The Economist Radio (All audio)

General Valery Zaluzhny concedes that five months of counter-offensive have not gained much—and can see from history why the impasse may be impassable. Paris is starting to nip at London’s heels in the battle for supremacy in the art world (10:27). And India’s influencers battle to teach the country’s youth about sex—because the government will not (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.

Online and on-screen reactions to the conflict reflect a subtle but important shift in Western attitudes, driven by three related forces: technology, demography and ideology. Britain’s King Charles is visiting Kenya—and will have a harder time navigating historical tensions than his mother ever did (09:56). And sleeping less tight: Paris is not the only place bedbugs are on the rise (18:24).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 country after country in the Sahel has fallen prey to coups, President Macky Sall’s Senegal seemed an outpost of stability. Yet our correspondent finds him less than sanguine about democracy in the region. We sift through what little is known about “the Phantom”, the Hamas fighter behind the attacks in Israel (11:57). And eating steak frites gets political in France (19:47).Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our offer that ends today. 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.

The long-anticipated invasion is not the expected blitzkrieg; we ask how a longer, more cautious war will be fought. Kemal Ataturk is still wildly popular a century after he founded modern Turkey—so instead of undoing his legacy, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is simply claiming it (10:57). And an ode to Canada’s “long dash”, a time-marking tradition that has now gone silent (21:15).Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited-time offer. You will not be charged until Economist Podcasts+ launches.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 that explains how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

On foreign policy, trade and immigration, the Republican Party wants America to push the world away. This is a departure, but also a return to what the party used to believe. How did the Republican Party go from isolationism to internationalism and then back again? And what does that mean for America’s foreign policy?John Prideaux hosts with Charlotte Howard and Idrees Kahloon. They’re joined by Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation, and The Economist’s Edward Carr.Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited time offer. 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.For full access to print, digital and audio editions, as well as exclusive live events, subscribe to The Economist at economist.com/uspod. Podcast transcripts are avai

American airstrikes on Syrian bases linked to Iran are a reminder that Iran’s proxies lie behind many Middle East conflicts. But the ayatollahs’ angling for wider war in Gaza is a deeply dangerous game. We introduce you to our latest subscriber-only show, “The Weekend Intelligence”—our new home for storytelling (10:35). And why Britain is outlawing laughing gas (16:07).  Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited-time offer.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 that explains how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Last week, we spoke to the author Michael Lewis, who was embedded with Sam Bankman-Fried, as FTX, the crypto-trading empire he built, came crashing down amid allegations of fraud, which Mr Bankman-Fried denies. Mr Lewis credits Changpeng Zhao - the boss of Binance, a rival exchange - with bringing Mr Bankman-Fried to prominence. But CZ, as he’s known, may also have played a role in his downfall. This week, we speak to him about what the future holds for crypto. Hosts: Alice Fulwood, Mike Bird and Tom Lee-Devlin. Guests: CZ.Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited time offer. 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.

With the accession of Mike Johnson as the lower chamber’s majority leader, Congress can at last get back to lawmaking—unless the leadership circus starts again. China’s banks may be loaded up with hidden bad loans; the industry’s covid-era hangover could be about to intensify (09:29). And why so many films have become so very, very long (17:35).Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited-time offer.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 that explains how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Weekend Intelligence is a new podcast from the award-winning team at The Economist that will transport you away from the hectic week towards broader horizons. Silence the alerts and notifications and journey into a wilderness of stories.Narrated by our reporters and writers, and hosted by The Intelligence presenters, Ore Ogunbiyi and Jason Palmer, it will be our vehicle for great storytelling - one story that takes you somewhere new every Saturday.Here's a preview.... Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the coming decades, electric vehicles will dominate the roads and renewables will provide energy to homes. But for the green transition to be successful, unprecedented amounts of energy storage is needed. Batteries will be used everywhere—from powering electric vehicles, to providing electricity when the sun doesn’t shine or the wind doesn’t blow. The current generation of batteries are lacking in capacity and are too reliant on rare metals, though. Many analysts worry about material shortages. How can technology help? Host: Alok Jha, The Economist’s science and technology editor. Contributors: Paul Markillie, our innovation editor; Matthieu Favas, our finance correspondent; Anjani Trivedi, our global business correspondent. Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited time offer. 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 Econom

A network of captives’ families has sprung up to accomplish what Israel’s government has so far failed to do—and may yet emerge as a political force. Protecting rhinoceroses from poachers is an expensive business; we look at what has become a bear market for rhinos (12:37). And why a coin toss is not the even-odds proposition you might think it is (20:30).Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited-time offer.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 that explains how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, many have worried: is Taiwan next? China is giving Taiwan a terrifying choice: unify with China, or face war. People in Taiwan want neither of these.For this special four-part series, David Rennie, The Economist’s Beijing bureau chief, and Alice Su, our senior China correspondent, ask whether Taiwan can preserve its freedoms and decide its own future.In this first episode, they explore how Taiwan’s divided and changing identity impacts how close Taiwanese people want to be to China. They meet Chen Yao-chang, a doctor turned novelist, whose idea of what it means to be Taiwanese has changed in recent years.Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited time offer. 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 Aca

President Vladimir Putin has long had it in for Alexei Navalny, Russia’s principal opposition figure. But now his lawyers are in peril, too, and Mr Navalny’s privations in prison are ramping up. Gaza’s need for aid may be urgent but is not new—Israel’s economic stranglehold goes back years (10:24). And, introducing “Boss Class”, our new, subscriber-only podcast series on being a better manager (19:50).Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited-time offer. You will not be charged until Economist Podcasts+ launches.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 that explains how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After dominating the polls for months, Javier Miliei, a right-wing firebrand, was outshone by the candidate from the ruling Peronist administration. We examine why Mr Milei fell so short and the run-off to come. Cross-border assassinations may be rising—and states seem to be more daring in carrying them out (11:46). And remembering Ofir Libstein, an Israeli mayor killed by Hamas (19:30)Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited-time offer. You will not be charged until Economist Podcasts+ launches.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 Economist Podcasts+, including how to get access, please visit our FAQs page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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From a refugee camp in Chad, we speak with those fleeing murder in Darfur. Reporting on the war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and a powerful paramilitary group may have slowed, but the suffering has not. Bowel cancer is becoming more common in young people. How can screening be improved (14:23)? And, New York City rediscovers the dustbin (20:21).Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited-time offer. You will not be charged until Economist Podcasts+ launches.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 Economist Podcasts+, including how to get access, please visit our FAQs page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A fatal explosion at a hospital-cum-shelter has led to outrage and the canceling of the very summit that the US president had flown in for. America’s support for Israel is unwavering but could this escalation prompt the involvement of regional neighbours? Modi’s meddling in India’s cricket is bad for the game (10:53). And mourning dead artists (19:19).Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited-time offer. You will not be charged until Economist Podcasts+ launches.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 Economist Podcasts+, including how to get access, please visit our FAQs page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

America may have avoided a government shutdown last month but its fiscal worries are far from over. And unease in bond markets will spill over into the rest of the world. What can governments do to stave off the financial blow? The Chinese Communist Party’s youth wing is using rap to lure new members, and it’s working (10:10). And, how has “Bluey” become such a hit (19:16)?  Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited time offer. You will not be charged until Economist Podcasts+ launches.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 Economist Podcasts+, including how to get access, please visit our FAQs page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After two terms in power, Jaroslaw Kaczynski’s nationalist party looks to have lost its majority. For Donald Tusk’s pro-Europe centrists, it’s bargaining time. Thousands of Americans are waiting for transplants, so why are so many organs going to waste instead (12:01)? And why writing might be better for your memory than typing (18:52). Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Bombs have rained on the strip since Hamas’s attack on Israel last Saturday. With food, water and electricity running out ahead of a ground invasion, one woman tells us the worst is yet to come. The Ukrainian war has reached Crimea. Kyiv is subverting Russian dominance in the Black Sea, could that prove pivotal (11:26)? And, how the death of Indian vultures has affected public health (20:12).Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited time offer. You will not be charged until Economist Podcasts+ launches.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 Economist Podcasts+, including how to get access, please visit our FAQs page. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.