The Economist Radio (All audio)

From Brexit to covid-19, nothing has yet stymied London’s successes. The city has its problems, but it remains a paragon of policymaking. In the last of our series on democracy around the world, we examine what is at stake in India’s coming election (9:16). And a tribute to Gao Yaojie, whose findings about the spread of AIDS shocked and shamed China (16:53).Sign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Labour markets are changing in all kinds of ways, thanks to ageing societies, hot-running economies and technological boosts. It all adds up to a golden age for workers. As part of our series on democracy around the world, we examine the coming election in Britain (09:35). And India steps into the single-malt-whisky game with success (17:17).Sign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Saleh al-Arouri has long been a high-priority target for Israel and his death could weaken the Palestinian militant group. However, it could also draw neighbouring Lebanon into the war in Gaza. As South Africa heads to the polls, the lack of alternatives to the ruling party are jeopardising the health of its democracy (09:32). And why French women are walking away from the high heel (17:16).Sign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As Vladimir Putin promises to intensify Russia’s attacks, Mr Zelensky is frustrated at the wavering support from the West. Speaking to The Economist from his situation room, Ukraine’s wartime leader is defiantly optimistic, urging partners to remember that the country faces a terroristic, existential threat.  Sign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Citizens across more than 70 countries will be heading to the polls over the next twelve months. It’s a record year for voting, but how democratic will the processes be? One of the year’s most significant elections will take place in Mexico, where the incumbent president, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, will loom large. (10:35). And, how ambient music can help you block out the noise. (17:44).Sign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll 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.Podcast transcripts are available upon request at podcasts@economist.com. We are committed to improving accessibility even further and are exploring new ways to expand our podcast-transcript offering. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Only at the end of the year can a full appraisal be made of the figures—and landmarks—that the world has lost. From Harry Belafonte to Henry Kissinger, from Silvio Berlusconi to the Sycamore Gap tree, we review the lives and legacies laid bare in our obituaries. Sign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

What can A Space Odyssey by Arthur C Clarke tell us about AI? Does Shakespeare's Othello contain a warning for the 2024 US presidential election? Our journalists (and our listeners, too) recommend books that might help us better understand our times.Sign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On our website and in our app, “The Economist explains” is one of the best-read features. Today we invite a few of their authors to keep explaining. What is tranq dope? Why did France get so het up about bedbugs (06:48)? Can superstars’ stadium shows actually affect inflation (11:50)? And, having at last seen Donald Trump’s, what is the back story of the mugshot (17:39)?Sign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Which country improved the most this year? Nominations poured in from across the editorial department, and the competition was tough, but who came out on top? And our correspondent takes us on a train ride through EuropeSign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Scientists are making considerable progress in the race to slow the ageing process of our cells, and in turn, our bodies. But what would living for longer actually mean for the world? How government legislation and impatient consumers are forcing the advertising industry to adapt (13:19). And, the story behind a famous, 200-year-old Christmas poem (21:29). For a limited time, visit economist.com/gift to redeem 30% off gift subscriptions to our print and digital editionsSign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

We raise the curtain on the business of New York’s iconic theatre district. Broadway has been struggling with rising costs and falling sales since the pandemic, but its financial drama started much earlier. The economic plot just doesn’t make sense. Will the lights go out on the Great White Way?Hosts: Alice Fulwood, Tom Lee-Devlin and Mike Bird. Guests: The Economist’s Stevie Hertz; actor Leanna Rae Conception; Megan O'Keefe, executive vice-president of production company No Guarantees; Broadway investor, Ken Willman; Oliver Roth, CEO and producer at OHenry Productions, Kate Shindle, president of Actors’ Equity; and Lee Seymour, producer.Sign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our Berlin bureau chief sits down with the increasingly popular co-leader of the Alternative for Germany, the furthest-right of the country’s seven main political parties. How viable are her policy plans? The startup behind a reusable missile that could change American warfare (10:08). And, the quirkiest segments we have run in 2023 (18:31).For a limited time, visit economist.com/gift to redeem 30% off of gift subscriptions to our print and digital editionsSign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Books are the original medium for communicating science to the masses. In a holiday special, producer Kunal Patel asks Babbage’s family of correspondents about the books that have inspired them in their careers as science journalists.Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor. Contributors: Rachel Dobbs, The Economist’s climate correspondent; Kenneth Cukier, our deputy executive editor; The Economist’s Emilie Steinmark; Geoff Carr, our senior editor for science and technology; and Abby Bertics, The Economist’s science correspondent. Reading list: “The Periodic Table” by Primo Levi; “When We Cease to Understand the World” by Benjamín Labatut; “A Theory of Everyone” by Michael Muthukrishna; “Madame Curie” by Ève Curie; “Sociobiology” by E. O. Wilson; “The Selfish Gene” by Richard Dawkins; “Why Fish Don't Exist” by Lulu Miller; and “How Far the Light Reaches” by Sabrina Imbler.Sign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have ful

The state’s supreme court has ruled that he cannot appear on the Republican primary ballot, citing insurrection and a constitutional amendment. It’s an extraordinary decision, but it will only matter if it sticks. In the Netherlands, far-right Geerts Wilders is hard-pressed to form a coalition government after his November victory (09:05). And, regulating riotous rickshaws in London (16:28).For a limited time, visit economist.com/gift to redeem 30% off of gift subscriptions to our print and digital editionsSign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After a dubious win in 2018, Felix Tshisekedi is running for office again in the Democratic Republic of Congo – and an incumbency bias could work in his favour. Is there any hope for a fair election? 2023 has brought a flurry of news on the developments of artificial intelligence, so let’s take stock (13:45). And, why New York is introducing a congestion charge (21:50).Sign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In response to the war in Gaza, Iran-backed Houthi militants are attacking vessels along the key shipping route. If it continues, the consequences could upend global trade. Why do so many young Americans think that the Holocaust is a myth (09:51)? And, how museums are finding some value in NFTs (14:40). Sign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll 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.Podcast transcripts are available upon request at podcasts@economist.com. We are committed to improving accessibility even further and are exploring new ways to expand our podcast-transcript offering. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For almost a decade The Economist’s Noah Sneider has been following the story of MH17, the passenger plane shot down over Eastern Ukraine on July 17th 2014. All 298 people on board died. No group, or country, has ever admitted responsibility, leaving the victim's families searching for answers. In this episode Noah, who was at the scene of the crash that day, reports on the ten year battle for justice.Sign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Volodymyr Zelensky is hoping to secure more aid from Washington. But the decision rests with a divided Congress. What does this mean for the next phase of war? India’s aviation industry is really taking off and this boom looks much more promising than the last (10:59). And, the riotous origins of eggnog (18:42).Sign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

News outlets are often hounded by the right for being too left-leaning. Our data show there might be something to that, but the reasons why are more complicated than you think. As a NATO frontline state, the war in Ukraine is prompting Poland to ramp up its military spending – and double the size of its armed forces (08:42). And, what a hit property show reveals about the British dream (15:25).Sign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a landmark agreement, nearly 200 nations have agreed to transition away from fossil fuels. However, that is not the same as phasing them out. Has the deal done enough? For the young trying to invest, the markets look bleak. But they could make better choices (10:42). And, the allure of cookery books (17:18).Sign up for a free trial of Economist Podcasts+. If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.