The Intelligence from The Economist

The Economist

a journey through the world of ambient music

  • 20 minutes 17 seconds
    A man of the people: Pope Francis has died

    He shunned fancy vestments and paid surprise visits to prisons and hospitals: our obituaries editor reflects on the life of a reform-minded pontiff who preferred to be among his flock. High-protein snacks are on an absolute tear, and one explanation is linked to new weight-loss drugs (7:49). And the thorny business of nudging an employee towards resigning (14:31).


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    21 April 2025, 9:31 am
  • 24 minutes 1 second
    Gene genies: CRISPR’s critical moment

    It is a Nobel-winning idea with untold promise in health care, agriculture and more. We examine what must change in order to capture those benefits. Asia’s love affair with gold has long been chalked up to cultural motives; our correspondent finds far more going on (10.45). And for all the draw of New Zealand’s verdant chill, lots of natives want out (17:58). 


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    18 April 2025, 9:30 am
  • 24 minutes 57 seconds
    Trump’s fickle, Xi’s pickle: the dynamic driving US-China tensions

    President Xi Jinping’s style of negotiating is staid, distanced, a quiet projection of power. President Donald Trump’s is not. That dynamic is complicating their gargantuan standoff. Spain ends up with more and more remains of migrants who die on their journeys—and its morgues cannot keep up (10:29). And in an age of video games pinball is not only surviving, it’s flipping thriving (18:11).


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    17 April 2025, 9:55 am
  • 21 minutes 40 seconds
    Cash and checks: Argentina’s next IMF loan

    For the 23rd time the International Monetary Fund will cough up, this time to the tune of $20bn. But the reforms stipulated by the loan, alongside promising changes already under way, suggest this time might be different. Near America’s border with Mexico, high-speed chases have become more common—and more deadly (9:08). And myriad uncertainties are making Europe a continent of preppers (15:08).


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    16 April 2025, 9:37 am
  • 23 minutes 57 seconds
    The buck stops here? The threats to dollar primacy

    Falling trust in the greenback is most apparent in bond-market moves. How close is the dollar to losing its status as the world’s go-to currency, and what could take its place? We take a look at Jordan Bardella, the young, polished, ever-rising star of France’s far right (11:56). And Hong Kong’s notoriously gruff cab drivers are told to smile more…or else (18:26).


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    15 April 2025, 10:22 am
  • 22 minutes 37 seconds
    Bloody Sunday: Russia’s strikes on Sumy

    President Donald Trump called the weekend strike on Sumy a “mistake”; other leaders called it a war crime. We examine the prospects for peace when Russia is brazenly hitting civilian targets. As scientists flee American institutions, Europe is trying to woo them (10:29). And Britain’s historical consumer-price index as a fascinating window into how shoppers’ tastes have shifted (17:24).


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    14 April 2025, 10:18 am
  • 26 minutes 45 seconds
    The great brawl: China v America

    Donald Trump is now aiming his trade war squarely at China. As the tit-for-tat tariff battle keeps escalating, investors are fleeing to safe assets. What will happen next? Germany’s Friedrich Merz finally signs a deal for a coalition government (10:12). And remembering Betty Webb, who worked at Britain’s wartime codebreaking centre Bletchley Park (19:36). 


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    11 April 2025, 10:10 am
  • 21 minutes 27 seconds
    Art of the real: Trump bows to markets

    Just 12 hours after Donald Trump launched his searing regime of tariffs, he paused many of them for 90 days. What's next for global trade? An outlandish proposal to build data centres in space (8:14). And why “The Great Gatsby” is just as relevant, 100 years on (15:58).


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    10 April 2025, 9:44 am
  • 23 minutes 4 seconds
    Pulp friction: the trade war bites Apple

    As Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs take effect, our correspondent explains how one of America’s most profitable companies may navigate the trade war. Are class divides in Britain softening (9:28)? And Republican influencers define what it is to be a conservative woman (16:08).


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    9 April 2025, 9:56 am
  • 25 minutes 11 seconds
    Economies of sail: migrant-smuggling entrepreneurs

    More than 36,000 migrants crossed the English Channel in small boats last year. Our correspondent investigates the increasingly sophisticated business strategies of the criminals who smuggle them. As the planet heats, wildfires in East Asia are becoming fiercer and more frequent (10:36). And why ordinary Americans are falling out of love with their former international allies (18:31).


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    8 April 2025, 9:53 am
  • 21 minutes 20 seconds
    Doomed traders: Trump’s tariff fallout

    Since Donald Trump announced punishing tariffs on “Liberation Day” last week, stock markets have fallen and governments and businesses scrambled to respond. Our correspondent discusses the impact on the global economy. Do personalised diets really improve gut health (9:16)? And gasp at the science of how seals spend so long underwater without breathing (16:13). 


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    7 April 2025, 10:11 am
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