When the levy doesn’t break: a trade-war world adjusts

2025-03-11

Donald Trump has paused military aid and intelligence to Kyiv. Our defence editor, Shashank Joshi, analyses whether European countries can plug the gaps

2025-02-28

This week European leaders have lined up to charm Donald Trump. But the broad smiles belie a bigger fear: what would it mean for the continent’s security if America forsakes its security guarantees (https://www.economist.com/international/2025/02/25/can-europe-confront-vladimir-putins-russia-on-its-own?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners)? What the pull-out of French (https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2025/02/01/frances-bitter-retreat-from-west-africa?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners) forces will mean for Africa (10:56).

2025-01-06

Israel continued to pound Gaza, even as ceasefire negotiations began in Qatar. The familiar dynamic will soon be interrupted by a new American administration. Our analysis shows that Nordic firms have markedly better fundamentals (https://www.economist.com/business/2024/12/30/why-are-nordic-companies-so-successful?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners) than the European average; we examine what’s behind all that success (10:18). And our series The World Ahead considers how democracy will fare in Asia

2024-12-30

Our pages have been full of suffering in 2024. War has raged on three continents: the world watched Gaza, Lebanon and Ukraine most closely, but the fighting in Sudan was the most deadly. Storms, tempests, floods and fires have ruined lives, and taken them. ⁠
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All the while, the rivalry between countries siding with China and the American-led Western alliance has deepened, even as America has chosen as president a man whose commitment to that alliance is in doubt. ⁠
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However, take a wider view, and 2024 holds a more hopeful message. Click the link in our bio to find out why this year shed fresh light on some important truths

2024-12-24

Cows (https://www.economist.com/international/2024/12/12/what-has-four-stomachs-and-could-change-the-world?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners) produce far more milk in rich countries than in poor ones. Our correspondent explains how beefing up bovine productivity could feed more people and reduce planet-heating emissions. Why Spain is the best-performing rich-world economy of 2024 (https://www.economist.com/leaders/2024/12/12/what-spain-can-teach-the-rest-of-europe?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners) (11:28). And remembering Harold

2024-12-20

In the past 12 months, there has been no lack of news. Editors at The Economist have picked their way through the rubble to uncover some optimism: which country (https://www.economist.com/leaders/2024/12/19/the-economists-country-of-the-year-for-2024?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners) has seen the greatest improvement this year? After fierce debate, the decision is conclusive. And our correspondent joins an unusual rescue mission: the pet railroad

2024-10-31

Rachel Reeves’s first budget as chancellor of the exchequer saw the biggest tax rises (https://www.economist.com/leaders/2024/10/30/the-british-budget-combines-large-numbers-and-a-narrow-vision) in decades, as well as promises of high spending and investment. Our correspondent explains what the announcement means for Britain. How Hurricane Helene may affect the election in North Carolina (https://www.economist.com/united-states/2024/10/24/will-hurricane-helene-tip-the-vote-in-north-carolina?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners), a month after the storm (10:58). And the most disgusting dish you can add a pickle

2024-10-29

Russia is advancing in Ukraine, has more troops and more weapons. In Kyiv and beyond, questions are being raised (https://www.economist.com/europe/2024/10/22/north-korea-is-sending-thousands-of-soldiers-to-help-vladimir-putin?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners) about the future. Why does America make it so hard to vote in the election (https://www.economist.com/interactive/us-2024-election/trump-harris-polls?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.listeners) from overseas? And what Britain’s citizenship test