Will Trump “TACO” over the Strait of Hormuz? | The Economist

2026-04-04

Water infrastructure in the Middle East has been hit at least three times since the Iran war began. For Gulf countries reliant on desalination, further escalation could be catastrophic.

2026-04-02

The Economist’s planetary affairs expert analyses the launch of Artemis II. Oliver Morton, The Economist’s senior editor and author of “The Moon: A History for the Future” and Rosie Blau, co-host of The Intelligence podcast, discuss why humans are heading back to the Moon, the new space race and how future Moon bases could reshape science, industry and exploration of space.

01:11 – What is Artemis II?
03:26 – What comes next after Artemis II?
04:27 – What is the point of building a Moon base?
05:16 – Why go back to the Moon at all?
06:12 – America v China – Is this a new space race?
06:47 – Can NASA actually deliver on its plans?
07:32 – What does America have to gain from Artemis II?

Listen to the full episode: https://econ.st/3O6drAq
NASA’s Moon-base plans mark a rethinking of its

2026-03-29

Do peptides really work? The Economist’s health editor, Natasha Loder, senior science writer, Tim Cross and co-host of The Intelligence podcast, Jason Palmer, discuss the booming peptide market, the risks of unregulated experimentation, and how internet hype is outpacing scientific evidence.

00:00 – Are peptides really the shortcut to bigger muscles, better skin, and faster recovery?
00:10 – How easy is it to buy peptides online?
00:42 – What is BPC-157 and the so-called “Wolverine Stack”?
01:01 – How are these substances being sold despite safety warnings?
02:01 – What exactly are peptides and why are they so popular?
03:24 – What are the biggest health risks and unknowns?
04:31 – How has the internet accelerated the spread of “bro science”?
05:40 – What are regulators doing to

2026-03-25

Sir Alex Younger spent 30 years at MI6, Britain’s foreign intelligence service, with six of those as its boss. He joins the Economist’s defence editor, Shashank Joshi, to analyse the current state of the conflict, the health of Iran’s regime and what could happen next.

#iran #usa #geopolitics #politics #trump

00:00 – Why Iran has the “upper hand” in the conflict
01:09 – How strong is the Iranian regime?
04:59 – Who’s in the IRGC and what do they stand for?
06:21 – What comes next?

Watch the full show: https://econ.st/4bL5dpl
Sign up to the Insider newsletter: https://econ.st/4nOyzIb

Subscribe to The Economist: https://www.economist.com/subscribe
Download our app: https://www.economist.com/get-the-app

Follow The Economist on Instagram:

2026-03-19

Has Donald Trump betrayed America First? Tucker Carlson thinks so. In an interview with Zanny Minton Beddoes, The Economist’s editor-in-chief, Carlson argues the war on Iran was launched on Israel’s timetable, not America’s, and that the idea behind it “is not only contrary to America First, it may be its inverse”.

#tuckercarlson #usa #trump

Read more: https://econ.st/47FuP5G
Subscribe to The Economist: https://econ.st/3Mia0pz
Download The Economist app: https://econ.st/4qdVVaA

Follow us on X: https://x.com/TheEconomist
Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theeconomist
Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheEconomist

2026-02-13

Across the world, calls to make the wealthy pay more tax are growing louder. But, as our economics editor Henry Curr explains, the stats on inequality may actually surprise you.

#finance #usa #economics #tax

Watch the full show: https://econ.st/4txH6mb
Sign up to the Insider newsletter: https://econ.st/4nOyzIb

Subscribe to The Economist: https://www.economist.com/subscribe
Download our app: https://www.economist.com/get-the-app

Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theeconomist/
Follow us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheEconomist
Follow us on X: https://x.com/TheEconomist

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