Country of the year: The Economist picks

2024-11-13

A week after Donald Trump won a decisive victory in the presidential election, he is making appointments (https://www.economist.com/united-states/2024/11/12/how-to-get-hired-by-donald-trump?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) to his new White House. What do they tell us about his second term? Many European governments are turning against immigration but they still need agricultural migrants (https://www.economist.com/europe/2024/10/31/the-immigrants-europe-quietly-wants-more-of?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) (10:29). And why place

2024-11-08

By picking J.D. Vance as his vice-president, Donald Trump crowned an heir apparent to the MAGA movement. But how did the one-time liberal darling and Trump critic become the next president’s right-hand man? We explain

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2024-11-06

In the end America got a swift and decisive call as to the next president: Donald Trump. We invite the hosts of “Checks and Balance”, our subscriber-only podcast on American politics, onto the show to discuss what we know so far—about the presidency (https://www.economist.com/in-brief/2024/11/05/the-us-in-brief-election-coverage?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), Congressional races (https://www.economist.com/united-states/2024/11/06/the-republicans-gain-control-of-the-senate?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) and ballot initiatives

2024-09-13

Capsule that can withstand vacuum? Check. Low-pressure spacesuit? Check. Space-friendly Doritos? Check. The first spacewalk by private citizens (https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2024/08/28/billionaire-space-travel-heads-for-a-new-frontier?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) showcases SpaceX’s prowess, the viability of privately funded exploration—and extraplanetary product placement. Gene editing

2024-09-10

The EU’s unofficial chief technocrat issued a doorstop of a report outlining how the bloc can boost growth (https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2024/09/09/can-anything-spark-europes-economy-back-to-life?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) and keep up in a changing world. Is it all too ambitious? Mexico’s lame-duck president has one last project in mind: undermining the judiciary (https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2024/08/29/amlos-dangerous-last-blast-threatens-mexico?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) (10:44). And as the

2024-07-16

After decades of torpor, is Japan recovering its dynamism (https://www.economist.com/asia/2024/07/01/japans-mind-bending-bento-box-economics?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)? Our correspondent turns to an ancient bento box merchant to test Japan’s economic future. A new study shows how few therapies tested on animals (https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2024/06/14/only-5-of-therapies-tested-on-animals-are-approved-for-human-use?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) end up being applied to humans (10:02). And if you don’t

2024-07-02

The US Supreme Court has granted (https://www.economist.com/united-states/2024/07/01/donald-trump-wins-a-big-victory-at-the-supreme-court) the former President immunity from prosecution for official acts committed while in office. We ask what that means for future Presidents and the 2024 American election. Humanity is standing by while sea levels rise. Now scientists want to geo-engineer polar ice (https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2024/06/06/zany-ideas-to-slow-polar-melting-are-gathering-momentum) to stem the flow (10:45). And why a hot sauce beloved by many (https://www.economist.com/business/2024/06/20/the-cautionary-tale-of-huy-fongs-hot-sauce) suddenly disappeared from our shelves (19:45).

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2024-06-29

On July 4th Britain will have a general election, one in which is widely expected to result in dramatic losses for the ruling Conservative party. If so, it would bring to an end 14 years of Tory rule. It’s been a turbulent period; the twin catastrophes of Brexit and Covid, set to the grinding and gloomy mood music of the 2008 financial crash. The Economist’s Andy Miller travels up and down the country, to the towns and cities shaped by these events, to get a sense of how Britain is feeling.

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