logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2021
20m 52s

Bitcoin of the realm: El Salvador’s expe...

The Economist
About this episode

President Nayib Bukele thinks obliging businesses to take the cryptocurrency will help with remittances, inclusion and foreign investment. So far, few are convinced. From after-school tutoring to endless extracurricular activities, education is an increasingly cut-throat affair; we examine the costs of these academic arms races. And Sally Rooney’s new novel and the question of what makes great contemporary fiction.

For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, subscribe here www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer

 

See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.

Up next
Today
Dune raider: Saudi is a video-game superpower
Mohammed bin Salman, Saudi Arabia’s crown prince, is a huge video-game fan. Now his hobby is becoming a multi-billion-dollar industry for the kingdom, which is acquiring some of the world’s biggest gaming firms. How Finnish icebreakers became a focus for polar power politics. And ... Show More
19m 57s
Yesterday
Finally, a deal: the fragile peace in Gaza
Donald Trump has brokered an agreement between Israel’s government and Hamas. It’s a momentous breakthrough. Our correspondent analyses what comes next. We launch “The Economist Insider”, our new TV show for subscribers, where senior editors debate the news. And, do red-light mas ... Show More
23m 25s
Oct 8
Liberté, égalité, désordre: chaos in France
France’s newly-appointed prime minister has resigned only weeks into the job. Now President Emmanual Macron has given him 48 hours to come up with a plan for next year’s budget. Can Macron survive the turmoil? As driverless taxis take over San Francisco, what will happen to the h ... Show More
21m 3s
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2023
Money Talks: Counting the cost of education
Is a college degree worth it? That question hangs over millions of would-be students, as they prepare to apply to university. It is one that many graduates might be mulling over as they have to start paying off their college debts once more. America’s pandemic-era moratorium on s ... Show More
40m 58s
Jun 2022
The World Ahead: The future of education
Will personalised learning replace teachers? Host Tom Standage travels to the year 2042 to find children being taught by personalised learning assistants powered by artificial intelligence, and funded by corporate advertising. What does this mean for schools? Back in the present, ... Show More
22m 56s
May 2023
Debtors’ prism: mounting crises of Africa’s loans
Many of the continent’s economies are hamstrung by debt—much of it held internationally. We look at the growing need for closer co-operation between China, Western creditors and multilateral institutions. A city on Ukraine’s front line has become an unlikely locus for love storie ... Show More
25m 30s
Dec 2021
Money Talks: Meet the cryptokings
Four men hold the keys to a $2trn market. Our finance correspondent Matthieu Favas speaks to some of the most powerful people in the world of cryptocurrencies—the founders of the most important crypto exchanges—to find out what it takes to stay on top in the most volatile market ... Show More
35m 36s
Apr 2023
Introducing Behind the Money: Night School
There’s been a lot of big finance and economics news in 2023. Whether it's stories about rising interest rates, tech industry layoffs or bank runs, it can almost feel like you need an MBA just to make sense of it all. That’s why the Financial Times is launching a bonus series cal ... Show More
17m 54s
Nov 2023
The Intelligence: on the ground in Gaza
There is little left, in terms of people or infrastructure, in the north of the strip. Our correspondent, embedded with the Israel Defence Forces, considers the humanitarian crisis growing in the south. Our film on American school shootings discovers the growing phenomenon of hoa ... Show More
27m 56s
Oct 2023
Editor’s Picks: October 9th 2023
A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, are free markets history? Also, why Africans are losing faith in democracy (10:25) and we investigate whether bitcoin originally leaked from an American spy lab. (17:25)  Sign up ... Show More
21m 46s
Dec 2021
Money Talks: Omicronomics
China’s economy is slowing while America’s overheats, prompting Jerome Powell to suggest this week that the Fed could act faster than planned. As the Omicron variant triggers a fresh wave of travel restrictions, is the world economy caught between a rock and a hard place? Host Pa ... Show More
31m 3s