Why crypto isn’t cool any more | The Economist

2026-02-27

President Trump has amassed his forces around Iran and across the Middle East, in an effort to pressure the country’s leaders to limit its nuclear programme. Negotiators from Washington and Tehran have been meeting in an attempt to avert conflict.

On Insider this week, our deputy editor Edward Carr and a panel of our journalists assess the president’s aims.

00:00 – Mapping the military build-up
02:34 – What America’s aims could be from a strike on Iran
05:13 – Donald Trump’s objectives in negotiations

#iran , #donaldtrump , #alikhamenei , #nuclearweapons , #diplomacy

Watch the full show: https://econ.st/4bdDLRX
Sign up to the Insider newsletter: https://econ.st/4nOyzIb

Subscribe to The Economist: https://econ.st/3Mia0pz
Download The Economist app: https://econ.st/4qdVVaA

Follow

2026-02-25

Elon Musk thinks the future of AI might not be on Earth at all—but in orbit.

On the latest episode of Inside Tech, Tom Standage and Alex Hern explore how orbital data centres would work, whether the numbers add up, and why this once outlandish concept is suddenly being taken seriously.

#ElonMusk #SpaceX #xAI #AIInfrastructure #DataCenters #SpaceTech #TechNews #futureofai #datacentres

00:00 – Why put data centres in space?
03:05 The numbers behind orbital compute
06:10 The race for AI dominance

Watch the full show: https://econ.st/4aGdL00
Sign up to the Insider newsletter: https://econ.st/4nOyzIb

Subscribe to The Economist: https://www.economist.com/subscribe
Download our app: https://www.economist.com/get-the-app

Follow The Economist on Instagram:

2026-01-12

Could Iran’s protests spark another war with Israel? Anshel Pfeffer, our Israel correspondent, and Jason Palmer, co-host of The Intelligence podcast, discuss how unrest inside Iran could spill over and seriously ramp up tensions with Israel.

00:00 – What are the Iranian protests, and why do they matter to Israel?
01:10 – Why would Iran retaliate when it is facing serious problems at home?
04:02 – Could Israel use this moment to strike Iran again?
07:25 – How might Israel hope to benefit from Iran’s instability in the long run?

Listen to the full episode: https://econ.st/49wuqT9
Israel hopes for regime change in Iran: https://econ.st/4jyCiZ0
Sign up to our weekly newsletter: https://econ.st/3J0xzBr

#TheEconomist #Iran #Israel

2026-01-07

Following his dramatic intervention in Venezuela, President Trump has set his sights on another target: Greenland. He claims America needs the remote island in the Arctic for national security. Why? And how could he try to take the territory?

2025-11-18

What does Sheikh Hasina’s conviction mean for Bangladesh’s future? Vishnu Padmanabhan, our Asia correspondent, and Rosie Blau, co-host of The Intelligence podcast, discuss how the former prime minister’s death sentence could reshape the country’s politics—and whether India will hand her over to authorities in Dhaka

00:00 – How was Sheikh Hasina sentenced?
00:34 – What caused last year’s protests?
01:45 – What has Sheikh Hasina been found guilty of
02:42 – How has the verdict been received in Bangladesh
03:36 – Was it a fair trial?
04:18 – What happens next for Bangladesh?
05:38 – How will this test India-Bangladesh relations?

Listen to the full episode: https://econ.st/4o8cnrT
Sign up to our weekly newsletter: https://econ.st/3J0xzBr
Sign up to our world in brief newsletter:

2025-11-16

People are smoking less so why are cigarette companies’ profits soaring? Jason Palmer, co-host of The Intelligence podcast, and Callum Williams, our senior economics writer, discuss why the tobacco industry is thriving despite the number of American adult smokers falling by around 20m people in the past decade.

00:00 – The economics of smoking
00:13 – Less people are smoking
00:52 – Why are tobacco shares thriving?
02:31 – Will cigarettes keep getting more expensive?

Listen to the full episode: https://econ.st/3LABV3i
The counterintuitive economics of smoking: https://econ.st/488Y41i
What nicotine does to your brain: https://econ.st/484bJH3
How harmful are electronic cigarettes?: https://econ.st/49eNgjw
Sign up to our weekly newsletter: https://econ.st/3J0xzBr

#economics #health

2025-11-14

Giorgia Meloni, Italy’s prime minister, is an exceptional politician. Under her leadership there has been political stability in Italy for the first time in over 15 years

2025-09-24

Is the United Nations still fit for purpose? Anton La Guardia, diplomatic editor at The Economist, discusses the future of the UN as it marks its 80th birthday with co-host of The Intelligence Jason Palmer.

0:00 – What is the state of the United Nations at 80?
0:44 – Macron recognises aPalestinian state: why is this significant?
2:11 – Why does American funding matter so much?
5:00 – What does the UN look like without America?
5:45 – Will the UN decay or be “Trumpified”?
7:02 – Could the UN come through this period stronger?

Listen to the full episode:https://econ.st/3Vw8pxn
The UN’s grim future: https://econ.st/4mxJHrE
Sign up to our weekly newsletter: https://econ.st/3J0xzBr

#theeconomist #unitednations #donaldtrump