Donald Trump’s mafia-style diplomacy

2025-03-13

The Trump administration’s dedication to tariffs now seems more fervent than the first time around. Markets (https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2025/03/10/how-trump-provoked-a-stockmarket-sell-off?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) are noticing (https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2025/03/11/will-americas-stockmarket-convulsions-spread?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). We ask what might temper the trade war. Europe’s once-fringe hard-right parties are now leading polls

2025-03-05

American presidents often use their first meeting with Congress as a chance to lay out their agenda for the next four years. Donald Trump, by contrast, treated last night’s address (https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2025/03/03/trumps-new-tariffs-are-his-most-extreme-ever?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) like a campaign rally. Meet Ecuador’s tenacious anti-corruption champion (https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2025/02/27/the-bravest-woman-in-latin-america?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) (12:18). And co-host Jason

2025-01-08

A once-fringe far-right party looks close to power—and serves as another sign of a broad and worrying pro-Russia trend (https://www.economist.com/leaders/2025/01/07/the-putinisation-of-central-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) in central European politics. Meanwhile Jean-Marie Le Pen (https://www.economist.com/europe/2025/01/07/jean-marie-le-pen-revived-extremist-politics-in-france?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), who established the far-right party now close to power in France, has died; our correspondent reflects on his

2025-01-03

There are three types (https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2025/01/02/will-elon-musk-dominate-president-trumps-economic-policy?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) of economics-minded people in Donald Trump’s incoming administration. We ask whether they are likely to collaborate or to compete. Tourism clearly adds to emissions, but new numbers show just how fast (https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2024/12/11/carbon-emissions-from-tourism-are-rising-disproportionately-fast?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) that

2025-01-01

There is no simplistic split of sentiment about Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine. But what most Russians want is a return to normal that now seems impossible (https://www.economist.com/briefing/2024/11/28/the-war-in-ukraine-is-straining-russias-economy-and-society?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 The World Ahead series continues with a look at what is to come in British politics (https://www.economist.com/the-world-ahead/2024/11/20/political-fragmentation-in-britain-is-here-to-stay?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) (9:16). And

2024-12-27

From a legendary baseball slugger (https://www.economist.com/obituary/2024/06/26/willie-mayss-philosophy-was-simple-they-throw-the-ball-i-hit-the-ball?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 a beloved comic actor (https://www.economist.com/obituary/2024/09/27/maggie-smith-the-dowager-countess-of-comic-timing?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 Scottish politicians

2024-11-05

America and the world hold their proverbial breath for what has become a dead heat (https://www.economist.com/interactive/us-2024-election/prediction-model/president/?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 special episode explains how the vote works and how the count will proceed. We ask what to watch for (https://www.economist.com/united-states/2024/10/31/what-to-watch-for-on-election-night-and-beyond?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), how countries outside America view the potential outcomes, how the country’s largest swing county

2024-11-01

If The Economist had a vote, we would cast it for Kamala Harris. She has run an impressive campaign with policies that reflect the need for centrist politics today. But, more importantly, a second Trump term comes with unacceptable risks. John Prideaux, our US editor, explains why she gets our endorsement.

Sign up to our US election newsletter: https://econ.st/40tYfBg

Why we’re endorsing Kamala Harris: https://econ.st/3YrUk5b

Why the Economist endorses political candidates: https://econ.st/48xAvhs