Can Europe defend itself without America?

2025-01-23

A sophisticated, predatory, multi-billion dollar industry is emerging from the shadows. It is already more lucrative than the illicit drug trade. And it’s about to get bigger and much more powerful.

The Economist’s Sue-Lin Wong follows a trail that starts with the collapse of a bank in rural Kansas to uncover a global, underground scam economy built around human trafficking, corruption and money laundering. Can it be stopped?

Coming soon.

To listen to the full series subscribe to Economist Podcasts+: https://subscribenow.economist.com/podcasts-plus

2025-01-23

After the collapse of the governing “traffic light” coalition in December, the hard-right AfD has a renewed swagger (https://www.economist.com/europe/2025/01/16/how-the-afd-got-its-swagger-back?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 long can other parties keep it from power? We speak with Syrian refugees (https://www.economist.com/europe/2024/12/12/syrian-refugees-in-europe-are-not-about-to-flock-home?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) heading home at last, following the defenestration of Bashar al-Assad (10:30). And remembering David

2025-01-10

Elon Musk has taken an abiding interest in Britain, and a hard line against its prime minister. It reveals a division (https://www.economist.com/britain/2025/01/09/what-elon-musks-tweets-about-sex-abuse-reveal-about-british-politics?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) within British politics that may hold lessons for elsewhere. Our series The World Ahead concludes by assessing Europe’s security challenges (https://www.economist.com/the-world-ahead/2024/11/20/the-uncertain-outlook-for-european-security?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)

2025-01-07

In the end Justin Trudeau could not resist the internal pressure. We ask why the liberal standard-bearer got pushed out (https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2025/01/06/justin-trudeau-leaves-a-wrecked-party-and-divided-canada?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 what comes next. Ten years after (https://www.economist.com/culture/2025/01/04/ten-years-after-the-charlie-hebdo-massacre-satire-is-under-siege?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) terrorists raided the offices of Charlie Hebdo, a satirical French newspaper, our correspondent

2024-11-11

Last time Donald Trump was president he pulled America out of the Paris climate agreement. What is on the agenda at COP29 (https://www.economist.com/topics/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), as world leaders meet after a second Trump victory? The future of cloud computing (https://www.economist.com/business/2024/10/28/what-if-microsoft-let-openai-go-free?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) (9:40). And how the culture wars came for remembrance poppies

2024-11-07

Hispanic men were among the key groups that helped propel Donald Trump to the White House. Daniel Franklin, our deputy US editor, explains the historical shift.

Hispanic men helped propel Donald Trump back to the White House: https://econ.st/3OiBvNj
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2024-11-04

Since replacing Joe Biden as the Democratic nominee Harris has closed the gap on Trump in key swing states and opened up new roads to the presidency. But victory is still far from certain. We explain how both candidates could get to the magic number of 270 electoral-college votes.

Keep these two charts handy as the votes come in: https://econ.st/3YOEX8j
See the latest polling here: https://econ.st/3NUN9gS
See our prediction model and the live results here: https://econ.st/3YOEX8j
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2024-10-30

What do you call your wife’s brother’s wife? Or your daughter’s husband’s parents? Our language columnist explains why this is a particularly English problem.