logo
episode-header-image
Aug 2021
20m 45s

Delta‘s force: Australia’s covid plans c...

The Economist
About this episode

For a while, closed borders and strict contact-tracing held the coronavirus at bay. What lessons to take now the Delta variant has broken through in the region? The European Union once had few prosecutorial powers to tackle rampant fraud by member states’ citizens; we examine a new office that can start cleaning house. And a look at Japan’s seasonal-sweet obsession.

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.

Up next
Today
Emission creep: a contentious COP closes
<p>It is telling and troubling that the annual climate talking-shop’s <a href="https://www.economist.com/international/2025/11/22/cop30-ends-with-a-whimper?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownote ... Show More
25m 51s
Nov 21
Flee country: Britain seeks to slash migration
<p>Britain’s home secretary Shabana Mahmood proposed a big shift in <a href="https://www.economist.com/britain/2025/11/20/will-britain-copy-asylum-policy-from-a-place-with-poor-integration?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discov ... Show More
23m 22s
Nov 20
War graft: scandal engulfs Ukraine
<p>Pentagon officials are meeting President Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv to discuss a <a href="https://www.economist.com/europe/2025/11/19/a-terrible-american-russian-proposal-to-end-the-war-in-ukraine?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_con ... Show More
25m 24s
Recommended Episodes
Apr 2023
File-sharing: America’s huge intelligence leak
<p>A trove of once-secret <a href="https://www.economist.com/united-states/2023/04/10/a-leak-of-files-could-be-americas-worst-intelligence-breach-in-a-decade?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_showno ... Show More
24m 16s
Nov 2021
New bid on the bloc: Europe and vaccine mandates
A Delta wave is driving restrictions and restrictions are driving <a href="https://www.economist.com/europe/2021/11/22/a-deadly-new-covid-wave-in-europe-is-met-by-popular-fury-over-lockdowns?utm_campaign=the-intelligence&utm_medium=podcast&utm_source=third-party-host&utm_content= ... Show More
22m 3s
Apr 2023
Revolution Song: Myanmar’s unending war
<p>Deep in the mountains along the Thai border, a <a href="https://www.economist.com/international/2023/04/17/the-worlds-deadliest-war-last-year-wasnt-in-ukraine?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_sh ... Show More
29m 39s
Nov 2023
The Intelligence: Asia’s transnational crime gangs
<p>A high-profile money-laundering case in Singapore with links to Chinese gamblers has shed light on a broader web of <a href="https://www.economist.com/asia/2023/11/02/singapores-biggest-money-laundering-case-has-links-to-chinese-gamblers?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podc ... Show More
23m 22s
May 2020
US-China trade, ECB to resist pressure from German court, Airbnb’s outlook
<p>Donald Trump is weighing up more aggressive economic measures against China, The European Central Bank is expected to resist recent pressure from Germany’s constitutional court over its bond-buying programme, and first-quarter results from Lyft<strong> </strong>showed promisin ... Show More
8m 11s
Apr 2024
The Intelligence: Dengue’s grip on Latin America
<p>The dengue-fever case counts now break regional records every year—and the structural reasons behind <a href="https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2024/04/25/dengue-fever-is-surging-in-latin-america?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm ... Show More
22m 55s
Jan 2021
Business after Brexit, extended lockdowns in Europe, Bitcoin’s rise
<p>Businesses face a wave of new bureaucracy and checks at ports now that the UK is officially outside of the EU’s single market and customs union, European countries debate more restrictions aimed at containing the spread of coronavirus, and law firms ditch their UK trophy offic ... Show More
9m 44s
May 2020
Beijing’s legal force on Hong Kong, US retail, the future of higher education
<p>The Chinese government is preparing to impose national security legislation on Hong Kong, and sales surged at the US retailers deemed “essential” by local authorities in the first quarter. Plus, the business of higher education is under threat because of coronavirus. The FT’s ... Show More
11m 16s
Apr 2024
The Intelligence: The most personal choice
<p>The case for assisted dying is essentially one of individual freedom—and plenty of Britons <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2024/04/11/the-rights-and-wrongs-of-assisted-dying?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discove ... Show More
26m 1s
May 2020
UK airlines seek government aid, WeWork rent, renewable energy defies market turmoil
<p>UK airlines demanded “urgent additional government support” on Sunday warning that Boris Johnson’s plans to introduce a 14-day quarantine for people arriving in the UK by air will exacerbate the crisis facing the sector. Plus, US businesses resuming operations after coronaviru ... Show More
8m 55s