logo
episode-header-image
Aug 2023
23m 5s

Taken too soon: why so many Americans di...

The Economist
About this episode

An appalling record compared with much of the rich world is not just down to drugs and guns. We ask what changes, both in policy and philosophy, might reduce the death toll. A heat-transporting ocean current in the Atlantic could soon be on the wane—or switch off altogether (10:08). That would have disastrous consequences. And musing on airborne etiquette for business travelers (18:09).


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

Runtime: 23 min




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

Up next
Today
Party likes it 1959: Cuba in crisis
<p>The country’s Communist Party leadership continues to cling to old ideals amid on-again, off-again diplomacy with America—and the people’s suffering <a href="https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2025/11/18/cuba-is-heading-for-disaster-unless-its-regime-changes-drastically?ut ... Show More
23m 15s
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
Recommended Episodes
Aug 2023
Taken too soon: why so many Americans die young
<p>An <a href="https://www.economist.com/united-states/2023/07/31/horrifying-numbers-of-americans-will-not-make-it-to-old-age?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_term=sa.li ... Show More
23m 5s
Aug 2023
Through the fire: an update from Hawaii
<p>As the death toll surpasses 100, we report from Maui where fires have ravaged the island in the deadliest American wildfire in over a century. Why was this one so <a href="https://www.economist.com/united-states/2023/08/11/why-the-fires-in-hawaii-have-been-so-bad?utm_campaign= ... Show More
23m 48s
Jul 2023
Cruel summer: heatwaves rage across the world
<p>Europe, America and Asia are all enduring scorching heatwaves, air temperatures are repeatedly <a href="https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2023/07/07/global-temperatures-have-broken-records-three-times-in-a-week?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=th ... Show More
24m 54s
Mar 2024
The Intelligence: Pressures for peace
The international push for a ceasefire in Gaza continues, but the tragedies keep coming; in many ways a resolution still seems as distant as it was early in the war. We consider the temptation to go all in on stocks, given just how flaming-hot the markets are (10:55). And a data- ... Show More
22m 15s
Apr 2024
The Intelligence: The most personal choice
The case for assisted dying is essentially one of individual freedom—and plenty of Britons support a change in the law to permit it. Japan’s Noto peninsula is still reeling from a New Year’s Day earthquake. It could well have been worse, but geography and demography may ultimatel ... Show More
26m 1s
Jan 2024
The Weekend Intelligence: Digital Ghosts
As life moves progressively online, it is becoming increasingly possible to keep people alive in the digital sense. Tech companies are starting to use AI to simulate the personalities of the dead from the data they’ve left behind. The Economist’s science correspondent, Abby Berti ... Show More
46m 42s
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
Feb 2024
The Intelligence: Troubled waters
Squabbles over the seas and their tributary waterways are becoming more tense as rivalries deepen and the climate changes. How should the West prepare? An opinion poll with a twist suggests that Xi Jinping is not as popular as he thinks he is (11:29). And, a tribute to the queen ... Show More
24m 52s