‘Editor’s Picks’ Podcast (September 25, 2023) – A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, how to win a long war in Ukraine, what Asia’s economic revolution means for the world (11:05) and why a disgraced comedian is the symbol of a cruel, misogynistic and politically vacant era in Britain (18:52).
Tag Archives: Economics
Preview: Foreign Policy Magazine – Fall 2023
Foreign Policy Magazine – Fall 2023: The new issue features The G-7 Becomes a Power Player – Russia’s war and China’s rise are turning a talking shop into a fledgling alliance of democracies; Vivek Ramaswamy’s Foreign Policies Raise Eyebrows in Washington – The GOP’s rising star offers up a grab bag of ideas cribbed from Eminem to Richard Nixon and more…
The G-7 Becomes a Power Player

Russia’s war and China’s rise are turning a talking shop into a fledgling alliance of democracies.
By G. John Ikenberry, a professor of politics and international affairs at Princeton University.
Time and again over the last century, the United States and the other liberal democracies in Europe, East Asia, and elsewhere have found themselves on the same side in grand struggles over the terms of the world order. This political grouping has been given various names: the West, the free world, the trilateral world, the community of democracies. In one sense, it is a geopolitical formation, uniting North America, Europe, and Japan, among others. It is an artifact of the Cold War and U.S. hegemony, anchored in NATO and Washington’s East Asian alliances.
Vivek Ramaswamy’s Foreign Policies Raise Eyebrows in Washington

The GOP’s rising star offers up a grab bag of ideas cribbed from Eminem to Richard Nixon.
By Jack Detsch
End American dependence on Taiwan’s semiconductor factories. Declare economic independence from China. Give India an AUKUS-like submarine deal. And stage a dramatic visit to Moscow to broker a deal to end Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
REVIEWS: ‘Warfare After Ukraine – Battlefield Lessons’ (The Economist)
The Economist – Special Reports (July 8, 2023): The war shows how technology is changing the battlefield. But mass still counts, argues Shashank Joshi.
Like the first world war, but with high technology

The war shows how technology is changing the battlefield. But mass still counts, argues Shashank Joshi
The latest in the battle of jamming with electronic beams

Jamming is knocking drones and missiles out of the sky
Preview: Foreign Policy Magazine – Summer 2023
Foreign Policy Magazine – Summer 2023: Artificial intelligence is suddenly everywhere. It seems as though no conversation about jobs, education, health care, technology, or politics happens without an inevitable question about how AI could disrupt it all.
AI Is Winning the AI Race
Success isn’t just staying ahead of China.
Green Energy: Potential & Economics Of Hydrogen
Financial Times (June 13, 2023) – In this film, the FT’s Simon Mundy explores how hydrogen – the lightest, most abundant element in the universe – could play a crucial role in the global push for net zero carbon emissions.
Video timeline: 00:00 What is Hydrogen 00:50 Green Hydrogen 02:50 Current uses of hydrogen 04:10 The concerns 05:00 The Hydrogen rainbow 05:51 Emerald Hydrogen 07.35 The investors 10:50 The policymakers 13:40 Green steel 17:35 Cleaning up aviation 22:15 The hydrogen economy of the future
From southern Spain to Swedish Lapland, we meet those at the forefront of this fast-growing space – all seeking a share of the billions to be made in the emerging hydrogen economy.
#hydrogen #greenhydrogen #EmeraldHydrogen #steel #hydrogeneconomy #zerocarbon #emission
Japan Culture: How Five Ancient Crafts Survived
Insider Business (May 19, 2023) – These Japanese crafts are among the oldest in the world. But most of them are disappearing. In this video, we will tell you the stories of five artisans who are among the last to keep their ancient methods alive.
Video timeline: 00:36 Soy Sauce 08:16 Wagashi 19:27 Mochi 27:12 Bonsai Scissors 37:45 Black Vinegar
We saw how soy sauce is aged in century-old wooden barrels, how vinegar is fermented using an ancient method, and how sweets that only aristocrats and emperors could eat 400 years ago are prepared today.
Financial Technology: Is There A Crypto Future?
The Economist (May 18, 2023) – The financial revolution once promised by cryptocurrencies has been knocked off course by regulators and allegations of fraud. So what does the future hold for crypto?
Video timeline: 00:00 – The crypto party is over 01:06 – The history 03:30 – What is crypto? 04:38 – Uses around the world 06:07 – Layer 2 solutions 07:12 – Web3 08:51 – Data and privacy 10:04 – What is the future of crypto?
Special Report: ‘Digital Finance’ – The Economist
The Economist – Special Reports (May 20, 2023): The fight over payments systems is hotting up around the world. There may be surprising winners, says Arjun Ramani.
As payments systems go digital, they are changing global finance

The fight over payments systems is hotting up around the world. There may be surprising winners, says Arjun Ramani
Payment is one of the most fundamental economic activities. To buy anything, you need something the seller wants. One option is barter, but that is beset by friction (what are the chances of having something your counterparty wants at any exact moment?). Early forms of money, from cowrie shells to beads to metal coins, offered a solution: they were always in demand to settle transactions.
- Emerging markets: A digital payments revolution in India
- Techfin v fintech: The old bank/card model is still entrenched in the rich world
- Cryptocurrencies: The promise of crypto has not lived up to its initial excitement
- Digital money: Central-bank digital currencies are talked about more than coming to fruition
- International finance: Could digital-payments systems help unseat the dollar?
- The future: There are risks but also big potential benefits from digital payments
Politics: Why America Faces Debt Catastrophe
The Economist (May 11, 2023) – As America’s government hits the debt ceiling, US politics has become a multi-trillion dollar game of chicken. If neither side backs down, America could default on its debts for the first time in history, sparking global economic turmoil. What is the debt ceiling, and how can this crisis be resolved?
Africa: The Potentials Of Nigeria Cassava Farming
Insider Business (May 7, 2023) – Nigeria grows 63 million metric tons of cassava (also known as yucca) every year, but most of the country’s supply is eaten locally as fufu or garri. Experts say Nigeria could be missing out on billions in exports of lucrative cassava products like bubble tea pearls, starch, or ethanol.
Video timeline: 0:00 Intro 1:48 History of cassava 2:58 Growing issues 5:42: How garri and fufu are made 6:54 Transportation issues 7:36 How cassava is processed 10:06 Global demand is so high for cassava
Challenges along the country’s entire supply chain have caused hundreds of millions of dollars in cassava spoilage. But one entrepreneur, Yemisi Iranloye, thinks she has the solution. She’s introduced higher-yielding seed varieties and moved processing plants closer to farms.
Now, her farmers earn four times more for their product, and her cassava starch and sorbitol have landed her clients like Nestle and Unilever. Could Yemisi’s model be the way for Nigeria to feed itself and cash in on exports?