logo
episode-header-image
Oct 2023
51m 25s

Checks and Balance: Well enough alone?

The Economist
About this episode

On foreign policy, trade and immigration, the Republican Party wants America to push the world away. This is a departure, but also a return to what the party used to believe. How did the Republican Party go from isolationism to internationalism and then back again? And what does that mean for America’s foreign policy?


John Prideaux hosts with Charlotte Howard and Idrees Kahloon. They’re joined by Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation, and The Economist’s Edward Carr.


Sign up for Economist Podcasts+ now and get 50% off your subscription with our limited time offer. 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 how to access Economist Podcasts+, please visit our FAQs page or watch our video explaining how to link your account.


For full access to print, digital and audio editions, as well as exclusive live events, subscribe to The Economist at economist.com/uspod


Podcast transcripts are available upon request at podcasts@economist.com. We are committed to improving accessibility even further and are exploring new ways to expand our podcast transcript offering.


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

Up next
Today
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
Yesterday
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
Nov 2023
Checks and Balance: Year all about it
<p>If the election were held tomorrow, Donald Trump would probably be <a href="https://www.economist.com/united-states/2023/11/07/donald-trump-looks-terrifyingly-electable?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=checksandbalance&utm_content=discovery.content.anon ... Show More
50m 27s
Jan 2024
Checks and Balance: Biden or bust
<p>Joe Biden’s chances against Donald Trump in November do not look good. He is unpopular and his age puts many Americans off. <a href="https://www.economist.com/briefing/2024/01/04/joe-bidens-chances-do-not-look-good-the-democrats-have-no-plan-b?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audi ... Show More
47m 15s
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
Feb 2024
Checks and Balance: Strike accord
<p>America has launched strikes against Iranian-backed militias in <a href="https://www.economist.com/middle-east-and-africa/2024/02/07/israel-scorns-americas-unprecedented-peace-plan?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_source=checksandbalance&utm_content=discovery. ... Show More
51m 46s
Jan 2024
The Intelligence: Ron down, two left
<p>He went from being the most viable challenger to Donald Trump for the Republican nomination, to endorsing him. Our US editor opines on why <a href="https://www.economist.com/united-states/2024/01/21/nikki-haley-is-betting-on-new-hampshires-unusual-electorate?utm_campaign=a.io& ... Show More
24m 24s
Feb 2024
The Intelligence: Coming to a Nikki end
<p>After a 20-point primary walloping in South Carolina, the state she governed for eight years, Nikki Haley <a href="https://www.economist.com/united-states/2024/02/25/why-nikki-haley-crushed-in-her-home-state-vows-to-fight-on?utm_campaign=a.io&utm_medium=audio.podcast.np&utm_so ... Show More
23m 45s
Feb 2024
The Intelligence: No water, no lights, no beds
<p>Hardened war-zone doctors say the situation in Gaza is the worst they have witnessed—and that will cost lives long after the current conflict is resolved. Numbers from America’s tight labour market suggest that long-standing gaps between black and white workers <a href="https: ... Show More
23m 52s
Feb 2024
61. James Rubin: Working for Biden, American intervention, and the fight against Russian disinformation
“You took me to one side and said be very, very careful of these people, these neo-cons. Because they’re going to use this to do all sorts of stuff that you shouldn’t be involved in.” What are the limits of foreign intervention? Do the American people still want their country to ... Show More
1h 8m
Feb 2024
60. Anthony Scaramucci: What it's like to be Donald Trump's Communications Director
Would a second Trump presidency be far more right wing? What drives the former US president? Is he trying to do a deal with Taylor Swift? In this week's episode of Leading, Rory and Alastair are joined by Anthony Scaramucci, Trump's former spin doctor, where he answers all these ... Show More
1h 8m