logo
episode-header-image
May 2023
29m 4s

Good, bad and ugly: the Taliban and Afgh...

The Economist
About this episode

Their return to rule is unequivocally bad for the country’s women and girls. But wholesale collapse has not come and some aspects of government have improved; it turns out threats of grotesque violence change behaviours. We investigate the curious case of Morocco’s absent king—and his unlikely mixed-martial-artist pals. And how the mobile phone has shaped cinema for half a century.


For full access to print, digital and audio editions of The Economist, try a free 30-day digital subscription by going to www.economist.com/intelligenceoffer



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Up next
Yesterday
The Weekend Intelligence: The hunt for Austin Tice
On December 8th, 2024, rebels swept into Damascus and ousted Syria's dictator, Bashar al-Assad. One of the first things they did was open up the prisons. Syrians who disappeared years earlier began to emerge from their grim detention cells. Would missing American journalist Austi ... Show More
38m 42s
Jul 11
At your services: Britain’s economic bright spot
Growth is abysmal; wages are low. But seen from the outside, Britain is a great place to contract services and buy bargain-basement bonds. We explore the opportunities amid the challenges. After months of reporting, our correspondent shares what he learned about Austin Tice, a mi ... Show More
23m 14s
Jul 10
Migration roots: the broken asylum system
Immigration is a political lightning rod in part because the ageing global asylum pact is no longer fit for purpose. We examine how best to update it. As paycheques for top-notch AI researchers go stratospheric, demand for rank-and-file coders is quickly cooling. And what a gimmi ... Show More
21m 49s
Recommended Episodes
May 2023
Good, bad and ugly: the Taliban and Afghanistan
Their return to rule is unequivocally bad for the country’s women and girls. But wholesale collapse has not come and some aspects of government have improved; it turns out threats of grotesque violence change behaviours. We investigate the curious case of Morocco’s absent king—an ... Show More
29m 4s
Dec 2022
Suspension of this belief? Iran’s morality police
The enforcers of the hardliners’ mores may have been disbanded; it is hard to know if the regime is bending to protesters or sowing confusion. Either way the disquiet looks set to continue. We take a look at China’s widely watched nightly news and the narrative it hopes to promul ... Show More
24m 36s
May 2023
Re-route of all evil: transnational crime and Ukraine’s war
Criminal networks have had to reorganise since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with knock-on effects from Afghanistan to the Andes. We take a look at the scourge of abductions in Nigeria, and what is being done for the families of the missing. And Scotland’s Campbeltown whisky is e ... Show More
22m 43s
Apr 2022
Girls interrupted: Afghanistan
When the Taliban resumed power, there were hopes that women might not be as excluded, repressed and abused as they were previously. Those hopes have faded. As smartphone sales plateau, tech giants are furiously searching for new platforms to conquer. Augmented and virtual reality ... Show More
23m 47s
Oct 2021
States of emergency: Nigeria
Criminal gangs in north-western states, jihadists in the north-east, a rebellion in the south-east: kidnappers, warlords and cattle rustlers are making the country ungovernable. The new head of Samsung Electronics has a legacy to build—and aims to do so by breaking into the cut-t ... Show More
23m 35s
Jan 2024
The Intelligence: Growing, no pains
America seems to be in a best-of-worlds scenario: growth is outpacing expectations even as inflation keeps falling—how will the party end? This week’s loss of the Peregrine One Moon lander was disappointing, but our correspondent sees the good news from the launch (9:19). And how ... Show More
25m 13s
Oct 2020
Secular-stand nation: terror in France
The brutal murder of a schoolteacher comes amid warnings of mounting Islamism in the country. The attack will only harden resolve for a secular society. Alexei Navalny, Russia’s opposition leader, speaks with our correspondent about the attempt on his life; it signals, he says, a ... Show More
22m 26s
Jan 2024
The Intelligence: Iran increases the stakes in the Middle East
Iran-backed proxies have killed three American soldiers and injured dozens of others in their weekend strike. A response from the Pentagon seems inevitable, but what might it look like? If Britain wants to decarbonise, it is going to need to revamp the grid. The effort will be bo ... Show More
24m 11s
Dec 2021
An Economic Catastrophe in Afghanistan
The economic situation in Afghanistan is perilous. Banks have run out of cash. In some areas, Afghans are selling their belongings in ad hoc flea markets. Parents wait around hospitals and clinics in the hopes of getting treatment for severely malnourished children.We hear about ... Show More
27m 26s
Nov 2023
The Intelligence: Swede demons
Drug-related shootings and bombings are on the rise. Policies are changing and law-enforcement budgets rising, but stemming the violence is proving politically tricky. Our columnist considers how China is using the war in Gaza to burnish its diplomatic credentials (9:36). And the ... Show More
25m 26s