logo
episode-header-image
May 2022
25m 55s

Let’s get the parties charted: the Party...

The Economist
About this episode
A long-awaited inquiry into lockdown gatherings on Boris Johnson’s watch reveals lurid details of brash bashes. Yet the prime minister will be able, once again, to brush off the controversy. We ask why Switzerland is such a powerhouse in business and finance despite its modest resources. And how Russia’s war propaganda is winning over plenty of Twitter users. 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
Yesterday
Wage against the machine: the distortions of minimum pay
<p>For decades governments have found minimum-wage rises a politically expedient means of redistribution. But the onward <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2025/11/20/why-governments-should-stop-raising-the-minimum-wage?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_so ... Show More
22m 16s
Nov 24
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
Recommended Episodes
May 2022
Let’s get the parties charted: the Partygate report
A long-awaited inquiry into lockdown gatherings on Boris Johnson’s watch <a href="https://www.economist.com/britain/2022/05/25/sue-gray-produces-a-strikingly-patchy-account-of-the-downing-street-parties?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_ ... Show More
25m 55s
Nov 2020
Lock step: England to shut down, again
<p>Prime Minister Boris Johnson all but ruled out a second lockdown, but his hand has been forced by England’s caseload. What are the political costs of his U-turn? Myanmar’s coming election will almost certainly be marred by <a href="https://www.economist.com/asia/2020/10/22/in- ... Show More
20m 32s
Jun 2023
Guilty party: Boris Johnson’s lies catch up with him
<p>The investigation into covid-lockdown-era parties during Boris Johnson’s premiership—and his denials of their impropriety—comes to damning conclusions. Is it <a href="https://www.economist.com/britain/2023/06/15/reading-the-death-certificate-on-boris-johnsons-political-career? ... Show More
24m 1s
Feb 2024
The Intelligence: Russia after Navalny
At last President Vladimir Putin’s regime has succeeded in silencing the country’s most prominent opposition figure. What happens next? Demand for electric cars is weakening, particularly in Britain; we ask how to recharge the market (11:47). And what is remarkable about a stage ... Show More
23m 50s
Nov 2023
The Intelligence: putting a Dave face on it
Former prime minister David Cameron is back from the political wilderness—and his appointment as foreign secretary reveals much about the state of the ruling Conservative party. We ask how Israel has kept its airspace open during the conflict in Gaza, even as the threat of missil ... Show More
21m 56s
Jan 2024
The Intelligence: is Germany al[t]right?
The Alternative for Germany (AfD) party represents a growing anti-immigrant rhetoric in the country, but people are taking to the streets in their thousands to fight back. Why has the debate become so polarised? Japan’s ruling party has been trying to get women back into the labo ... Show More
21m 46s
Dec 2023
The Intelligence: is America’s media fair?
News outlets are often hounded by the right for being too left-leaning. Our data show there might be something to that, but the reasons why are more complicated than you think. As a NATO frontline state, the war in Ukraine is prompting Poland to ramp up its military spending – an ... Show More
21m 46s
Oct 2023
The Intelligence: America gets a House speaker
With the accession of Mike Johnson as the lower chamber’s majority leader, Congress can at last get back to lawmaking—unless the leadership circus starts again. China’s banks may be loaded up with hidden bad loans; the industry’s covid-era hangover could be about to intensify (09 ... Show More
23m 51s
Jun 2024
The Weekend Intelligence: The state of Britain
On July 4th Britain will have a general election, one in which is widely expected to result in dramatic losses for the ruling Conservative party. If so, it would bring to an end 14 years of Tory rule. It’s been a turbulent period; the twin catastrophes of Brexit and Covid, set to ... Show More
50m 33s