Is Takaichi Sanae the most powerful woman in the world? | The Economist

2026-01-29

Is civil war brewing in Iran? Nicolas Pelham, our Middle East correspondent, and Jason Palmer, co-host of The Intelligence podcast, discuss internal tensions in the country and why some protesters seem to be turning their backs on peaceful demonstrations.

00:50 – What are Iran’s two opposing camps?
02:56 – What does this deepening divide mean for politics?
03:57 – Why has Iran shifted from protest to civil conflict?
06:16 – Is there any way to stop a civil war?

Listen to the full episode: https://econ.st/3NKjsm1
Is America about to attack Iran?: https://econ.st/4qKVKEC
Sign up to our weekly newsletter: https://econ.st/3J0xzBr

#TheEconomist #Iran #Protests

2025-12-24

Reporting on China is challenging. The country’s leaders seldom give interviews to Western media and when they do they tend to stick to prepared official lines. To understand China, journalists rely on well-connected academics who know the workings and worldview of the Communist Party.

The Economist’s Geopolitics editor, David Rennie, speaks to one of China’s shrewdest experts on America, Da Wei. He is a professor and director of the Centre for International Security and Strategy at Tsinghua University. They discuss China’s view of Taiwan and how Beijing could take the small island nation.

00:00 – Could Trump sell out Taiwan for a trade deal?
02:24 – How China can win over the Taiwanese
03:35 – How Taiwan would be governed under China
06:01 – The opportunity from a Donald Trump

2025-12-06

The price of gold reached record levels in October 2025. The Economist’s commodities editor, Matthieu Favas, explains why the assumption that gold is a "safe haven" may not fully explain the surge.

2025-11-01

Can Donald Trump and Xi Jinping’s truce really last? China and America have been at economic loggerheads for years over international trade. Jeremy Page, our Chief China correspondent, and Jason Palmer, co-host of The Intelligence podcast, discuss what the two leaders promised, what they left out, and whether the deal can stand the test of time.

00:00: Why was Donald Trump in South Korea?
00:30: What did China say after Trump called the meeting “amazing”?
01:10: So what exactly did they agree on?
02:49: What remains outstanding — what’s not in the deal?
04:14: How does this deal stack up against Trump’s other Asia tour agreements?
06:28: Will this new deal with China actually hold?

#TheEconomist #Trump #China

Listen to the full episode: https://econ.st/4qIRDJV
Donald Trump and Xi

2025-10-28

Vladimir Putin, Xi Jinping and Donald Trump are threatening the longstanding values of the European Union. Kaja Kallas, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs and security policy and former prime minister of Estonia, speaks to our geopolitics editor, David Rennie, about how the union can navigate an increasingly turbulent and hostile world.

#putin #trump #xijinping

00:00 – Introduction
00:07 – How China views the Russia-Ukraine war
01:20 – Europe’s economic influence over China
03:24 – Could the EU use its anti-coercion instrument?
05:05 – How the EU can navigate a world dominated by strongmen

Watch the full interview: https://econ.st/3X18TMA

Brussels feels like a city preparing for war: https://econ.st/4oLCrKd

How strongmen mastered the art of dividing Europe:

2025-10-27

Many of the jobs that graduates will end up doing don’t even exist yet. In the age of AI, what are the best subjects to study?

Video supported by @mishcondereya

2025-08-24

Feminists believe that men and women are in all important respects equal. But getting people, especially men, to accept that truth and act on it has been the work of centuries. These five books could help you understand the large, evolving and controversial subject of modern feminism