Why your boss should let you nap at work | The Economist

2026-02-11

Why are luxury firms so afraid of frankenwatches? Vintage timepieces have exploded in popularity in recent years but authenticating them can be tricky. The Economist examines why altered “frankenwatches” are causing major headaches for the world’s top watch experts.

#theeconomist #watches #luxurywatches

2026-02-06

Donald Trump has tapped Kevin Warsh to lead the Federal Reserve. But what does Warsh really stand for? So far markets have reacted positively to his nomination, but some fear he is in the pocket of the president and could do some serious damage to the economy. Zanny Minton Beddoes, The Economist’s editor-in-chief, Edward Carr, deputy editor, and a panel of our economics editors unpack ‘Warshanomics’, and ask how it would work in practice.

#US #Economics #Trump #Warsh #FederalReserve

00:00 – What is ‘Warshanomics’?
01:09 – Kevin Warsh’s shifting monetary-policy stance
03:51 – How does the Fed’s rate-setting committee work?
04:59 – Could Warsh’s intellectual gambit pay off?

Watch the full show: https://econ.st/3NY7nd3
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2025-12-30

Singlehood is rising across the world. By The Economist’s estimates, there are at least 100m more single people today than if coupling rates had stayed the same as they were in 2017. What’s driving this relationship recession?

2025-12-23

Can online reviews actually be trusted? Rosie Blau, co-host of The Intelligence podcast and Andrew Palmer, host of the Boss Class podcast, discuss how consumers can navigate the subjective world of customer ratings.

00:00 – What was the last online review you used?
00:45 – Can you trust an online review?
01:44 – Have researchers looked at how reliable online reviews are?
02:47 – What types of reviews can we rely on?
04:23 – Are there particular platforms that are more reliable than others

Should you trust that five-star rating on Airbnb?: http://econ.st/4mKYkZj
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#theeconomist #review #travel

2025-12-19

Cryptocurrencies have gone mainstream this year, with more people than ever owning digital assets. The Trump administration created the first legal framework for stablecoins; a move widely welcomed by the industry. However, concerns about money laundering, the evasion of sanctions and what this all means for monetary policy persist. Our top economics and finance editors dissect what’s been happening.

00:00 – How crypto went mainstream
00:40 – What’s happened to the price of crypto
03:04 – Donald Trump has embraced crypto
05:37 – How crypto was accepted institutionally
07:13 – What are the benefits of crypto?

Watch the full show to learn what crypto going mainstream could mean for financial markets: https://econ.st/4oVZmSB

Crypto got everything it wanted. Now it’s sinking:

2025-11-06

A dangerous opioid, forgotten for decades, is on the rise in illicit drug markets around the world. Emilie Steinmark, our Science correspondent and Alok Jha, host of the Babbage podcast, investigate what’s fuelled the spread of deadly nitazenes.

00:00 – What are nitazines?
00:40 – Why are we hearing about them now?
05:04 – Why are they so dangerous even in small doses?
06:05 – Why are nitazines appearing on the drug market now?
08:32 – Did drug prohibition lead to the rise of nitazines?
09:49 – How can countries respond and monitor nitazene use?
12:03 – How can we prevent the next nitazene crisis?

#TheEconomist #Science #Nitazenes

Links:
Listen to the full episode: https://econ.st/3JPdXAN
Link to an article: https://econ.st/47PUtoP
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2025-10-29

How powerful is your passport? Michelle Hennessy, our graphic detail editor, and Rosie Blau, co-host of The Intelligence podcast, discuss how global passport rankings are shifting and why America’s passport power is fading.

00:00 What passport do you have?
00:27 Which passport is more powerful — British or Irish?
00:50 What is passport power?
01:20 Why does passport power matter when you travel?
01:46 How are passports ranked?
02:04 Which country has the most powerful passport?
02:39 Why has the US passport dropped in power?
03:28 Which countries are moving up or down the rankings?
04:21 Why are more Americans getting second passports?
05:31 What does passport power say about opportunity?

Listen to the full episode: https://econ.st/43wO5Ak
The world’s most—and least—powerful

2025-10-21

Americans cough up more than anyone else for their drugs. Medicine prices in the United States are more than three times the rich-world average.

Donald Trump wants to fix that, by forcing companies to match the lowest prices in other wealthy countries. But could his cure be worse than the disease?

#america #healthcare #donaldtrump #bigpharma #uspolitics