India’s cities have grown at a blistering pace, but lack proper political representation because the country has a lopsided electoral system.

The Economist examines the problem and what can be done to fix it for our new column about India, Ashoka.

#india #modi #news

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Could artificial intelligence make biological weapons easier to create? Arthur Holland Michael, The Economist’s emerging tech writer and Rosie Blau, co-host of The Intelligence podcast, discuss how humanity can protect itself from biological terrorism.

00:00 – Could AI help create a pandemic?
02:03 – Could ordinary people become bioterrorists?
03:12 – How soon could AI-designed viruses exist?
05:06 – Can AI models be restricted or regulated?
06:11 – Should governments control access to AI?

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The war in Iran has caused a global energy crunch not seen in years. But take a look at the S&P 500 since the the war broke out and it looks like investors are unfazed. Our capital markets correspondent, Joshua Roberts, explains why the stockmarket is ignoring reality. #markets #finance #wallstreet

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When it comes to a show of manliness, few politicians rival Donald Trump. He presents himself as brash, victorious, and unapologetically transgressive—and always gets the male vote. After voting for Trump in 2024, some men actually reported feeling more masculine. So why are young men drifting away from his bravado?

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The EU’s top trade official, Maros Sefocovic, says Europe’s trade with China is “unsustainable” and could destroy entire European industries. The Economist’s geopolitics editor, David Rennie, asks Mr Sefocovic, who represents the world’s largest trade bloc at the negotiating table, what is Europe prepared to do to protect its companies and workers?

#europe #eu #trade #internationalrelations #economics #news #geopolitics

00:00 – How big is the threat from China?
00:44 – A one-billion-dollar-a-day deficit, that is forecast to grow
02:22 – Is dialogue enough to counteract the flood of Chinese exports?
3:26 – How far is Europe prepared to go to protect its industries?

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Trade between Europe and China is “unsustainable” says Maros Sefcovic, the EU’s trade commissioner. He represents the world’s largest trade bloc at the negotiating table. The Economist’s geopolitics editor, David Rennie, asks if the bloc is prepared to risk a trade war to tackle the deficit.

#europe #eu #trade #internationalrelations #economics #geopolitics

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Tommy Robinson will march through London this weekend, with crowds who share his far-right vision for Britain’s future. But a lot of his support—and funding—comes from abroad, especially America. The Economist has analysed the international eco-system behind Robinson, and the harmful impact it has on politics in Britain.

Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership is in disarray. More than 100 Labour MPs have called for him to step aside after the party suffered a humiliating drubbing at local and devolved elections. The Economist’s deputy editor, Edward Carr, and a panel of top editors unpack what went wrong for the man who walked into Downing Street with the second-largest mandate in Britain’s post-war history.

#KeirStarmer #Starmer #Britain #politics #Labour

00:00 – Sir Keir Starmer’s lack of vision
01:20 – His relationship with his cabinet
02:04 – Why his policies are “all pain, no gain”
03:20 – Is Sir Keir “too normal” to be prime minister?
04:04 – Why incremental policy changes aren’t enough for voters

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Sir Keir Starmer is doomed. More than 100 of his MPs want him to quit after Labour’s battering at the local and devolved elections last week. What went wrong for the man who just two years ago won the second-largest mandate in Britain’s post-war history

With traditional safe havens like gold, the dollar and government bonds appearing to lose their appeal, could today’s market optimism be building toward a dangerous financial bubble? Josh Roberts, The Economist’s capital markets correspondent and Rosie Blau, co-host of The Intelligence podcast, discuss why investors continue to pour money into stocks despite the uncertainty caused by the Iran war and rising oil prices.

00:00 – Why are stockmarkets rising despite war and oil shocks
03:19 – Why are gold and the dollar failing as safe havens?
05:07 – Why are government bonds no longer protecting investors?
06:32 – Are investors creating a stockmarket bubble because there are no alternatives?

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Over 17,000 American and allied troops have descended on islands in the Philippines, seemingly for annual training exercises. But they’re also serving as a deterrent force against a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan.

What does America really want from China? The Economist’s chief China correspondent, Jeremy Page, joins the co-hosts of the Checks and Balance, John Prideaux and James Bennet, to examine the future of US–China relations. Ahead of the Trump–Xi summit, they explore three defining challenges shaping the relationship, including co-operation on AI safety, rising tensions over Taiwan and the future of trade diplomacy.

00:00 – What does Trump want from China?
00:40 – Can the US and China work together on AI safety?
03:38 – Is Trump reconsidering America’s arms commitments to Taiwan?
07:02 – Would a US-China trade board help?
08:19 – Can trade deals ease tensions between the US and China?

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The Trump-Xi summit will expose a dysfunctional duo:

From the Secretary of War’s prayers for "righteous targets for violence" to the vice-president scolding the Pope on theology, a new generation of MAGA leaders is grounding the movement not just in loyalty to Donald Trump but in faith, too. Charlotte Howard, our New York bureau chief, explores what this religious turn means for the movement.
#trump #uspolitics #pope #maga #religion #vance

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Western politicians are usually fixated on how many people migrate to their country. What they fail to notice is the record numbers of people leaving. This will have profound economic consequences not just for the places that emigrants leave—but also the countries that they move to.
#immigration #braindrain

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Trade will be high on the agenda when Donald Trump and Xi Jinping meet in Beijing next week. The world’s superpowers have been locked in an on-again, off-again trade war for nearly a decade. The Economist’s top economics editors assess who has the stronger hand going into the summit.

#china #trump #usa #internationalnews #unitedstates #economy

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China’s rapid rise has been a defining feature of the world for the past four decades. But as its growth slows, forecasters have begun to roll back their predictions for when the country will become the world’s largest economy. The Economist’s top economics editors weigh in on the debate.

#china #trump #usa #unitedstates #economy

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Chinese satellite imagery has been linked to the Iranian regime, the Houthis in Yemen and Russia’s Wagner Group. The most advanced commercial images of Earth used to be captured by American firms, but Chinese companies are rapidly catching up. This race has a real impact on conflicts on the ground.

#usa #china #space

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Rahm Emanuel says Binyamin Netanyahu “is no Winston Churchill”. He believes the policies of Israel’s prime minister have left the country isolated. In the latest episode of the Insider, the influential Democrat—who is mulling a run for the White House—sets out his position on the alliance between the US and Israel. #Democrats #Trump #presidency

Are plants conscious? Author Michael Pollan has been searching for scientific evidence that could unlock this mystery. He joins Alok Jha, host of The Economist’s science podcast Babbage, to discuss new research on plant intelligence. They examine how plants sense and respond to their environment, whether they feel pain, how they store and process information without a brain and whether they possess a form of consciousness.

00:00 – Can plants be conscious without brains?
00:38 – How plants see, hear, and mimic their environment
02:03 – What anaesthetics reveal about plant awareness
04:22 – Can plants learn and remember?
07:26 – Do plants feel pain or have desires?

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Reform UK and the Green Party may be on opposite sides of the political spectrum, but their populist leaders have more in common than you might think. Both Nigel Farage and Zack Polanski are pulling voters away from Britain’s political centre.

#election #politics #reform #greenparty #nigelfarage #zackpolanski

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Gulf Arab states have spent decades marketing themselves as glitzy and safe. But the Iran war has left some scarring. Our Middle East correspondent, Gregg Carlstrom, explores whether the Gulf can recover its reputation.

Is it gaslighted or gaslit? Greenlighted or greenlit? Even native English speakers get confused which is correct. Our language expert, Lane Greene, explains why some verbs have two past-tense forms. #language #english #grammar

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Is AI growing faster than the infrastructure that powers it? The Economist’s global business writer, Shailesh Chitnis, and co-host of The Intelligence podcast, Rosie Blau, discuss the global shortage of computing power. As demand surges, firms are throttling access, spending billions on expansion and facing supply-chain bottlenecks that could reshape the future of AI.

00:00 – Why are AI companies struggling to keep up with demand?
00:37 – What is actually in short supply?
01:26 – What are AI firms doing about the shortage?
02:10 – Will simply spending more money solve the problem?
03:27 – How are suppliers responding to the crunch?
04:06 – Where are the biggest bottlenecks in the tech stack?
06:24 – How will this supply crunch affect AI’s future?

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The tech titans’ almost god-like control over AI is sure to shape the future. But it’s not the first time in America’s history that a small group of men have amassed enormous wealth and power by driving a new technology. So how did America handle the “robber barons” like J.D. Rockefeller and J.P. Morgan in the Gilded Age?
#usa #america #trump #gildedage

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Oil surged to over $126 dollars a barrel this week as investors lost hope that the Strait of Hormuz would open soon. Analysts like to say that when markets react badly “Trump Always Chickens Out” or “TACO”. The Economist’s top editors ask if this time America’s president will buck that trend.

#trump #finance #iran #oil #markets #economy

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The price of oil has shot up past $126 dollars a barrel, its highest level since 2022. After months of shrugging off concern, markets are finally starting to reflect that the Strait of Hormuz might remain closed, taking about a seventh of the world’s oil supply offline. The Economist’s editor-in-chief, Zanny Minton Beddoes, Edward Carr, deputy editor, and a panel of experts discuss how high the oil price could really go.

#oil #iran #straitofhormuz #economy #finance

00:00 – How high does the oil price need to go to balance supply and demand?
00:50 – Why has the oil price surged?
01:28 – Are traders in la la land?
03:12 – What has stopped the price from rising?

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How will oil prices be affected by the UAE’s exit from OPEC? President Trump says it’s "great" that the Emiratis have left. But the Economist’s foreign editor, Adam Roberts, explains why it’s not all good news for America.

Support for NATO is growing more partisan under President Trump, with Republicans increasingly souring on the alliance.
On the latest Inside Defence show, Rachel Ellehuus, director-general of the Royal United Services Institute, joins The Economist’s defence editor, Shashank Joshi, to unpack what’s really driving the shift and what Europeans can do to convince an unpredictable American partner of NATO’s value.

#NATO #Trump #Europe #America

00:00 – Why Republicans have soured on NATO
01:23 – Why America’s commitment to Europe Is changing
03:07 – Where the Democrats stand on NATO
04:00 – What will the midterms mean for NATO?

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“It’s not just politics driving this burden shifting. The United States, itself, is overstretched.”

On the latest Inside Defence show, Rachel Ellehuus, director-general of the Royal United Services Institute, joins The Economist’s defence editor, Shashank Joshi, to discuss whether NATO could survive without America.

Humans know more about the surface of Mars than Earth’s ocean floor. Only 27% of the seabed has been mapped—the rest is still an estimate. Why is the ocean floor so hard to chart?

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#TheEconomist #Ocean #seabed #seabed #marinelife #geopolitics