Why Vladimir Putin won’t end the war | The Economist

2026-01-16

Can you be too good at betting? The Economist’s data editor dives into the bookie’s battle to stop clever people winning.

2026-01-09

Israel’s prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, says he wants to be remembered as a leader who helped secure the country’s future. With three stretches in office under his belt, is he succeeding? Zanny Minton Beddoes, The Economist’s editor-in-chief, and Edward Carr, deputy editor, travelled to Jerusalem to sit down with the prime minister. They ask him about the war in Gaza and his loss of public opinion, at home and abroad.

You can watch the full interview from 6pm UK time on January 9th, 2026 on the Economist’s website. And at 7pm you can watch a discussion show about the interview with Zanny, Edward and a panel of Economist experts.

00:00 – Israel’s battle against radical Islam
01:25 – Has Israel committed war crimes in Gaza?
03:00 – Mr Netanyahu’s defence of collateral damage in the

2025-11-26

There is no love lost between Donald Trump and John Bolton, his former national security adviser. Mr Bolton made a dramatic exit from the first Trump administration after months of tension. Since then he has been a fierce critic of the president’s character and competence. He has also been indicted for transmitting and storing classified information—which he denies. Mr Bolton joins David Rennie, our geopolitics editor, to dissect Mr Trump’s worldview, evaluate his America-first foreign policy and consider the future of American power.

00:00 – Is Donald Trump on a “downhill slope”?
02:19 – What Trump could do as a lame-duck president
03:29 – Has Trump damaged America’s institutions irreparably?
05:21 – The long-term impact of ‘America-First’ foreign policy

Watch the full interview:

2025-11-22

Will transplanting animal organs into humans become normal? Emilie Steinmark, our Science correspondent and Alok Jha, host of Babbage podcast, discuss the logic behind transplanting genetically-modified pig organs into humans and if this might help resolve the global organ-donor shortage.

00:00 – Why is xenotransplantation interesting again in 2025?
00:12 – Why do scientists use pigs for organ transplants?
01:05 – What risks come from using organs from animals?
02:10 – How do you prepare a pig organ for a human transplant?
03:39 – How do scientists edit pig genes to reduce rejection?
06:03 – Will pig-to-human organ transplants become normal in the future?

Links:
Listen to the full episode: https://econ.st/3X9oIkA
How pig-organ transplants might soon save lives:

2025-11-19

The UN has predicted that the global population will peak in 2084. Our top economics editors explain why we could reach that milestone sooner than expected. Plus, what people often get wrong about why birth rates are falling.

Watch the full show to learn about the economic impact of falling fertility rates—and whether that spells catastrophe.

00:00 – Where fertility rates have fallen
01:28 – When will the world’s population peak?
05:16 – Why women are having fewer babies

Watch the full show: https://econ.st/4ppyDyF

Don’t panic about the global fertility crash: https://econ.st/4nxGpFl

Humanity will shrink, far sooner than you think: https://econ.st/4oS6u3l

A contracting population need not be a catastrophe: https://econ.st/43CEXKy

America’s fertility crash reaches a new low:

2025-10-03

How close is humanity to discovering life on Mars? NASA scientist Dr Katie Stack Morgan joins Alok Jha, host of The Babbage podcast, to discuss new research that might finally answer the age-old question.

Thumbnail image source: NASA

00:00 – What makes Perseverance the most advanced Mars rover ever?
02:02 – What exactly did Perseverance discover in Sapphire Canyon?
03:39 – Could the “poppy seeds” and “leopard spots” on the Martian rock be signs of life?
06:11 – When did scientists start thinking this might be biological?
07:55 – What needs to happen to confirm life on Mars?
08:46 – Will these Martian samples ever make it back to Earth?
09:49 – What would it mean to prove life once existed on Mars?

#TheEconomist #Mars #nasa

Listen to the full episode: https://econ.st/4nC5Ru2
NASA has

2025-09-30

Following pressure from Donald Trump, Israel’s prime minister, Binyamin Netanyahu, has been strong-armed into a Gaza peace deal. Our Middle East correspondent Gregg Carlstrom considers whether Hamas will agree to the deal.

2025-09-25

President Trump has taken the unusual step of stabilising Argentina’s peso, showing just how far he’ll go to support ideological allies like Javier Milei. Our Latin America correspondent, Kinley Salmon, explains why this intervention may do little for Argentina’s economy—or Milei’s re-election