Inside the world’s most sophisticated telescope

2025-06-26

Is China becoming a cultural phenomenon? From Labubu dolls to high-tech exports China is making waves abroad. Our producer Jiehao Chen and China correspondent Gabriel Crossley speak on the Drum Tower podcast to discuss China’s pursuit of soft power.

00:00 – China’s softening image
01:07 – What does China’s Communist Party stand to gain?
02:23 – IShowSpeed’s livestream in China
04:08 – So is China cool?

Listen to the rest of the episode: https://econ.st/4epPhtJ
It’s not just Labubu dolls, Chinese brands are booming: https://econ.st/4k9wtzS
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2025-05-03

After a brutal terrorist attack in Indian-administrated Kashmir, a decades-long water treaty between India and Pakistan has been suspended by the Indian government. Pakistan is heavily dependent on the waters from the treaty. Could India cut off Pakistan’s supply?

2025-04-15

Trump’s tariffs have caused the American stockmarket to dip, bond yields to go up and the dollar to fall. All three happening at the same time is a red flag for economists. Has the president permanently hurt America’s economy? Our Economics editor Henry Curr shares his take on The Intelligence podcast

00:00 – Why the financial markets’ reaction to Trump’s tariffs are concerning
02:31 – What Trump’s administration thinks of the dollar as the world’s reserve currency
04:17 – What might happen now?
08:40 – What could take the dollar’s place as the world’s reserve currency?
11:50 – Has the damage already been done?

Listen to the rest of the episode: https://econ.st/3Ea78ap
A flight from the dollar could wreck America’s finances: https://econ.st/42cgLOT
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2025-02-14

Lab-grown diamonds have become increasingly popular in recent years but, with prices now falling, have they started to become too successful for their own good?

2025-02-10

The Big Mac index was invented by The Economist in the 1980s as a lighthearted guide to whether currencies are over- or under-valued. Here‘s how it works.

2025-02-08

How do you run a scam operation?

Perks, recruitment, outsourcing and a monthly landscaping budget—this is Scam Inc.

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2025-02-03

President Donald Trump followed through on his tariff threats, starting with Canada, Mexico and China. We look at the first skirmishes (https://www.economist.com/finance-and-economics/2025/02/02/trumps-brutal-tariffs-far-outstrip-any-he-has-imposed-before?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 what promises to be a painful trade war (10:30). A Concorde-style supersonic passenger jet could soon be flying again, if one company

2025-01-29

China’s DeepSeek AI lab has disrupted stock prices. Several major American tech firms were left reeling after DeepSeek’s development of a cutting-edge language model, made for less than $6m. Our AI writer, Alex Hern, explains what happened