logo
episode-header-image
Sep 2023
24m 58s

A better pill to swallow: the bid to end...

The Economist
About this episode

Many of the pieces are in place to bring the disease entirely under control—but our correspondent finds it will take more than advances in medication. Japan’s government has at last begun to regulate the country’s notorious pornography; we examine a sector emerging from the shadows (11:07). And how China uses UNESCO world-heritage status to rewrite the history of its periphery (18:38).


Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited-time offer. You will not be charged until Economist Podcasts+ launches.


Visit http://www.economist.com/podcastsplus-intelligence to join.


If you’re already a subscriber to The Economist, you’ll have full access to all our shows as part of your subscription.


For more information about Economist Podcasts+, including how to get access, please visit our FAQs page.




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

Up next
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
Nov 19
Crown prince arming: Trump sells jets to MBS
<p>Muhammad bin Salman’s <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2025/11/18/saudi-arabia-is-in-no-hurry-to-join-the-abraham-accords?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-n ... Show More
21m 55s
Recommended Episodes
Sep 2023
A better pill to swallow: the bid to end AIDS
<p>Many of the pieces are in place to bring the disease entirely under control—but our correspondent finds <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2023/09/17/is-the-end-of-aids-in-sight?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm ... Show More
24m 58s
Oct 2023
Blown speaker: Kevin McCarthy is out
<p>Another shutdown standoff, funding worries for Ukraine, more leadership chaos: the <a href="https://www.economist.com/united-states/2023/10/04/the-sacking-of-kevin-mccarthy-will-make-supporting-ukraine-harder?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintellig ... Show More
22m 51s
Sep 2023
Refresh your feed: introducing Economist Podcasts+
<p>For 17 years, The Economist has brought you a host of brilliant shows. Now we are taking that even further. But to bring you even more of the content that you love, we need your support. Why <a href="https://www.economist.com/europe/2023/09/04/an-armenian-enclave-inside-azerba ... Show More
26m 45s
Sep 2023
Going bump in the right: Europe’s worrisome politics
<p>Populist, right-wing parties are already in power in Hungary, Poland and Italy—and getting closer to it <a href="https://www.economist.com/briefing/2023/09/14/the-hard-right-is-getting-closer-to-power-all-over-europe?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=the ... Show More
21m 49s
Sep 2023
No end in sight: how Ukraine is being shaped by a long war
<p>Reporting from the ground, our Eastern Europe editor explores how the country is bracing for a <a href="https://www.economist.com/briefing/2023/09/21/to-endure-a-long-war-ukraine-is-remaking-its-army-economy-and-society?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source= ... Show More
26m 13s
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
Nov 2023
The Intelligence: Land of the rising sums
<p>Look past short-term stumbles: there are <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2023/11/16/will-japan-rediscover-its-dynamism?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm_content=discovery.content.anonymous.tr_shownotes_na-na_article&utm_ter ... Show More
29m 9s
Mar 2024
The Intelligence: Is time up for TikTok?
<p>The US Congress is refusing to scroll past the app’s links to China. If the bill they passed becomes law, <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2024/03/12/time-for-tiktok-to-cut-its-ties-to-china?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=theintelligence&utm ... Show More
25m 39s
Jan 2024
The Intelligence: The city that never slipped
<p>From Brexit to covid-19, nothing has yet stymied London’s successes. The city has its problems, but it remains a <a href="https://www.economist.com/leaders/2023/12/14/londons-resilience-is-a-lesson-to-policymakers-everywhere?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_so ... Show More
24m 49s
Mar 2024
The Intelligence: Haiti’s latest nightmare
<p>Despite growing pressure from powerful local gangs, Ariel Henry, the prime minister, is refusing to step down. <a href="https://www.economist.com/the-americas/2024/03/07/the-last-scraps-of-the-haitian-state-are-evaporating?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_sour ... Show More
21m 27s