The Globalist Podcast, Wednesday, June 28, 2023: We discuss how the Russian propaganda machine is trying to retell the weekend’s events to its citizens and explain how Russian influence may sway Polish voters.
Plus: an exploration of the decades-long evolution of the word ‘diva’.
The Globalist Podcast, Tuesday, June 27, 2023: New Zealand’s prime minister, Chris Hipkins, visits China for trade talks as Saudi Arabia sends a top delegation to an economic forum in Tianjin.
Kiwi journalist Lisette Reymer and China analyst Isabel Hilton discuss what’s on the agenda and why Beijing is turning its attentions to the Middle East. Plus: the latest claims from Russian mercenary leader Yevgeny Progizhin and Guatemalans go to the polls in an election mired by democratic backsliding.
‘Editor’s Picks’ Podcast (June 12, 2023) – A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist including the trouble with sticky inflation, the challenge of building Ukraine 2.0 and why Modelo Especial is the new king of beers.
The costs of taming price rises could prove too unpalatable for central banks
The trouble is that the inflation monster has not truly been tamed. Britain’s problem is the most acute. There, wages and “core” prices, which exclude energy and food, are rising by around 7%, year on year.
For Russia’s war to fail, Ukraine must emerge prosperous, democratic and secure
Ukraine’s nation-builders face formidable obstacles. The greatest is that, while Mr Putin is in power, this war is unlikely to end with a solid peace treaty. The two sides may talk—if only to avoid being seen as war-crazy.
Move over, Bud Light. Heed the power of the Hispanic market
The king is dead. ¡Viva el rey! That is the cheer ringing through drinking dens this summer as Bud Light, America’s self-styled “king of beers” for 22 years, is dethroned by Modelo Especial, a Mexican brew.
The Globalist Podcast, Monday, June 26, 2023: Putin & Prigozhin Questions Mount In Russia; Greece Elections Empower Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, and more.
Monocle on Saturday, June 17, 2023: Putin calls Prigoshin and Wagner’s mutiny ‘treason’; Monocle’s contributing editor Andrew Mueller reviews the morning’s newspapers and we discuss what’s next for Nato.
Plus: a look ahead at the next episode of ‘The Foreign Desk’ and the Ukrainian women making craft, not war.
The Globalist Podcast, Friday, June 23, 2023: Nations look to shake up the world’s financial architecture in Paris, an examination of the technology being used in the search for the lost submersible near the wreck of the Titanic and a round-up of the morning’s papers.
Plus: lessons from Monocle’s 2023 Quality of Life series and what’s behind a new wave of Moroccan filmmakers.
The costs of taming price rises could prove too unpalatable for central banks
At first glance the world economy appears to have escaped from a tight spot. In the United States annual inflation has fallen to 4%, having approached double digits last year. A recession is nowhere in sight and the Federal Reserve has felt able to take a break from raising interest rates. After a gruesome 2022, stockmarkets have been celebrating: the s&p 500 index of American firms has risen by 14% so far this year, propelled by a resurgence in tech stocks. Only in Britain does inflation seem to be worryingly entrenched.
For Russia’s war to fail, Ukraine must emerge prosperous, democratic and secure
Ukraine’s war is raging on two fronts. On the 1,000km battlefront its armies are attacking the Russians’ deep defences. At the same time, on the home front Ukraine is defining what sort of country it will be when the fighting stops. Both matter, and both will pose a severe test for Ukraine and its backers.
Now is the time to buy some time
Iran cannot rival Ukraine and Taiwan for headlines, but it could soon prove as dangerous as either. Its nuclear-weapons programme has put its regime in a position to dash for a bomb. Because full-blown negotiations are impossible, the threat could yet draw the Middle East into war—including through American strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. That is why it is good that the Biden administration is seeking to lower tensions.
The Globalist Podcast, Thursday, June 22, 2023: The UK and Ukraine host a joint reconstruction summit in London, Narendra Modi is accused of weaponising yoga and we check in with the Paris Air Show.
Plus: we head to Vienna for the latest episode in our Quality of Life series. Matt Wolf brings us news from the theatre world and Monocle’s Fernando Augusto Pacheco interviews South African musician, Bongeziwe Mabandla.
Ukraine’s Future and Putin’s Fate
There is good reason to be pessimistic about the prospects of Russia’s changing course under Putin. He has taken his country in a darker, more authoritarian direction, a turn intensified by the invasion of Ukraine.
America Is Not
In March, at the end of Chinese President Xi Jinping’s visit to Moscow, Russian President Vladimir Putin stood at the door of the Kremlin to bid his friend farewell. Xi told his Russian counterpart, “Right now, there are changes—the likes of which we haven’t seen for 100 years—and we are the ones driving these changes together.” Putin, smiling, responded, “I agree.”
Washington Needs an Endgame in Ukraine
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 was a moment of clarity for the United States and its allies. An urgent mission was before them: to assist Ukraine as it countered Russian aggression and to punish Moscow for its transgressions. While the Western response was clear from the start, the objective—the endgame of this war—has been nebulous.
Why an Armistice Offers the Best Hope for Peace in Ukraine
In the middle of August 1952, Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai traveled nearly 4,000 miles to Moscow to meet with the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin… The two Communist powers were allies at the time, but it was not a partnership of equals: the Soviet Union was a superpower, and China depended on it for economic assistance and military equipment.
The Globalist Podcast, Monday, June 19, 2023: The US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, visits Beijing in a bid to ease relations between the US and China.
Plus: the latest on the conflict in Ukraine, a roundup of the day’s papers and a profile of Miami’s mayor, Francis Suarez, who is now a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination.
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