The Economist Radio (All audio)

The risk of a Sino-American war over Taiwan appears to be growing. Our diplomatic editor assesses the frightening prospects and possible damage. Mexicans protest the weakening of the country’s independent elections agency. And why Connecticut has been exonerating those accused of witchcraft nearly four centuries ago.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Economists and politicians around the world are consumed with one question: is the world headed for a recession, or a relatively soft landing? We’ll tell you what clues the American property market offers. Why China’s football team can’t seem to find its feet. And why rap lyrics are increasingly treated as confessions of guilt in American courts.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ukraine is using a torrent of Western arms and training to prepare for a spring offensive. We learn why being on a corporate board of directors—or recruiting for one—is more difficult than ever. And we ask why one particular composition of Vivaldi’s has become ubiquitous.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A policy of ambiguity is swiftly shifting; the country is falling into a Sino-Russian orbit at just the time it needs the most help from Western allies. How learning to debate can improve the lives of those inside and released from New York City’s biggest prison. And meeting a street artist who decorates the wreckage of Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A slump in tech is driving investors to rediscover old ways. Out are the cash-splashing long bets; in are smaller, profitable, strategic firms. Nigeria’s election was pitched as the most transparent ever. It was not. We ask what is likely to happen now. And chilli crisp, a Chinese condiment with a deep history, is a study in how foods become fads.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Shifts in the garment industry, which powered development in the country, represent one risk; meagre currency reserves are another. Yet nothing so imperils Bangladesh’s economic miracle as graft and patronage at the highest levels. How does North Korea afford its flashy weapons programme? Crypto scams of eye-watering scope. And the newsmaking history of BBC Monitoring’s radio translators.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Belt and Road initiative to encircle much of the world with Chinese-funded, Chinese-built infrastructure is growing leaner and more penny-wise. But its ambitions are undimmed. Energy-market turmoil has given a boost to the green transition—a boost that has come with hard truths about the shift’s costs. And a television show about Jesus Christ becomes an unlikely hit.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Since Brexit’s earliest days, the trade status of Northern Ireland and its border with the Republic of Ireland have been a perilous sticking point. We examine a deal that might—and should—resolve matters at last. Our correspondent looks at all the plush office space being converted into family homes. And an obituary for the ruined city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Excitement still surrounds the spoiler candidate Peter Obi, whose down-to-earth ways appeal to a large constituency of fed-up youths. We look at the early returns. A year ago Olaf Scholz, Germany’s chancellor, announced a tremendous shift in defence policy and funding; we ask how far the warship has turned since then. And remembering Queen Elizabeth I’s favourite composer.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After a year of a conflict that was predicted to last just days, we examine the battle lines—seeing an opportunity for Ukraine that may not come around again. We look at the strains on Russian civil society by speaking with self-exiled citizens. And one Ukrainian woman who returned to Kharkiv tells us how the war has changed her.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Markets seem to think the worst is over; central bankers are not so sure. We ask why determining the trajectory of inflation is so difficult. Millions of refugees have poured out of Ukraine since the war began; their uncertain futures make setting up home tricky—for them and their host countries’ governments. And how technology is transforming the sport of ice fishing.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

President Joe Biden’s riposte to the bellicose speech of his counterpart Vladimir Putin was a study in contrast. We examine their views on Ukraine and ask how a lasting peace could be secured. We speak with an exiled Chinese blogger trying to get the truth about that conflict into his homeland. And why the young are leaving Japan to seek greater fortunes abroad.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Particulate matter is shortening lives and hobbling economies in the region. We ask how policy changes and international collaboration could mitigate the suffering as the pollution spreads. Our correspondent meets with two Russian men who, fearing being drafted, made a hair-raising journey by dinghy from their homeland’s far east. And why Seventh Day Adventists seem to live longer lives. For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The country’s war-torn north-west has been getting far less aid than it needs in the earthquakes’ aftermath. We investigate the dilemma of lifting long-running international sanctions. Housing prices are slipping across the rich world, but South Korea’s unusual property market makes that slide far more perilous. And what three decades’-worth of data reveal about crafting a pop hit.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Charitable giving is being disrupted by the same youthful tech folk who got rich disrupting other sectors: these days it is fast, data-driven and bureaucracy-light. We meet a new class of investors who trade shares from behind bars. And reflecting on the life of Maya Widmaier-Picasso, who spent her childhood painting alongside her father, becoming an expert on his work.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nicola Sturgeon is bowing out after shaping a party that has defined itself on the notion of Scottish independence. What now for Scotland and for Britain more broadly? Our correspondent says that France’s protests against pension reform are about far more than the stereotype of being workshy. And the surprising information spies could gather from your home’s Wi-Fi router.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Nikki Haley, a former governor of South Carolina and UN ambassador, has declared her 2024 presidential candidacy. We assess her chances and survey the field. Intimidation and financial pressure are quashing journalism in the Arab world. And a new film tenderly imagines what it means to be a donkey.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The petrostates of the Gulf are modernising their economies, growing more tolerant and liberalising their social contracts as they prepare for a world run on fewer hydrocarbons—but who will be left behind? A Chinese maker of electric vehicles prepares to steal a march on Tesla. And a look at Britain’s newest islands reveals they are made of wet wipes.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our correspondent visits town after devastated town. Poorly enforced building codes are one clear factor in the rising death toll—and a political backlash looms. Britain’s productivity problem is at least partly a problem with bad managers; we look at the substantial gains to be had from better-run companies. And the valuable data to come from an ambitious, national-scale sex survey.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Young voters are fired up and the electoral system has been strengthened, but Nigeria’s challenges are considerable. We explore why this month’s vote offers an opportunity to turn the country around. Our correspondent says that China’s economic reopening may have limited effects outside China. And why some psychotherapists object to how films and TV shows portray their work.For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.