El Salvador’s president is locking up his critics

2025-04-04

South Korea has been paralysed since its president declared martial law in December. Even after his impeachment (https://www.economist.com/asia/2025/04/04/yoon-suk-yeol-south-koreas-disgraced-president-is-ousted?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), politicians face a divided polity and battered economy. Why governments should pay attention to the “Henry (https://www.economist.com/britain/2025/03/26/who-will-speak-for-henry?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)” – High Earner, Not Rich Yet (9:49). And what tiffs over tofu

2025-03-30

While the world’s richest man has been distracted shrinking the US government, Tesla’s share price has plummeted and rival EV firm, BYD, has overtaken it in revenue. Are Musk’s businesses in trouble? Our US technology editor, Henry Tricks, explains.

2025-03-24

Are British nukes fit for purpose? Shashank Joshi, our defence editor, discusses with Malcolm Chalmers, deputy director general at RUSI

2025-03-12

The ceasefire proposal (https://www.economist.com/europe/2025/03/11/ukraine-hopes-its-ceasefire-offer-will-turn-the-tables-on-russia?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) hatched by American negotiators and agreed by Ukraine is now a matter for Russia to consider. We ask how the not-yet-a-breakthrough will land in both countries. Our correspondents ask one of NATO’s very-top brass about Europe’s defence stance and how it should shift (10:44). And the shockingly life-shortening

2025-03-03

European leaders met in London this weekend (https://www.economist.com/europe/2025/03/02/europe-vows-to-defend-ukraine-but-prays-for-trumps-support?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) after Donald Trump and Volodymyr Zelensky’s public row shattered hopes for a US-led truce in Ukraine. What did the summit achieve? Our correspondent visits Mexico’s border (https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2025/02/23/mexico-deploys-10000-troops-to-the-us-border?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 find out if strengthened force will stem the flow of

2025-01-09

The world’s most populous country is at the front line of climate change. Our deputy editor explores the many ways it is adapting (https://www.economist.com/asia/2025/01/02/how-14bn-indians-are-adapting-to-climate-change?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)—because it must. Our series The World Ahead continues by examining the plausibility (https://www.economist.com/the-world-ahead/2024/11/19/where-donald-trump-will-be-constrained-and-where-he-will-not?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 the incoming Trump administration’s policy

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