Tag Archives: The Economist Podcasts

Morning News: Elections In India, Selling Oil & Gas Assets, Democracy Index

The state-legislature poll in Uttar Pradesh is in effect a vote on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s increasingly stringent Hindu-national agenda—and will hint at his party’s chances in 2024. 

Oil majors are getting points for selling off their dirtiest oil-and-gas operations; we ask who is buying them. And which countries are up and which are down in our annual Democracy Index

Morning News: Nuclear Talks In Iran, Sanctions On Bangladesh, Aging Japan

After protracted negotiations, at last a conclusion appears nigh—but depending on whom you ask, a breakthrough is as likely as a breakdown. 

The regime in Bangladesh has been growing more brutal, yet some American sanctions seem to have had a swift and surprising effect. And Japan focuses on healthier, happier sunset years.

Morning News: French Election Polls, Soaring Debt, Saudi Weddings

In the first instalment of the series, we unveil our forecast model and visit one of the quiet suburbs where the vote’s outcome will probably be decided

Debt has soared as borrowing costs stayed low; we examine who will foot the enormous interest bills as rates rise. And the one place where marriages increased in the pandemic era. 

Morning News: NATO’s Resurgence, Italy Elects A President, Nuns On TikTok

Our correspondent speaks with Jens Stoltenberg, NATO’s secretary-general, who says the alliance’s involvement in de-escalating Russia tensions is a sign of its resurgent relevance.

After tortuous votes, Italy’s lawmakers elected a president: the incumbent who did not want the job. No posts have changed, but the political balance surely has. And we meet the nuns racking up followers on TikTok. 

Morning News: Supreme Court Opening, Burkina Faso Coup, Capital Moves

The departure of one of America’s Supreme Court justices is an opportunity for President Joe Biden to choose a replacement, but the clock is ticking. We ask who might be in the running.

West Africa’s latest coup, in Burkina Faso, bodes ill for an already stumbling campaign against jihadism in the region. And why countries change their capitals.

Morning News: Global Inflation, Defectors In Myanmar, Cover Songs

Shoppers across the developed world face sharply rising prices, and leaders are reaching for all manner of remedies—but that’s what central banks are for. 

Behind the story of Myanmar’s brutal military leadership is a slow stream of defectors; our correspondent meets the support network they rely on. And cover songs muddle the notion of who can call it their tune.

Analysis: The ‘Bossy State’, Boris Johnson’s ‘Party’ Issues, U.S.-China Politics

A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, beware the bossy stateBritain’s party-animal prime minister (11:45) and, why America and China are one military accident away from disaster (18:00)

Morning News: Russia’s NATO Demands, Future Of Work, Garlic In Cuba

This week’s flurry of diplomacy aims to address what Vladimir Putin, Russia’s president, says he wants. He cannot get it. Does an invasion of Ukraine hang in the balance? 

At an annual jamboree of economists our correspondent finds an unusual focus on the future—in particular the future of home working. And why Cuba has an enormous trade in grey-market garlic.

News Analysis: Putin’s Russia, Performative Work, Soccer’s Elite

A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, how to talk to Mr Putinthe rise of performative work (9:45) and the lingering effects of covid-19 on elite footballers (15:00).

Morning News: Pandemic To Endemic, Addictive Video Gaming, Bangladesh

The lightning-fast spread of a seemingly milder coronavirus variant may represent a shift from pandemic to endemic; we ask how that would change global responses. 

 Concern about video-game addictiveness is as old as video games themselves—but the business models of modern gaming may be magnifying the problem. And newly publicised photographs shed light on Bangladesh’s brutal war for independence.