Why are Pakistan and Afghanistan at war?

2026-03-25

The Iran war has dealt another blow to the transatlantic alliance. But Sir Alex Younger, the former chief of MI6, sees a unique opportunity. He tells The Economist’s defence editor, Shashank Joshi, that the UK has been “infantilised” by the US security guarantee and that it must use this moment to reassess its relationship with hard power.

#uk #usa #politics #iran

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2026-02-25

Elon Musk thinks the future of AI might not be on Earth at all—but in orbit.

On the latest episode of Inside Tech, Tom Standage and Alex Hern explore how orbital data centres would work, whether the numbers add up, and why this once outlandish concept is suddenly being taken seriously.

#ElonMusk #SpaceX #xAI #AIInfrastructure #DataCenters #SpaceTech #TechNews #futureofai #datacentres

00:00 – Why put data centres in space?
03:05 The numbers behind orbital compute
06:10 The race for AI dominance

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2026-02-17

Alcohol has shaped human history, from our ancestors’ descent from the trees to the formation of civilisations. But today a new wariness of booze is spreading. Natasha Loder, The Economist’s health editor, explores whether we have reached peak alcohol.

#alcohol #alcoholfree #drinks

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2026-02-13

Takaichi Sanae, Japan’s prime minister, bet big – and won bigger – when she called a snap election. But who is she? And how will she use her historic mandate? Our editors explain.

#japan #china #foreignpolicy #defence #diplomacy

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2025-12-26

Fighting a war in space is no longer science fiction. The Economist’s defence editor, Shashank Joshi, explains how military competition is intensifying far above the earth.

2025-11-15

What will the next year hold for the global economy? In the week we publish our new edition of The World Ahead, our future-gazing guide to the coming year, our top editors consider what an AI stockmarket correction could mean for the global economy and the US consumer.

00:00 – How markets could topple the economy
00:46 – Exposure of the US consumer to the stockmarket
02:06 – How AI compares to previous technological bubbles
03:09 – How the Trump administration could react
05:06 – Impact on the rest of the world
06:39 – Is AI really taking people’s jobs?

Watch the full show: https://www.economist.com/insider/the-insider/the-world-ahead-how-2026-will-shape-the-next-decade

What to expect from 2026: https://www.economist.com/topics/the-world-ahead-2026

An optimistic guide to the coming

2025-11-04

Debt is piling up across advanced economies. The covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine have added to the already significant financial pressures from ageing societies and climate change. Our panel of experts unpick the fiscal mess, explain what’s on the line and suggest the most prudent ways forward.

#economy #economics #debt #finance #inflation #covid19 #tax #france #UK #usa #us #unitedstates #europe

00:00 – Why is public debt so high?
01:33 – The problem with forecasting
02:40 – The danger of large deficits
03:16 – Can countries tax and spend their way out?

Watch the full show: https://econ.st/3WDxZkB

The rich world faces a painful bout of inflation: https://econ.st/3WDZA5k

Across the rich world, fiscal crises loom: https://econ.st/4nC6keK

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2025-10-31

Zohran Mamdani, the Democratic Socialist mayoral candidate, is shaking up New York politics.

Charlotte Howard, our New York bureau chief, and John Prideaux, our US editor, join the latest Insider episode to discuss why Mamdani is so popular.