The Intelligence from The Economist

When America seized Venezuela’s president Nicolas Maduro in January, it left the rest of his regime intact. Three months on, our correspondent finds optimism and some loosening of repression. Venezuela’s opposition leader María Corina Machado fled to America, now she explains her ambitions for the country. And celebrating the life of Nick Pope, who spent decades investigating UFOs. Guests and host: Topics covered: Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+ For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After six weeks of Israel’s offensive against Hizbullah, Lebanon’s president and Israel’s prime minister are due to talk today. What can they achieve? Britain’s “triple lock” pensions are unsustainable. And Uzbekistan’s footballers prepare for the World Cup. Vote for The Economist at the Webby Awards: “The Last Boat” podcast, TikTok channel and language series. Guests and host: Topics covered: Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+ For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Iran conflict and blockades in the Strait of Hormuz are slowing supply not just of fuel, but food and fertiliser. Geophysics could worsen the approaching hunger crisis: an El Niño weather event is predicted for this year. Anti-conversion laws are resulting in horrific scenes at Christian burial sites in India. And why Britain’s vets are struggling. Guests and host: Topics covered: Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+ For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

After the failure of talks at the weekend, America is now stopping all ships from using Iranian ports and coastal areas. Our correspondent analyses the rationale. Burkina Faso’s government is committing war crimes. And which type of fizzy water tastes best? Vote for “The Economist” in the Webby Awards: “The Last Boat” podcast and Lane Greene on languages Guests and host: Topics covered: Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+ For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In a momentous election, Viktor Orban has lost power in Hungary after 16 years of increasingly autocratic rule. Our correspondent explains how the country’s opposition led by Peter Magyar ousted a corrupt regime. Why cows in Britain are producing too much milk. And celebrating the giant rat that helped sniff out landmines in Cambodia. Guests and host: Topics covered: Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+ For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Also on the daily podcast: what the Artemis Moon mission really accomplished and remembering a brave Soviet psychiatrist SHOW-NOTES TEXT (60ish wds) Binyamin Netanyahu says his strikes against Hizbullah are separate from the Iran-war ceasefire. That assertion is putting cracks in the deal, and in Israel’s relationship with America. We look at the stated and the unstated goals of the Artemis mission to the Moon—both achieved. And a tribute to Semyon Gluzman, who exposed the Soviet ruse of labelling dissidents as mental-health cases. Guests and host: Topics covered: Get a world of insights by subscribing to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

President Donald Trump has long threatened to pull America out of the alliance. We examine why the Iran war has made this time look significantly more serious. Westerners are fleeing their countries in record numbers—with economic consequences for their origins and destinations. And our series profiling the countries contesting the World Cup starts with Spain. Guests and host: Topics covered: Get a world of insights by subscribing to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

With little time to spare before a threatened civilisation-ending attack, America agreed a pause in fighting with Iran. We ask how the temporary deal was reached and how likely a permanent one is. China has an ever-expanding, state-led IVF programme: can that actually reverse a deepening demographic crisis? And the right way to think about AI’s entry into literature. Guests and host: Topics covered: Get a world of insights by subscribing to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

President Donald Trump’s rhetoric has grown yet more bellicose—and sweary. His stated ploy to destroy Iran’s bridges and power plants would be ruinous for Iran, and Iran’s planned retaliation ruinous for the region. AI-driven job losses predicted for India’s IT sector are looking more likely to be job gains. And why Gen Z is taking up boomers’ hobbies. Guests and host: Topics covered: Get a world of insights by subscribing to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Viktor Orban, Hungary’s prime minister, is an idol to the global nationalist conservative right. Losing the next election would have far-reaching consequences. Could tourists help boost jaguar populations in South and Central America? And the number of Catholic saints is soaring. Guests and host: Topics covered: Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+ For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A giant leadership reshuffle is underway in China, but one job will stay the same: Xi Jinping is almost certain to secure another five-year term at next year’s party congress. Reasons to be optimistic about Europe’s tech future. And the life of controversial winemaker, Michel Rolland. Guests and host: Topics covered: Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+ For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

NASA has successfully launched its first manned space mission in over a decade. Our correspondent explains why America wants to build a moonbase. AI models underperform in languages other than English. And meet China’s social-media stars: influencer-officials. Guests and host: Topics covered: Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+ For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Ukraine’s resistance to Russia relies on the clever use of drones. Much of that strategy is down to a single person, a former grain trader with a great idea. Our correspondent meets him. Since the Brexit vote a decade ago, Britain has become more like Europe. And why American universities are abandoning the notorious swimming test. Guests and host: Topics covered: Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+ For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An Economist investigation reveals that Iran is profiting from the war as it evades sanctions and oil prices surge. India’s government has promised to crush the country’s Maoist insurgency. Our correspondent visits a former rebel stronghold. And why understudies, a theatre’s insurance policy, are underestimated. Guests and host: Topics covered: Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+ For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Iran conflict is escalating with little prospect of an end in sight. Our correspondent explains why a US ground invasion is likely. In an ongoing history series, we look at how America’s attitude to migrants changed as it got richer. And “Project Hail Mary” is a sci-fi film drawing wide audiences. Guests and host: Topics covered: Listen to what matters most, from global politics and business to science and technology—Subscribe to Economist Podcasts+ For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Even before America crimped Cuba’s oil, the country was teetering. We ask what is to blame for the Cuban people’s plight, and whether anything better is in prospect. The craze of injecting peptides is not only scientifically unsupported—it is potentially dangerous. Chuck Norris once got mad at dinosaurs. Just once. Our obituaries editor recounts his unlikely rise to international manly stardom. Guests and host: Topics covered: Get a world of insights by subscribing to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A jury in California agreed with a plaintiff who argued that Meta and Google, two social-media giants, designed their platforms to be addictive. That opens the floodgates to more litigation and perhaps to regulatory change. We examine the world’s maritime chokepoints and how they shape geopolitics—littorally, not figuratively. And how digitally animated films came to dominate the box office. Guests and host: Topics covered: Get a world of insights by subscribing to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In the daily tea leaves one might read that President Donald Trump would prefer a deal with Iran to a continuing military campaign. Where would that leave Israel and its goals? Cryptocurrencies have gained a particular foothold in Asian economies; will they become real financial infrastructure or just tools of fraud? And tracing the history of mafias through the ages. Guests and host: Topics covered: Get a world of insights by subscribing to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Air strikes and border raids have turned cross-border tensions into hot conflict. We ask what raised the temperature, and whether the Iran war may act to lower it. Meanwhile that war’s oil shock brings with it fears of rising inflation; we examine how recent disruptions might inform policy decisions. And “listening parties”, once for music-industry insiders, are becoming the norm. Guests and host: Topics covered: Get a world of insights by subscribing to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

As the war in Iran progresses, none of the options available to Donald Trump looks good. We examine each of them. Thailand’s Buddhist monks are implicated in lots of lawless and dodgy behaviour—but clearing out the bad apples is more complicated than it seems. And gene-editing comes to the fruit bowl: we look at what science is serving up next. Guests and host: Topics covered: Get a world of insights by subscribing to Economist Podcasts+. For more information about how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.