xi Jinping stands on the brink of power, the emergence of a flamboyant rival deepens the crisis.

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